Schroeder vs. Triplanar VII Sonic Differences

Just to fill any gaps,smartly left out,by Rick,the pre was the CJ ART II,with CJ Premiere Phonostage.Cartridge was the Titan(newest).An older,and killer good,monoblock Krell was used for the bass towers.There is no problem mentioning the table.Sid OK'd this.It is the newest version of the VPI TNT,with the "very latest,and not commercial production multi layer "metal sandwitch" platter.There is still work to be done in voicing the table/arm(an air suspension under table,btw).All cabling is "really mega cheapo stuff" that is in the system because it works great,in that specific set-up.I have another pal that did not get good results with these cables,but they are incredible in Sid's set-up!!As is the room,with minimal acoustic treatment,but really cool pics of great composers/musicians.

One note,of what should really be of extreme importance(I'm sure you can confirm this,Rick),is that Sid is NOT influenced by any industry,or typical audiophile hype,or preferrences.Could care less about the latest great reviewed product.He is absolutely the most amazing person when it comes to what I can only describe as having a GREAT sense of "sensibilities".And even this is an understatement!!The guy simply knows what music should sound like,in a home environment.Sounds rudimentary,and simple,but it is "the stuff of musical life",in a canned environment.Which is what ALL audio systems are subject to.

Anyone currently lucky enough to hear his amazing "giant killer" system(not to mention his REDICULOUSLY great LP collectin)is going to be knocked off their "zen" for a while.I mean that in the best possible way.Actually I theorize that his room lies somewhere between two "black holes",and the "laws of physics" simply break down there.It is my only rationalization as to how such a wild,old and not so old,set-up can fuction that well!

The guy is a "Legend"!!

Well, I took delivery of a Triplanar VII yesterday, and while I had no plans to set it up myself, I couldn't resist. (The guy I rely on to set up is oot). It wasn't too difficult. It seems straightforward in its operation- and tracks pretty well with a brand new Titan(i). The armboard for the TT (Kuzma Reference) was precut, so even that part was a cinch. The cartridge sounds a tad bright right now, but I attribute that to its newness and its sonic characteristics, and not to the arm settings. (Fiddling with the VTA is pretty nice 'on the fly,' too- something I couldn't really do with my old Well-Tempered setup.). Biggest difference so far, apart from the 'sock' of almost lifelike dynamics is the tonality of the lower registers- the combo brings a liveliness to the lower mids and bass that had altogether escaped my ears before.

Rick, SirSpeedy,

Thanks for your comments on the system. It sounds like a good one! It's good to stay away from the mainstream reviews. they can be decieving and plauged by specific owner system aspects and complications. The reason I like Audiogon is that you can better understand many perspectives on a particular component.

I just received more information on the Schroeder SQ. Here it goes; Nordost wiring, silver Bullet plugs, silver cart clipsrevised magnetic circuit(no change in VTF when altering VTA), even larger N52Neodymium magnets,Wooden/bronze sleeve base tower(even higher internal damping),VTF finetuning screw included. These are all extras that can be ordered with the reference but combining them together makes them a SQ. The arm is gorgeous. I have been told it is much easier to setup than some of the other models. One thing to consider is that many of the improvements can be accomplished if you don't adjust VTA often without the SQ update. If you are a set it and forget it person (I wish I was, but I always end up playing around just when I thought I was done) then the SQ update might be overkill. Just opt for the tonearm wire or some of the other updates. If you like to play the SQ update is probably a must.

My understanding is that the nordost wiring is cyrogenically treated, and that is an improvement on the thin copper. I thought i'd heard it at the London show, but the arm in the GTA Tron /exhibit wasn't a full SQ apparently. Still, impressive enough. I've got into the SQ queue...