My trip to Martin's to assess the Mike New platter for the SL-1200/1210
[This report will be in two parts, with the second part posted tomorrow].
Last Saturday I had the pleasure of going down to Martin T's for a music sesh and to hear his excellent system again (see Martin's signature for details), not to mention the effect of Mike New's platter on his SL-1210 (and mine) and have a squint at his utterly gorgeous Dynavector tonearm!
I took down my own Techie, fitted with the Ortofon SPU, a Paul Hynes SR3 and SR5-21 PSU, my A23 SUT, some Mark Grant G2000HD interconnects, DSP 2.5 Furutech-upgraded mains leads, and some records.
The results were very interesting indeed.....
When I sat down to listen, cup of freshly brewed coffee in hand, Martin was playing (I think) some Steely Dan on the Techie, and as I was listening I thought to myself: 'there's something not quite right here'.
There was undoubtedly a great sound trying to break free, but it was being held in check by a muddled quality in the bass and a rather peculiar slurring of notes and wavering of pitch, as a result of what was to my ears the effect of speed instability - rather as if the existing PSU (Sound Hi-fi's standard Timestep) had the inability to supply the motor mechanism with sufficient current to maintain the platter at the correct speed.
Measurably this may have been miniscule or non-existent, but it was an effect I could clearly hear, although I had an idea how to sort it. However at that stage I didn't say anything to Martin about what I was hearing, intending instead to point it out to him later after I had made the change I was about to do.
Before I get to that, however, one thing I want to make abundantly clear is that the standard Timestep PSU of Martin's could not be blamed in any way for what I was hearing. Dave Cawley always said that if a heavyweight platter was used with the SL-1200 (such as Mike New's one), the SE version of the Timestep must be fitted instead to cope with the extra mass of the heavy platter - and he was absolutely right.
I have no doubt whatsoever that I would not have heard what I did had the Timestep SE been in situ instead. This is something that people should consider very carefully if upgrading to the Mike New platter. Moreover, the standard Timestep PSU does NOT exhibit the same characteristics when used with the stock platter on the SL-1200/1210, where it is indeed sonically superb in that application.
With this in mind, therefore, I suggested to Martin that we first of all connect the Paul Hynes SR3 PSU to his turntable and see what would happen.
When we listened to the same track again, within the first few notes there was a notable improvement, which both Martin and I commented on. Gone was the wavering of pitch I heard before and any sense that the deck was suffering from the effects of speed instability. Now music was 'locked into focus' and rendered with the rhythmic drive and intensity which the Technics is renowned for. There was also a subjectively lower noise floor, and with it, increased detail retrieval.
Therefore, for those considering a high-quality off-board PSU for the SL-1200/1210 (particularly for use with Mike New's platter), and who can't quite stretch to the SR5-21, the SR3 is a very worthy option.
It was now time to press the SR5-21 into action, which is a truly massive PSU for a turntable (about a similar size and weight to a Naim Hi-Cap, possibly slightly bigger). It has a huge toroidal transformer inside big enough to be used in most power amps!
Again the same track was played ('The Dan' were getting rather monotonous now, but we were keen to keep the rest of the variables the same!), and so we sat back and listened.... The sonic improvement this time was quite frankly astonishing, and the resultant standard of music reproduction in an entirely different league :wow:
This time not only was there not the slightest trace of any wavering of pitch or speed instability, but the sound had become bigger, with a greater sense of purpose, due in no small amount to the sheer verve and 'heft' the SR5-21 invoked on proceedings, together with a 'hear through' quality that allowed the music to ebb and flow with syncopating rhythm, and which defined high frequency information with a rather disarming crystalline clarity.
Bass was both deeper and tighter, and the midrange and top end shone like a beacon of light piercing through the inky blackness of a night sky, aided in no small measure by the perception of a vanishingly low noise floor which allowed one to discern the subtlest of musical cues. Martin's SL-1210 was now producing a standard of sound from vinyl the likes of which I had never heard before.
In short, the SR5-21 PSU, the sonic talents of which I already knew from hearing it at work in my own system, had made one of the biggest improvements to the SL-1210 I had heard so far in all my years of using it. But there was more still to come - MUCH MORE - and that would be realised when I analysed in isolation the sonic effect of the Mike New platter on my own T/T, which would make me realise, even when modified to this level, just how much more latent sonic potential the SL-1200/1210 still had to offer.......
I must get to bed now, as I'm up early for the Manchester hi-fi show tomorrow. Part 2 of my report will be continued upon my return.
Don't miss it, folks, as I promise it'll make for intriguing reading, not to mention the revealing of a totally FREE tweak for the Technics, Mike New platter aside, that totally transformed the sound of my T/T and astounded me!! ;)
Steve (Snoopdog) also made an appearance during this part of the session, and it was good to meet him again, where both Martin and he heard what happened when my SPU was unleashed and fitted onto Martin's Dynavector, in conjunction with the A23 SUT, producing a sonic combination that had us in utter rapture, redefining just what is possible from music on the vinyl format.....
Laters,
Marco.
