I believe I experienced great PRAT for the first time


Pace, Rhythm and Timing - I've often heard about it, mainly in the context of certain turntables, but I don't think I've really experienced it in a highly satisfactory way until today when I mounted my new Soundsmith Hyperion, an upgrade from my Sussorro. Halfway through side two of Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium, it suddenly dawned on me that there was more going on than improvements in clarity, detail, neutrality, bass punch and other rather specific traits that I've until this point used to refer to what I'm hearing. For the first time in the 30 years I've had this album, I was struck by a sense of flow, ease, relaxation, and my feet were tapping! Yes, this must be it. I connected with the music at a higher level just now, something new to me. Get all the details correct, and the PRAT appears in front of you. So, this was nothing to do with the fact that my turntable runs at the correct speed with low W/F, as it was performing well at that before. I had assumed that's what PRAT meant. Perhaps it means that too, in a speed stability sense.

earthtones

I have  a pretty respectable audio system sometimes tweaks are what really all that's needed, I have the new synergistic purple fuses are much better then any previously But a bit $$ pricy , these Duelund Mundorf Loudspeaker purifiers I assumed  were just another Synergistic type that did little to nothing, I was more-then pleasantly surprised after roughly 4 days the focus and sound staging af image depth got much better , well worth the $350 IMO , I also have 2x4 room panels behind speakers and 1st reflection for$75 each wrapped in cloth and acoustic foam sonically help a live room.  Herbies tube dampers has their tall tender feet That does a nice  job of absorbing vibration without damping too much and under $75 .These all add up to better music 🎶 

This post made me grin. At this advanced stage of my hearing decline, my enjoyment of music is mostly found in the time domain. I can't hear squat above 8k, but when the timing is right, all is good with the world. I too have the wonderful Hyperion, my endgame cartridge, on a highly modified stepping stone TT, a Rega P8. Someday I may move on to a more adjustable arm/table, but for now, the mods are holding their own, at least 'til my money tree can be harvested for the next round of goodies up the food chain. Best wishes enjoying your new sounds. 

As a recent upgrader from Sussurro ES to Hyperion ES I can agree with the comments above.  This cartridge is a surprisingly large improvement in the areas important to my ears.  More tonal information, timbre definition and overall musical information.  Others have mentioned frequency balance and I agree. The later seems to be a great trait of many SoundSmith carts. That and the very low surface noise.

 

love @earthtones system too. The Pass XP-27 is fantastic!

In vinyl reproduction, timing of the music is entirely dependent upon the speed accuracy and constancy of the platter. The platter thereby recreates what the musicians laid down. To make an extreme point, if the platter doesn’t move there’s nothing. I think that’s what Ivor Tiefenbrun had in mind. But you can use the term PRAT any way you want. I certainly am not offended.