MCRU Phonostage Bake-Off - Huddersfield 06/08/17

[Bigman80]

Was Firebottle there, have not seen any comment from Alan yet?

He was. He's made a long weekend outbid it so probably won't comment until he's back.

I really enjoyed the day and the music (apart from the jazz) was all very good. The reference system was exceptional and it was great to hear all the bits of kit. The NVA phono 2 was quite excellent. I was very impressed.

Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk

[Firebottle]

He's had his day, whatever I say will be shot down in flames, no matter what.

I'm saying nothing apart from everyones take on audio is different, depending on depth of pocket, previous equipment/listening experience, musical ability, taste in music and personal hearing performance.

Perm any 3 from 5 and come up with a consensus. Fat chance.

[mjw]

A friend has just bought a Tron Convergence - I'll hear it next weekend against my usual reference

Just don't expect to be prising apart subtle nuances in presentation, Mark. They're very different in how they go about the core business. After the initial surprise you might just conclude that you either love or hate what the Tron does.
See you Friday.

[Firebottle]

..... no info regarding warm up times, were all items run in fully before hand. Were cartridge loadings adjusted for each phonostage.

All kit was fully warmed up beforehand.

NVA MC loading is 470 ohm, not known beforehand, Firebottle MC loading (on the day) was 100 ohm. Make of that what you will.

EDIT Now I've tried it for myself going from 100 to 470 loading on a 103 makes a huge difference to the sound.

[Floyddroid]

I don't think i have ever heard a Tron phono stage. Are there many dealers in the UK stocking them? Or are they niche products?

Just don't expect to be prising apart subtle nuances in presentation, Mark. They're very different in how they go about the core business. After the initial surprise you might just conclude that you either love or hate what the Tron does.
See you Friday.

[mjw]

I'd venture niche as they're mostly made to order and eye-wateringly expensive as you go up the range - £10k phono amps and the like. The Convergence is very much the introductory product and when an opportunity arose to try one, curiosity got the better of me.

[YNWaN]

Just don't expect to be prising apart subtle nuances in presentation, Mark. They're very different in how they go about the core business. After the initial surprise you might just conclude that you either love or hate what the Tron does.
See you Friday.

I'm just interested in expanding my experience mate - looking forward to it immensely (haven't seen you in ages either) .
_______
As you say, Tron is a very specialised make and the Convergence is very much their cheapest design. Tron is all about reasonably simple valve circuits done with great care and attention to detail - build quality is absolutely fantastic.

[Ammonite Audio]

All kit was fully warmed up beforehand.

NVA MC loading is 470 ohm, not known beforehand, Firebottle MC loading (on the day) was 100 ohm. Make of that what you will.

EDIT Now I've tried it for myself going from 100 to 470 loading on a 103 makes a huge difference to the sound.

I may be completely wrong here, but I thought the optimum loading for a Denon 103 is 47 ohms.

[karma67]

All kit was fully warmed up beforehand.

NVA MC loading is 470 ohm, not known beforehand, Firebottle MC loading (on the day) was 100 ohm. Make of that what you will.

EDIT Now I've tried it for myself going from 100 to 470 loading on a 103 makes a huge difference to the sound.

how hard would it be to make it switchable,my nakamichi has 3 loading options,mind you,you'd struggle to hear the difference.

[Jimbo]

Would have been interesting if this bake off was done blind?