dougdeacon
Responses from dougdeacon
| Is a hearing aid the best possible tweak for 50+ I believe it is sloping down to 20 db down at 10,000 hertzOuch! Glad you found a practical solution. I'm blessed with less loss than average. 58yo and still hear test tones to ~15kHz. My 54yo partner has bat's ears, he hears tones @ 20kHz+.Who car... | |
| Lyra or ZYX ? Very reasonable question, Pani. Having no familiarity with any SME arms except the VI and V, I defer to those who have. | |
| Record cleaning fluids Just to maintain balance and confusion, I prefer AIVS (Audio Intelligent Vinyl Solutions) over the others I've tried.Now THAT'S a helpful thread! ;) | |
| Lyra or ZYX ? Pani,That is indeed the purpose of the SB option. My suggestion as to tonearm weights assumed that your cartridge would have one. To my knowledge (and on my advice) the US distributor doesn't stock any ZYX cartridges without it (except perhaps the... | |
| Lyra or ZYX ? I haven't heard a 3012 S2 (or any SME except the IV and V) but IF Dover's assessment is correct then I'd second his advice. In the whole scheme of things, a quality TT and tonearm are much more significant than a cartridge.I can put many $100-200 ... | |
| Lyra or ZYX ? Pani,The only Lyra I've heard extensively enough to have a firm impression is the Olympos, a ~$10K model that's no longer made new. I've heard multiple samples of that cartridge in friends' systems and my own. I could blab on but it wouldn't be ve... | |
| Lyra or ZYX ? According to various posts on the internet, the 3012 S2 had an eff. mass of 14g. From that perspective it's just massive enough to be viable, though ~18g would be better. Experience from someone who'd actually heard the combination would be better... | |
| Benz Lp-s Frequency Resonance Problems From the facts presented it seems probable that this particular LP-S got out of the factory with an out-of-spec suspension (or it's old and worn out). It's behaving like a cartridge with a more compliant suspension than a typical LP-S.Suggestion: ... | |
| Lyra or ZYX ? The few times I've heard an SME (V) with ZYX (UNIverse) were not impressive. That arm seemed to smother most of what that cartridge can do.How much that would apply to a 312 S2/Yatra combination is very debatable of course. Wildly different price ... | |
| Lyra or ZYX ? Pani,When discussing cartridges it's critical to know which tonearm will be used. No one can give reliable information about a cartridge without knowing that. It wouldn't hurt to mention the phono stage either.Take those statements about how ZYX's... | |
| "Making Mono" for checking Azimuth Lew, I'll wager that guru made more pronouncements than cartridges. ;)Yes, I've compared adjusting by listening vs. adjusting by measurement. I used to use a Wally Analog Shop (which allows measurement of crosstalk at the amp outputs using 1 KHz t... | |
| "Making Mono" for checking Azimuth Cousinbilly1, The styli on even the best cartridges may vary 2-3 degrees from vertical (per JCarr of Lyra, who once posted candidly about manufacturing tolerances). It wouldn't be surprising if cutting styli varied similarly.Aren't you glad you ha... | |
| "Making Mono" for checking Azimuth Peter,I haven't used the SME and from your description I think truly fine tuning azimuth may be difficult. The adjustments needed are on the order of 1-2 degrees at most.The easiest and most repeatable designs I've used are of two types:- TriPlana... | |
| "Making Mono" for checking Azimuth You don't need mono... or test records.Fact: inaccurate azimuth increases crosstalk between channels.Fact: increasing crosstalk "fattens" sonic images, making instruments/vocalists sound wider or fatter than they should. Fact: our ears are most se... | |
| What of cost goes into manufacturing cartridges? The only people with accurate cost data would be actual cartridge manufacturers, and they undoubtedly regard such information as proprietary. No company shares product cost data on a public forum.To what practical uses could you put such informati... |