Whest P.30R, P.30RDT and P.30RDT SE

I checked out the REF MK4 after reading Dcarol other raving posting, looking at the design over all I have to say it's odd and far from being practical specially at the asking price in comparison to other manufactures offerings out there.

If this unit is actually placed within a rack which I would think most are as mine then you actually have to disconnect all your cables to it, then remove it.

Once removed flip it over and then unscrew and remove the plate which I agree it's self would not take long to do but being located on the bottom of the unit is just strange, you do the switch of the DIP switches and then reverse the whole process.

No way does this take 1 minute or even 5, way more!

Once in place if for some reason you don't like the setting or you are actually comparing then you have to repeat the whole process again, to me this is rediculous and very inconvenient.

This unit is far from being cheap and a far cry from what is suggested above only taking 1 minute to change settings.

Sound, I heard this unit in a unfamiliar well respected set-up, not my own though. I listened to a few pces of music and then it was swapped out for a ROSSNER & SOHN Canofer S phono pre. and I listened to those pces again.

This specific phono Canofer S offers knobs on the front for convience to make changes on the fly, no having to disconect or remove it etc.

Over all sound, I would suggest you add this unit to your list and compare, you will be pleasantly surprised. You can just google ROSSNER & SOHN Canofer S phono pre for more info.

Anyone has listened to the new coming version called "Titan" ?
If yes which kind of improvement I can expect? More low-level information? a better soundstage? more dynamics?
I must decide for a purchase between a 30rdt "Special Edition" or the new upgraded version (going in production now in November but it seems that probably in Britain a few audiophiles had the chance to hear it).
My cartridge it's a Zyx 4d-h.
Any comment would be appreciated
cheers
Marco

Bloody hell! How many version can they squeeze between the P30R and the Reference mk "whatever" now?

Dev

Yes, if you need knobs and stuff on the front of your stage then the Rossner & Sohn sounds marvelous but for shear musical enjoyment I'd take the Whest everytime.

As for switching over. In the 27 years of having a vinyl playback system I have only every changed settings about twice. Once when I moved over to MM as my Koetsu was being retipped and again when someone let me borrow their Decca London. Apart from that I have always used low output MC with 65dB/100 ohms selected and it has always sounded GREAT.

If you are a reviewer and constantly changing cartridges of different manufacturers say from Lyra to Dynavector to Decca then switching over settings on a Whest can be boring, I mean in that 1.5mins you could be ordering a big mac :)

But we (the majority here) are not reviewers and the Whest has been designed for playback and a 'forget about it' style of listening which is what it majors in.

Dev, if you need knobs and switches on the front panel then great because like I said I would take musical enjoyment everytime over the ability to switch settings every 5 mins and not enjoying the music.

Dcarol, One might well have more than one cartridge or even more than one tonearm with one or more cartridges. On a certain evening or for a certain LP, one might be in the mood for one cartridge/tonearm combo vs another. It would indeed be nice to be able to adjust for gain and load resistance via external controls; even rear-mounted ones. I read elsewhere that the Whest designer has taken a purist approach, saying that to externalize the switches would adversely affect the noise characteristic. So be it, but it would be nice; I have to agree with Dev.

I must say I never have known anyone to be so devoted to one brand of gear over all others as you are to Whest phono stages over all other phono stages. You are beginning to make me think I need to check for myself. But I need more information; it's the way I am built.