I can't get no satisfaction ...... smile

Inna,

I used to have a goldring 1042 i bought it cause the reviews looked pretty good. I found it pretty resolving, kinda so so, but didnt really do anything especially special. The denon 103 is very balanced and quite complete. It makes a very coherent picture of the music without over emphasizing in any areas to make some fault. It tries to be neutral and succeeds quite well. It produces timbres that are a little "greyed". It is of course not world class in transparency. It is still a great cartridge for what it is! at its asking price.

Lyra makes great cartridges. The little denon might make you as happy or more happier but i have no experience with the lyra you are considering. What i'm trying to say is the denon is a no brainer and that its a cartridge the plays higher than its price and can sound better than many more than double its price. [i think thats a fair statement]. Anyways just something to think about. That said...lyra makes some of the best cartridges available.

I have quite a few tubes [happily] in my system. When summer comes i dont feel like adding more heat and then try to listen. Something says..."you should go outside" so playing music when its hot feels a bit couped up and how can you enjoy music if your feeling suffocated!{smiling}

Tmsorosk,

My sound, i would say is very neutral and very transparent, maybe extraordinarily transparent even? Dynamics are extremely effortless while remaining gentle and relaxed. Then add to that timbrel fidelity and then think about a single saxaphone playing. The transparency is in the inflections of his fingers picking and choosing the notes, how fast he is or isnt moving from one to the next, all the different levels of breathing pressures are laid bare as he plays, the brass of the instrument is gentle soft, beautiful and shimmering and then add nothing else to it, no artifacts, just clear beautiful sax, with speed and timbre. But its not hyped speed, just as it appears in real life. which is faster than most think.(think)

Of course we are talking degrees and in what league? I thought i understood those terms, speed, transparency, timbre but i didnt really until i arrived at the system i have today. My system redefined those concepts altogether.

This has made my "ear brain" more acute and astute to musical cues and subtleties....i like to think so, anyways![smile]but at a much higher level then in my previous system when i thought i understood many of those concepts before. When this happens our expectations go higher and minute details and subtleties of musical cues become even more so desired.

I'm glad that you have that level of satisfaction. Like i said i'm very close to a very special sound but i'm just looking for a little smidgen of some quality not yet identified and a overall more general level of satisfaction over a broader range of records.

I have alot of non audiophile friends and family who say... of stereos that sound terrible, wow it sounds great!... but i hear all the problems with the sound that they dont! Because the standard they use to measure against, is what it is and because it is low of course it sounds great!

Ever go to record shops that have records playing? Some of those people listen to records at that level through those kinds of speakers all the time and think it sounds great! You know what it makes me think? If you are only going to playback your vinyl at that level, get a cd player or ipod because i dont hear the advantage of the format. Of course some people like the nostalgia part of playing a record. Fine, i guess.

What am i trying to say? ...i'm not sure[laugh]

I guess i'm trying to say, i'm glad you're so satisfied but i wonder if your system would make me feel the way your system makes you feel. It might?

Or

I wonder if you heard my system if you could enjoy it all the time, everytime, as you do yours. We'll probably never know.

It will depend on how sophisticated our musical "palettes" are, how high our expectations are and the degree to which we know what is possible in the current state of the technology.

The last one there, i think is determined by how many different systems we've heard and their calibre.I'm not assuming anything or implying anything, i'm just thinking out loud.

Also, i know digital has progressed very far but i still believe that vinyl is the better format. That is my personal bias.

Vertigo... As far as sources go I've owed and heard many of both digital and analog and think I'm safe in saying neither one is superior in every way . Many audiophile friends have systems that are a whisker bright so analog seems to be the way to go for them . About 8 years ago I decided to put all my resources in to one format , because high end can have a very high price tag . At that time LP's were fading and hard to get in Edmonton , so I decided to go digital since I'm mostly into music , ya I no my system link says otherwise . So all my resources /money went to a close to state of the art type player ,DAC , cabling , cords isolation not to mention power conditioning that is crucial to good digital playback . I guess I'm a little biased but I think most big eared audiophiles would enjoy my system , even vinylphiles . Regards Tim

Thanks Tom,

***As far as sources go I've owed and heard many of both digital and analog and think I'm safe in saying neither one is superior in every way .****

I think i agree with you there.Do you say that from the perspective of how easy they are to use? Or strictly from a sonic perspective?

Each audiophile has different needs and different expectations and to varying degrees. So, when some have reached a certain level of playback they are satisfied and their done. And i say this this with mostly digital in mind.

My experience has been that digital is easier to work with. And right now i'm strictly talking about sonics. With digital its easier to get 92 percent of the sonic envelope right 95 percent of the time but then you are stuck at the level and cant go up any higher because of the format.But most will probably be content at this level because you're getting most of the music and getting it consistently at that level. You just cue up the digital and press play.

***As far as sources go I've owed and heard many of both digital and analog and think I'm safe in saying neither one is superior in every way .****

Because my first audiophile value is timbre i go with vinyl. My bias is that in this respect vinyl has a much higher potential to BE superior, though because of the nature of its requirements to be played back optimally it often fails to live up to its potential more so than digital. If you work really hard at getting the best digital and really hard at getting the best vinyl, i think you will get better sound from the vinyl.

Someone once said..."the easiest thing to do in the world is to play a record wrong!"

I laugh at that mostly because of all the effort and frustration i've experienced as i try to learn the art of playing back a record at high levels. Its a long road and there are many fine adjustments that can change one or the other parameter when you play a record back. But the quote is so true and for some all the work isnt worth it.

I can play back my whole record collection as is and enjoy the music of every record but when i put on my "extreme audio hat" and i am striving for the best possible tonal richness and dynamics , to my mind i necessarily must go to vinyl for that. I just havent been pursuaded that digital can produce the kind of timbre that vinyl can.

I believe that a combination of the best thought out component designs, a deep understanding of set up, a critical look at materials utilized, will yield that goal of the highest level of tonal richness and dynamics in playback.

By this i believe i'm staying on and persevering for that last 8 percent that i believe to be only available from the format of vinyl. That last bit is where i believe the music lives. A harmonica is a melancholy instrument. It has a lonely and sad sound. But that loneliness is inherent in the materials it is made from and how they vibrate. I can't play the harmonica but i am trying to learn to play it. If i just pick any spot and blow one or two notes, i hear that loneliness in its sound, its not my playing its the materials in the instrument that create the emotion of melancholy. If i am not reproducing that in my system i'm not really going feel its emotion. Again we're talking levels and leagues. The allaerts cart was a "game changer" for me in this regard. I can hear the steel reeds as well as the synthetic comb of the harmonica. I hear its woodiness and its shiny clean metal at the same time. This produces the melancholy sound. My system nails that timbre like digital cant. All this i know will sound like just words and talk, and i didnt know til i heard it myself. But if you never heard it you wouldnt know to miss it. To use another analogy if you told me in words about your hometown i could never really know it til i visited.

I think its fair to say i get a kick out of 'extreme vinyl'.
Even though its more work, more expensive and its easier to get wrong than digital its still worth it.

If i may...here's why i think vinyl is the inherently better format from a strictly sonic evaluation.

Because the format itself is 'materials and resonance dependent' which is what real music is made from, whether its the vibrating vocal cords of a singer or the resonance of a acoustic guitar body. Both are MATERIALS resonating. So, the natural mechanical vibration of a well designed stylus has an advantage over a digital laser because it too is material and resonant dependent therefore has the potential to mimick reality better.

Because this is the case cartridge designers consider different materials and how those materials can best replicate timbres when they are deciding on a material for the cartridge body.

Anyways...i've digressed off the topic of this thread but i guess somehow its related. I say all this for the fun and pursuit of this hobby and i dont pretend to know what your system sounds like. If someone is happy then i am happy.

I own a aero prima cd player and 'the best' digital i have heard was the emm labs combo. What i mean is the emm labs is supposed to be really great digital and it was. I heard it in an unfamiliar system that had state of the art products. I didnt think its timbres were very rich like how i now know they can be. My opinion is that the timbres were somewhat greyed or bleached out and not rich,dense and compacted with timbre. It wasnt very silky. Silk is shiny, smooth and soft.

I've recently got into nirvana of all things. what a surprise. Anyways if i want a original pressing i have to pay maybe 35-55 bucks on ebay for it! Thats nuts! When i can find a used cd of the same album in a pawn shop for maybe 3 bucks? Is it worth it? I wouldnt even consider it if i didnt hear it with the allaerts and the rest of my system pulling as a team. It can make it seem like it is in fact worth it. But on a day where some parameter is slightly out it will make me have my doubts!(smiling)

The kick i get out of trying to get 'extreme playback' is why i might pay that much for a record, the pursuit of 'the best' on the planet is fun! plus if i have a change of heart i can always decide to sell it ALL and just get an ipod!

****i cant get no satisfaction****

Paradoxically, not getting any satisfaction is giving me some! As the pursuit becomes the source of the pleasure.

Hello Vertigo .. I was speaking from a pure sonic prospective . I guess we all have different sonic perimeters that we value . I value a natural , neutral tonal balance with the just the right amount of musicality and superior bass performance , I have found that in digital in a way that analog just doesn't seem to convey . Clearly a personal preference . I have spent considerable time and money getting things just right , and it wasn't until the last two components were purchased and correctly voiced that the musicians entered my music chamber and player for me personally . ( Ayre KXR preamp and Ayre C5MP used as a transport ). When I traded in my LP's for CD's I always felt I would hear an analog rig that would bring me back to vinyl , but so far that hasn't happened , I do get allot of exposure to other system's being involved in an audio club . I think easy access was one of the reason's I original wen digital only but since then , sonic's and musical pleasure is my only concern . Regards Tim