Some New Toys

[AJSki2fly]

On Tuesday a few new toys arrived, and I have been listening to them and so far so good, so here they are below which I thought may be of interest to some.

The first is a Schiit MAGNI 3 Heresy headphone amp, having dug out my old Trio headphones and having a listen I thought it was about time I treated myself to a new pair, but how to listen to vinyl with them when my amp does not have a head phone out, hence the Schiit. I have a Beresford TC-721 is a bi-directional RCA/PHONO selector on the way from Stan, so this will alleviate the need to plug/unplug the line feed from the phono stage output.

https://i.postimg.cc/y8hg1g0G/A7696-D6-A-E2-B5-41-FC-836-E-58-DE22443-E49.jpg (https://postimg.cc/RWFVG0s1)


So to use with it I have opted for the newly out KLH Ultimate One headphones, these have been highly recommend is several reviews in respected hifi mags, and fit in my budget.

https://i.postimg.cc/x1VNVyNH/B29-C26-D9-62-D1-498-F-99-C0-B271-AAC10-A4-F.jpg (https://postimg.cc/2VTS4Ww8)

https://i.postimg.cc/NfH2nPFB/C034-A622-A4-E7-4034-8-E34-166-B28871-AAE.jpg (https://postimg.cc/qzp7hw25)


And finally after my excursion into MM cartridges and listening to the Ortofon OM with a DN165e stylus and 40 Stylus I came to the conclusion that actually a good MM had a lot to offer in terms of sound quality and VFM, it also meant I could economise on the use of my expensive MC. After much reading and hand ringing I opted for the Goldring 2500 MI cartridge.

https://i.postimg.cc/fWF0Bhw8/DBB07-AD4-43-EF-4-B82-87-A6-FDC9-C36-B5-FD4.jpg (https://postimg.cc/23Q6SMLW)


Initial impressions:-

Schiit MAGNI 3 Heresy headphone amp -
This is a very well made amp and has great neutral tonality IMO, I would say it does not add any colouration to the music, and as the specs say I doubt it has any audibly discernable distortion, and as others report does not suffer from hum and has a very quiet sound floor. here is a good technical review https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/schiit-magni-3-and-heresy-headphone-amp-reviews.10311/.

Early days yet but I think it is ideal for my use.

KLH Ultimate One headphones -

Well I am very pleased with these, I have listened to them using the Schiit MAGNI 3 Heresy and also my Caiman SEG and they give a really nice musical rendition, and are very comfortable to where, and very well made with a feel of quality. I find that they give a good soundstage in your head with a good sense of depth, they sound very accurate, mid and top end is very smooth, bass is also very good. I need to listen to them some more to give a better report but for £289.99 I think they may prove to be a very good purchase.

Goldring 2500 MI cartridge -

Some of you may have read https://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?68361-When-to-MM-or-MM-a-curious-thing-I-ve-been-playing-again thread which ultimately lead to this purchase. For those of you that are not, in summary I listened to a couple of Ortofon MM styli on and OM and was rather surprised by how good both sounded. Because I listen to a lot of vinyl I wanted to find a more cost effective solution giving good SQ and VFM. I have opted on the Goldring 2500 as several reviews stated it was quite a revealing cartridge with good bass control, which I believe is due to it being a Moving Iron design, this explains better than I can https://www.goldring.co.uk/cartridges/moving-iron-cartridges.html. (still has the benefits of replaceable stylus)

I only set up the Goldring this morning and popped on a couple of favourite listening tracks, I was not expecting much from it straight out of the box but was very pleasantly surprised, immediately I was struck by the level of detail, in fact very comparable to a MC, at least to my ears anyway, soundstage is also very good. What is also nice is it is very quiet in the groove on quiet passages. I have so far played 3 LP's and so far I am very impressed, currently I am listening to Anand Bakshi ‎– Taal (bollywood film soundtrack) this has lots of drumming, bass and mixed percussion, with beautiful vocals, and sweeping soundscapes, quite a testing record for any cartridge to be able to keep everything under control and not become muddled, but the Goldring is holding up extremely well, very enjoyable. I think it has improved in just 3 hours of use so I will report more after 20 hours or so.

[walpurgis]

Yes, the Goldring 2500 has attracted much favourable comment.

[RobbieGong]

One I wish I'd have tried is Goldrings 1042

[hifi_dave]

Contentious I know but to my ears, the 1042 is bland.

[graham67]

Contentious I know but to my ears, the 1042 is bland.

That is pretty much what i found when fitted to s jelco 750. Although my partnering equipment was not so good back then as now. However i do like the reson reca and audio note iq2 which use the same goldring body.

[RobbieGong]

The Fritz Gyger S tip on the end of the 1042 will mean it is gonna be very fussy about set-up, that's just how it is, with the more sophisticated stylus profiles - you have to take a lot of time and care otherwise they wont sound right.

You'll find users online pretty much say the same, that the 1042 is in fact a PITA to set up, one saying 'if you're not prepared to go the extra mile then forget this cart....

I learned all this with the 2M Black and its Shibata tip, again a PITA to set right and if you dont it is rubbish, but once you've nailed it, you'll most certainly know alright ;)

[AJSki2fly]

The Fritz Gyger S tip on the end of the 1042 will mean it is gonna be very fussy about set-up, that's just how it is, with the more sophisticated stylus profiles - you have to take a lot of time and care otherwise they wont sound right.

You'll find users online pretty much say the same, that the 1042 is in fact a PITA to set up, one saying 'if you're not prepared to go the extra mile then forget this cart....

I learned all this with the 2M Black and its Shibata tip, again a PITA to set right and if you dont it is rubbish, but once you've nailed it, you'll most certainly know alright ;)

I have not heard a 1042 say cannot really comment, what I can say is the Goldring 2500 is certainly not dull sounding, IMHO it is very comparable to a good MC for mid and top, at present it is, the bass I am reserving forming an opinion until it has had a bit more playing time to bed in, having said that the bass at present is pretty good already.

[antonio]

Pleased you are enjoying your new toys, those headphones look particularly good value.

[AJSki2fly]

Pleased you are enjoying your new toys, those headphones look particularly good value.

Have a read https://www.hifinews.com/content/klh-ultimate-one-headphones

there is also a very good review of them in issue 180 of HiFi +

[Audio Al]

I spy Avalon :eyebrows:

Allways a nice feeling having new kit , Not that often at Audio Al's though as nearly all my kit is second user :)

[AJSki2fly]

I spy Avalon :eyebrows:

Allways a nice feeling having new kit , Not that often at Audio Al's though as nearly all my kit is second user :)

Whether new or second user kit it is always nice to enjoy something for the first time in you system. I know some hate Avalon but it is actually one of my favourite Roxy albums.:)

[AJSki2fly]

On Tuesday a few new toys arrived, and I have been listening to them and so far so good, so here they are below which I thought may be of interest to some.

.........

Initial impressions:-

Schiit MAGNI 3 Heresy headphone amp -
This is a very well made amp and has great neutral tonality IMO, I would say it does not add any colouration to the music, and as the specs say I doubt it has any audibly discernable distortion, and as others report does not suffer from hum and has a very quiet sound floor. here is a good technical review https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/schiit-magni-3-and-heresy-headphone-amp-reviews.10311/.

Early days yet but I think it is ideal for my use.

KLH Ultimate One headphones -

Well I am very pleased with these, I have listened to them using the Schiit MAGNI 3 Heresy and also my Caiman SEG and they give a really nice musical rendition, and are very comfortable to where, and very well made with a feel of quality. I find that they give a good soundstage in your head with a good sense of depth, they sound very accurate, mid and top end is very smooth, bass is also very good. I need to listen to them some more to give a better report but for £289.99 I think they may prove to be a very good purchase.

Goldring 2500 MI cartridge -

.............

I only set up the Goldring this morning and popped on a couple of favourite listening tracks, I was not expecting much from it straight out of the box but was very pleasantly surprised, immediately I was struck by the level of detail, in fact very comparable to a MC, at least to my ears anyway, soundstage is also very good. What is also nice is it is very quiet in the groove on quiet passages. I have so far played 3 LP's and so far I am very impressed, currently I am listening to Anand Bakshi ‎– Taal (bollywood film soundtrack) this has lots of drumming, bass and mixed percussion, with beautiful vocals, and sweeping soundscapes, quite a testing record for any cartridge to be able to keep everything under control and not become muddled, but the Goldring is holding up extremely well, very enjoyable. I think it has improved in just 3 hours of use so I will report more after 20 hours or so.

A quick follow up:-

KLH Ultimate One headphones through Schiit MAGNI 3 Heresy headphone amp

A very good combo IMO. I think the headphones are starting to bed in a bit, bass is starting to sound more natural and defined, not that it isn't that good already. The soundstage is very good giving you a sense of openness and not closed in feeling you can often get with cans.

KLH Ultimate One headphones through Beresford Caiman SEG

Very good SQ listening through this combo, very dynamic and clean, I listened to the April Album of the month from Spotify and it was very enjoyable, lots of punch and detail.

Goldring 2500:-

Well what can I say about this one? Well so far I cannot find much wrong with it, it has clear and detailed bass which is quite deep, mid-range and top end is tonally very natural sounding and there is no harshness. To be honest I cannot at the moment find any niggles or gripes with this cartridge, it certainly works very well in my set up. I actually think that this is a bit of a hidden gem that if you are considering a good moving magnet/iorn cartridge you would be well advised to put high up on your list. IMO opinion my £2.8K Micro Benz LP-S only beats it on some subtle nuances and perhaps a slightly more open soundstage, but that really is nit picking, and the Goldring has only done about 15 hours so is still bedding in.

I hope a few find this useful.

[struth]

yeah the Goldring is a great cart.

[Made in 1968]

Always made good cartridges [Well nearly alwyas]

[Pigmy Pony]

Whether new or second user kit it is always nice to enjoy something for the first time in you system. I know some hate Avalon but it is actually one of my favourite Roxy albums.:)

+1 for Avalon, the best of the later Roxy imo. Gets a lot of play here, time for a new copy soon :)