Just pulled the trigger on one of these babies....

[MartinT]

We are limited by the musics we listen to

Of course, and I can only play what I have in my collection.

However, I can only repeat "I don't think any really good system (or component) should favour one kind of music over another". Yes, all our systems have shortcomings, but the measure of a truly great system is one that could play anything well. That continues to be my target, anyway.

[Marco]

I do agree, but then what Jerry says also applies and makes sense.

Aside from that, regarding the DL-S1, could you read my post #156 (recently edited), particularly the summary, and confirm that you can see where I'm coming from?

Marco.

[jandl100]

Ah, that's fine for a "target" - but all systems I have heard fail to achieve it.

I'd rather have a system that plays 'my music' better than say some dubstepping techno. I'd buy quite a different system if I wanted to blast out 20Hz at 115dB.

Anyhow - good luck with achieving your goal!

[Beobloke]

I'd rather have a system that plays 'my music' better than say some dubstepping techno.

Yes, but therein lies the issue - what if dubstepping techno does make up part of 'your music'? I'm certainly not averse to a bit of this but it's a long way from being the only thing I listen to. Let me give you an example - last Friday night I found myself in the house on my own, with my new pair of speakers installed in my listening room and nothing in particular to do (well, actually I should have been painting some skirting boards but couldn't be a*sed!).

Consequently, (and I'm ashamed to admit it's far too long since I've done this) I plonked myself into my listening room for nearly 4 hours with a few beers and big pile of LPs and CDs and just listened to a load of 'my 'music'. The music in question ranged from Melody Gardot to Metallica, and inlcuded stops along the way at The Eagles, Sarah K, Bach, Deadmau5, Enya, London Grammar, Mozart, Disclosure, The The, Caravan and Pink Floyd. The cartridge happened to be my Audio Technica AT-OC9MLII which I like very much, and it did a cracking job of all of it. Exactly how many different cartridges should I really have used for all this do you reckon?!

[MartinT]

Anyhow - good luck with achieving your goal!

Thanks!

[Marco]

Indeed, Adam, but we're in danger of entering into the realms of absurdity... No-one's suggesting that one should have multiple cartridges, in order to reproduce every genre of music, although some do, including having three different tonearms fitted to the one T/T, with different cartridges on them, just for that very job!

However, I think that classical music has particular demands that warrant (if one is willing to go there) the use of a certain components and/or cartridges which excel at satisfying those demands. In that respect, I can understand why Jerry, for example, builds his system in such a way as to achieve precisely that.

With the DL-S1, I have a cartridge that excels in certain areas that are important to me, whilst opening the window onto my favourite music in a different, but equally valid and entertaining way, to my SPU. That, muchacho, is the ticket to a whole world of fun, which for me is what high-end audio is all about!



Marco.

P.S I trust that you can see where I was coming from in my previous post, #156?

[Reffc]

I don't know about anyone else, but if I didn't have a cartridge that didn't play Reggae as well as classical, blues, operatic, jazz or pop-pap, then I wouldn't entertain having it in my system because a good cartridge should be well capable of 20Hz-20KHz, with dynamics, trackability and resolution enough to do all musical genres justice. The Zyx can and so could the Shelter in my system before that. Now if we're talking about loudspeakers, then that's a different story. Few I listen to can do all music the justice it deserves. For me, a do-it-all speaker has to (by definition) be capable of full range performance, have adequate resolution and measure reasonably flat with good driver integration and phase response. That rules out around half the speakers sold today. Since not everyone has the room (or budget) for a good full range speaker, then taht is really where most compromises lay, and I go along with Jerry here on the speaker front since some are better at some genres than others. That, or we learn to set compromises we can live with.

[Marco]

Indeed, Paul. However, in all my years of experience, I've yet to hear ANY cartridge reproduce jazz music as well as an SPU, when suitably optimised, or classical music, as well as a Denon DL-S1, when optimised in a similar way. In audio, as in life, there are different tools for different jobs.

On top of that anyway, both cartridges reproduce all other genres of music extremely well, just not as well as they do with jazz or classical - and I like having cream on top of my cream cake, not just in the middle...

Marco.

[User211]

Having heard Jerry's system quite a few times, I actually think it is a pretty damned good all rounder. We have pretty different tastes in music, but the sh*te I like (rock, electronic, reggae) does come across very well on Jerry's gear, at least when he isn't using a blinking T-ampon with no power, LOL.

Really seriously good all rounders will have a pretty goddam flat in-room FR, I reckon.

[Marco]

Quite... If a system can reproduce full-scale orchestral music with convincing realism, then it should do the same trick with rock or reggae.

Loved the T-ampon remark, btw! Major lolz

Marco.