Pindac, I apologize if I sounded harsh in my last post. Anyone can say anything about how any two components sound in a side by side comparison, and your report is one example. There’s no right or wrong conclusion in that context. I just disagree for reasons already stated.
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Pindac, What you reported is "hearsay" evidence, you reported that someone else reported that he or she preferred his or her modified SP10 Mk2 over the SP10R. Here’s another opinion: I find it hard to believe that any SP10 Mk2, no matter how modified, could audibly outperform the SP10R, with one important qualification; the plinth can make a big difference. If you buy an SP10R, you get a chassis that needs a plinth. If you buy the new Technics plinth along with an SP10R, those two items together are called "SP1000R". The Technics plinth for the SP10R is very elaborate, much better than comparable plinths Technics made for the earlier SP10 models. I know one highly reputable person who owns both an SP1000R and an SP10 Mk3. That is JP Jones, who is a qualified engineer. JP measured the two turntables and found them very comparable. His listening tests suggest not much difference, too. Adding to that finding my own experience that the SP10 Mk3 is easily superior to either one of two Mk2s I have owned (both in slate plinths), there is sort of a geometric proof that the SP1000R is superior to the SP10 Mk2, by "things equal to the same thing are equal to each other". (All my TTs were completely refurbished and brought up to spec before any auditions.) My apologies to Chungj, but I just wanted to set the record straight. I agree with Raul; you should first dial in what you have. I think you live here in Bethesda; if you want me to come over for a listen, I would be happy to do so.
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If you are happier with the Benchmark, so be it. Good news, in fact.
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Although I am not as vehemently opposed to the L7000 as is Raul, I agree with him in general that you ought to work with what you have, first. If you can borrow another linestage, either tube or SS, that uses another method of output coupling, you might learn whether or not in your case the Allnic is holding you back. (Capacitor coupling is not perfect, either. In that case the results depend upon the quality and value of the capacitor used. Direct coupling often requires the introduction of a servo circuit at the output in order to cancel DC offset, and in that case, the design of the servo comes into play.) And of course, experimenting with cartridges and headshells is absolutely certain to change the sound. You might find magic in that direction.
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qwin, After your last one or two posts, I am no longer certain what is your position. The SP10 Mk3 is simply in another league from either the SL1200 Mk2 or the 1200G series, BUT, as Raul already mentioned, no Technics turntable used a coreless motor before they introduced the current G series and the SP10R. Your 1200 Mk2 has an iron core motor, as did all other Technics tables of the earlier era. If you want to make a comparison of old vs new Technics, you would compare the new SP10R (top of the line, coreless motor) to the SP10 Mk3 (top of the vintage line, most powerful iron core motor ever used in a commercial DD TT). When I say "powerful", I am referring to torque. The high torque of the Mk3 motor was needed to control its 21-lb platter. I have owned SP10 Mk2 (two samples) and I currently own and use a Mk3. The latter is a more neutral sounding turntable. I am sure the SP10R is competitive with the Mk3. All of these need a proper plinth (but "proper" is another debatable adjective). The way you talk about the SL1200 Mk2 vs the 1200G, it seems you own or have owned both. Is that the case? If so, which version of the G series? Thanks.
Coreless motors ought to be inherently superior for use in a DD turntable because of the lack of cogging, but their drawback is they need to be physically large to produce a lot of torque and they produce heat as they get more powerful. In the vintage era, Kenwood, Yamaha, and Pioneer, at least, marketed turntables with coreless motors. Probably there were others that escape my memory. The iron core SP10 Mk3 motor uses 12 iron core poles. The more poles, the smoother the ride, the lower the problem of cogging. That’s another way to approach the issue.
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qwin, I cannot comment on differences in sound quality between an SL1200 Mk2 and the 1200G series, but do bear in mind that there are several variants of the G series, to include the G, GR, GAE, and lord knows what else, and that the low end of the line costs around $1700, not by any means a high price for a very fine turntable. Furthermore, the build quality of the G series is just much higher than that of the SL1200 Mk2 and its siblings. The motor is completely different; it is a coreless motor of much higher quality than that of the original. Coreless motors have much lower propensity for cogging or have no cogging, depending upon who builds it and how its built. (But I am not claiming that the SL1200 Mk2 has an audible problem with cogging. Like you, I doubt that it does.) The chassis and platter of the G series is also sturdier and much better damped than that of the SL1200 series. So, you are free to hold any opinion about how one sounds vs the other, but there are important upgrades in the G series that are not trivial. In my opinion, it was a bad marketing decision for Technics to make the G series look so much like the SL1200 series, if for no other reason than that it promotes the delusion that the two turntables must be similar in performance, specs notwithstanding.
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Raul, Just to be clear, I have never heard any transformer coupled line stage. That is why I take no position up or down on the Allnic. For all I know, you are correct in your evaluation. I assume you have heard it.
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You probably did not talk to Dr. West, as he is very hard of hearing if not actually deaf, and he does not talk on the phone to anyone. You may have exchanged emails with him. I have done so myself, and he is a very nice man and very tolerant of his crazy customers’ questions. As to your description of your issue, I don’t know what to tell you except that all of this stems from the small listening space. Also, I have found that the dynamic contrasts on an LP vary from one record to another. Some are much more dynamic than others. For example Reference recordings are always so dynamic that even in a large room I too have trouble settling on a position of the attenuator that gives me tolerable crescendos and audible diminuendos. It’s just something that comes with the territory of being an audiophile . Are you saying that this issue of dynamics occurs with every LP you play? If so, I would be surprised. I don’t think this is because you have too much amplifier power or that your speakers are too good. The speakers are just responding to the signal that is put into them. They don’t care how big or small the amplifier is. As to using a single ended tube amplifier with the speakers, that is very much not a good idea at all. I know of no such amplifier that can drive the sound labs satisfactorily , for one reason because they have a dip in impedance at mid frequencies which no SET amplifier could deal with very well. As I think you know, I have measured impedance versus frequency curves for my own 845 PX speakers, which supports what I am claiming. Your 545s will have an updated crossover and treble transformer compared to mine which partially ameliorates the problem (for any tube amp) but probably not completely. Not a problem for a Pass amplifier.
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But reduced bass extension might not be noticeable in your small room. You started this thread by asking for more “realism”. The road to realism does not run through reducing dynamics. The essence of live music vs any home audio system is the incredible dynamics of the live experience.
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I beg to differ with your conclusion and your plan. There’s virtually no such thing as “too dynamic “ in speakers, and ironically one criticism of ESLs by those who dislike them is that they lack dynamics.
what you might consider is a smaller pair of full range Sound Labs or a refurbished and upgraded pair of Quad 57s. Be prepared in that case for reduced bass extension.
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Chung, the Allnic L7000 is an outlier. Very few linestages are transformer coupled. 99% are capacitor coupled, some SS designs are direct coupled, and the Atmasphere MP1 and MP3 are unique in usuing a circlotron output stage. Now I leave to you the question of whether Raul’s opinion holds water or not, because I’ve never even heard a transformer coupled linestage, albeit the Allnic has a good reputation.
Also, if you take Mijostyn’s bald pronouncements on tonearms and their design as only his opinions, you’ll be best off.
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Small ESLs work fine in a small room, so long as you don't expect deep and thunderous bass notes. The M545 is medium size, as Sound Lab speakers go. And really, what does the amplifier have to do with it, except where one might say that a very powerful amplifier is not needed? Yes, it may not be needed, but it is not THE problem.
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Knock down one wall of your listening space.
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New cartridge will thrill you, not because there’s anything wrong with the 17DX but because of our nature as humans.
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