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Thread: AD Audio Satchmo Mk3 & LCR Phono Pre Amplifier

  1. #1
    Join Date: Mar 2016

    Location: Barnet, london UK

    Posts: 2,146
    I'm Adam.

    Default AD Audio Satchmo Mk3 & LCR Phono Pre Amplifier

    New...ish arrival
    AD Audio Satchmo Mk3 & LCR Phono Pre Amplifier

    I was already the user of David Coe’s AD Audio Satchmo Pre / Phono amp , which I used in conjuction with an original Radford STA 25 power amp. The combination was very good indeed and delivered a level of performance I could never have afforded off the shelf. The orignal Satchmo was hand built using point to point wiring with silver wire in the signal path, Kiwame carbon film resistors, LeClanche or Mundorf coupling capacitors, and JJ802s valves. It was very good.

    As with most progressive thinking craftsman, David Coe never seems to stand still. After some time enjoying the trouble free satchmo pre came the breaking news from AD Audio that David had developed a new Satchmo that had him shouting from the rooftops about. I was happy with what I had in the system and the news of the new Satchmo Mk3 kind of fell on deaf ears, but the offer of a home demo by David himself was a no brainer, so the lovely Mrs Westlower knocked up some grub and left us sad men fiddling in the living room. We switched over to the New Satchmo Mk3 and it was instant.... using the line stage, streaming a digital feed, the music was just free. Great grip on the low end. detailed textured mid bass a yummy, juicy midband and a free open transparency to the top. It was a mouth open moment. Damn!, I was hooked.. We finished the evening and David wrestled the Satchmo Mk3 out of my rack and returned to Wimbledon. I was on the phone the next morning bugging him when he could fit me in and how long would it take...

    In the interim after extensive talks with Tom (Montesquieu), Petrat and various others, it would appear this time was a clear opportunity to think about possibly taking the Phono stage to another place.

    I’d been very happy with the on board phono stage in the Orignal Satchmo which utilised ECC82 & ECC83 but on real reflection,
    after many visits to Tom’s place listening to his EAR 912, I had secretly lusted for a little more air and extension, maybe the original Stachmo pre’s Phono stage was slightly on the tubey cuddly side.

    We thought about other ideas, one being the LCR phono approach which had been utilised in the excellent Vida LCR unit (£3,500) and the rather inexpensive Valab (around £600 landed), but both didn’t utilise valves anywhere in their circuits....
    and I do like Valves in the phono stage.

    David suggested incorporating the new Stachmo Mk3 with the MM phono stage using Silk LCR transformers AND the valves I wanted. Ok lets do it... It was a blind buy as I had not had the opportunity to hear such a Phono stage but given the quality demo Satchmo Mk3 promised I had total faith in David’s vision.

    So fast forward a few months and my new Satchmo Mk3 incorporating the MM Silk LCR phono stage was here in the rack at Westlower Towers...

    I use the Satchmo Mk3 LCR phono in conjunction with my external standalone Hashimoto HM7 SUT.

    So buying semi blind....did it work??
    Well I was utterly chuffed, it was evident from the first sides of vinyl played that the presentation had been lifted.
    There was more oomph, greater speed across the transients, deeper tighter bass and real air to the top end.
    The decay of notes seem to extend further. My main worry was would I lose out to the excellent midrange the previous Valve phono delivered? Well, Not a bit of it, this midband was unctious, yummy and detailed. The biggest thing I noticed was the LCR phono stage seemed to get deeper inside the notes. It opened up more texture everywhere. It was as near silent as can be, with only the faintest sound of valve at high levels without music, so nothing abnormal there for any Valve based stage.

    Using the line stage in the Satchmo Mk3, the digital feed from Roon and Tidal was so dynamic, musical and classy.
    No glare, no grain, just smooth but with the right scale and attack. Actually the line stage is so satisfying it could make my digital listening habits infringe on my beloved Vinyl listening time!

    Anyway to conclude, the New Satchmo Mk3 LCR Phono really hits the spot. The build quality, the casework, the functionally and the musical delivery is just top notch and far exceeds my expectations and hopes.

    I do have the unique privilege of hearing one of the best (ever changing) systems in the world, at will, locally, With Amps of the very highest calibre costing more than my Car / House combined. So I do have a reference point, certainly not to attain to but at least a slight nod to..

    I couldn’t afford this level of performance off the shelf but the route of bespoke build from a talented engineer & true craftsman
    is one I’m very greatful to have utilised. The AD Audio Satchmo Mk3 is indeed end game for this happy Jazzer.

    Satchmo Mk3 Spec:
    • hand made, point to point wired
    • Valve complement 2 x 6SL7s, 2 x 5751s
    • LCR phono stage (optional)
    • RIAA eq to -+ 0.5db 20hz - 20khz
    • Twin choke custom power supply
    • Khozmo attenuator (in yours)
    • 4 inputs, 3 line, phono


    https://adaudio.wordpress.com





    Last edited by WESTLOWER; 12-04-2020 at 10:09.
    "lack of passion is fatal"


    Vinyl: Thorens TD-124mk2 / SME-312 Aluminium 'special' / SME M2-9R / STEREO: Etsuro Urushi Cobalt / Shure M3D / Ortofon SPU A95 / Cartridge Man Music Master / Shure - SC35C (US) / SAEC C3 MC MONO: Miyajima Zero B 0.7mil mono / Miyajima Premium 1.0 / Amps & SUTs: Radford STA25 mk3 / AD Audio 'Satchmo2' pre & LCR phono / Hashimoto HM-7 SUT / ETR-MONO SUT Digital: Audio Note 4.1 (with DAC5 upgrades) DAC / Roon / Tidal Speakers: Tannoy 12" MGs' in RFC custom 'Rutland' Cabinets with RFC crossovers / Tannoy ST-100 Super Tweeters Cables: LFD Grainless phono / RFC Mercury / Duelund DCA16GA tinned copper / Kimber 12TC / SW1X Audio Design USB-SPdif / Duelund DCA20GA interconnects / SW1X Audio SPDIF Aero 6 / Mains Power Conditioner / Box Furniture rack / Audiodesk Systeme Vinyl Cleaner / a very beautiful & understanding Wife!

  2. #2
    Join Date: Oct 2012

    Location: The Black Country

    Posts: 6,089
    I'm Alan.

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    Without wanting to appear cheeky, how much?

  3. #3
    Join Date: Oct 2016

    Location: London

    Posts: 313
    I'm David.

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    Hi, price of course depends on exact spec. With the twin choke power supply, Khozmo attenuator and eg Audyn True copper caps around £2,700. There's a line version too, at around £1,300, and for those who don't like the twin tower look I've got an alternative phono stage I call 'pseudo LCR' as it uses a novel arrangement to keep the RIAA resistive load to similar levels to the LCR with similar performance. Thanks for a great write up Adam! And I don't think there'll be a Mk4!
    David

  4. #4
    Audio Al is offline Pishanto Specialist & Super-Daftee
    Join Date: May 2012

    Location: Dagenham Essex

    Posts: 11,215
    I'm Allen.

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    Adam , I'm very concered re the positioning of said equipment
    [

  5. #5
    Join Date: Mar 2016

    Location: Barnet, london UK

    Posts: 2,146
    I'm Adam.

    Default

    Yes I was wondering why I couldn’t get to put a record on...
    "lack of passion is fatal"


    Vinyl: Thorens TD-124mk2 / SME-312 Aluminium 'special' / SME M2-9R / STEREO: Etsuro Urushi Cobalt / Shure M3D / Ortofon SPU A95 / Cartridge Man Music Master / Shure - SC35C (US) / SAEC C3 MC MONO: Miyajima Zero B 0.7mil mono / Miyajima Premium 1.0 / Amps & SUTs: Radford STA25 mk3 / AD Audio 'Satchmo2' pre & LCR phono / Hashimoto HM-7 SUT / ETR-MONO SUT Digital: Audio Note 4.1 (with DAC5 upgrades) DAC / Roon / Tidal Speakers: Tannoy 12" MGs' in RFC custom 'Rutland' Cabinets with RFC crossovers / Tannoy ST-100 Super Tweeters Cables: LFD Grainless phono / RFC Mercury / Duelund DCA16GA tinned copper / Kimber 12TC / SW1X Audio Design USB-SPdif / Duelund DCA20GA interconnects / SW1X Audio SPDIF Aero 6 / Mains Power Conditioner / Box Furniture rack / Audiodesk Systeme Vinyl Cleaner / a very beautiful & understanding Wife!

  6. #6
    Audio Al is offline Pishanto Specialist & Super-Daftee
    Join Date: May 2012

    Location: Dagenham Essex

    Posts: 11,215
    I'm Allen.

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    When you turn up the wick do the cheeks expand in true Satchmo style
    [

  7. #7
    Join Date: Mar 2016

    Location: Barnet, london UK

    Posts: 2,146
    I'm Adam.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Audio Al View Post
    When you turn up the wick do the cheeks expand in true Satchmo style
    That’s a mod on the forthcoming Mk4.. It’s called the Dizzy Gillespie effect
    "lack of passion is fatal"


    Vinyl: Thorens TD-124mk2 / SME-312 Aluminium 'special' / SME M2-9R / STEREO: Etsuro Urushi Cobalt / Shure M3D / Ortofon SPU A95 / Cartridge Man Music Master / Shure - SC35C (US) / SAEC C3 MC MONO: Miyajima Zero B 0.7mil mono / Miyajima Premium 1.0 / Amps & SUTs: Radford STA25 mk3 / AD Audio 'Satchmo2' pre & LCR phono / Hashimoto HM-7 SUT / ETR-MONO SUT Digital: Audio Note 4.1 (with DAC5 upgrades) DAC / Roon / Tidal Speakers: Tannoy 12" MGs' in RFC custom 'Rutland' Cabinets with RFC crossovers / Tannoy ST-100 Super Tweeters Cables: LFD Grainless phono / RFC Mercury / Duelund DCA16GA tinned copper / Kimber 12TC / SW1X Audio Design USB-SPdif / Duelund DCA20GA interconnects / SW1X Audio SPDIF Aero 6 / Mains Power Conditioner / Box Furniture rack / Audiodesk Systeme Vinyl Cleaner / a very beautiful & understanding Wife!

  8. #8
    Join Date: Mar 2018

    Location: York UK

    Posts: 30
    I'm David.

    Default Thanks for the review

    Dear Westlower

    Thanks for the review - great to hear the feedback on David's pre. I just happen to be thinking about getting David to build me a DAC and possibly a pre-amp as well. I am pretty convinced about what he has been telling me about the quality of his DAC so it is great to get your feedback on the pre. David was asking if I wanted a phono-stage as well as the line stage pre. Not certain on this yet. I have a nice Lector phono-stage at the moment. David thought his phono stage would be an improvement on the Lector - any ideas on this welcome. I must admit that I listen to my streaming input a lot more than vinyl now since I like to listen to new recording and could not, even if they were available, afford to buy these on vinyl so I think I wll probably just go with the line stage in the end. What attenuators did he fit to your pre. I have some resistor attenuators from the hi-fi collective which I was thinking of getting David to use but he was talking about the use of autoformer attenutors but I think they will come as quite a bit more expense. Sounds like you were really pleased with your dealings with David so I really looking forward to working with him to realise my DAC and pre-amp. Kind regards David - Do feel free to come round for a listen if you are ever up in the York area.
    David
    Equipment Garrard 401 Slate Plinth SME V Van Den Hul Colibri cartridge
    Lector Phonostage
    Raspberry Pi Allo Digione Signature Streamer, Chord Mojo dac running Roon distribution
    Audiopax Model 5 pre-amplifier
    Croft Series 3 OTL amplifier
    Quad ELS 57 speakers (some of the last built SNs in the region of 52000)
    REL Strata V subwoofer

  9. #9
    Audio Al is offline Pishanto Specialist & Super-Daftee
    Join Date: May 2012

    Location: Dagenham Essex

    Posts: 11,215
    I'm Allen.

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    I can confirm David is a decent chap , he rebuilt / upgraded one of my valve amps a Audio Innovations 500 ,

    Did a excelent job and kept up with good communications ( PS I'm not on the payroll )
    [

  10. #10
    Join Date: Mar 2016

    Location: Barnet, london UK

    Posts: 2,146
    I'm Adam.

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    Quote Originally Posted by dpgals View Post
    Dear Westlower

    Thanks for the review - great to hear the feedback on David's pre. I just happen to be thinking about getting David to build me a DAC and possibly a pre-amp as well. I am pretty convinced about what he has been telling me about the quality of his DAC so it is great to get your feedback on the pre. David was asking if I wanted a phono-stage as well as the line stage pre. Not certain on this yet. I have a nice Lector phono-stage at the moment. David thought his phono stage would be an improvement on the Lector - any ideas on this welcome. I must admit that I listen to my streaming input a lot more than vinyl now since I like to listen to new recording and could not, even if they were available, afford to buy these on vinyl so I think I wll probably just go with the line stage in the end. What attenuators did he fit to your pre. I have some resistor attenuators from the hi-fi collective which I was thinking of getting David to use but he was talking about the use of autoformer attenutors but I think they will come as quite a bit more expense. Sounds like you were really pleased with your dealings with David so I really looking forward to working with him to realise my DAC and pre-amp. Kind regards David - Do feel free to come round for a listen if you are ever up in the York area.
    Hi David, yes my dealings with David Coe have always been very pleasant ones.
    Apart from being good at what he does, he also listens and is flexible enough to give you what you are looking for. Some builders / engineers / audio designers are quite stubborn and generally think their personal approach is king. Well David thinks sound quality is king, this may sound a fundamental requirement from a hifi component designer / builder, but I’ve found it’s often lost.

    As far as the phono stage is concerned, if your after a top of the line vinyl playback then I can only say the LCR was quite a step in a different presentation to what I had before. And I love it . Sorry I honestly can’t comment on your current phono stage as I don’t know it. Your profile shows a very decent vinyl front end, I’m a little surprised you listen to the Mojo DAC more than the vinyl.

    Anyway after this Covid nightmare is over you are welcome over here to spin some tunes and hear for yourself. As I said before I think the Satchmo mk3 is remarkable at Any price point. It’s that good, with or without phono stages.
    Good luck with your system (btw I don’t have any professional links with David Coe)
    "lack of passion is fatal"


    Vinyl: Thorens TD-124mk2 / SME-312 Aluminium 'special' / SME M2-9R / STEREO: Etsuro Urushi Cobalt / Shure M3D / Ortofon SPU A95 / Cartridge Man Music Master / Shure - SC35C (US) / SAEC C3 MC MONO: Miyajima Zero B 0.7mil mono / Miyajima Premium 1.0 / Amps & SUTs: Radford STA25 mk3 / AD Audio 'Satchmo2' pre & LCR phono / Hashimoto HM-7 SUT / ETR-MONO SUT Digital: Audio Note 4.1 (with DAC5 upgrades) DAC / Roon / Tidal Speakers: Tannoy 12" MGs' in RFC custom 'Rutland' Cabinets with RFC crossovers / Tannoy ST-100 Super Tweeters Cables: LFD Grainless phono / RFC Mercury / Duelund DCA16GA tinned copper / Kimber 12TC / SW1X Audio Design USB-SPdif / Duelund DCA20GA interconnects / SW1X Audio SPDIF Aero 6 / Mains Power Conditioner / Box Furniture rack / Audiodesk Systeme Vinyl Cleaner / a very beautiful & understanding Wife!

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