Justin & Jerry's Hifi Blog

[jandl100]

Jeez, looking a the (very basic) construction of that stuff and cheapo connectors... £800? They've got a fooking cheek!

Good job you paid a lot less for it (and I hope it was a LOT less!)

Anyway, hope it hits the spot!

Marco.

Actually, it's quite nicely constructed. Gentle spiral winding within a thick transparent sheath, and the conductor wires look pretty cool to me! - they look better 'in the flesh' than they do in the photo, maybe!

Ooo, nice - I'm really getting into the sound of these cables - a bit of cable tweaking is needed or the system as a whole sounds a bit too stark and lean. But swapping in a home made Furukawa FP-3TS20 power cord with Furutech copper plug to replace my Acoustic Zen Tsunami+ power cord into my Parasound A21 amp, and all is well with the world. Less forward but still retaining the remarkable transparency of the Abbey Road cables.

Hmm -- looks like my Cable Talk 3 speaker cables have at last met their match! We'll see how it goes ....

[MartinT]

But swapping in a home made Furukawa FP-3TS20 power cord with Furutech copper plug to replace my Acoustic Zen Tsunami+ power cord into my Parasound A21 amp, and all is well with the world.

Did you get rid of your Nordost power cable, Jerry?

[jandl100]

Noooo! - I still like it a lot - transparency, detail, 'staging -- all 'check!'.
I'm not into the bass thing as much as you. And it sounds really fab into my phonostage and as an option into the McCormack disc spinner where nottalotta current grunt is need anyway.

Actually, the combo of Nordost/McCormack is a bit too much with the Abbey Road speaker cables - a bit too slammy and forward for my delicate sensibilities! I'm using a PS Audio cable into the McC at the moment - a bit more laidback!

... as you have probably deduced by now, I'm quite heavily into the mains cable thing at the moment!

[jandl100]

New turntable, chez-J!



A refurbed Mitsubishi DP-EC10.
Direct drive.
Fully automatic.

Whoa !!! - transformation time, BIG time!

As I have aluded to elsewhere, I've found the Mitsu to be very sensitive to the mat being used.

Original stiff rubber Mitsu mat; Pretty Good - my old fave with the PL-71, the Reso-mat; Bad .

An Origin Live mat (link) has been in-situ for a week or so and does provide a modest but worthwhile improvement in perceived frequency extension and clarity.

But perusing eBay, as one does, I came across a turntable mat legend from a decade or three ago - the French 'Dumpa' mat. link. Very floppy and lossy rubber type material, and kinda sticky - you have to peel the LP off of the mat! Apparently, the Dumpa is easier to detach from the LP than its predecessor designs, though! Hmm, that must have been a real bastard to use.
Loathed by many for its reported deadening effect on the music, I thought I'd have an eBay-dump on the Dumpa anyway and won it.
It arrived a couple of days ago, and it has absolutely transformed the playback from the Mitsu tt. With the Dumpa installed, it is easily besting my old Pioneer PL-71 in terms of in-the-room palpability, and musical presence and pizzaz.
I'd guess that it has to be a synergistic energy-coupling-damping thing with the Mitsu platter, but this is just jaw-droppingly good.

Whodathawtit? Not me!

I've a Sound Hifi 'Herbie Mat' on the way, which follows a similarly lossy approach to LP support - I can hardly wait to compare it to the Dumpa!

[DSJR]

The Herbies mat in Techie thickness often works with another type plonked on top. Will be interesting to see your findings...

[MartinT]

It must be synergy. The Herbies mat worked very well with the stock Technics platter, but not the Mike New or Funk platters.

Have you got a piccy of the Dumpa? I feel compelled to see what it looks like!

[jandl100]

Have you got a piccy of the Dumpa? I feel compelled to see what it looks like!

We are a sad bunch, aren't we!



Oops - it's upside down - you can't really see the writing without the camera flash!
And without flash, the mat looks dark purpley grey.

[MartinT]

It certainly looks like everything sticks to it

[jandl100]

It certainly looks like everything sticks to it

Yes, that's certainly an issue with the design.

It'll need fairly frequent washing with slightly soapy water to keep it acceptably clean!

The Herbie Mat has similar issues.

[The Black Adder]

Jeez, looking a the (very basic) construction of that stuff and cheapo connectors... £800? They've got a fooking cheek!

Good job you paid a lot less for it (and I hope it was a LOT less!)

Anyway, hope it hits the spot!

Marco.

Very divided opinions on the Abbey Road speaker cables I find. I would love to own some just because it's got Abbey Road on em... but I'd be torn if I didn't like them... lol - I would want George Martin to pop through the speakers and tell me if it sounds ok for that price... lol

Glad you didn't pay RRP Jerry regardless.. they are well expensive.