Why is HFW so biased against vintage cartridges?

[David Price]

Marco - would you be up for a review in my TimeStep SL1200 with SME 5? Or does it have to be in the Jelco? Remember the SME is a massy arm with battleship construction, and has optional fluid damping too, which might help?

Alternatively we could do it in the Jelco 12" and GyroDec, Dave? Just a thought, as the DL103 would probably love a 12 incher?

[Dave Cawley]

Hi David

I think we need to have Marco decide, I e-mailed him twice this morning. I can supply anything..........

Wed/Thur/Fri is fine for me, did you get to speak to Noel?

Regards



Dave

[Marco]

Marco - would you be up for a review in my TimeStep SL1200 with SME 5? Or does it have to be in the Jelco? Remember the SME is a massy arm with battleship construction, and has optional fluid damping too, which might help?

Alternatively we could do it in the Jelco 12" and GyroDec, Dave? Just a thought, as the DL103 would probably love a 12 incher?

Sorry guys, I've been really busy, so can't contrubute much now. David, I hear what you're saying, so I'll give you a bell now to discuss

Dave, I'll get back to you A.S.A.P

Marco.

[REM]

Hi Marco, Dave and Dave.

Would you guys like to throw my Zu 103 into the mix, would be fascinating to see how the different guises of 103 compare to each other, not the sort of thing you get the chance to do too often

p.s. I think it has a more "modern" sort of presentation than a standard 103, you never know D.P. might even like it.

Cheers

[DSJR]

Can't we have proper cartridge testing too - i.e. frequency response, distortion and tracking ability too - ?

I only ask this as opinions are one thing, but there ought to be some sort of reference involved if original masters aren't available to hear how the decks and cartridges differ from them. This isn't to do the Denons down (far from it - quite the opposite I reckon, looking at various HFC reviews in which they measured rather well), but some of the Lyra's, for example, take off and super-sonic nasties can help to overload phono stages prematurely, whereas a SUT may help to damp it a bit perhaps (several subjects covered here, but there's a reason for everything and none of it is magic IMO).

The DL103 seems to like a very massy arm. What happens at the arm/cart resonance point when a Jelco is used as, say, a Rega RB series. How does the SMEV (or even an M3cope when compared to the Jelco???

Sorry to be all objective, but I think these areas should be covered as well.

P.S. Interesting about LP12 fanboi opinion. I never once heard Ivor slagging off the Technics direct-drive principle. Had the LP12 not been derived so heavily from the TD150 implentation of The AR ideas, it may well have been direct drive according to Ivor

[Steve Toy]

Once Ivor had thrown his weight behind the rubber band fruitbox there was no going back.

Re. the Technics for review I can see two options here:

1) With the SME 5 arm - the 'statement'/no-holds-barred option.

2) With the Jelco arm - higher SPPV option that should stilll trounce a fruitbox.

You decide - or even do both to give folks a real idea of the potential of the Technics deck.

[Marco]

Hi Dave,

Can't we have proper cartridge testing too - i.e. frequency response, distortion and tracking ability too - ?

I only ask this as opinions are one thing, but there ought to be some sort of reference involved if original masters aren't available to hear how the decks and cartridges differ from them. This isn't to do the Denons down (far from it - quite the opposite I reckon, looking at various HFC reviews in which they measured rather well), but some of the Lyra's, for example, take off and super-sonic nasties can help to overload phono stages prematurely, whereas a SUT may help to damp it a bit perhaps (several subjects covered here, but there's a reason for everything and none of it is magic IMO).

The DL103 seems to like a very massy arm. What happens at the arm/cart resonance point when a Jelco is used as, say, a Rega RB series. How does the SMEV (or even an M3cope when compared to the Jelco???

Sorry to be all objective, but I think these areas should be covered as well.

Good ideas, but I'm not sure that David had that kind of review in mind. I'll let him confirm his intentions himself.

It'll be featured in the dedicated vinyl section of the magazine, and will based on a 'statement' of how good a DL-103 (SA) can get 'a-la Marco', and simply an acknowledgement of my view of what the 1210 is about (I believe it will even be named 'after me', so to speak, by having my initials put next to it), which is cool and something I'm rather flattered about - cheers, David!

Hopefully it will demonstrate just how good the 103 can get when everything is working in its favour, and how thus optimised, it can compete with some genuinely high-end cartridges. David will also be introduced to a very different presentation/'flavour' to what he's used to with his own modified 1210, so I'm curious to know what he'll think of the 'Marco-boy' version!

The article should be out in the magazine in a couple of month's time, and of course AOS will also be featured as part of it. All-in-all, it should be very interesting, and something I'm looking forward to reading

Marco.

[David Price]

Yep - should be fun. Marco and I spoke at length; I'm going to do everything to Marco's spec, down to the headshell wires and VTA. Dave is going to be supplier, setter up and umpire (will buzz you about this later Dave), and Noel will measure. Working title is "Timestep Technics SL1200 MP", in honour of Marco's very carefully detailed spec. I'll try and do the DL103SA in a SME V too, at a later date, for universality's sake, but this feature is about getting the synergy right. Marco's put in the listening hours, so we can only defer to him on the final set-up details. I really hope I'll like it - even if I don't I have a feeling I'll understand precisely why Marco likes it! Should be fun. Give us a couple of months to get this through the machine though please guys...

[Dave Cawley]

And honour Marco we should!!

Regards



Dave

[Steve Toy]

This should be very good. Faith should now be placed in the reviewing process.

It all seems pretty fair to me.