Analog Upgrade itch

OK @eddiechanghk!  This is going to get juicy! 

Expect lots of different opinions on the superiority of the MM+SUT versus the dedicated MM/MC phono pre.  My experience with both is that it depends on the system.  When selecting a high quality SUT you must know the output and the internal resistance of your cart so they are well matched. On the other hand a properly designed phono pre can provide all the gain required for the best LOMC/MI cartridges without adding noise and avoids the need for additional cabling. 

A friend of mine really values the use of the MM section on his vintage Marantz 7C preamp.  He uses a SUT for his Lyra Atlas.  Sounds great.  The same SUT in my system, using the MM input on my PASS Labs XP-27 with an Lyra Etna wasnt as good as going straight into the MC settings. 

Hope this helps. 

@eddiechanghk 

Pardon for my ignorance , does a SUT+ MM phono plays better than direct to a MC phono and what is the sonic improvement, generally can provide from a SUT ?

Really depends on the quality of the particular units - you cant generalise.

The Allnic H7000 actually has a SUT built in.

Be aware there are 2 versions of the H7000 phono -

1 version with SUT plus active MC step up ( this would give you the choice of SUT vs active

another version with 2 SUT MC inputs.

You need to check with the dealer which version he is recommending.

The Feickert is a very good turntable, but if you are going for a 4point then I would get the Kuzma R. The Feickert's are quite often paired with Kuzma arms and should work well if you are keen on the Feickert. Soundwise I still prefer Kuzma R.

@dover thanks for the explanation. I didn’t aware the 2 options from Allnic ! That adds points to Allnic over Kondo. 
 

do you (or any seasoned memeber) have compared Kondo GE1 vs Allnic ? How do they differ sonically ? 

cheers

Hello,

@eddiechanghk 

I am Marcus, Co-Founder of Seismion. I have seen our active vibration isolators being mentioned here in this thread, so I would like to reply to some questions.

Yes, we are a new company from Hannover in Germany, we have developed in the past 4 years active vibration isolators, a similar category like Herzan, TableStable etc.

Recenty we started to sell our isolators also to audiophile customers, and thankfully we got very positive reviews (there is a thread in WBF)

Vibration isolation is an important factor for many kinds of HiFi equipment which are sensitive to mechanical disturbance (especially turntables, tube amplifiers, but actually a lot of other parts, even cables).

We have made a short video about the influence of vibration isolation for turntables:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPd7Ft-vuZY

A good measure to compare the performance of isolators is the resonance frequency, because isolation starts only above that frequency. Our active vibration isolators have a resonance of about 1 Hz, which is way lower than other types of isolators, like the mentioned pneumatic isolators (Vibraplane etc). These devices typically start isolation around 3 Hz or even higher.

There are actually a lot of vibration sources in the low frequency range 1-5 Hz, like foot fall sound, building vibrations, so active isolators have a clear advantage here. And of course, also the isolation itself is better at any given (low) frequency compared to the passive isolators. You can find a bit more details on this, and comparison of passive and active on our website:

https://seismion.com/technology/

Speaking about passive and active: I totally agree to the reply of @thekong : all pneumatic isolators should be in fact classified as passive, and 'active' here only refers to automatic levelling (which does not contribute to vibration isolation). Active isolators like our Seismion, Herzan etc. typically have a feedback loop consisting of sensors, a control, and actuators, which makes them a totally different class.

We are looking for a close discussion with the audiophile community, since we want to offer a product that is perfectly tailored to your needs. As written above, most other active isolation products are designed for industrial applications, and might not perfectly fit, both from the function and from the design.

By the way, we are now able to serve any orders with short notice :)

Looking forward to a fruitful discussion!
Marcus

I just installed the Seismion platform under my field coil speaker power supply. Huge difference! Once you hear what it does, you can't go back.

Keep in mind that this is under a solid state (not tube) power supply for the electromagnets in 4 drivers, so it's not even directly in the signal path. And, I already had the power supply sitting on a Taiko Daiza panzerholtz base.