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Need more soundstage depth with Spacedeck and Ono

I've just gotten back into analog with a Nottingham Spacedeck with Spacearm and a Benz L2 cartridge.I'm using a Pass Labs Aleph Ono phono stage and Pass Aleph 2 monoblocks with a Pass Aleph P preamp with Cardas Golden Reference balanced and RCA cables and Audio Physics Virgo II speakers. Everything is broken in now and the turntable has been set up properly by my Nottingham dealer and I've readjusted the loading and capacitance with no luck in the soundstage department. The soundstage is wide but very forward and shallow. The sound and detail is fine but doesn't compete with my CD player. I'm using a Naim CD5 with the HiCap and the sound simply blows away the analog. The pinpoint imaging and three-dimensional deep soundstage along with the disappearing act with the speakers is phenomenal. Even my Magnum Dynalab 101 tuner makes a huge difference in a deep soundstage over the analog. With the analog the speakers no longer disappear and it leaves me wondering what is leading to this. Any advice would help alot. Thanks
johnmilner
newbee
4,093 posts
 
I suspect your problem may be in set up, I'm not reassured that you you think your dealer set it up properly. If you have the equipment necessary I would check out the set up parameters. Pay attention to VTA, something which is often overlooked due to the difficulty of establishing it. Proper VTA for each disc you play is a magical thing, especially if you have a line stulus. Have you allowed for the differences between disc thicknesses? Does the Spacearm allow for VTA adjustments on the fly? Loading will affect tonality but wont't help with spacial issues like DOI (not caused by HF roll off). But, FWIW CD's do that imaging trick quite well, and with no effort on your part - thats one of its great attributes.
sbank's avatar
sbank
2,038 posts
 
John,
I agree w/Newbee that something isn't right. As a Spacedeck/Spacearm owner, I'm confident that the table can certainly do much better than you're getting.
Setup parameters are key, but the Spacedeck/arm isn't the trickiest to setup according to many who setup tables regularly. Nontheless, something needs to be corrected.
For starters, what is your spindle to pivot distance? This has to be correct before you even bother with VTF & VTA. If it wasn't adjusted correctly, everything else might not matter.
Rather than trying to delve into how to check setup parameters, I'd suggest calling your dealer, and asking them to come back and adjust your table setup. If you buy from a dealer, you should demand that kind of service. Otherwise, you might as well be buying used gear. If you don't get satisfaction from the dealer, between the archives and a new thread asking for setup help, you'll be fine. This article is also a keeper...
http://www.audiophilia.com/features/cartridge_setup.htm
Cheers,
Spencer
hudsonho
7 posts
 
It may also depend upon the type of music you're listening to on CD v. vinyl. I have had an identical experience regarding soundstage and imaging when comparing 70s LPs to remastered CD versions. Try a newer LP or try comparing an LP and CD that were pressed from the same master.
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