Well the Pearl came today, unfortuneatly I only got 2 records in
So this is a very early opinion of how I like it.
Just for referance the carts I have heard myself are as follows, Audio Technicas: 120e, 95e, 440, 95sa, 12e, CN5626al ADC: qlm32, Grado: Black, Red, Master, Shure: m97xe, V15 III and I think maybe a few other "budget" carts that escape me.....
First up is the record I always use for first reference, Duke Ellington: Ellington Indigos, the six eye stereo version. As soon as the music started it was apparent to me I was going to like this cart! And after listening to the first side, I did......very much so. It was just a superb tracker, the last track on the frist side is the only track with any singing, bad idea for cheap carts.....always some sibilance, but not with the Pearl. It glided right through the last track with the same fidelity as the frist! It also had very good channel separation, you could define the position of each instrument in the studio very well. And as I was hoping, the midrange was almost Grado good! And my other hope was not let down either, the upper registers were great, liquid yet crisp, nice and airy, not rolled off at all! I found that I had liked the top end of my AT 95sa but the Pearl made it seem harsh in comparison. The low end was also good, the Upright was very life like, you could hear the finger nuances, you could hear the body vibrations, you could hear the strings, all very defined, it rivaled an 800 dollar Grado, it was that good! Though the bass was quite accurate I found it a tad bloated on the lowest frequencies. But not too much to be annoying.
Next up was one of my all time favorites The Dark Side Of The Moon, the 30th reissue. It 5again handled sibilance very well, with only a few times hearing very slight, though I must admit I've never not heard it so maybe I cant fault the cart for this:scratch2: One thing that really stuck out to me was the accurate reproduction of distortion on the guitar, just amazing, sounded just like it should. On a The Great Gig In The Sky, the female vocals with the piano was just breathtaking, and NO sibilance!!! On Money, what stood out that really had escaped me with other carts was in the intro with the bass the guitar in the back ground, it was very separate, not that I couldn't tell the difference with other carts, it just separated them and gave them there own space way better than my previous carts ever could. And again the distortion was spot on, and fantastic sounding......gave me goosebumps!. The drums also were terrific, simbels were airy and not congested, and not overbright, just a thing of beauty! Us And Them when the sax chorus and everyone is all going at it together, has always been a bit congested, with the Pearl it still is (I was ruined by an 800 dollar Grado) but much less, and again it rivaled an 800 dollar Grado in that department! With the chorus blazing the sax still sounded great too, as good as the solo's, which I think is quite a feat. The organ in the background really shined to, was again more noticeable and separate from the rest of the sound going on. Any Coulor You Like has never been heard so well before by me (have only head Us and Them with the highend Grado), the keys were exceptional, as was the guitar. The channel separation was again just great. The guitar was so life like, I just cant get over it......pick noise and everything!
All in all so far I really am liking this little gem. It preforms well outside its price at 100 bux, and is the best tracker I have encountered! I would most defiantly recommend this cart to anyone.
More to come........possibly by this time next week! Hope this is a good little blurb that makes you want to hear it for yourself, Nick
Its going to get here next week, so the waiting game commences!
