sqlsavior
Lunatic Member
Friday I was watching a short movie about the Carpenters on PBS, on the modest HT setup in my bedroom, and when they broke off into their fund-raising schtick, I thought “I can do better than this”, and went out into the living room and put on my greatest hits LP of theirs - Carpenters The Singles 1969-1973 (recommended!), on my main system, on the SP-25 that I had been sorting out again after my last attempt left something to be desired. But while listening to the first side, I was underwhelmed by the sound. It was actually pretty disappointing, kind of an “Is this all there is?” moment.
But I remembered better, and I thank heaven for our excellent long-term sonic memory. I had set up the tonearm cable going straight into the Luxman L-505u’s phono jacks, thinking to use the MC setting for the time being, instead of my usual SUT preference. Instead of just flipping the record over, I resolved to set up my Bob’s Devices Cinemag 1131 SUT first, dreading the prospect of fiddling with ground wires around back, out of sight. But I went ahead with it, managed OK, then put on the other side of the record even though there was a little hum present. VTA and tracking were already dialed in and re-checked, so if this doesn’t cure the ‘meh’, I’m out of ideas.
WOW! What a difference! All the spaciousness and separation, with a natural liveliness and transparent view into the mixes, came back! I had seriously mis-remembered the SQ of the Luxman’s MC stage, apparently. The mojo is back, and several more albums follow. Later, lifting the ground switch on the SUT gets rid of the hum. My Ortofon Synergy SPU is sounding great again, like I remembered it from before. I’m relieved and pleased, and stay up half the night playing records again.
I’m a record-playing kind of audiophile, and now have three of my four turntables set up. The Decca/Marantz/Fosgate combo is the quietest and retrieves the most information, very spacious, light, detailed yet very natural, much like the Quads. The Ortofon SPU has a complimentary, full bodied and authoritative sound, a tonal treat. The Benz Micro Wood SM into a Realistic 42-2109 phono preamp has a warm and fuzzy quality perfect for records dissected too finely by the other two.
After a series of setbacks from when my system was at my best, I’m really glad that parts of it are back at peak performance.
Has anyone else gotten though a rough spot, sonically, to emerge with a big grin? Tell us about it, please.
But I remembered better, and I thank heaven for our excellent long-term sonic memory. I had set up the tonearm cable going straight into the Luxman L-505u’s phono jacks, thinking to use the MC setting for the time being, instead of my usual SUT preference. Instead of just flipping the record over, I resolved to set up my Bob’s Devices Cinemag 1131 SUT first, dreading the prospect of fiddling with ground wires around back, out of sight. But I went ahead with it, managed OK, then put on the other side of the record even though there was a little hum present. VTA and tracking were already dialed in and re-checked, so if this doesn’t cure the ‘meh’, I’m out of ideas.
WOW! What a difference! All the spaciousness and separation, with a natural liveliness and transparent view into the mixes, came back! I had seriously mis-remembered the SQ of the Luxman’s MC stage, apparently. The mojo is back, and several more albums follow. Later, lifting the ground switch on the SUT gets rid of the hum. My Ortofon Synergy SPU is sounding great again, like I remembered it from before. I’m relieved and pleased, and stay up half the night playing records again.
I’m a record-playing kind of audiophile, and now have three of my four turntables set up. The Decca/Marantz/Fosgate combo is the quietest and retrieves the most information, very spacious, light, detailed yet very natural, much like the Quads. The Ortofon SPU has a complimentary, full bodied and authoritative sound, a tonal treat. The Benz Micro Wood SM into a Realistic 42-2109 phono preamp has a warm and fuzzy quality perfect for records dissected too finely by the other two.
After a series of setbacks from when my system was at my best, I’m really glad that parts of it are back at peak performance.
Has anyone else gotten though a rough spot, sonically, to emerge with a big grin? Tell us about it, please.
