Hi all.
A few weeks ago I invited Marco up for a listen of the system. What a great day!
On this occasion he brought something rather special up for me to have a little listen to. Namely it was the Ortofon SPU Royal GM Mkii cart.
This is what my Thorens TD124 was made for I can tell you that. After we got it all balanced up on the deck Marco brought out one of 45 RPM The Doors albums. We stuck it on seeing as it was something we were both used to listening to. We started with the flip side which was ‘The End’. From the lavish psychedelic guitar genius noodling at the start the sound was absolutely amazing. Rich in tone, powerful and gutsy. Jim Morrison's voice was really quite amazing, rock solid in the stage.
Throughout the rest of the rather long track the sound was simply stunning bringing drama into the stage which made you sit up and listen intensely yet again.
Next up was one of my favorites, Brian Auger, Julie Driscoll and the Trinity - Open. This album is an original stereo version on Marmalade. In superb nick too!. From the off the opening track booted out the jam like a Jam kicking jammy dodger. The hammond of which Brian plays is on fire and hearing the keys tap as he plays is really something. With amazing texture and realism.
Other tracks like ‘Season of the Witch’ and ‘Black Cat’ (Ow!) came across rich and full of atmosphere.
Next up was a classical number which Marco brought along namely ‘Falla the three cornered hat’ - What a great LP… Lot’s of detail, ambience and weight. This was a real treat with the SPU indeed. There is so much environmental information that goes on with this album, a superb production/recording.
Marco also brought some valves with him to try out. All 6SL7’s for the Croft pre. When before I had mostly NOS MELZ in there we changed over the pair on the phono stage with some Sylvania’s, this added a more relaxed mid-range whilst the Amperex was fitted in to the middle valve position. With just the Amperex in place the sound stage deepened, this was immediately noticeable and so it stayed as we decided to use The Doors ‘The End’ as a reference.
Also spinning on LP and CD was Goldfrapp ‘Tales of us’ and Roisin Murphy ‘ Overpowered’. I’m a big fan of Moloko, Roisin Murphy and with the new valves in place the sound came across that little more rhythmic.
So after lots of (but not to much) experimentation we got to a point where the sound from CD (TEAC P-500 and D-500) and the Turntable (Thorens TD124, SME 3009 S2 (none improved) ) became a wonderful listen from vintage rock, crossover jazz/psych, classical, electronica and dance.
There has to be something said here about the amplifier with the Tannoy Monitor Golds too. I can’t think of any other type of amplifier like my Tube Distinctions KT120 valve amp that really brings these vintage speakers into their own.
The day was great opportunity to show Marco the Spec 3 Tannoyista external crossovers too which really let the drivers excel. The amount of realism and sheer scale of the 15” drivers really move the air but never harshly and so the sound stays gelled together, focused and coherent. Here's a pic of the Spec 3's.
More pics of the main system here: http://theartofsound.net/forum/showt...d-psychedelics
The other thing I can fully recommend is the Lentek SUT (fettled nicely by Nick Gorham) which ran direct in to the internal phono stage of the croft. Albeit quite a bit different I had one of the original MC phono cathode follower stages designed and made by Nick (Longdog Audio) and it was a really nice bit of kit.
Here's an internal pic of my old Nick Gorham MC phono. Superb!
When I get an SPU… (dreams) I’ll certainly be looking at both options again.
There is something about the SPU cart that really makes things build, flourish and decay perfecly. I really want one… So if you have means, you should try one… it’s proper choice!
“...A splendid time is guaranteed for all”
Joe
System:-
Pre: Croft Epoch Elite - (Modified with Khozomo MKII Attenuator amongst other things)
TT: Thorens TD124 - (Schopperised)
Cart: Goldring G800 - (By North West Audio)
Tonearm: SME 3009 SII - None improved - (By Audio Origami)
Digital: Teac P-500 & D-500
Amplification: KT120 driven amplifier with separate PSU - (By Tube Distinctions)
Loudspeakers: 15" Tannoy Monitor Gold in vintage Lockwood Universal cabinets - (Ex CTS Wembley & Toe Rag Studios)
Crossovers: Tannoyista 'SPEC 3' custom made external crossovers
Interconnect cables: Mark Grant G2000HD's with WBT Ag - Mark Grant Oyaide FTVS-510 pure silver digital coax fitted with WBT 0110 Ag
Mains: Mark Grant - DSP 2.5 Dual Screened power cables - Silver Plated - Mark Grant 6 way Mains block
Speaker cable: Mark Grant Van Damme Blue 6mm main speaker cable & Van Den Hul The Wind MKII Hybrid crossover cable