End of upgraditis

[walpurgis]

It never completely ends Think of it as a rainbow

True. You'll be needing that pot of gold!

[Bigman80]

Well, the only thing i may consider now is some sort of digital streaming thing but i'm really not too fussed about it. Analogue for me is at a level that i can't afford to improve any further so who knows, maybe in the next black friday i'll pick something interesting but i feel very content and grateful to hear the sound my system now makes

[walpurgis]

Ah. But something with Pass Labs written on it may start nibbling mercilessly at your subconscious and taunt you, along with wooden boxes containing mystical, magical and legendary dual concentric thingies.

[Bigman80]

Ah. But something with Pass Labs written on it may start nibbling mercilessly at your subconscious and taunt you, along with wooden boxes containing mystical, magical and legendary dual concentric thingies.

Hahahaha, No Geoff. Certainly, i'd love to try some PassLabs stuff but the Tannoys are a no go. Just no where to but a big pair, which i'd have to go for.

[Firebottle]

I'm sure you are welcome from each of us Oliver .

But does the journey really end there?

Yes very welcome Oliver. Journey end? Yes I think so.

Oliver and I have had a lot of conversations about ultimate fidelity, by that I mean achieving a standard that can be regarded as world class but without concentrating on individual traits such as depth of bass for instance. Everything matters as anyone who has been or is still on this road will know.

However the one word I think is crucial is 'clarity'. Superb mechanical integrity from the TT allowing the cartridge to do it's job, plus vanishingly low distortion from the electronics is essential.

Some mega expensive designs just don't work in this respect IMO.

[Bigman80]

Yes very welcome Oliver. Journey end? Yes I think so.

Oliver and I have had a lot of conversations about ultimate fidelity, by that I mean achieving a standard that can be regarded as world class but without concentrating on individual traits such as depth of bass for instance. Everything matters as anyone who has been or is still on this road will know.

However the one word I think is crucial is 'clarity'. Superb mechanical integrity from the TT allowing the cartridge to do it's job, plus vanishingly low distortion from the electronics is essential.

Some mega expensive designs just don't work in this respect IMO.

Yes Alan, clarity and transparency have been the focus. Sure, something out there will do something better and on it goes but this has been assembled to my personal taste and it's absolutely doing what I want it to. Could it be better? Sure, but at what cost per incremental improvement, and where would the new compromise be, because as we know, there is always a compromise.

One day, there may be a LDA JFET phonostage and a set of big Tannoys in the rig but as you can see, that's £3k worth of investment. Something I'm not willing or able to do at this time. So, as for the Journeys end? Yes, it is......... For now anyway.

[Jimbo]

Mustn't forget clarity and low distortion are not everything, musicality has to be left intact. So many high end pieces of equipment and digital equipment in particular seem to forget this aspect and they may measure well and have outstanding clarity but are not musically engaging to listen too.

This is a particularly difficult aspect to get right in a system in my experience.

[Firebottle]

Don't know why you keep going on about the LDA JFET phonostage.
I have cured the one big weakness of using a JFET with my Vivant stage.

You need to borrow it

[Firebottle]

This is a particularly difficult aspect to get right in a system in my experience.

Agreed. Measuring well and the level of clarity I'm talking about are rather different.

As well as low distortion 'clarity' includes phase accuracy. Circuit topology and component choice (particularly type) all affect this.
I look at some designs and think 'why have they fitted that, I can think of a far better choice'.

[WESTLOWER]

I have cured the one big weakness of using a JFET with my Vivant stage.

and if I can ask, what is that weakness?