lewm
Responses from lewm
| Hagerman Trumpet MC (12AX7 Tube Suggestions) Sovtek 12AX7LPS are said to be excellent and available. Nothing wrong with Sylvania, etc. TFK are the best but there are many counterfeits. I’d replace 12AU7 with 12FQ7 if the Trumpet has a 12V filament supply or with 6FQ7 if a 6V filament supply. | |
| What Does It Take To Surpass A SME V? If I wanted a BD TT and if I didn’t want to pay the big bucks for the Helix, I’d opt for a Kuzma too. | |
| Phonostage comparisons Can you better define “groove wall noise”? On your phono stage comparison write-up, it seems to me, if the units were reviewed in the chronological order as presented, that you may have suffered from reviewing the best sounding unit first. That ... | |
| What Does It Take To Surpass A SME V? I think the zenith tolerance is 5 degrees, not 5%, which would be a whopping 18 degrees. You’d notice 18 degrees of error. I have good evidence it’s an important factor in getting the best performance out of any cartridge. I’ve examined many cartr... | |
| What Does It Take To Surpass A SME V? Mijostyn, I’m used to Raul misinterpreting my English. After all, it’s his second language. But what I said or certainly meant to convey is that zenith IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT. Problem is that what we’re talking about is not strictly defined by th... | |
| New Cartridge Rare for someone to make a buy and THEN come here looking for opinions, but you did good. | |
| New Cartridge or New Preamp I would agree that the phono stage built into a mid price, integrated amplifier, is unlikely to be competitive with a good outboard phono stage. But there are many shades of gray in that statement. In addition, many of the very best phono stages c... | |
| What Does It Take To Surpass A SME V? “All of the high end cartridges I have examined are right on the money for VTA and azimuth.” What does that mean? There is another parameter to be accounted for, and that is “zenith”, which we define as rotation or lack thereof of the stylus with ... | |
| Should I buy an SME 30/12A for 15K? Perhaps there is no risk in this case, but several years ago I nearly bought an SME30 from a seller in the UK, off eBay. I smelled a rat after the seller requested payment via bank transfer, and I asked for his address. That turned out to be the a... | |
| What Does It Take To Surpass A SME V? Wise decision not to mate a SOTA with an outboard pod, at least. My guess is any sensible change you make is going to make you happier with the SQ. It’s how we’re built. So don’t fret. | |
| New Audio Technica ART9XA Up and Running..... I too was rather surprised to learn that the XA uses a Shibata stylus shape. Not that I have a firm conviction regarding Shibata SQ but more because I would prefer the line contact. On the other hand, since these terms that describe stylus shape... | |
| What Does It Take To Surpass A SME V? I don’t know about Minus K as a separate device, but the Minus K built into the Helix poses no problems in operating the TT itself, once you learn not to push down too forcefully. But when it does flex due to downforce, it does so very smoothly an... | |
| New Audio Technica ART9XA Up and Running..... XA (0.2mV output) can best be compared to the ART7, not the ART9, on the basis of voltage output. Both the 7 (0.12mV output) and the 9 (0.5mV output) are discontinued, so if you want to replace the 9, you’re best off with the 9XI which has simila... | |
| Question concerning cartridge for Sota Star vacuum turntable I try not to comment on comparison questions, and I’ve never owned a Linn product. Depending on the nature and degree of your hearing loss, and the quality of your new aids, I’d suggest re-retipping the Koetsu and if you did that, I’d go for the b... | |
| What Does It Take To Surpass A SME V? I used to hang around local emporia for audio, until I began to feel guilty about taking up space and not buying gear. Stopped going about 20 years ago, but that didn’t prevent most local businesses from failing. Tokyo is just the opposite; they s... |