Analog Preview?

Since my intial post I upgraded my cartridge from a 2M blue to a benz glider (night and day!).

It seems that the glider has minimized the occurence of the pre-echo, but it still occurs on some records.

Cabbiendi, unfortunately I do not have any Bach piano recordings on DMM vinyl but I do have other recordings and I have not heard any pre-echo on these.

Sprog, I agree that pre-echo can be heard even in many basic systems. It's also true, however, that on the same LP it will be more audible, clearer and earlier in a more resolving system.

A sterner test is the ability to hear post-echoes. This is rarer and it's often drowned out by decays and room echoes. When you hear that, your sytem gets promoted a notch! ;)

Point taken Dougdeacon, I was simply responding to Elizabeth's post in which she said that "it does mean your system is very resolving".

My late 70's 80's system was very poor and it could be heard easily with that.

Cabbiendi says it's easy to hear it with headphones only.

I agree - but as Elizabeth noted and to which I disagree - the cart doesn't need to be spot-on at all - my system was extremely basic for many years and I could hear pre-echo easily.

Anyway - not important really, eh :)

Heh. Me too. I first heard it on the fold-up-into-a-suitcase stereo my parents gave me for my 13th birthday. Ah, that was a fine day.

1966. That thing got me through high school, and from the Beatles to Beethoven and Bach. It ruined every record it touched (who knew?) but it played those pre-echoes great! :)

Indeed Dougdeacon, me too. I came up with a theory (at that time) that the pre-echo was the sound of the band in their room, seperate from the recording room, leaking through and getting onto tape from vibration in the walls - before the mic's picked up the band playing in their room (I'd decided that mic's were very slow at responding).

Errr yeah, that was clever.

BUT my theory IS correct, OKAY?