groove+srx

after introducing groove plus srx to my system and letting it settle in the changes are superior IMO.
my other phono stage ear 834p modded and tubed rolled was a fine sounding pre. it has that tubey magic. tight bass, and highs are good also. i thought i was there and could settle down. but i was able to acquire a


Tom Evens groove plus srx in a deal i could not refuse.
the unit brought out sounds to music i have been listening to for years, that i have not heard before.
air, delicacy, and that magic to the mid and upper cycles that is just phenomenal.
i beleive that i tend to think that the lower end is not as defined because thats the way it should be. not over laying the sound, and doing what the bass is supposed to.
another thing i had to do is re tweak my VTA and VTF. going with more tracking weight, and lowering the VTA.
i guess i was cheating to get the high end. and with the groove its not necessary to cheat. i am now tracking at ZYXs recommended 2 grams which is making for better tracking.
as hard to believe as it is one piece of equipment can make dramatic differences to a system.
to imagine a whole Tom Evens system well i guess as the commercial says priceless.

gary
i am so glad you found the burn in times as influential as i have.
so many times was i tempted to start tweaking my tt
i also had to deal with cartridge break in which after only about 15 hours of use is still going to be a significent issue.
however i do feel that i am getting to understand the magic that the srx produces above and beyond the standard +.
my first impression was of top end air and space
the srx sounds positively charged with extra info as to regarding ambience and venue acoustics.
the stereo image seems both more solid and natural providing a better 3d picture.
the mids appear purer which in itself is a compliment because i felt that the + was already nearing the state of the art in that regard.
bass however just seems to creep up on you.
to actualy hear bass instruments placed in a 3d soundstage and to feel that the bass is correctly weighted and timed has to be heard to be believed.
i for one am very surprised at the improvement wrought over the standard groove+.
it is in my opinion not a subtle improvement.

I have had my srx upgrade back for a couple of months now and I am a very happy guy. The improvements Tom has made on the Groove+ are impressive. I have to say that I think he upgraded my Lithos as well, so that certainly made a difference too. The adjustable loading is so easy and doable on the fly. The amount of information and finesse his little black box extracts from my ZYX cartridge is so revealing, I feel like I have a new record collection. I had a month to hear my Vibe/Pulse 2 upgrade before the Groove srx arrived and that upgrade is astonishing as well. Both upgrades do what Tom does best. He strips away the electrical noise that is so destructive to the music. The Groove+srx stand in was the battery powered ZYX Artisan pre, a great unit but it lacks the wallop the Groove can produce. What comes through with the Groove+srx is every nuance and sound that is on the record album. What you get is the power, clarity and subtlety of the music. The bass gets tighter and more powerful. Of course, the original Groove+ and Vibe/Pulse do an amazing job, the upgrades remove the last veil that clogs the space between certain notes or passages that can cause your brain to ask while listening to a 40 year old album that you have heard a thousand times “where the hell did that come from?”

The interesting side of the Groove+srx has been the break-in. It is perhaps the longest and most noticable break-in I have experienced, every bit of 1.5 to 2 months. Patience is required and rewarded. There were times….