Hi Mike.
Congrats on your choice for the addition of a sub-hertz isolation system under the NVS. An important part of the puzzle.

On a much more limited budget, I've been experiencing a similar improvement while using Minus-K platform under my TD124. Improvements noticed were on the order of improved definition of inner details, improved definition of macro detail, improved imaging (substantial improvements to imaging) and an overall sense of sharper definition against a more silent backdrop. Perhaps, in some ways subtle, yet profound.

Anyway I wrote about it here:
" http://www.theanalogdept.com/minus_k.htm "

I see you've made substantial changes on many levels since my last visit in 2010. Indeed, it looks like a dream system you have assembled and created.

Happy spins.

-Steve

td160 June 16, 2013 13:56

3/12/2010
Hi Mike.
This is just a follow-up on that listening session last Tuesday eve.

You did ask for my impressions, thoughts, analysis, etc. So here they are:

I've had some time to digest what I heard and thought it best to report before my memory, already too short, begins to fail.

That room is just right in dimension for what was going on. That is; listening to music with enough volume (loudness) to get the full effect as intended by the musicians and sound engineers that created those recordings. I didn't think to bring along my spl meter but I'd estimate we were listening at 75- 85 db much of the time and with peaks spiking up well into the 90's. High enough to get the effect. Low enough not to cause hearing damage.

We started out with a request, from me, for Brubeck. You pulled out the Classic Records 45 rpm "Time-Out" and played the disk with "Take Five". First we heard it on the Garrard, then the SP10 mk3. In this case the Garrard was truly impressive. What initially impressed me was the excellence of the overall performance. (The system performance, not the musicians, although the musicianship, as everybody knows, is excellent.) Desmond's alto imaged itself in the space between the speakers and then flew around a bit, seeming to duck behind the right speaker once in a while, only to come out again and play. Desmond's tone quality, an airy sweet highly refined sound ,no matter what it is played back through, in this system had a warmth to it yet seemed natural full and solid. Believable. Desmond was "there". Wright's bass was very strong. I think I noticed / sensed the upper woofers of those Evolutions quite a bit....in a truly positive way. Bass was strong, visceral and well textured and defined. Not exactly tight, but not loose. Just right, I'd think. It is odd that I tend to overlook the two key players in this piece; Brubeck's piano and Morello's drums, but I better not take them for granted. After-all, these are the guys laying down the odd beat time signature, the very foundation of the track. In this case Morello's cymbal work seemed extremely well defined, whole sweet, natural, sharply defined and with good hang time/decay on the ringing tones. His snare drum hits and foot pedal work produced percussive sound waves carried forth with immediacy and a good bit of energy. Brubeck's piano; yup he was there too. (Without Brubeck, you don't get the Dave Brubeck quartet.) The Ortofon MC A90, mounted on the Reed deserves much credit for this reproduction. I'd also note that it seems to get acoustic piano very well in addition to the other parts noted above. All of it, good stuff.

Dobbins has done some good work on the Garrard 301. My first impression is that --I wonder if I'll ever hear a better prepared Garrard than this! With the Reed arm, the A-90 cartridge, played through the DartZeel NHB-18NS battery powered preamp/phono-stage, The Loricraft motor controller, power supply, and with upgraded bearing, Dobbin's plinth, mods/upgrades, the new platter design, the Garrard becomes a machine that can not only reproduce the energy and sense of drive that we expect from an idler design of this type, but with a level of refinement and detail reproduction that I did not expect. Impressive. Good stuff.

The SP10 mk3. I'm disappointed that I did not get to hear this player at its best. Unfortunately the new replacement cartridge (to replace the broken Lyra Olympos..?) had too few hours on it for any serious listening sessions. Additional note; I suspect that MC cartridge loading on both the mk3 and the Rockport were not quite optimal. Perhaps a matter of load settings switching on the back panel of the Alnic phono stage being shared between them?

The music itinerary moved on to some selections you made which were quite satisfactory for me. The Albeniz....was it "Suite Espanola" , Decca SXL 6355, Speakers Corner re-issue..? This one has me intrigued. I may have to find a copy for myself. Then what was it...? ....something from Carmen, a re-issue of an RCA recording, New Philharmonia Orchestra (forget conductor) , then a few tracks off the "Take The A Train" Lp, a Japanese group recorded on EMI/Toshiba. The one track we heard, I thought, was a really interesting 'small combo take' on that classic Ellington tune. I'll probably seek out that Lp as well. Good listening there. I'm missing a few, I know but there was a blues tune with John Lee Hooker and Miles Davis! , The Doors, "Riders On The Storm", Van Morrison, "Into The Mystic". Huge sounding reproductions of those performances. Excellent sounding recordings. Then I requested another Doors tune, Willie Dixon's "Back Door Man".

Most of this played on the Rockport which I sensed, from my first listen, got closer to the the original master, and therefore the musical truth than did the Garrard. However that comparison isn't A to B due to the downstream electronics. Nonetheless, The Rockport digs deep into those grooves and extracts more music, and chunks of it that I suspect most of us haven't heard, even though we know the records.

The tape. The Studer A820. What a beauty, both in physical reality and in its sonic output. That sense of flow. The ease with which it projects a wide dynamic at you. You only get this from tape. Digital doesn't get it, though you'd think it would....in theory. I'd love to hear the Studer after the "head stage' is complete.

Other thoughts part I:
Those Evolution Acoustic MM3's produce a very large sound field. Listening position was near field. Just to frame it right, these speakers are tall. When seated the upper 15 inch woofers are well above the listener's head. So when I note that the sound stage exists between the speakers, it implies a large amount of space. Imaging is strong in that setup. With the volume boosted up to near concert levels, the sound reproduction is very, very large. This system can play "big". A truly entertaining and impressive musical experience awaits those who listen in this room.

Other thoughts part II:
I think at one point I posed the question, online in public; Is it appropriate to put a modern arm and cartridge on an ancient idler drive turntable. Would these mate well or would the superior detail reproduction of modern high end tonearms and exotic MC cartridges tend to reveal the weakness of the vintage designs? I think I've been answered with regard to Steve Dobbin's work on that 301. In that player you have the best of both worlds; details, air and space combined with that sense of urgency and explosive output as only an idler can do. However, in a more standard 301, I think my question may hold more weight. In any case, the Reed tonearm has my attention. And so too does the Ortofon A-90. Sexy to look at. Total immersion.

Other thoughts part III:
Every turntable in that line-up was outstanding in terms of energy output. These machines allow that sense of timing, that sense of immediacy and explosive energy.

Other thoughts part IV:
The DartZeel electronics is not too colored for my tastes. What it does, I really like.

Other thoughts part V:
Nice control over room lighting. It inspires me to do some work on that front in my own room.

-Steve

td160 March 12, 2010 18:26