Forums - Music Hall Ikura

Verified Member

Posts: 33

Music Hall Ikura
08/12/18 at 00:07:03

Anyone heard the music hall ikura. I saw a few places have it on sale for $699 - $500 off. It's only available in white for that price. It comes with an ortofon 2m blue, which I've seen some folks around here recommend with the decware phono. I'm thinking this might be a good quick fix for my analog setup. Suppose I could sell it later once my SOTA is back to 100%.

Any thoughts?

thanks.

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Sota Sapphire, Audiomods, Grado Green/8MZ, Antique Sound USA PP-1, Schiit Modi 2 multi, SE84UFO, Betsy Baffle, DSR IC's, Double Helix+

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Archie

Seasoned Member

Posts: 2731

Re: Music Hall Ikura
Reply #1 - 08/12/18 at 18:15:53

If I were looking for an "affordable" TT that is a giant killer I'd go for the Technics 1200GR. About a grand more than what your considering but a whole different animal, I bet. You'd still need a cart but with the GR you could go with just about anything and not be outclassed. (Full disclosure, I have the GR's big brother, the G, and love it!)

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ZLC
Technics 1200G TT w/ Ortofon Jubilee MC cart
ZMC1
ZP3 (25th A Mods)
ZR2 (25th A Mods)
CSP3 (25th A mods)
ZMA (25th A mods)
Homemade Big Betsy Speakers (F15s)
Silver Cabling
DIY Isolation platforms under amps & TT.

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Scott in mich

Verified Member

Posts: 33

Re: Music Hall Ikura
Reply #2 - 08/13/18 at 04:49:13

Hi Archie. I've heard about the KAB mods but didn't know about the 1200GR. Interesting table. I wasn't actually even looking for another deck, but this Ikura popped up when searching for a tonearm and it struck me that I could fix my analog situation with a few clicks and not too much cash. After noodling it some more, I think I may just go for a Jelco 750 and upgrade my stylus or get a 2M blue.

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Sota Sapphire, Audiomods, Grado Green/8MZ, Antique Sound USA PP-1, Schiit Modi 2 multi, SE84UFO, Betsy Baffle, DSR IC's, Double Helix+

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Archie

Seasoned Member

Posts: 2731

Re: Music Hall Ikura
Reply #3 - 08/13/18 at 15:38:54

Scott, I realize you didn't ask but ...

I have quite a few Ortofon carts. I currently run their MC Kont b, Cadenza Blue and Jubilee. I have the equivalent of their 2M Black which many here say they love. I've heard that the 2M "motor" is the same for the Red and Blue and for the Bronze and Black. A less expensive way to go to get the same as the Black is the OM or Concorde line. I have the integral Concorde for my MM with the STY30 and STY40 (FG profile) styluses. KAB is a good source if you haven't looked over his site.

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ZLC
Technics 1200G TT w/ Ortofon Jubilee MC cart
ZMC1
ZP3 (25th A Mods)
ZR2 (25th A Mods)
CSP3 (25th A mods)
ZMA (25th A mods)
Homemade Big Betsy Speakers (F15s)
Silver Cabling
DIY Isolation platforms under amps & TT.

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Scott in mich

Verified Member

Posts: 33

Re: Music Hall Ikura
Reply #4 - 08/20/18 at 23:05:20

Archie, please, all comments welcome! I'm a sponge.

So, I see LPGear has an OM40 for $350. Where would that fall roughly as compared to the 2M line do you think? The only downside I see is the output voltage is only 4mv vs the 2m blue's 5.5mv which would suit the ZP3 better. I don't own a ZP3 yet, just thinking ahead. I also like the Goldring 10xx series at 6.5mv for that reason.

Maybe I should be looking at the 2M gold as well if I can move up to the black with a stylus change?

Decided to go with the Audiomods tonearm. Sent in an order to SOTA for the armboard and will order the tonearm when I get the board from SOTA.

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Sota Sapphire, Audiomods, Grado Green/8MZ, Antique Sound USA PP-1, Schiit Modi 2 multi, SE84UFO, Betsy Baffle, DSR IC's, Double Helix+

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Archie

Seasoned Member

Posts: 2731

Re: Music Hall Ikura
Reply #5 - 08/21/18 at 00:16:00

Scott, check KAB's sight: http://kabusa.com/frameset.htm?/

Kevin is extremely knowledgeable (I trust him almost as much as Steve) and he thinks the OM40 outperforms the 2M. The 40 should be equivalent to the Black. Kevin's price for the OM40 is $349 so that might not be the best you can get one for if you dig more.

The 4mV will give about .5V out of the ZP3. The Black is better but not all that much. Really a preamp is needed unless you have a lot of headroom to spare. With the CSP3 after the ZP3 the issue goes away. You can look up the formula to calculate volt-in/volt-out (it might be linear) even that goldring gives only .82V.

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ZLC
Technics 1200G TT w/ Ortofon Jubilee MC cart
ZMC1
ZP3 (25th A Mods)
ZR2 (25th A Mods)
CSP3 (25th A mods)
ZMA (25th A mods)
Homemade Big Betsy Speakers (F15s)
Silver Cabling
DIY Isolation platforms under amps & TT.

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Scott in mich

Verified Member

Posts: 33

Re: Music Hall Ikura
Reply #6 - 08/21/18 at 01:30:27

Archie, thanks for the heads up. Clearly, I missed the entire Ortofon section. And I thought I looked through his site fairly well. Really thought I found something at LPGear!

I found a calculation that will tell you the db required to get a given cartridge output to 1V. According to this calculator, the Goldring requires 43.7db, so I figured that was close enough to the ZP3. The OM40 would need 48db. I think Steve recommends 5mv minimum for the ZP3. I won't have much headroom with a UFO, but I could use my existing preamp for a while. The real answer would be a ZP4 with a three position switch at 43db, 49db, and 55db - yeah thats it.

More to think about........

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Sota Sapphire, Audiomods, Grado Green/8MZ, Antique Sound USA PP-1, Schiit Modi 2 multi, SE84UFO, Betsy Baffle, DSR IC's, Double Helix+

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Archie

Seasoned Member

Posts: 2731

Re: Music Hall Ikura
Reply #7 - 08/21/18 at 15:43:23

We are using the same formula but since Steve's amps tend to need 2 volts for full power I don't think 1 volt is necessarily enough.

I don't know why Steve doesn't offer more gain in his phono stage but reading his development paper on the ZP3 seems to hint that getting 42db with low noise was a formidable challenge. I've run straight into my ZMA from my ZP3 with good results but the ZMA has a lot of oomph! The difference between my ZP3 with a .5 volt output and my CD player with 2 volts is quite noticeable without a pre.

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ZLC
Technics 1200G TT w/ Ortofon Jubilee MC cart
ZMC1
ZP3 (25th A Mods)
ZR2 (25th A Mods)
CSP3 (25th A mods)
ZMA (25th A mods)
Homemade Big Betsy Speakers (F15s)
Silver Cabling
DIY Isolation platforms under amps & TT.

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Ace-Tone Seasoned Member 8+ years with Decware gear and Loving it!!! Posts: 775	Re: Music Hall Ikura Reply #8 - 08/21/18 at 15:48:55 Hey Scott, I spoke with Steve several years ago and he recommended 4mv minimum with the ZP3. He steered me toward the Ortofon 2M black. I am still loving it. If I decide to upgrade it will be to MC cart with Decware SUT (Also suggested by Steve).
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Archie Seasoned Member Posts: 2731	Re: Music Hall Ikura Reply #9 - 08/21/18 at 16:38:24 With my .5mV MC cart and ZMC1 I get 1 volt out of my ZP3. A big improvement. Interestingly, before my ZMC1 arrived I was able to run my MC cart directly into the ZP3, CSP3 and then ZMA with decent results. The downside was the extra noise from all of the amplification. It just illustrates what the CSP3 can do.
Back to top	ZLC Technics 1200G TT w/ Ortofon Jubilee MC cart ZMC1 ZP3 (25th A Mods) ZR2 (25th A Mods) CSP3 (25th A mods) ZMA (25th A mods) Homemade Big Betsy Speakers (F15s) Silver Cabling DIY Isolation platforms under amps & TT. IP Logged