A Visit to phonomac ( Angus )
On Friday the 4/1/19, a outstanding appointment to visit to Angus at his home took place.
Angus very kindly extended his offer of a visit, to two more participants and a day of exploration into the unknown was arranged.
The fundamental curiosity to be satisfied on the agenda was to mount the recently rebuilt by Holistic Audio, 'Ortofon K'b' and A/B compare it to the Vienna.
Mixed in with the above curiosity, was taking the opportunity to listen to a few different Home Built Phonostages with the,
phonomac SP10 MkII > PMAT -1010 MkVI > Holistic Audio rebuilt 'Ortofon Vienna'.
Apart from using Angus's system as a reference, all the other devices included were untried in a front end of this quality and any prediction on the outcome was a unknown commodity.
I was not my usual, calm, composed person, under the surface, I was on tenterhooks,
awaiting the A/B Comparison of the Vienna/K'b.
After listening to a few varied tracks on Angus's system and getting the attention of the additional visitors, the smiles said it all. The exchange of Phonostages commenced.
First up was 'Stoyan's' work, what I refer to as the 'VAS II', a full valve design with a Purpose Built Stand Alone Power Supply. This was used with the Ortofon SUT.
It is no secret that I am familiar with this model and have gathered a good measure of how it performs in the system of the Builder/Owner, using it as a MM only and MC with a few different SUT's.
For the first session of the listening I sat in the wings, letting Angus and the other visitors get the measure of how it performed in Angus's system.
When I took up the offer to sit in the sweet spot, I could define lots of detail exactly as I remembered it , with a slight less forward projection in relation to previous listening sessions, whether the micro detail was as present as I remember it, was questionable, as the small amount of bass bloom I was detecting when sitting in the wings was still perceivable in the sweet spot.
My personal feelings on a Bass Bloom was a detractor, and even though this perceived bloom was minimal, my sensitivity to it masked my overall impression.
Angus's expressed impression was, it was a Phonostage which delivers a lot of detail, the type of detail that has a believable presentation, he made a point of how you could feel the finger sliding along a rough surface of a guitar string, but for Angus these were valves, and the coloration he was perceiving was not for him, he is Solid State through and through.
Next up a Pete Millet design Solid State MM, with a purpose made Standalone Power Supply. ( Produced at approx £400 ).This was used with the Ortofon SUT.
The owner 'Clive' gave a brief introduction as to how he ended up with it as a project and the design being a Capacitor free RIAA stage, as well as informing of a couple of the foibles he was aware of, which were confirmed during the audition.
This has a emphasis on the Mids and Highs (it was not bright when being played through Angus's Speakers) it suited the Stringed instruments in the Benchmark Track being used 'Wish You were Here', immediately it was felt by myself it was a good value phonostage.
Further listening showed the Bass as being a little unrealistic, the bass notes did not have a believable presentation, they rolled of a little to quickly, and there was not a reverb or decay being perceived.
The Bass was discussed after the audition, and it was agreed, that if the correct components were selected to enhance the bass performance, the phonostage would be more than adequate in a system, especially due to the cost, and could easily be a end game phonostage for those not pursuing the finest.
Angus expressed, he could easily live with the Pete Millet, and with the Bass issue resolved, it would be a very nice Phonostage.
Now for my favorite subject ( we stopped for lunch ):lol:
During lunch we chewed the cud on the general HiFi topics, but then Angus ventured off into the world of Astronomy and had us captivated with his descriptions, he isn't as Pretty as Brian Cox, but He Ho, we can't have it all.
Back to the schedule, bring on the K'b.
Angus mounted it in a MS-9 Head Shell. I was getting more nervous, sweaty palms.
The system was returned to Angus's set up, the Benchmark Track was put on, and away we went. Beautiful Performance, all were smiling in their own way at the quality.
Then Angus went of to exchange Head Shells and put the K'b in the front line,
I couldn't take it, I was wrecked with nerves, horrid thoughts of utter embarrassment at the outcome.
From the very first note to be delivered out of the Speakers, it was clear to all that this thing delivers.
The K'b presented itself in a slight different manner to the Vienna, a slight lift in the treble, a little more air in there maybe. Then something happened that got my attention,
a backing vocal came through from the rear of the soundstage, hit a similar volume as the lead singer and decayed out, with such clarity, spooky.
"Did you hear that" I exclaimed
There is no point me trying to pinpoint the differences between the two MC's,
In my simplistic view, they are definitely Siblings, maybe either Brother/Sister Twins.
Either one will be a gem of a Cartridge to use if ones ambition is to go to the
Vienna/Mimic Vienna Route.
Angus Expressed impression was, "I had nailed it",
I expressed back " he had nailed it, as all in front of him was his work and recommendations".
We were getting short on time, but I had wanted to let Angus hear the DIGNA Phonostage, and I was now keen to hear the K'b through it, as this is my intended pairing.
The DIGNA lifted the airiness of the K'b further, and really let the guitar strings sound believable, there was a encouragement to tap a finger, rock a foot, and smile.
The Vienna was played through the DIGNA, and again, the Vienna sounded a little lighter footed, and was a encouragement to move to the music.
I am very much looking forward to this new vinyl replay experience, and very grateful to Angus for his Help, Hospitality, and Commitment to realize his dream.
