The TT5005 turntable is an extremely inexpensive plastic turntable; their cheapest one, apparently (150 £ or so??). You don't get much sound quality from one at that price. The arm, cartridge, and phono preamp it has are all strictly as cheap as possible.

I suggest that you consider getting a Music Hall MMF-2.2 turntable, which runs around $450 in the USA; I would assume that it would be something like 300 £ in the UK. It is excellent for its price. (Amazon UK shows it for 269 £; other UK dealers will also compete I am sure).

I am sure you would find it much more to your liking, because its arm, cartridge and structure are all better. For another 100 L or less you can upgrade from the basic cartridge it comes with and make an even larger improvement. The Audio-Technica 120E cartridge should be around 100 £ or less and would be a good way to go. But the one the turntable comes with is not bad.

The TT5005 has a very basic phono preamp built into it, and most turntables do not. A dedicated phono preamp will sound better.

That means that you will also need to get a phono preamp to connect between your new turntable and the AUX input of the Ruark.

I suggest that you get the Pro-ject Phono Box MM (costs 49 £ from Amazon UK) which is quite good. It will no doubt be a noticeable sonic improvement over the very basic phono preamp of the 5005.

One suggestion; You should not place any turntable right on top of the Ruark, since the mechanical vibration/feedback from the speakers to the turntable will be a major Problem. I hope you have a nearby solid shelf or table to put the turntable on.

Another tip: Keep the cables from the turntable to the phono preamp under 18 inches in length; as short as possible. The cables from the phono preamp to the Ruark can be much longer with no problem (up to 8 feet).

stanwardle wrote:

Hi Commsysman

First of all, many thanks for taking the time out to answer my question - there's a lot of really helpful info there. After doing some reading and from what you have provided here, do I take it that the quality of the cartridge & the phono preamp are the key to improving quality? Cheers

The turntable structure and its the design of the arm are a significant part of the sound quality, and the phono preamp and cartridge also.

I think the first thing you need to do is get a better turntable and phono preamp, and then possibly consider a cartridge upgrade.

I see that Amazon has the Pro-Ject Essential II Turntable for only £209; that is a good turntable at a very attractive price, and it comes with a good arm and cartridge. Add the Pro-Ject Phono Box MM for £49 and you are in business. I think you will be impressed with the improvement in the sound quality.

I would not advise putting a different cartridge on your current turntable; I would consider that a waste of money. A new turntable needs to be your first concern.