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Silver Member Username: HawkbillyNova Scotia Canada Post Number: 640 Registered: Jul-07 | I felt I needed to do a bit of a post-script to a thread I had started a while back while getting my analogue rig back in business. At the time I purchased a new cart for my Rega Planar 3/RB300 combo, and added a new phono preamp. I was underwhelmed to say the least with the outcome, and spent a fair amount of time trying to figure out why. I wall mounted the Rega which helped a fair amount, but all-in-all the sound was still less than compelling. I played the odd LP more for the nostalgia and the music in the grooves than the sound quality. My Minimax was still far more engaging, at least to me. I had been very busy at work and had left it alone for a while until one day I managed to slip over to Peak Audio and they asked how the TT was sounding. They were quite concerned with my response and offered a number of suggestions. I tried them, but still very little difference. I was in again some time later and one of the guys in there jumped up and asked how many hours I had on the LP3. I estimated less than 100, but had thought it had been plugged in at the shop long enough to be broken in. He walked over to the counter and pulled a cd from a drawer and said to pop this into my cdp and hook it up to my LP3 on repeat for a couple of weeks and then try again. He said until I had over 300 hrs on the LP3 I hadn't heard it......at all. He also said that turned on was not the same as playing music, and it needed both. This was the disk..... link{http://www.musicdirect.com/product/73576,http://www.musicdirect.com/product/7357 6} I used my old NAD cdp and hooked it up to my LP3 and let it run for 3 weeks straight. When I got home from a business trip I unplugged it and hooked it back into the Rega. When I popped on Steely Dan Goucho the difference was profound. The spaciousness that was missing was there in spades. Alive, engaging sound. The midrange that was so tentative and flat was far richer and transparent. I wanted to provide an update as I think both the Ortofon and LP3 are great pieces, which I was unable to do justice previously. I didn't want to leave things where I had before, as my own ignorance had really kept my setup from doing what it was capable of doing. Right now it is sounding very satisfying. The LP's that I have that are great recordings sound awesome, and although the presentation is quite different than my cdp, some things I quite prefer. There are certain albums that can place an instrument not only outside my speakers, but outside and well behind, which is a neat trick. Although acoustic guitar sounds brilliant through the Minimax, brass instruments (especially trumpets) sound completely convincing and correct through the Rega. Bold, brassy, and with no undue edge or squareness to the sound. Very nice indeed. I know there are some additional upgrades I can do to the Rega in the future, and I'll look at those in due time. But for now, I'm enjoying what I have. I've spent about $1000 on my TT and opened up about $5000 worth of music. A good deal in my books. |
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Platinum Member Username: NuckPost Number: 13153 Registered: Dec-04 | Chris, I had forgotten where you left this off, thanks for the update. Never, ever buy new unless you know what run-in stuff sounds like? |
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Platinum Member Username: NuckPost Number: 13154 Registered: Dec-04 | My Dyn 10X5 and 300 arm are just settling down after 300+ hours. I always thought I liked the minimax, but have not heard it for a long time. |
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Silver Member Username: SoundgameToronto, Ontario Canada Post Number: 903 Registered: Jun-08 | Great to hear your success story Chris. I remember you going through those initial issues. Sounds like you made the right decision popping in to see the dealer. All's well that ends well. Cheers, |
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Platinum Member Username: NuckPost Number: 13206 Registered: Dec-04 | And you got a proper shelf from the ordeal, too!! |
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Platinum Member Username: ArtkAlbany, Oregon USA Post Number: 10541 Registered: Feb-05 | Excellent Chris. Glad to see that you are enjoying your vinyl rig. |
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Platinum Member Username: NuckPost Number: 13207 Registered: Dec-04 | What a good call from your dealer, CH. Another good reason to go back, eh? Enjoy all of your music all over again! |
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Silver Member Username: HawkbillyNova Scotia Canada Post Number: 643 Registered: Jul-07 | Indeed Nuck. They are a great bunch. My next change will be new speakers at some point this year, and I'll definitely give them first shot at filling that need. |
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Platinum Member Username: NuckPost Number: 13211 Registered: Dec-04 | What are you looking at? |
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Silver Member Username: HawkbillyNova Scotia Canada Post Number: 644 Registered: Jul-07 | That's the problem. The brands that I've heard that I like the most, they don't carry. They have JM Labs, Paradigm, and Rega mostly. I honestly haven't listened at all to JM Labs speakers, so I'll have to give them a shot. Paradigm has never done it for me. The R line of Rega speakers never floated my boat either, although I liked them fine. Just didn't find them compelling. I hear the new RS line is much better, so I'll give them a try. What I've heard that I really liked so far are from Harbeth and JM Reynaud. Both brands excel in the midrange, and for me it has to have magic there or the rest is a non-starter. I also heard a set of older Hornshoppe horns, and there were some things they did that were pretty remarkable. I'd need a sub with them, and the midrange presentation is quite different from say a Harbeth, but there's definitely magic there. And, my current amp would drive them no problem. Not so the Harbeths. I want to check out the Gemme Audio offerings as well next time I'm in Toronto. From what I've read they'd be right up my alley. As would Zu Audio I think, but also haven't heard. Any suggestions ? |
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Platinum Member Username: NuckPost Number: 13216 Registered: Dec-04 | You can hear the Zu offerings at http://www.alternativeaudio.ca/web/productline.shtml If you come down for a listen, I will put you up in a good hotel. |
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Silver Member Username: HawkbillyNova Scotia Canada Post Number: 646 Registered: Jul-07 | Quite a few interesting product lines there, although I didn't see Zu on their website. I'm usually in the GTA every few months. Next time I'm heading to one of our offices in Ontario I'll let you know. Maybe I'll spend an extra day and hit a few shops. |
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Silver Member Username: Jazzman71Phoenix, AZ USA Post Number: 877 Registered: Dec-07 | Glad the LP3 has opened up Chris. With the 12 VDC input, I'll bet it's quiet. When looking for speakers, if you are staying with your low power tube amp, be sure and pay attention to the impedence curve. More important than an SPL spec. You may be interested in the following: http://www.caryaudio.com/support/faq.html#2 Check out FAQ #2. Then check the candidate speakers' performance in Stereophile. |
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Silver Member Username: HawkbillyNova Scotia Canada Post Number: 648 Registered: Jul-07 | Thanks Neil, yes one of the things I know I'll need to do is match speaker to amplifier. I have to decide if the low powered tube amp road is the one I'll stay on. I don't want to match a speaker to my current amp if I ultimately upgrade in a different direction. I'm not hung-up on having a tube amp, as long as an amp fulfills the priorities I have. If that happens to be a solid state amp, so be it. In an ideal world I'd select them both together, even if I could only buy the speakers initially. And yes, the LP3 is dead quiet. |
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Platinum Member Username: NuckPost Number: 13225 Registered: Dec-04 | Then keep what you have. |