Location: Dagenham Essex
Posts: 11,215
I'm Allen.
The more I listen to the AT33ptg/II the more I reckon its seriously good vfm. It's has extremely low levels of surface noise but super, super detailed. I can easily hear backing vocals and subtle levels of detail in some ways better than the Delos.
For example I'm now playing 'Craig David's - Slicker Than You're Average' and I'm hearing backing vocals and other various instruments I can honestly say I've never noticed, and I'm not even trying?
I've got it loaded at 100 ohms and on max gain at 66dB as it's half the output of the Lyra at 0.3mv. It must have great synergy with the Sl1200.
This combo at less than £3k, £2.5k for tt and £435 for cart is seriously, seriously good and not just another Technics. For example, on my old SL1210mk5g if you tapped the plinth you would get feedback through the speakers but not here, it's totally dead.
I would go as far to say that this is better than any deck I've heard around this money and possibly beyond. High praise indeed. It just makes music without worrying about belts, springs etc and I'm using in totally stock form, even the basic RCA interconnects and YES it's totally speed stable.
Bugger! I can hear even more stuff I've never noticed before, I'll go and bang my head against a wall now.
Just wait for the new one now......
Last edited by allthingsanalogue; 21-11-2017 at 09:48.
My System:
Turntable - Linn Sondek LP12, Kore, Lingo 4, Roksan NIMA, Lyra Delos Cartridge, Roksan HDC-03 arm lead, Trampolin 2 base, Tiger Paw Vulcan, Denon DCD-A110 Cd player, Tag Mclaren DAC20 Digital to Analogue Converter, SPM Interconnects, Nordost Red Dawn Leif Speaker cable, Spendor S3/5R2 Target R1 speaker Stands, Atacama ECO 60/40 hifi racks, Sennheiser HD565 Ovation headphones
Lol - what did I tell you at the beginning of this journey, about once you 'tune into' what the Technics does well...? Just try listening to your Linn now!
The current AT-33PTG (and its predecessor) are indeed excellent cartridges, and as you say veritable 'high-end giant killers', simply because they do the filigree detailing and 'sparkly highs', synonymous with the very best MCs, and also like those sound very refined, but at a much lower price (simply because of economies of scale). I do rate them.
However, that said, AT cartridges, in general, aren't really my thing. It's just personal taste. I find them a little too 'clean' sounding, a touch bright (not in an immediately obvious sense, but that they've been voiced to accentuate the mids and highs), and lean in the bass. As a result, in the wrong system, they can come across as a little too 'hi-fi sounding', and lack 'soul' [coincidentally, I find Lyras the same in that respect].
It's simply the AT 'house sound', as I've owned and heard loads of them over the years, and although individually different, all exhibit those core traits. Denon cartridges [and indeed all others] also have their 'house sound' (and balance of virtues), and it's quite different from that of ATs...
If I were to pop my DL-S1 onto the end of your arm, and let you compare it directly with your AT, you'd hear "exactly* where I was coming from. However, worry not about that just now, and enjoy what you have, which you're clearly doing. In the meantime, I hope that your replacement T/T arrives ASAP, and this tme functions faultlessly
Marco.
Main System
Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & reg mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat/Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight/Isonoe feet & boots/Ortofon RS-212D/Denon DL-103GL in Denon PCL-300 headshell with Funk Firm Houdini/Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.
Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp/Denon AU-310 SUT.
Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.
CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.
Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new, by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.
Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. LDR Stereo Coffee. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.
Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.
Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.
Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.
Protect your HUMAN RIGHTS and REFUSE ANY *MANDATORY* VACCINE FOR COVID-19!
Also **SAY NO** to unjust 'vaccine passports' or certificates, which are totally incompatible with a FREE society!!!
SL100G feet.
A totally different beast to the feet of old. 283g each!
They are machined from metal, not magnetic so not steel but too heavy for aluminium so maybe brass?
My System:
Turntable - Linn Sondek LP12, Kore, Lingo 4, Roksan NIMA, Lyra Delos Cartridge, Roksan HDC-03 arm lead, Trampolin 2 base, Tiger Paw Vulcan, Denon DCD-A110 Cd player, Tag Mclaren DAC20 Digital to Analogue Converter, SPM Interconnects, Nordost Red Dawn Leif Speaker cable, Spendor S3/5R2 Target R1 speaker Stands, Atacama ECO 60/40 hifi racks, Sennheiser HD565 Ovation headphones
Thanks Marco.
Hoping it will be here soon. I like the clean sound if the AT cart and can only imagine it's going to get better and better.
Direct drive ceratinly has advantges, I notice fast transinents in the music tend to better presented and this allows very fine details to be heard.
Keep you posted, my 2nd deck is being collected today.
My System:
Turntable - Linn Sondek LP12, Kore, Lingo 4, Roksan NIMA, Lyra Delos Cartridge, Roksan HDC-03 arm lead, Trampolin 2 base, Tiger Paw Vulcan, Denon DCD-A110 Cd player, Tag Mclaren DAC20 Digital to Analogue Converter, SPM Interconnects, Nordost Red Dawn Leif Speaker cable, Spendor S3/5R2 Target R1 speaker Stands, Atacama ECO 60/40 hifi racks, Sennheiser HD565 Ovation headphones
New amp here, perfect. Not even warm.
My System:
Turntable - Linn Sondek LP12, Kore, Lingo 4, Roksan NIMA, Lyra Delos Cartridge, Roksan HDC-03 arm lead, Trampolin 2 base, Tiger Paw Vulcan, Denon DCD-A110 Cd player, Tag Mclaren DAC20 Digital to Analogue Converter, SPM Interconnects, Nordost Red Dawn Leif Speaker cable, Spendor S3/5R2 Target R1 speaker Stands, Atacama ECO 60/40 hifi racks, Sennheiser HD565 Ovation headphones
What amp did you get Andrew . I'm just being too lazy to look back this thread
Regards
Brian
Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment . (Rumi )
Korus Computer Audio music server
JustBoom DAC . HRT Musicstreamer 2
Amplifier : Sony TA FB740R
Speakers : Tannoy 637
Interconnects : MS Audio / Klotz MC5000 .
Speaker cables : Western Electric 16AG
My System:
Turntable - Linn Sondek LP12, Kore, Lingo 4, Roksan NIMA, Lyra Delos Cartridge, Roksan HDC-03 arm lead, Trampolin 2 base, Tiger Paw Vulcan, Denon DCD-A110 Cd player, Tag Mclaren DAC20 Digital to Analogue Converter, SPM Interconnects, Nordost Red Dawn Leif Speaker cable, Spendor S3/5R2 Target R1 speaker Stands, Atacama ECO 60/40 hifi racks, Sennheiser HD565 Ovation headphones
Looks terrible Andrew , I think you should put it back in its box and send it straight to me and I'll put it on the bottom rung of my rack
Absolutely gorgeous mate , and a suitable partner for the turntable which I hope you get sorted soon
Regards
Brian
Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment . (Rumi )
Korus Computer Audio music server
JustBoom DAC . HRT Musicstreamer 2
Amplifier : Sony TA FB740R
Speakers : Tannoy 637
Interconnects : MS Audio / Klotz MC5000 .
Speaker cables : Western Electric 16AG
My System:
Turntable - Linn Sondek LP12, Kore, Lingo 4, Roksan NIMA, Lyra Delos Cartridge, Roksan HDC-03 arm lead, Trampolin 2 base, Tiger Paw Vulcan, Denon DCD-A110 Cd player, Tag Mclaren DAC20 Digital to Analogue Converter, SPM Interconnects, Nordost Red Dawn Leif Speaker cable, Spendor S3/5R2 Target R1 speaker Stands, Atacama ECO 60/40 hifi racks, Sennheiser HD565 Ovation headphones