Frustration

[Fulci]

So, after months soughting after, lusting for an SAE 1000E after all the rave reviews, I finally took the jump, skipped the E and bought a 1000LT. It placed it in my Sony PS-X6, connected the Brio-R and... was not amazed. It sounds good but not spectacular. It's still running in, mind you. I listened to few records and it does sound nice, just not what I was expecting. I replaced with my Acutex M312 III STR and it just sounded better, a smaller soundstage but better overall, more powerful, punchier, as you'd expect from an MM. This started 2 days ago.

So, I just sold my old Audiolab 8000A. It was recapped with Elna Silmic II and sounds lovely, it has an incredible mid-range, so sweet. Thought the overall amp is not as good as the Brio-R, it's just not that inferior. The recap really helped it. The phono stage is also very good, though not as good as the one in the Brio-R. So, today I tried it out one last time to check if everything was functioning properly, and to give one last listen as a last farewell. I connected the turntable to the MM input, as you normally do with a HOMC and it sounded dull, not what's to be expected from such a great cart like the SAE. I was wondering if I got a bad one, if I was the unlucky one, or if it's incompatible with my tonearm perhaps.

So, just for the fun, I tried it with the MC input and :D !!! OMG!!! This sounds incredible! Never thought the Audiolab could sound this good, never thought the phono stage could be this great, playing from cold, just turned on after months unplugged. This cart is amazing! It just plays music! All the punch, all the detail, all the soundstage, those mids... goosebumps. I was playing PF's The Great Gig in the Sky from DSOTM at that moment and it was just incredible...

The problem is, the Audiolab is going to another country tomorrow so, no more MC phono stage. I'm out of funds for a new stage right now... What do you recommend?

I think I prefer the Accutex with the Brio-R for now. or maybe I'm being dramatic, haven't given much time with the SAE yet but I guess the 4mv from the MM are much more compatible with the Brio-R. I'll give a few more spins next week, today the wife was not in a very musical day... I'm waiting for a Sumiko Headshell to give it a bit more weight and better wiring too, but I'm affraid I'll need a new phono stage.

Has anyone else tried an HOMC with the Brio-R too?

[twotone]

I've a SAE 1000LT and it's the best cart I've heard in my system by a mile, I've always used it on a MM phono stage though.

Just the other day though I received my modded cambridge phono stage from Jez Arkless and that amp takes the cart into a completely different place, wonderful just wonderful.

I might actually get in touch with Jez and ask him if I can use the MC section of the amp with the SAE as it's just a matter of cutting a link or soldering said link and using a pair of supplied plugs.

Hmmm, anyone know?

[Fulci]

Think I'll save up for a new phono stage if I'm not satisfied with the performance of the Brio-R with the SAE in the next couple of weeks. I'll let it run in first. It could be just first impressions too. If I ever find a Whest Two very cheap I think I'll try and get it. Or an iFi or a Lehmann or Graham Slee or whatever... Don't no, I'll have to think and try a little more.

[Arkless Electronics]

I've a SAE 1000LT and it's the best cart I've heard in my system by a mile, I've always used it on a MM phono stage though.

Just the other day though I received my modded cambridge phono stage from Jez Arkless and that amp takes the cart into a completely different place, wonderful just wonderful.

I might actually get in touch with Jez and ask him if I can use the MC section of the amp with the SAE as it's just a matter of cutting a link or soldering said link and using a pair of supplied plugs.

Hmmm, anyone know?

It's all in the instruction sheet I sent with it. I wouldn't recommend it though....

I can export to Portugal BTW as it's in the EU ;)

[twotone]

It's all in the instruction sheet I sent with it. I wouldn't recommend it though....



Thanks Jez:cool:

[bob4333]

So, just for the fun, I tried it with the MC input and :D !!! OMG!!! This sounds incredible!

Pedro, your experience is not dissimilar to mine in respect of the SAE 1000LT.

Plugged into the MM side of my phono stage because of it's output level it was OK. Plugged into the MC side it just took off. At first it was so "full of everything" that I thought something was wrong and this wasn't going to last - it sounded raw and an assault on the senses - like the whole thing was an overdose of music: very dynamic across the whole spectrum.

At between 30 and 50 hours the cartridge gained a little refinement and finesse without losing the attack - it's just so alive.

One of those things that doesn't look like it will work on paper - but does.

Glad I'm not alone. The agony now is that seeing as they're limited stock whether to buy another before they go...............

[Arkless Electronics]

Pedro, your experience is not dissimilar to mine in respect of the SAE 1000LT.

Plugged into the MM side of my phono stage because of it's output level it was OK. Plugged into the MC side it just took off. At first it was so "full of everything" that I thought something was wrong and this wasn't going to last - it sounded raw and an assault on the senses - like the whole thing was an overdose of music: very dynamic across the whole spectrum.

At between 30 and 50 hours the cartridge gained a little refinement and finesse without losing the attack - it's just so alive.

One of those things that doesn't look like it will work on paper - but does.

Glad I'm not alone. The agony now is that seeing as they're limited stock whether to buy another before they go...............

Quite possibly overloading the phono stage and causing distortion which could maybe come across as exciting!

[bob4333]

Quite possibly overloading the phono stage and causing distortion which could maybe come across as exciting!

Jez, you may well be right - but if so it works and I find it very addictive and in a lot of music excitement is a very desirable quality. When a track ends and leaves you wanting more then you know something's going right.

Switching from MM to MC the bass richens up and goes deeper, no nasal nuances from vocals and the treble is sweeter and more refined. Studio recordings are fine and detailed: room presence and atmosphere on live recordings greatly enhanced. This is across the spectrum from Folk to Rock, Jazz to Classical. And using the rotary gain control on the Icon Audio Phono Amp I can adjust the MM/MC volume levels to be the same so it's not just a loudness factor trying to fool me.

If it is distortion then it's very subtle with it and not the usual headache inducing miasma that one would normally associate with that dubious aspect. I can listen to this cartridge dragging out the detail on MC hour after hour: in thirty years I've not heard music this well presented.

Hmm. Distortion? Bring it on...............