Some New Toys

[AJSki2fly]

I spy Avalon

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/f...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