2. analog
  3. 1065283688

OK, I said it...

Just got the new turntable running this morning. Installed the Kontrapunkt B on the Rega P9; a most nerve wracking job. Well I can't find a crow and I am not yet ready to eat some, but here are my very preliminary findings based on listening to one side of two albums (one brand new, Art Blakey's "Indestructible"), one that's been on hand for a while, (Dire Straits "Communiqué"):

my greatest peeve, surface noise: way less, but still a bother on softer cuts or portions of pieces where the volume is low;
soundstage: quite incredible;
layering of instruments: quite incredible;
natural tone of the instruments: stunning;
treble: well the cymbals are back the way I like them; sharp attack and decay when hit near the centre, sharp attack and shimmering decay when hit nearer the edge;
bass: not the subwoofer-type of bass, but the overtones are more present, that is an acoustic bass has that plummy quality.

Well I am not a "convert", in the sense at looking at the experience as crossing a threshold from where you never go back. I still think that digital is better at doing silence, which is so necessary in music, and, in letting the sound of soft music come out without the anxiety of tick and pops.

So far, I have not listened to enough music to have a real hard opinion about the merits of better analog equipment. Suffice it to say that in answer to the post wondering if any progress has been made in the last twenty years, I would have to say quite a lot. This is based on a very quick, very subjective appreciation at the moment. What is the table's, what is the arm's, what is the cartridge's contribution in all this: very hard to say, and will never be known since I have no intention of playing mix and match.

Am still using the Sumiko Phono Box for the time being. The next move is a new phono section. Is there another level yet to be achieved with that upgrade? I while back I would have been extremely sceptical, now I hope there is. What bugs me, is to have to make another leap of faith.

Well, I will keep you posted. Good day.
pbb
psychicanimal
1,738 posts
 
The modded Groovemaster II KAB sells for the 1200 has the midrange of a $1,500 moving coil cartridge. It has absolutely NO midrange edge and the deep, solid bass and tracking of an integrated headshell DJ cartridge The performance is simply stunning. The problem is that it requires 75K Ohm resistance and precise capacitance matching. Now I'm beginning to understand. The Groovemaster is a MM design. A quartz locked DD motor like the Technics will be able to plow through transients and still have the torque and speed stabilty to maintain trackability. The result? Clean musical definition while delivering high output. Awesome.

Pbb, if you had a chance to hear the Creature...it would get you MUCH closer to the precise CD sound you like!
lugnut
1,190 posts
 
Hey Psych, maybe you and Sean should get together, put a linear tracking tonearm on that 1200 and take over the analog world. ;>)
psychicanimal
1,738 posts
 
When Sean gets to hear my Creature on Steroids he'll end up getting an old SP-10, making a custom plinth and removing the linear tracking arm from the SOTA. My understanding of analog reproduction has changed a lot since I had the outboard power supply installed a little over a week ago. How can I get this performace from a DJ cartridge with a line contact Stereohedron stylus grafted to it? The other day I talked to TWL and he was telling me that when Kevin does something he already knows it's going to work--that he does not make blind moves to find out if it 'might' work. TWL is right.
midwestcoast
10 posts
 
My 2 cents include.... Look into the less expensive VPI record cleaner, it's a tank and does a fantastic job (and you can make your own fluid). After you've used a good record cleaner for a while you'll find that you can look at a record in a shop and "see" what it will look like after cleaning. Which leads me to my other cent: the real pleasure of vinyl for me is in the hours spent combing through junk shope, antique malls, thrift shops, dollar boxes under tables at record conventions, etc. Every drive in the country on a pretty summer or spring day holds the possibility of a flea market or tiny book shop with one box of LPs in the back. The variety of music available for next to nothing, and the occasional find of a truly rare LP, is what makes vinyl so much fun. Surface noise on a new audiophile $40 LP is depressing, but, in general, one of the strengths of vinyl as a long-term storage medium is those graduations of condition. CDs are either perfect or they're useless. A VG+ copy of a $500 LP allows those of us with limited funds to experience the sound of the original object with only the slightest of distractions.
colitas
150 posts
 
The only thing I have to add would be in the area of ticks and pops. I currently own a P3 from REGA. I know it's not in the same range as the P9, but thought my experience could help. I have since found that changing the platter mat has greatly reduced the surface noise on my REGA. On setting VTA, a little trick I learned one night was to use a string level. I had bought one for my photography studio, and it made it's way into the living room. Wouldn't you know the thing balances nicely on that REGA tonearm. So when I set VTA, I place the stylus guard on, take off the platter mat(b/c the height roughly matches the height of a record) and place the level on the tonearm. The kind of level that has attachments for string on ether end of the level. This really helps when you are dialing in your VTA.
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