GrahamS
23-07-2018, 11:39
When I decided to unpack my vinyl collection some months ago, I perforce unpacked and refurbished my JVC QL7 turntable. I also had to purchase a phono stage amplifier as my NAD 326BEE had none. I bought a Pro-Ject Record Box E, which provides both MM and MC inputs and also has a very good AD converter with USB output. I installed the JVC Z1 pickup cartridge that was packed with the turntable, my Decca London Gold MkII and my Shure V15 Mki IV having been illegally appropriated by bandits years previously. Coupled to my Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 stand mounted speakers, I was quite happy with the result. The sound was warm, full bodied (with a little bass boost) and detailed.
I knew that the weakest point in the chain would be the Z1 pickup cartridge with it’s spherical stylus, so I ordered a Z1-EB stylus for it, which has a .07 x .04 mil stylus on a Beryllium cantilever. There was a noticeable improvement in high frequency definition, depth of soundstage and tracking. Great.
After a week or so, I found myself reminiscing about my lost Decca London Gold and my Shure V15 Mk iV and wondering what they would have sounded like through the Diamond 9.1 speakers, as compared to the Tannoy Monitor Gold speakers that I used to own. So, I ordered a Shure M97xE cartridge. The result was a little smoother, more detailed, but not a significant improvement. Never mind, I thought, give it time to “run in.” After a week or so the sound improved somewhat, with more low-end reach and better midrange definition. Orchestral brass was marvellous, as were vocals. But I remained unhappy with the low end. I was running the bass control at 4 o’clock, which is nearly at maximum. Bass was tight and controlled, not woolly, but I was still missing something at the low end of Beethoven’s Fifth or Bach’s Fugue in D Major.
My son was emphatic in his assertion that I needed a subwoofer. I was not so sure. To my way of thinking, while a subwoofer would give more low down bass, unless I used separate subwoofers on the left & right channels respectively, I would muddy the soundstage and my living room isn’t all that big. I don’t go with the theory that all bass frequencies are omni-directional. I want to hear the double bass playing from the front right and the bass drum from the upper left, not from the sky.
Reluctantly, I went looking for a “better” set of speakers. On a limited budget. Richer Sounds offered me a set of Wharfedale Diamond 230 floorstanders at a very reasonable price, end of line and sorry, you can have any finish as long as it’s blackwood. Having faith in Wharfedale, I agreed to try them.
Placed approximately in the same position as the Diamond 9.1’s had been, and not run-in at all, I was initially impressed by the full spectrum of sound and the deep underlying effortless bass with the amplifier set to ‘tone defeat.” However, the bass was quite mushy, and after a week, I realised that, although I now could hear more and better bass than before, I had what is called “one note bass.” I couldn’t tell the difference between the Viola or the double bass. I tried the optional floor spikes with and without the rubber domed feet but as our living room carpet has a very thick pile, I realised that I couldn’t get the speakers to stand firmly without a degree of rocking motion. So, down to B&M I went and picked up two kitchen granite cutting blocks which were slabs of polished granite a perfect 100mm larger in both width and length than the footprint of the speakers. They cost a measly £7.00 each. With the speakers standing on the granite slabs, with the rubber domed feet installed the sound was transformed. The bass became much more controlled, richer and had more definition. The mids were more realistic and the top end sweeter. In fact, I was very impressed indeed.
After running them in for a week, my Audio Technica AT95EX cartridge arrived. I had ordered one just on the spur of the moment, after reading lots of praise for it on various forums, including here. Installed in an Audio Technica headshell and mounted on the JVC arm on the QL-17, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! The soundstage was totally three-dimensional, the brass and strings were amazing and the bass was superb, tight and very well controlled right down to notes that I hadn’t heard before. And the cartridge still had to be “run in!”
I replaced the interconnects between the amp and the CD player with a set of Fisual Rio cables. What an amazing difference this made!
So, don’t believe everything you hear or read. I have heard some very accomplished sound systems in my lifetime, including many production studio monitoring systems, and even so, I am very impressed with what I am now hearing in my own living room from what is referred to as a “budget” system.
The JVC Q7 direct drive turntable with JVC tonearm.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4428/36751690615_4aa70ae5d3_c.jpg
The Shure M97eX mounted in an AT headshell.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1740/41730459054_09f18946c4_c.jpg
The new Wharfedale Diamond 230 speakers are a little dominant.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/890/41728416414_5c55a3ba98_c.jpg
The granite chopping boards used as a base for the speakers.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/886/40643398070_f17fcd637e_c.jpg
I knew that the weakest point in the chain would be the Z1 pickup cartridge with it’s spherical stylus, so I ordered a Z1-EB stylus for it, which has a .07 x .04 mil stylus on a Beryllium cantilever. There was a noticeable improvement in high frequency definition, depth of soundstage and tracking. Great.
After a week or so, I found myself reminiscing about my lost Decca London Gold and my Shure V15 Mk iV and wondering what they would have sounded like through the Diamond 9.1 speakers, as compared to the Tannoy Monitor Gold speakers that I used to own. So, I ordered a Shure M97xE cartridge. The result was a little smoother, more detailed, but not a significant improvement. Never mind, I thought, give it time to “run in.” After a week or so the sound improved somewhat, with more low-end reach and better midrange definition. Orchestral brass was marvellous, as were vocals. But I remained unhappy with the low end. I was running the bass control at 4 o’clock, which is nearly at maximum. Bass was tight and controlled, not woolly, but I was still missing something at the low end of Beethoven’s Fifth or Bach’s Fugue in D Major.
My son was emphatic in his assertion that I needed a subwoofer. I was not so sure. To my way of thinking, while a subwoofer would give more low down bass, unless I used separate subwoofers on the left & right channels respectively, I would muddy the soundstage and my living room isn’t all that big. I don’t go with the theory that all bass frequencies are omni-directional. I want to hear the double bass playing from the front right and the bass drum from the upper left, not from the sky.
Reluctantly, I went looking for a “better” set of speakers. On a limited budget. Richer Sounds offered me a set of Wharfedale Diamond 230 floorstanders at a very reasonable price, end of line and sorry, you can have any finish as long as it’s blackwood. Having faith in Wharfedale, I agreed to try them.
Placed approximately in the same position as the Diamond 9.1’s had been, and not run-in at all, I was initially impressed by the full spectrum of sound and the deep underlying effortless bass with the amplifier set to ‘tone defeat.” However, the bass was quite mushy, and after a week, I realised that, although I now could hear more and better bass than before, I had what is called “one note bass.” I couldn’t tell the difference between the Viola or the double bass. I tried the optional floor spikes with and without the rubber domed feet but as our living room carpet has a very thick pile, I realised that I couldn’t get the speakers to stand firmly without a degree of rocking motion. So, down to B&M I went and picked up two kitchen granite cutting blocks which were slabs of polished granite a perfect 100mm larger in both width and length than the footprint of the speakers. They cost a measly £7.00 each. With the speakers standing on the granite slabs, with the rubber domed feet installed the sound was transformed. The bass became much more controlled, richer and had more definition. The mids were more realistic and the top end sweeter. In fact, I was very impressed indeed.
After running them in for a week, my Audio Technica AT95EX cartridge arrived. I had ordered one just on the spur of the moment, after reading lots of praise for it on various forums, including here. Installed in an Audio Technica headshell and mounted on the JVC arm on the QL-17, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! The soundstage was totally three-dimensional, the brass and strings were amazing and the bass was superb, tight and very well controlled right down to notes that I hadn’t heard before. And the cartridge still had to be “run in!”
I replaced the interconnects between the amp and the CD player with a set of Fisual Rio cables. What an amazing difference this made!
So, don’t believe everything you hear or read. I have heard some very accomplished sound systems in my lifetime, including many production studio monitoring systems, and even so, I am very impressed with what I am now hearing in my own living room from what is referred to as a “budget” system.
The JVC Q7 direct drive turntable with JVC tonearm.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4428/36751690615_4aa70ae5d3_c.jpg
The Shure M97eX mounted in an AT headshell.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1740/41730459054_09f18946c4_c.jpg
The new Wharfedale Diamond 230 speakers are a little dominant.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/890/41728416414_5c55a3ba98_c.jpg
The granite chopping boards used as a base for the speakers.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/886/40643398070_f17fcd637e_c.jpg