Synergy is hard to figure out. I’m getting conflicting results with my Yamaha CR-820, Kenwood KA-7300 and Sansui 800. I’m wondering, is it simply that some makes of gear work best with certain genres than others – or is it more a matter of the synergy between components (which seems quite random to me).
So I listened to my recapped Yamaha CR-820, connected to a Technics SL-1200 w Shure M97 and a very nice stylus, into a pair of massive speakers (make unknown), and it sounded just sublime playing jazz on vinyl. At the same time, I compared the Yamaha to my recapped Kenwood KA-7300, which I liked very much in my own home setup (Technics SL-D2 w Denon DL-110 into a nice pair of HiFiMan HE-400 headphones or even my Polk 60 Monitors). In *this* signal chain, the Yamaha was clearly better than the Kenwood, and even slightly bested a restored Fisher 500.
BUT! I get the 820 home, connect to my other system (Technics DD TT w AT-95e Shibata stylus, into small PSB Image 4 bookshelf speakers), and it does not sound anywhere near as good playing rock! Also, my HE-400 cans sound terribly dull with the 820, and the PSBs sound thin. (The HE-400s sound great through my KA-7300).
For the heck of it, I replaced the CR-820 with my Sansui 800, a modest 22 wpc, which had sounded “pretty good” but not great in my office setup playing through a Headstreamer HRT into an upgraded pair of EPI M50s. But when I connected the Sansui to my turntable and those little PSBs, the difference was stunning. I was blown away by how much better the little Sansui sounded in this setup vs the Yamaha playing rock.
So the question is, does the Yamaha simply sound best playing jazz instead of rock, or was it the synergy with the particular components it was connected to? In other words, is it the genre of music, or the synergy - or both?
I’d guess that Yamaha and maybe Sony sound best with jazz and classical; Sansui and Pioneer are best with rock; and Marantz is pretty good at either. What do you think?
So I listened to my recapped Yamaha CR-820, connected to a Technics SL-1200 w Shure M97 and a very nice stylus, into a pair of massive speakers (make unknown), and it sounded just sublime playing jazz on vinyl. At the same time, I compared the Yamaha to my recapped Kenwood KA-7300, which I liked very much in my own home setup (Technics SL-D2 w Denon DL-110 into a nice pair of HiFiMan HE-400 headphones or even my Polk 60 Monitors). In *this* signal chain, the Yamaha was clearly better than the Kenwood, and even slightly bested a restored Fisher 500.
BUT! I get the 820 home, connect to my other system (Technics DD TT w AT-95e Shibata stylus, into small PSB Image 4 bookshelf speakers), and it does not sound anywhere near as good playing rock! Also, my HE-400 cans sound terribly dull with the 820, and the PSBs sound thin. (The HE-400s sound great through my KA-7300).
For the heck of it, I replaced the CR-820 with my Sansui 800, a modest 22 wpc, which had sounded “pretty good” but not great in my office setup playing through a Headstreamer HRT into an upgraded pair of EPI M50s. But when I connected the Sansui to my turntable and those little PSBs, the difference was stunning. I was blown away by how much better the little Sansui sounded in this setup vs the Yamaha playing rock.
So the question is, does the Yamaha simply sound best playing jazz instead of rock, or was it the synergy with the particular components it was connected to? In other words, is it the genre of music, or the synergy - or both?
I’d guess that Yamaha and maybe Sony sound best with jazz and classical; Sansui and Pioneer are best with rock; and Marantz is pretty good at either. What do you think?