The Pioneer headamp that is being referred to is the H-Z1.
Excellent sounding unit.
BTW, what is the latest " worlds best " mm cart?
Too many pages to catch up :-) |
Dear Downunder: IMHO the latest " world best " could be the Precept PC 440 and maybe the Astatic MF-2500, but this is only an opinion.
How go with your Atlas?
Regards and enjoy the music, R. |
Dear Timeltel: Japanese audio designers are top masters when we are talking on: TTs, tonearms, cartridges, SUTs, digital, headphones and some of them with speakers as TAD ( Pioneer group. )for example.
Accuphase and Luxman ( I owned the C-5000A by Lux. ) are prety decent but not at the America/Europe level on electronics, at least is what I experienced.
I remember very well what were the very top Denon electronics " ever made ", I'm refering to the amplifier POA-8000 and the preamp PR-6000. Both units beautiful made and very good looking ones, I never had the money to buy it, the POA-8000 was nice sounding but the PR-6000 at the MC stage was not up to the task for the price Denon asked. As a line stage was nice as the Denon amp. Both units were expensive ones for those times.
Anyway, I have to return to finish my tests over the new arrival: Astatic MF-2500 that it's showing very good " things ", we will see when finished.
regards and enjoy the music, R. |
Hi Raul
ATLAS is superb cartridge, highly enjoyable. For price it should be :-)
I still very much enjoy EPC mk4 and AT25
Cheers |
|
Dear Lew, Re 'the crap'. It is actually about valuation. The classical economist differentiated between 'use value' and 'exchange value'. The modern economist use only the exchange value (aka 'money') such that 'everything' has its price while this 'principle' evolved to 'everyone' has some price. The problem with our Mexican is that he invented a new kind of value: 'distortion value'. If whatever component has distortion then it should be regarded as crap. More in particular the Japanese crap. Because of his Spanish cultural background he refuse to talk about money. For some reason this is 'not done' among Spanish gentlemans. But his own pre is + +/-$15000 while there is also the 'lyric' Lyra for only $50 000. This may or may not disturbe our professor but it is obvious that the value of his contributions must have something to do with his components 'in use'? I am however not sure if one can deduce crap from crap. That is to say that crap is not a sentence or statement so there is no way to logicaly deduce enything from it. It is more like a 'concept' but then we get involed in Kant and Hegel with something like 'a concept' and its 'opposite', then the opposite of the opposite ,etc., etc. till we end up in a labyrint of cocepts with a way in but no way out. Hegel 'solved' this problem by inventing the 'unity of the opposites' and even 'the unity of the contradictory'. So I don't believe we will reach any consensus about the 'real value' of any component because anybody is entiteld to consider as crap whatever one likes.
Regards, |
Raul, I would enjoy a comparison between the Precept 440 and 550, when you get your 550 stylus.
The Precept 550 on the 220 body is very smooth in the high registers. With a little work with VTA, I was able to get rid of most the " carmel " sound Dgarretson committed on, but it still has an overall warm signature. The soundstage is open. It feels like you could get up and walk around inside the musicians. I have VTA slightly positive, and tracking at the minimal .75 grams.
On more aggressive music I prefer the 220 stylus, as the 550 stylus seems to take the edge off a little. Just personal taste though. It definitely belongs in my top cartridges.
Thanks |
Dear Nandric: You are right and obviously there are craps and craps at different levels.
Subject is something that almost all know: that at the " begening " the SS electronics and especially the full of specs japanese ones were not good enough but this happened with the CD too: was bad at the begining but today is prety decent. Everything improve in some way.
In the other side it is the electronic design skills it self: not all designers are good for everything and we have even today examples about.
Some examples that I already experienced about: M.Levinson IMHO is a top amplifier designer but on preamps has not the same level, this IMHO happen with other top SS desihner as N.Pass whom is really good on amps and only in its latest preamps has the same level but in the past its preamps were not at the same level than his amps designs. If I don't own my ML mpnpblocks the amplifier I choosed will be the Threshold S500e. Other examples are: MBL very good with amps not so good with preamps and the same happen IMHO with almost any designer of amps/preamps. For some reasons the amp designs are better than its counterpart the: phonolinepreamps.
SS electronic design is a real challenge for any designer that wants to achieve levels of excellence. Tube design IMHO is more easy, less complicated: transistor are hard to dominate, FET designs are a little more " friendly " and that's why more SS designs comes with FETs everywhere but for example in MC phono stages the bipolar are the right way to go when in the MM stage the FETs is the way to go.
Now, I use the word crap for the HA-1000 because for today standards is a crap, even in those times the SUT from Denon were superior. Problem was not Denon but the " vintage times " for SS designs in japan.
Nandric, take almost any japanese electronics of those times and its specs are an envy for today electronic audio items but its performance is a " crap ". I know because I bought several of them and in those times I bought electronic japanese because its specs and " lights/leds ".
Fortunatelly the world improves.
regards and enjoy the music, R. |
After rereading what I had written, I realized it sounds sort of negative.
The bass on the Precept 550 is as deep as I have heard on my system, and very tight. Although it leans to the warm side, it still has great detail retrieval.The highs, while sometimes a little soft/ smooth, have a lot of detail and air. |
Regards, Nandric:
Don Juan: "There are certain objects that are permeated with power. There are scores of such objects which are fostered by powerful men with the aid of friendly spirits."
Carlos: "How can one get these types of power, don Juan?"
Don Juan: "That depends on the kind of object you want."
Carlos: "How many kinds are there?"
Don Juan: "Anything can be an object of power. The power of an object depends on its owner, on the kind of man he is. Such a point is, I am sure, incomprehensible to you". *
Cryroed friendly spirits are best.
*Carlos Castaneda: "The Teachings Of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way Of Knowledge".
;) & Peace, |
Dear Professor, I always thought about Don Juan in conjunction with his gun.It is not the one or the other but both together like my Magic Diamond in conjunction with the FR-64S.
With love from Holland, |
Dear Nandric, Don't you think that, for audiophiles, the descriptive "crap" does have a categorical meaning? Once this or that has been designated as "crap", surely none of us would like to touch it. Unless of course, one man's crap is another man's.... ice cream.
Dear Raul, Perhaps I need to reduce my tranquilizer dose; I actually found myself pretty much agreeing with all your generalizations about Japanese gear. You rather crystallized my biases as well as you did your own, with one small difference: I rather like Luxman. Not "the best", but always at least good. All the Accuphase stuff always sounded "gray" to me. HP correctly described Mark Levinson gear, while he also made the reputation of that company and probably made a lot of money for ML himself. As regards transistors in phono stages, I would agree that bipolar (and fully balanced) is the way to go in MC stages, but in MM stages there is no need for ANY transistor, because tubes are sufficiently quiet to do the job. But this is where we have always differed.
Did Dave G comment that the Precept with the 550 stylus was "caramel"- colored? Dang-it! If Dave heard it that way, I probably will too. But no judgement yet from Raul (comparing 440 to 550)? When it does come, remember that I predicted Raul would prefer the 440. There is a kind of cosmic certainty to that. |
Lewm, Dgarretson's wife said, "big and buttery", after only a few hours.
My mistake. |
Acman3, Good to have your update on Precept. At 20 hours my experience with 220/550ML accords with yours, except that at winter temperatures in this old house I need around 1.5gm VTF to get good tracking on Trans-Fi arm. The Precept has an almost preternatural combination of smoothness, detail, timbre and embodiment above the waistline through mids and treble. There is a little abdominal fat below the waist-- not quite as articulated and dynamic LF as Grace F9 with Soundsmith OCL Ruby. |
Yes, she meant "big and buttery" as a compliment. I don't think she was refering to me. |
Regards, Raul: So much negativity concerning a module pulled from a stack of idle gear as casually as taking pliers from a drawer! Amused enough by three days of negativity to have donated a half-hour to a Google search. Beginning to think I didn't know how pleased I should be to have this neglected piece. --- Denon HA-1000 headamp- very nice!
rare and sought after Denon HA-1000 MC/MM Head amplifier
really like the HA-1000
Denon made a couple of high quality MC headamps, the HA 500 and the HA 1000
It's a wonderful piece of gear
Denon HA-1000 is open, airy and refined.
very quiet and clean sounding with good dynamics
will provide some otherwise MIA dynamics and resolution that might have gone unnoticed before
Sound is marvelous
I'd pit a Denon HA 1000 or Mang Rod's tubed MC step up device against any SUT anytime
Head-Amp: Denon HA-1000. Phono-preamps: Brinkmann Fein, Pass Pearl with Xono mc-boards.
produced in small quantities for dedicated enthusiasts. Denon's all out effort.S/N 130 db,bandwidth to 600,000 cps.
Denon´s finest
Flagship headamp from Denon
Denon HA-1000 MC/MM Head amp – Superbly Made.
This is a great unit. However, the AC plug is not polarized, and with the wrong polarity, the sound can be bright and brittle. Also, it will take a week to sound good.
a Denon HA-1000 head amp step up unit fed into a CJ PV-11 tube phono stage preamplifier. I think they call it, "The law of diminishing returns". ---
Lacking your keen ears & ability to make snap judgments, it's probably best to listen to it for a week, will let you know if it's been punishment or reward.
Consider it a public service.
Peace, |
Timeltel - before you put the big S in front of the crap, I have found it can take several months for old gear that has not been used for a while to run in, caps to reform etc. For determination of best polarity, the Goldmund methodology was to measure all equipment, plugged in and turned on, but with interconnects removed. Start at the power amp and work back to source. Simply measure the voltage between signal chassis and ground, reverse the wall plug, remeasure and select the lowest voltage difference for the optimum orientation for each component. You correct each component as you go. As you have stated there is a big difference when all components have been optimised for polarity. I prefer to change the transformer inputs around inside the component, so that the mains fuse remains in the phase line. |
Raul re Japanese solid state design - considering the boards for laser guided missiles come out of Japan, I would assume they have some capability in designing competent electronics. There have been many high end SS products built in Japan that have never been seen in the west. Examples are the Final Audio Grangust preamplifier, US25,000 in the early eighties, the Audio Devices AD-C1 preamp US$31,000 in the late eighties. There are many others, so we cannot really exclude these folk from the pantheons of high end audio design from what we have seen distributed outside of that country. |
Dear Lew, As you can see from Professor's quotations your second thought seems te be right: ''one man's crap is another man's ice cream''. BTW I was always sceptic about all those 'categorical meanings' by Kant.
Regards, |
Kant! Oy! Dover, Have you, or has anyone here, ever heard the Pioneer Exclusive line of amplifiers? I was for a long time especially tempted by their model 5A (I think it was) which affords balanced operation. Hifido occasionally has a pair to sell but for rather big bucks. The thing one has to keep in mind is that any and all such vintage amplifiers (and preamplifiers) are just as much in need of servicing, to include replacement of electrolytic capacitors, as is any vintage direct-drive turntable. Maybe even moreso. It would be unfair to judge their performance without careful attention to functionality of their separate components. Further, there are better transistors available these days, which accounts also for the relative parity between solid state and tubes, these days. Although I hasten to add that I still prefer (my) tubes. |
Dear Acman3: Somethings are weird with the Precept's. In one hand my Precept 440 is dressed with the original Shibata stylus and is nothing least than " letal " top to bottom showing a music natural flavor not in the warm side ( only when the recording was recorded that way ) not on the bright one, Fleib posted that for him the shibata stylus tend to smooth the high frequencies but in my 440 that does not showed.
In the other side my experiences with the AT Micro Line stylus assembly were a very open sound.
I posted that the Prcept was for me one of the more difficult cartridges to set up due that at almost any set up ( VTA/SRA/VTF ) " likes " to sound good. I'm almost sure that changing those parameters ( VTA/VTF ) you will find out the Precept " magic " over what the cartridge is already showing you: that warm has to disappear or at least goes lo lower that does not " disturb " in any way.
As you and Dgarretson posted the Precept is a top real winner and IMHO is a nice discovery for you.
There are not many information about the Precept cartridge line. Right now I bought five different original stylus shape for the Precept 220/440: the E origanl version, the XE original version, the Shibata original version , the LC original version and the 550ML. I have on hand only the E and Shibata versions and waiting for the other ones.
Btw, ++++ " I prefer the 220 stylus, as the 550 stylus seems to take the edge off a little. " ++++ this was not what I experienced with the 220 stylus and the 440 one, the 440 does not lost not a single " hair " out there.
Now, perhaps and other issue than the ML550 set up maybe it needs more playback hours along the fine tunning set up.
Regards and enjoy the music, R |
Dear Lewm: Maybe I did not explain very well about Luxman. I think that I don't posted I dislike Luxman because I owned the Phonolinestage C-5000-A that was a prety decent unit for its time and better a lot better than my Pioneer SA-9800 or the SPEC one.
Luxman was a small electronic manufacturer ( samll in comparison with Yamaha, Sansui, Hitachi or the like. ) but very dedicated. The 5000-A ( that now " lives " in a fried's home. ) was really nice unit but IMHO not up to my today standards.
Luxman showed that dedicated job in that C-5000-A that handling LOMC cartridges using external plug-in toroidal SUT's, one for 40ohms and one for 3ohms. All the plug-in male and female connectors were gold plated. You can see here the C-5000-A:
http://www.hifido.co.jp/KWC-5000A/G1/E/10-10/C11-58695-00988-00/
and here and after market Luxman SUT's where those 8020 and 8030 transformers were the ones used in the C-5000-A:
http://www.thevintageknob.org/luxman-AD8000.html
In the other way: could be that I prefer the 440 over 550ML?, could be I have to find out.
Regards and enjoy the music, R. |
Btw, this is the Pioneer SA-9800 that I was owned and now reside in a friend's place that unfortunately pass away:
http://www.thevintageknob.org/pioneer-SA-9800.html
As the Luxman C5000-A the Pioneer was a very good looking unit. The C5000-A looks better than in the pictures I linked, its delicate shiny champagne color in the face plate is gorgeous as the wood veener in darker shide than in the pictures.
R. |
Dear Dover: You are right, but that was not my intention, of course that are a lot of great electronic japanese designers in almost any electronic speciality.
Now, on the audio niche and as you pointed out several very expensive designs never touched America/Europe There are many examples as some amplifiers from Accuphase P-500 ( 600K Yens.), Kyocera B-910 ( 350K Yens. ), Linear Technology M-152 ( 750K Yens. ), Marants Sm1000 ( 950K Yens. ), Satin MA-1S ( 1200K Yens. ), Technics A1 ( 1000K Yens. ) .
All those SS designs from the early 80's. From those years came the Onkyo Integra M-510 ( 850K Yens. ) that I heard in USA and México and sincerely I have nothing important to remember about other that was impressive to look it.
Now, on Japan were or are? some manufacturers that are just expensive, everything they build are expensive. Final or Accuphase or Ruffel or Audio Note or Etone are good examples on it. Many times the quality performance level on those manufacturers are way lower than its prices , the mark on those japanese manufacturers has a name: expensive " per se ". Figure it, Etone ( tubes. ) manufactured an amp with a price on those old times of: 3900K Yens!! Do you know or wonder which was the model?, nothing but: Excellent, this was the name.
I don't heard yet SS latest/today japanese electronics but I'm sure are way better than in the past and maybe competitive with today " new " audio/music reference performance levels.
Regards and enjoy the music, R. |
Raul, I will continue to listen and break in the Precept. We can discuss once you get your 550ml stylus and you hear it. I agree, it is surprising.
To my ears the 220 and 550 have the same general sound, but would never be confused with each other. The 220 is open and a little course, while the 550 is smooooooth and detailed.
I don't like my Clash to sound smooth! |
Raul, I just modified a Akai RS180 to fit the Precept. The RS180 is the same as the Atn14, which has a Shibata tip. Closest I can get to a 440 stylus without modifying an Ant 20ss or 152 stylus, which I am not going to do. I will let you know what I think. |
Raul, I particularly am interested in the Luxman tube gear. They made an OTL that looks very interesting, among many other efforts of theirs from the 70s. I still own a (solid state) Luxman T110 tuner that I bought new in the 70s. It is not quite as nice sounding as my old Marantz 10B once was, but very good nevertheless. The T110 has very low THD, very good selectivity and sensitivity. |
Dear Acman3: +++++ " Closest I can get to a 440 .." ++++, yes but remember the 440 beryllium cantilever.
+++ " I agree, it is surprising... " ++++, good.
I'm just waiting for the stylus replacements. I acn't wait!. In the mean time I'm ejoying another " surprising " champ the: Astatic MF-2500.
These latest cartridges has IMHO a lot of merit because after all these years full of great MM/MI experiences to found out these kind of " surprising " items is something not to exclaim:WOW but to stay: speechless/mouth-closed!
regards and enjoy the music, R. |
Dear Raul, Do you ever go back to one of your earlier "reference" cartridges, just to get some idea where you are in your odyssey? (Surely, Odysseus himself did not chart so arduous a course as yours through a sea of cartridges.) I guess you do do that, since there is periodic mention of the Ortofon MC2000. But do you refer back occasionally to the Acutex M320 or the AT20SS or the Empire D4000, from time to time? |
Dear Raul, I would appreciate if you go back to your Audio-Technica AT-180ML and AT-170ML some day. My 170ML from Japan proved to be faulty eventually, so I can´t test it unfortunately. I have had no luck at all with vintage ATs so far, the sibilant one is still at NWA in the UK...
|
Hi Aceman3, Does an ATN15/20 stylus have to be modified to fit Precept body? I thought it was the other way around. I haven't gotten to it yet. Those 220 bodies seem to be dried up - as in no longer available.
Hi Raul, I can't figure out where the shibata is in the Precept line. As far as I can tell, the line consisted of: PCN-100E, 110E, 220XE, 330LCU, 440LC, 550ML. The 220 should be a .2 x .7 elliptical and the 440 a line contact. Shibata was designated with an S. These designations were consistent throughout the years, even today. Regards, |
Fleib, the 15/20 stylus have to be shortened to fit. The 155lc and 152 snap in square instead of round.
The Akai RS180 does not sound right to me, but I will play with it a little more. |
Dear Lewm: I try to do it, not often as I would like because of time and obviously not with all those cartridges. I think even that's is very important is almost imposible to do it because the day has only 24 hours!. So, sometimes I have to trust in my memory, there is no choice.
Regards and enjoy the music, R. |
Dear Fleib: According with the info I have and that Griffithds confirm that came fromAT/Precepr directly the PC440 comes with nude Shibata stylus shape and the PC220 with 0.2x0.7 elliptical.
In all Precept cartrdige models the model designation ( that serve as stylus designation too. ) comes in the cartridge top plate. The 440 with Shibata stylus you can read PC440 but the one with LC stylus you can read 440LC and the 220 with XE stylus you can read 220XE and the 220 E you can read 220. My only doubt is to know which is the difference between the XE and E stylus maybe a refinement on the elliptical on one of them. Btw, that " consistent " fact inn the past about stylus designation on AT cartridges IMHO was broken with the Precept 440 with shibata stylus and not because Griffithds or me said but that's what is specified in the Precept cartridge specifications chart.
As Empire, Stanton, AKG and other MM/MI manufacturers AT never been the most " user friendly " on that subject and the Precept line is no exception.
Thanks for bring here that 330LCU model that at least for me was unknow model. Btw, where do you find out that Precept nomenclature? and your Precept experiences will be appreciated when you have it.
As Acman posted the 20SS does not fits the Precept cartridge body.
Regards and enjoy the music, R. |
Raul, Believe me, I am amazed at the amount of listening and judging that you are able to do. My own "listening day" is about 2 hours long, if I am very lucky, except sometimes on weekends. During the week nights, my wife is usually wanting to get some sleep just when I am revving up for some high power listening (typically around 10:30; I am a night owl). Since the listening room is right under our bedroom, this is a problem. I am even thinking of moving the system to our basement, or perhaps setting up a second system in the basement. (The Beveridge 2SWs are sitting there, and if only Bill Thalmann would work on their direct-drive amplifiers, I would have a basement system.) |
Audiokarma Human hearing beats the Fourier uncertainty principal. |
Correction Canuck audio mart Human hearing beats the Fourier uncertainty principle. |
Hi Raul, If the owners sheet for the PC440LC says it's shibata, then I guess it is. As you know, over the years AT has made about a million different models. It seems like extra letter designations can mean slightly different things, depending on the rest of the series. Normally, E is elliptical, but it can be either .3 x .7 or .4 x .7, and either bonded or nude. I think the only time a .2 x .7 had only an E was when there was no other E in the series. The PC-220XE has the X in front of the stylus designation and means .2, probably also a tapered cantilever. I don't know about the other Precept E's. I also don't know much about the 330LCU, I assumed it was line contact. The only other "U" I found seems to designate a carbon fiber cantilever M12E/U and 3482 H/U P-mount. I doubt if that's it. AT only used carbon fiber on a few inexpensive carts, AFAIK. Sometimes AT deviated from normal designations. If you examine the stylus under a microscope, the shibata should look like a line contact, but have different facets on the front and back sides.
All this talk about fitment made me open the 550ML stylus. It has a round plug just like the 15/20 series. It now sits on my 15SS body, ready to go. It required extensive plastic trim and I caution everyone to be careful. The plastic is thick on the back and hard to trim. About 2mm had to be trimmed off the back and back of the sides to get past the rear fatter part of the AT15. Then you have to trim the sides down like the 15SS sides. The plugs seem identical with respect to cantilever angle, so there should be no problem. I'll let you know.
Regards, |
Hello again, Okay I found verification of your info, even if you don't actually have the owners sheet. It's not that I doubt what you're saying, sometimes I misunderstand.
Half way down this page is a copy of the PC440 owners sheet. The 440 has a nude shibata and the 220, a nude .2 x .7. Unfortunately there is no info about inductance and impedance. The info I already posted about electrical parameters came from a user/owner on Karma. http://www.tapeheads.net/showthread.php?t=8831
Regards, |
Fleib,
I believe the U on AT cartridges means "P" mount. That also might be why most of us has never heard to that model. Regards, Don |
Dear harold-no-the-barrel: Believe me, I wish to do it and I will but I don't know when. I have in line more than 20+ LOMC, 12+ MM/MI and 3-4 SUTs that I need to test and the SUTs to modify. All these items are promising, we will see.
I think that Griffithds could help you or Dgob, both own that AT cartridge.
Sorry that I can't help you as soon you need it.
regards and enjoy the music, R. |
Dear friends: Finally arrived my Precept PC440LC ( cartridge. ) and the Precept stylus replacements: 220XE and 550ML.
I just started the shoot out between the 440, 440LC and 550ML, I think I will involve the 20SS too.
Maybe tomorrow I can have a pre-view about. Very promising cartridges.
Regards and enjoy the music, R. |
Dear friends: Well, I think now can give my opinion through my shoot out experiences with the Precept's: PC440 ( Shibata stylus ), PC440LC ( Line Contact. ) and PC550ML ( AT Micro Line, patented stylus shape. ).
Is there a clear winner? could it change this veredict through more playback time?. Yes, there is a clear winner and NO I don't think my opinion could change over time.
What means clear winner here?: not just a preference but an opinion with foundations on facts. I have to say that ant of these three PC440s could be a winner if you don't have the other " brothers " for comparison purpose.
I will not make the usual cartridge performance level characteristics that in some ways I already did it when I posted that the PC440 belong to that NCG .
The PC440 Shibata version is extraordinary till you hear the LC one and it is not that loose that " extraordinary " performance level but that the LC version is even greater performer all over the frequency range and as so often happen mainly at both frequency extremes. Against the LC, as Fleib posted, the Shibata version is " limited " at high frequencies with out all the endless high frequency performance that gives the LC and it is not only that " endless " characteristic but comes along tremendous palpability definition that normaly belongs to live music.
Both versions put you nearer to the music the real music with the tone color assoiated with live instruments not only because that natural coloration but with all the agresiveness of live music. These cartridge performance characteristics are very elusive ones and these cartridges share it.
The ML version belongs in between nearer the LC high frequency performance and overall nearer this LC than the Shibata one. The Shibata presentation is diferent with less " precense ", even the ML can't match the presence and palpability that shows the LC.
If you hear the ML everything is there but it does not " comunicate " with the same " rythmum ", presence, continuity and flow that the LC do it.
The LC handle of the fundamentals and more important of the harmonics of those fundamentals are so right, precise and pristine with the right harmonics SPL that the ML just can't match, even seems to me that the ML harmonics SPL is the real limitation with this version along a so fast decay time that it does not gives time to the " music harmonics " can be developed and sometimes its sound is a little on the " dry " side. Don't misunderstood the ML is great performer but against the LC not only the ML version falls short but IMHO almost any cartridge out there.
Music means many things and between them rythmum IMHO could be the most important atribute in a music sound performance and the LC has an amazing and marvelous feel of rythmum matched for almost no cartridge I know. Along that rythmum I think that continuity/flow is another high desired cartridge characteristic and here too the LC makes a difference against not only its brothers but against the cartridge you can name it.
All these characteristics are remarkable hearing stand alone instruments as piano or guitar and hearing complex symphonic works full of dynamics.
I just can't find out an error or mistake in the LC version, it works almost perfect. I know that you already heard those same words from me in other ocasions, today the meaning is a step further.
Something that I know it helps a lot to the LC version against the Shibata and ML ones is that these ones are not very good trackers something that was a surprise because a similar cartridge as the AT20SS is very good one.
In this regards the LC version is the best AT/Signet tracker ever, just fabulous. This is a very important advantage and part of that " continuity/flow " ( easy flow ) characteristic on the LC version that neither the ML or the Shibata shares or any other AT/Signet cartridge. The LC is easily the best ever AT design by a wide margin.
Do you want to have 16 orgasms in a row?, well you need to listen the Precept PC440 LC through the Telarc original version on the 1812 overture trhough those canon shots: the experience is almost non-narrative!!. This music experience through an audio home system IMHO is second to none, period.
Yes, the LC is the one. I found out at random on ebay and paid for it over 480.00 and I'm willing to pay 10K+ for any cartridge that can beat it.
Something that's not very clear for me is: why AT designed the 550ML cartridge that in theory is a better design than the PC440's that can't outperform it?. The trend design in AT cartridges is that the top/higher model outperform the next down model, certainly not with the Precept cartridge line.
Btw, all three versions were tested mounted in the JVC tonearm, my propietary headshell design, running at 1.25grs and loaded at 100K with additional 350pf and positive VTA/SRA. I did not any change on VTA/SRA even that the LC version rides lower due to a different cantilever angle that its brothers.
Well, I'm happy to own these three Precept top of the line versions and I have to say that I can live for ever with either but if you put a little presure on me there is no doubt that the LC is nearer my heart and brain. WHAT KIND OF EXPERIENCE !!!!!
Regards and enjoy the music, R. |
"16 orgasms in a row"!!! You could have stopped there. But it might kill me. |
Raul you have done a marvelous job and a good service to all members of this thread. Folks let us start the search engine,"PRECEPT PC440LC" where are you. |
Dear lew, No need to worry.This is called 'licencia poetica' but of the Mexican kind. |
Dear Nandric, Sixteen orgasms in a row is not poetry, but you do need a license for it.
Dear Raul et al, You may recall my dire prediction that Raul would prefer the original 440 to the 550, after many of us had rushed to buy the few remaining 550s. I am gratified to learn that the 550 is in fact up to snuff and even beyond the original 440. OK, so there is one other that may be superior; I can live with that. There only so many orgasms left in me. |
Raul thanks for the fine review. Now the hunt is on and from what ive experienced timing is going to have to be on to get lucky and have a shot at this new flavor of the month. |
Dear Audpulse: For the last 2-3 years I saw Precept cartridges on ebay almost daily and this tell me that there are a lot of Precept's out there that will appear sooner we can think.
Because I was not interested on the Precept I really never took a serious look at the specific models. In the last 2-3 months mine was the only LC I seen but certainly is not the only sample out there.
Btw, the 50o. Anniversary AT cartridge arrived and even that the " next " cartridge in the waiting row is the Astatic 2500 I will test first this current and latest MM AT promising cartridge. I have to say that looks wonderful.
Regards and enjoy the music, R. |
****Music means many things and between them rythmum IMHO could be the most important atribute in a music sound performance****
Precisely the basis for many of my comments/arguments in the past. I would only qualify it by saying that it IS the most important attribute; if we are talking about music and not just it's tonality. It is relatively easy to discuss subtleties and differences in tonal color and timbre, soundstaging, etc. Rhythmic (dynamic) nuance is, IMO, the "missing (and most important) link" in audio discussions. Glad to see a strong reference to this.
**and the LC has an amazing and marvelous feel of rythmum matched for almost no cartridge I know.****
If this is true (I don't doubt it) then I really am sorry I did not grab one of these. For whatever it may be worth, as far as getting this attribute closest to correct (in my tonearm) is concerned, my ranking of all the MM cartridges that I own that have been discussed in this thread is:
Acutex 420 STR Empire 4000Diii Andante P76 (unfortunately, it is also way too far off the mark tonally) Acutex 412 STR AT AT-ML170OCC Azden YMP50VL
Regards. |