Merry Christmas uber. That last album you listed is a TRUE classic my friend. Great music. |
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LOL
The Fiery Furnaces / Remember |
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Butthole Surfers / Rembrandt pussyhorse |
The Fiery Furnaces / Gallowsbird's bark |
+1 Tomic, that's the ticket
Bardo Pond / Curanderos |
Eleanor Friedberger / Last summer |
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Grateful Dead / May 30, 1971 |
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Grateful Dead / Ready or not |
Now that I have some time with the MyMat (from our very own Slaw), I thought I would contribute my opinion on it.
First some details about the table it's on, as well as thoughts on the different mats I've used over the last few years.
Table specifics:
Platter
4" solid 6061 aluminum with quarter inch delrin bolted directly to the top
Stabilizer
450 grams in weight made primarily of aluminum with quartz inside it. The bottom is sound coat material. The top is plugged with Garolite, a cotton composite material
Mat History & Opinion on MY table (How these sound on your table will probably vary):
>MooMat (Cowhide with cork backing) Nice euphoric midrange, heavy bass, top end is rolled off a little. Detail retrieval is lacking
>The Mat (cork) Very airy, Nice top end, Decent detail retrieval, Realistic bass. Midrange is good but something happens that is a little unnatural in the upper midrange... as if it raises it a bit
>Delrin is very good top to bottom but sounds a bit thin throughout. Very good detail retrieval and air
>Garolite discs over delrin. This combination was the best I heard top to bottom on my table prior to Slaw's MyMat. Great detail retrieval and less thin sounding than straight delrin
Slaw's MyMat:
Best I've heard so far! This mat has better detail retrieval than the garolite/delrin combination & is not thin sounding in the least. It cleans up the top end in a way no mat I've used has. It doesn't roll anything off, just cleans it up so you can hear the minute details. The bass & midrange are beautiful & natural. This mat also allows the system to throw a more realistic soundstage... a little wider & deeper for sure, but instrument placement is it's forte. My opinion is that this is due primarily to the fact that his mat truly (& I mean truly) grips the vinyl. Well done Slaw! |
Tara Jane O'neil / Shine new lights |
Castanets / First lights freeze |
Bardo Pond / Various albums |
Took desertshore off in a hurry. I don't recommend the "4 men with beards" release
Nico / The marble index (from "Sundazed" & beautiful) |
Dark was the night
LOL uber, I GOT old as well |
Nicolai Dunger / Sweat her kiss
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uber,
Mood for sure. That stated, I usually have the next selection figured out before the current is finished. Take this one for instance, I had it picked out 2 records ago but forgot about it until now. Can't say that is an isolated incident... I'm getting old.
Flaming Lips / Once upon hopelessness |
6T5-GTO, Sundazed is a great label for sure (selection & sound quality). |
Nice additions reubent, but Chris Hillman of course :-)
Talking Heads / Fear of music |
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spirit +1 on Phish Farmhouse
slaw, the thing I like about the dimple side is it holds the album like a vice grips (without the damage lol)
Thom Yorke / Spiria
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slaw, I agree
Her Space Holiday / Manic expressive |
Leonard Cohen / Various positions |
Bowie / Scary Monsters
uber, Unfortunately my wife would have a cow if I bought another audio component right now. She was fine with the new Vira tonearm, but the Whest signature 3 phono stage was just a bridge to far. (LOL, actually she is very tolerant, just don’t want to push it) |
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More Bowie (One side of each)
>Lodger
>Ziggy
>Hunky Dory
>Alladdin Sane
>Station to station |
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Less actually because the tip is always aligned with the groove. |
I don't have a lot of experience with arms. The ones I've owned are:
Rega 300
Victor UA5045
Polestar (High end Jelco)
This arm betters each of them by a large margin. Not sure how it compares to the current crop of high end arms though. Absolutely grain free with a wide deep soundstage & detail like I've never heard before. I'm pleases with it. |
That is correct. There is still an arc however
(minimized due to the 12" tubes)
as it doesn't have a cam to keep the pivot on a straight line. The cam idea is actually something I've toyed around with prototyping but there is a MULTITUDE of hurdles to overcome in order for it to work properly. Not sure if Thales is a true linear track or not. It just might be.
Genesis / Lamb lies down on Broadway |
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No, seems like a good idea though. The reason for the twin tubes is so the headshell stays aligned to the groove all the wall across. It has a bearing at the business end of each tube so it mimics a "linear track type" arm in that regard. |
slaw & uber,
I think you guys may be overthinking how the Vira arm works. It runs across the album due to VTF like any other arm. It just has 4 bearings (one one each end of the 2 tubes) connected by a "crossbar" at the business end which allows the tip to pivot & hold the cart alignment consistent across the entire album.
More Fiery Furnaces. This was really a creative band, wish they were still making music together. |
Thanks uber
Neko Case / The worse things get... |
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Brian Eno / Tiger mountain |
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Mark Lanegan / Phantom radio |
The Fiery Furnaces / Remember
Slaw, I absolutely love "Bright Flight" |
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Reubent, Happy Birthday!!!
Slaw, Nice record haul
Can / Future Days |
Stereolab / Refried Ectoplasm |
David Byrne & Brian Eno / Everything that happens will happen today |
Tom Waits / Swordfishtrombones |
Sonic Youth / The destroyed room
Slaw, Nice write up on US Audio Mart |
