Scout's Honour

[merlin]

Well this bloody vinyl lark seems quite time consuming

Still sitting up late into the night enjoying all kinds of stuff on my new baby, the Vpi Aries Scout tt with JMW9 arm and Dynavector DV20XH.

First impressions are great. Dirty bass smooth flowing detail, and excellent timing. One thing is certain, I wouldn't be getting this level of pleasure from a £1500 CD player

Currently borrowing a Lindsay Hood Phono Stage from a mate. Going to treat myself to some thing tomorrow. The Hood is a two box affair and I was thinking of a Lehmann Black Cube SE as I like the idea of clarity and dynamics. Anyone any idea how this would compare with the Lindsay Hood?

FWIW, we tried three TT's here tonight, the Vpi, the new Roksan, and a Rega P25. Whilst not fair in cost terms, the Vpi annihalated the others in just about every respect, far more so than you would expect given the cost difference. It's also wonderfully easy to set up for an idiot like me, nothing to go out of alignment, and looks the nads

One happy camper (until the next "upgrade" )

 

[7_V]

What a pity the inability to 'room correct' the bass on an analogue source must be completely marring an otherwise blissful listening experience.

 

[merlin]

Impressive or Expressive Steve. It seems it's nigh om impossible to get both, but pretty easy to get neither

 

[titian]

Originally posted by merlin
Currently borrowing a Lindsay Hood Phono Stage from a mate. ... and I was thinking of a Lehmann Black Cube SE as I like the idea of clarity and dynamics. Anyone any idea how this would compare with the Lindsay Hood?

If you have such a good TT then you should get something better as phono stage: try the Lehmann's Silver Cube . I know, another price but also another quality of music just like the TT you tested.

The Black cube though is a great unit for the price.

What preamplifier and apli do you use?

Originally posted by merlin
FWIW, we tried three TT's here tonight, the Vpi, the new Roksan, and a Rega P25. Whilst not fair in cost terms, the Vpi annihalated the others in just about every respect, far more so than you would expect given the cost difference. It's also wonderfully easy to set up for an idiot like me, nothing to go out of alignment, and looks the nads
[/B]

...sometimes the price makes a huge difference...
... and most of the cases investing money in a new unit gives you better results then spending nearly the same amount on tweaking a system especially when using stuff like mana, other expensive racks, cones, and...
Also room interference becomes a much less relevant factor.
.. and maybe you come to a point where you don't need a TAC...

enjoy your listening!

 

[Robbo]

Michael,

I'm glad you are enjoying the new TT. Makes me feel less guilty for taking the Eclipse off your hands.

 

[julian2002]

merlin,
from digital doyen to vinylista in a few months...it's sad really.
seriously though are you going to go totally vinyl or keep a cheapy cd player in residence for when you feel like slumming it?
how big a collection of vinyl do you have anyway?
cheers


julian

 

[merlin]

Julian,

I just fancy the option, plus I've been offered a classical vinyl collection (1200 lps) and am going to try to get my old mate's disco collection of about 10,000 singles

I like the idea of paying £1 for some music and expanding my horizons. I plan on buying what I can on vinyl and doing a CDR using the pro CD recorder. I can then listen to the CD when I want to just relax with the remote

CD player wise, well I ain't going to get something to compete with the Eclipse, which is exceptional. I'm using the P30 with the CDR as a dac at the mo Actually it's not bad, but I might lok out for a decent CD5 and flatcap (c/w wippet and Theaky!)

The reason for many of the system change was to incorporate vinyl somewhere. I'm old enough to remember the pre digital days and, through rose tinted specs, everything seemed better back then So you never know, I may be on the slippery slope to vinyl and valves.

What preamplifier and apli do you use?

Titian,

I use the Sim Audio P5 dual mono unit, and bloody good it is too! Matching Sim W3 power amp and all cabling is Cardas Golden Reference. So in future, should funds permit, I think the amplification is good enough to take something quite esoteric. I am offering the prepower for sale though, I really do want to try a Berning ZH270 valve amp at some point

 

[julian2002]

that is one big advantage of vinyl although charity shops and other traditional sources of cheap vinyl are catching on and starting to hike their prices. that said i just recieved an order from amazon which cost me an average of about 5 quid per cd so i think things will meet in the middle soon.
if you like the idea of trying valve amps, audio valve have just made some baby baldurs which are seriously nice sounding i think they are about 2k a pair (but this is from a very hazy memory) which is a serious bargain.
if you ARE thinking of trying a cd5 get a hi-cap 2nd hand instead. much better. or is my sarcasm filter not working?
cheers


julian

 

[merlin]

Originally posted by julian2002
or is my sarcasm filter not working?
cheers

julian

Seriously, the only valve amp I am considering is the David Berning ZH270, which is a stunning match with the Merlins. The Sim kit is too, as recommended by the designer, so it's just out of curiosity and a case of saving about £1K for the house.

The ZH270 is unique. it uses RF to change the voltage-crrent transfer characteristics of the output valves from their normal impedance to one suitable for driving a dynamic loudspeaker (er it says here!), without the use of a traditional output transformer.

There is one hell of a waiting list, about six months, and everyone I have spoken to raves about it. Descriptions of Krell like bass, and PRAT like no other, along with amazing clarity and resolution suggest it's what I would like.

First I need to get a decent phono stage. I want dynamics, clarity, bass and timing. The Tom Evans gear seems to be up that alley but looking at the site, the prices seem to have gone up about 40% recently Are they taking the proverbial?

 

[penance]

so when will you get the matching VPI cleaning machine?

 

[merlin]

Originally posted by penance
so when will you get the matching VPI cleaning machine?

It's not dirty yet mate

 

[penance]

certainly sounds like your well on the way to a top vinyl set-up.
Should spur me on to complete building my TT

 

[Gambit]

How did the Roksan sound Merlin? I was looking at one of these the other day and wondering if vinyl could work for me...

 

[titian]

Originally posted by 7_V
What a pity the inability to 'room correct' the bass on an analogue source must be completely marring an otherwise blissful listening experience.

My opinion is: get the right stuff and then you don't need to room correct anything

Unless one is a grown up kid who wants to play with something...

 

[7_V]

Originally posted by titian
My opinion is: get the right stuff and then you don't need to room correct anything

Yes, or perhaps more importantly: get the right stuff and put it in the right place.

My reply to Merlin had a slight trace of irony in it which I'm sure he'll have picked up. Takes us back to the heady days of August 2003. Sigh, I was so much younger then.

 

[merlin]

Ah back in the day Steve Strange just how good a sound was generated by using all that computer power, an eye opener I feel.

Now I understand people like Titian preferring the musical message over absolute accuracy, as it happens so do I, but i do sometimes miss the absolute precision of the digital rig.

Gambit the Roksan was very good, although for me I would say it lacked the gravitas and sheer scale of the Vpi, even though they had the same cartridge. I'm no expert here, and others with more knowledge of all things vinyl, have gone the Roksan route. Coming from a digital background however, I was amazed how much more the extra £500 got me with the Vpi. Basically, if you can stretch the extra, I reckon it's worth it. I haven't tried the Nottingham things though.

 

[titian]

Originally posted by merlin
Now I understand people like Titian preferring the musical message over absolute accuracy, as it happens so do I, but i do sometimes miss the absolute precision of the digital rig.

The only (small) thing I miss is the accuracy of a live classical concert. Not much is it?

QUOTE]Originally posted by merlin
... people like Titian... [/QUOTE]
I am not sure that I belong to a type of person. The more I am thinking about myself the more I believe that it is great for the humanity that there is only one guy like me and hopefully will disappear soon.
But there is always a hope that any creature can evolve positively.

 

[merlin]

Originally posted by titian
The more I am thinking about myself the more I believe that it is great for the humanity that there is only one guy like me and hopefully will disappear soon.

In which case sir, we have more in common than you might think

The only (small) thing I miss is the accuracy of a live classical concert. Not much is it?

Well that depends if your goal is reproduction or interpretation

 

[GrahamN]

Originally posted by merlin
plus I've been offered a classical vinyl collection (1200 lps)

Wow...that's about the same amout of music as I have. I look forward to your contributions on the Classical Forum

Well that depends if your goal is reproduction or interpretation

Admittedly things have got a lot more relaxed over the last 30 years, but I think reproduction at a live classical concert would still be frowned upon. Orchestral grade coughing is distracting enough!

 

[bottleneck]

Julian - an interesting point on the music.

Leaving aside sonic preferences, I find CD to be the cheapest way of getting new/recent releases. As you said, Amazon, CD-wow, cd-zone etc etc will get you CD's for 5-9 pounds a pop..

The second hand LP thing, hmmm well, it depends what you're after. I paid 12 quid for American IV (Johnny Cash) and got it shipped from Germany!... but that is a year 2000 release, and therefore very recent. Its hard to get cheap recent releases on vinyl (someone pleeeeaaasse proove me wrong, Id be very happy about it!!)

60s 70s 80s and early 90s recordings different fish of kettle, and classical music is tripped over in the doorway of age concern.

Merlin - any digital pictures of your new TT? it does sound nice. I saw one at Toms house (NOS-42) but unfortunately didnt get to hear it.

I hope you do get to borrow a large selection of phono stages before you buy one. For my little mind, I find it easier to think of them as ''small power amps'' - which they are.

When you think of them as ''small power amps'' it helps to explain why they sound so different to each other, and why quality varies so much.

If I could humbly suggest an appointment at Walrus (or similar) to hear 4 or so of the more popular choices (with a dynavector of course) may be the order of the day?