End of upgraditis

[Firebottle]

Adam it is the non linearity of the FET, as with all active devices.

[Bigman80]

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

Lol, I'll borrow it. The LDA JFET was the one phonostage on the day that first and foremost hit me with the thought of "YES!" Then a thought of "this is how it should be done" let's be fair, it's the first time a bit of kit (& the ***) introduced me to downward dynamic range.

To be fair, I haven't heard one since but there was something intrinsically right about how it delivered. I loved it.

I know the Vivant is better now than it was then and I'd like to see how it does in the system (with the right EQ) against the Wizard.



And yes, I will say the Vivants MC input is the cleanest it's sounded in all the time I've heard it. The mod on the FET is clever and very effective.

[smangus]

Glad to hear your well satisfied with your kit at the moment Oliver it's obviously taken a lot of research to get there.

I can't help thinking that the title of this thread is the Audiophile equivalent of the oldest lie spoken when hung over ..

"I'm never going to drink again!" lol

[Bigman80]

Glad to hear your well satisfied with your kit at the moment Oliver it's obviously taken a lot of research to get there.

I can't help thinking that the title of this thread is the Audiophile equivalent of the oldest lie spoken when hung over ..

"I'm never going to drink again!" lol

Hahaha, you might be right, Andy.

[Bigman80]

It's here. Just letting it get to room temperature before I start passing judgment like Roman leader. Thumbs up or down???????????

[Jimbo]

[Bigman80]

Got the system warmed up and had a listen for an hour..............

At first I was a bit concerned that something was missing around the mid - bottom end. I also had this urge to move my chair further back to try and bring the soundstage into focus. Everything felt too big, too open and I couldn't get my bearings on what I was listening to. Almost like the SUT was somehow deconstructing the music into some sort of jumbled chaos. I decided to try a few more tracks and played a few I know very well and again, I just had this nagging feeling that something wasn't right.

I took the Rothwell out and put the Denon HA-500 back in. And then it got very interesting. The Denon all of a sudden sounded a little.... artificial, slightly mechanical and enhanced. That thing I was "missing" was back and I didn't want it back because it wasn't natural

Oh, what's happening here then. The soundstage had shrunk and all of a sudden that deconstructed sound, was infact space. The Rothwell went back in an yes, I now realise the issue.....me. I just wasn't prepared or expecting the massive soundstage the Rothwell provided. There is fluidity and total transparency. It's beautiful. These are only first impressions but I'll follow with more soon.

[walpurgis]

That's exactly how I found the HA-500 compared to my SUT. It didn't suit my ears, that's for sure.

[Jimbo]

Head amps do tend to put you a few seat forward in the mix and as I have found can sound a touch mechanical whereas the SUT probably sounds more natural.

As SUTs tend to put you a few seats back it is probably why you are perceiving the soundstage as you are? They do tend to sound more fluid and organic/natural in my book.

Will be interesting when i bring my head amps and SUT over. You can't have enough of either to try with any given MC cartridge until you find the magic combination.

[Bigman80]

The HA-500 put me a few seat back, the Rothwell felt too close initially. Almost like sitting to close to the TV but I'm getting used to it and found that I prefer it.

The HA-500 Is Excellent but as you say Geoff, it's what suits. My system is as passive as possible so when the HA went back in it was noticeably enhanced.