Mike congatulations on the new cartridge .

I have some questions though:
What are youre thoughts on cabinet difraction , you have had many speakers ,some had felt , some rounded edges some had a large front cabinet and the ones you have now have a very minimalized front .
Do you think felt helps or not ( ease of listening) or does it make the sound dull .
second what do you think are the main advantages of having a large speakersystem compared to a smaller one , i dont nescesarilly mean room fill.

henk jan

andromedaaudio January 31, 2012 19:53

Just a curiousity question. I am using the Ypsilon phono stage with their transformer recommended for the A90. Should that be optimal for the MC Anna? I am already on the list to get one.

fcrowder January 31, 2012 18:13

Thanks Mike for the detailed comments regarding diffusors and MM Mini One.

lapierre January 30, 2012 02:09

as i mentioned above, the Ortofon Anna arrived Friday afternoon. Joel Durand was kind enough to offer to install it on my Telos yesterday afternoon. first we listened for awhile to the A90, which was sounding great. then the Anna.

Anna front
Anna back
Anna side

the Ortofon Anna uses the same SLM (selective laser melting) to build the body as the A90 but it's now made of titanium instead of stainless. the 'Anna' is named after Anna Netrebko, the opera singer.

my previous taste of the Anna a few weeks ago in another system was not conclusive since we switched phono stages when the A90 was switched to the Anna. i could tell it was very special but the phono stage change was too extreme for any specific conclusions.

well; this time there was no place to hide. and as good as the A90 is and has been in my system, the Anna is now my reference cartridge.....and after listening for maybe 10 hours last night and this morning, i feel the Anna is not just a little bit better than the A90.

the Anna has some break-thru technology which i must admit i don't fully comprehend. as i understand it is more efficient at capturing energy and so is more linear and especially more dynamic. and what i hear is first an effortlessness and level of resolution that is startleing. this is from the first few seconds that it hits you as quite different. and there is quite a bit more texture and body, not any coloration or thickness or rounding, but just more life and organic color and richness.....even a sweetness. there is more spacial information, but also less 'noise' around images and more musically significant information. things are 'clean up and real'. you realize that distortion is lowered significantly.

it's better at all the things the A90 does well, that linearity and naturalness along with great transient snap and smooth extended highs and lows. then add in the sweetness on top of the Lyra Olympos SL, the attack and speed of the vdH Colibri, and the tonal richness and mid-range beauty of the Koetsu RSP without the rounding or carmel color. i've owned and enjoyed all those cartridges. the Anna does all those things, and also it has a special ability to bring more order and reality to the soundstage, and the music seems more of one piece and together. that little bit closer to real.

i'm blown away. bravo to Ortofon for having the vision to build such a great product.

the A90 is still a great cartridge; and the Anna is twice as expensive as an A90, so it should be better. i see the Anna as a natural next step for A90 owners who can afford it. it does pay homage to the attributes that attracted so many to the A90 while going to another level and adding strengths.

the Anna has .2mv output, the A90 .24mv output. i plugged it into the same set-up as my A90 had on my draTZeel NHB-18NS......it's loaded at 47k with 64db of gain. and the Anna had plenty of gain for my system.

i want to repeat the word 'effortless'. the Anna never breaks a sweat. i'm guessing that the technical advantages in efficency of this design is the secret of what it does.

i've not heard everything out there, but the Anna is easily the best of what i have heard. my only complaint is that my 60 year old eyes cannot see the stylus and cantiliver as easy to hit a specific groove.....i need my glasses for that now.

mikelavigne January 30, 2012 01:51

Mark, agree that Paul at Adona is a pleasure to work with, good luck with your rack upgrade.

mikelavigne January 29, 2012 20:59

hello mike i follow your thread always with pleasure .
I have a question though or actually 2 :
First what do you think of felt or other absorbant materials around the tweeter and or mids / woofers .
Do you find this technique effective in eliminating cabinet diffraction or is it not really nescesarry when you have a acoustic well treated room .

Secondly you have had wilsons /kharmas von schweikerts and probably more i dont know off .
What do you find serious plusses of having a real big loudspeakersystem as you have now.
Things that spring to mind are off course : more room fill /bigger soundstage greater bandwith off course .
I hope you can shine a light on that .

henk jan

andromedaaudio January 29, 2012 17:52

Mike,...thanks! Paul L at Adona has been great to do business with over the years. I have all the parts for a triple-wide HT rack system in the garage as well. That's a lot of granite and X and Y-Frames hanging around the house :-). Thanks for your comments and advice. I will definitely do some more investigation into Paul's latest offerings and will plan the move!

zephyr24069 January 28, 2012 16:33

Pierre,

sorry, forgot about your MM Micro One question.

i did hear the MM Micro One at RMAF; i likey spent 5-7 hours in that room over three days. like all the comments you have already read, it is a remarkable speaker and even maybe a bit unbelievable that it can do what it does at it's size and price. i know all the gear intimately that was in that room as it's mostly what i have in my room, and it does get you quite a long way toward what the big boy Evolutions can do. and obviously it worked great in that small RMAF room. there were many questions about where was the subwoofer in the room from listeners.

you cannot go wrong with the MM Micro One's. and the fit and finish on it is also remarkable for the price.

mikelavigne January 28, 2012 15:43

Pierre,

prior to trying the T-Fusor's on my side walls, i had hung a couple of 2' x 5' Navajo rugs in the same place over the 3/4 finished plywood wall surface and it really deadened the sound. knocked all the life out of the music. so i did not want any absorbtion at all. i just wanted some diffusion to eliminate any slap echo from the facing walls without changing the tonal nature. and i got the result i wanted from the T-Fusors, and at $59 each they are relatively cheap and easy to use. i painted them and mounted them with velcro tape 2 years ago and they have been trouble free.

since those side walls are not first reflection points, and they are so far from the speaker drivers (and it's really the sound decay they deal with), i did not need the precision of the RPG Skyline's in that location. those side mounted T-Fusors are essentially behind my speakers.

the Skylines are needed in a place like the backwall between my speakers where they get first reflections and have to maintain tonal balance with their diffusion. my room is 21 feet wide. so the first reflection points on the sides are a long way from my ears and there is built in diffusion in the walls there. in the ceiling i have those angled panels eliminating any first reflection issues.

in a smaller room where the first refection times are relatively short; you need the most agressive and accurate diffusor possible on on first reflection points on side walls and the ceiling; such as the Skylines.

all diffusors do absorb to some degree. but my whole agenda and my room designer's agenda is to retain as much musical energy and life as possible (note the hardwood floor at the speaker end) and use diffusion and minimize absorbtion to maintain order in the soundstage and tonal integrity.

i will be sure to spin some Yellowjackets this morning; i have a couple of their CD's (and likely an Lp or 2 too). back in the 80's i saw them a few times here loacally. they were on my heavy rotation for awhile.

mikelavigne January 28, 2012 15:16

MIke couple of questions on room treatments...

Did you improve the broadband diffusion by filling the cavity into the back of the T'Fusor Diffusor with acoustic foam or 1" rigid fiberglass? Also, why didn't you use Skyline diffusor on the side walls? Just curious.

Any chance you listened to MMMicroOne - more my speed - for smaller listening rooms?

Spin the Yellowjackets.

lapierre January 28, 2012 04:52

Mike,

with Ortofon again using the SLM (selctive laser melting) process, but now with titanium, for the body.....you would think that there is likely an advantage to those coupling pads on the top of the headshell over a flat surface. i'd guess (a SWAG) that on some material interface level those pads will stay more stable over time than a flat surface....and therefore improve performance.

mikelavigne January 27, 2012 23:25

Sam,

the head switch wiring plan on my Studer was a matter of discovery. it was the first A820 Ki wired a switch into and was intended to be temporary, just to see how it would sound and whether there would be issues. it sounded so good that i never worried too much about the cosmetic aspect of it; i know it has bothered Ki more than me. although now the discussion here has motivated Ki to move forward on both my A820's and 2 of his with some permanent solutions including drilling the head shell structure of all 4 A820's to mount the switch and running the wires under the panels to tidy rear RCA jacks. it will look 'factory' soon.

and yes; Ki is a gift from God to tape-heads everywhere....and as good (and likely better) than advertised.

mikelavigne January 27, 2012 23:19

hi Mark,

i do like the Adona racks and the composite platforms. i think the Adona rack systems have excellent build quality and high quality materials. the multi-element platforms work great for me since you have high mass but with the impendence changes with the different materials so energy is not transfered up through the rack. it's ideal for a turntable with some designed in isolation or for my Wave Kinetics A10 U8 isolation footers.

to me there are grounded racks, and decoupling/isolations racks. the Adona is a great choice for a grounded rack.

btw, very nice system you have there; and moving up to the higher level Adona racks will give you more effective grounding as they have more mass and structural integrity. however; predicting actual performance improvements with a better grounded rack would be depend on your specific gear.

using some sort of decoupling/isolation interface between your current Adona rack and your gear might get you more performance than a rack upgrade.

in any case i do highly recommend the Zero Reference Adona rack system.

mikelavigne January 27, 2012 23:06

Mike,

Thanks for the link on Ortofon Anna.

I noticed Ortofon Anna has three raised platform squares for coupling with tonearm headshell instead of traditional "full" coupling. Very intriguing...

mikelakers January 27, 2012 20:14

the Ortofon Anna has arrived.

just now UPS delivered the Anna. it's the new top-of-the-line cartridge from Ortofon with a bunch of new technology.

i heard it for a few hours a couple of weeks ago and was very impressed. it was very alive sounding with great slam and drive. i'm looking forward to getting it mounted on the NVS-Telos and spending some time with it.

an interesting coincidence is that my first A90 (which i still have) is serial number 8; this Anna is also serial number 8. sounds kinda mystical.....i know in some cultures the number 8 has good kharma.

:^)

mikelavigne January 27, 2012 19:46

Mike, how are the Adona Zero racks working out for you? I utilize Adona prior rack versions with great success particularly when coupled with Composite Audio platforms and was wondering how the Zero Reference racks compare to other things you have looked at? Thanks!

zephyr24069 January 27, 2012 13:26

Hey Mike,

I love it ;-)

I already received the conversion kit from Audiohouse.ch. Had to execute a wire transfer...mailing/shipping items between Switzerland and the U.S. is lickety-split :-)

Martin Berner is a gem. He was able to provide some history on both my Studer A820's that perhaps, would be difficult to secure, otherwise. Establishing provenance on fine machines, whether they be Ferraris or Studers, always appealed to me and helps make this avocation...special!

I acknowledge the choice you made wrt wiring...that, for me, would be a difficult one -- I am quite enamored of the A820 lines :-)

I can't wait to meet the inestimable Ki -- certainly, his wonderful reputation precedes him!

Best,
Sam

c1ferrari January 26, 2012 23:51

hi Sam,

hopefully your Studer 1/2" conversion kit arrives sooner not later. ;^)

it's worth the trouble.

i do not have a close-up picture of the direct-out head switch that Ki did on my 1/4" A820 that i can access from here at work. when i get home tonight i'll try to take the best picture of it that i can and post it. it's not as pretty as it will be when the it gets integrated into the head block cover. obvioulsy i don't have a picture of the head switch on the 1/2" becuase it's not yet installed.

the wires currently travel between the reels on top of the chassis. there is no noise, hum, or any sort of problem the way the switch and cables are now. and i'd rather have this situation than something 'clean' that has issues.

what i wish i had is a film of Ki doing the actual head switch install, which is like watching a world renouned brain surgeon in action at the top of his game. talk about poetry in motion.

mikelavigne January 26, 2012 17:33

Hi Mike,

Cool ;-)

I sourced a NOS Studer 1/4"-->1/2" Conversion Kit from Martin Berner at Audiohouse.ch. They extended me a courtesy price!! I'll mention it on my system thread -- hopefully, sometime this year, haha.

Mike, any chance I could see a pic of the wires coming out of the headblock? Or, are the wires underneath and obscured from view :-)

Thanks,
Sam
p.s. Tape is #1 ;-)

c1ferrari January 26, 2012 07:57

tonight i got my hands on a few 1/2" low generation master dubs from some amazingly good source tapes. i'm listening now to these thru the stock Studer A820 electronics (with the OTL output cards) and 50 feet of cheap XLR cables into the darTZeel XLR inputs. not exactly the optimal output signal path for the most refined performance.

but they sound fantastic, and the 1/2" brings a meatyness to the sound which gets 'that' much closer to real than any other source i've heard. you've not heard a midrange like you hear it from half inch.

please forgive my emotional response to this experience. i reserve the right to modify my perceptions based on longer term listening.

and i know that with a direct out head switch into the King Cello, with the 'zeel' BNC into the dart pre it will go that much further.

:^O

mikelavigne January 26, 2012 07:12

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the tip on the Lp of the RR Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances.
Keep the suggestions coming.

Yes, Audio porn for sure:
Wave Kinetics NVS turntable with large Halo and Durand Telos Tonearm (A90 cartridge).....

I have been enjoying mine, simply awesome!

grr6001 January 12, 2012 13:39

interesting Mike. I have that CD. It does have great depth and soundstaging, but is ever so slightly dry or thin sounding. So I guess I need to get a turntable....

agear January 12, 2012 10:50

i just recieved a new Lp of the RR Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances. this recording has been a reference in CD since it came out in 2001, and i also have it on my server in the HRx 176-24 version. i've likely listened to this recording many hundreds of times.

but never like this.

as i've been listening i've been trying to determine whether it's an analog master or digital master, or something 'in-between'. i've read the notes from the CD, and looked over the RR web page. the only thing i can find is a quote from a review Harry Pearson did when the CD first came out that reads

how Johnson got that huge climax at the end of the Dances cleanly onto tape transcends engineering and goes into the realm of magic." -- Harry Pearson, TAS

in 2001 i think RR was still doing both a 176/24 and tape master from the same mic feed. anyway; at this point i don't really know the answer to the source format.

Harry Pearson does mention in his review (AS Jan 2012) of the previous RR Lp release of the Stravinsky 'Song of the Nightengale' that it's analog tape based, but transfered to 176/24 for feeding the cutting lathe due to concerns about the condition of the master tape. which is where my 'in-between' comment came from.

i'm going to go out on a limb, and say i think this one is analog tape sourced based on what i'm hearing. the tape would only be 10 years young.

in any case; if you liked the CD or HRx of this recording, you will love the Lp. way more meat on the bones, more tonal color and body, and a liquidity that gets lost in the digital process. and the dynamics and bass are wonderful.

both the CD and HRx are known for their excellent soundstage as digital recordings, the Lp is better yet but not hugely so, although it does have more depth and ambient substance.

the Lp simply has a 'believeability' to it which for me gets me to relax into the music. it sounds right.

nice job RR, and nice mastering job by Chad's QRP facility.

quiet, flat surfaces and really nice sounding on my NVS/Telos/A90 set-up.

anyone who wants to easily compare CD to 176hz-24bit to an Lp just try this and decide for yourself what's going on.

mikelavigne January 12, 2012 03:32

"Porn"...unfortunate choice of metaphor Mike...

Matched with a follow-up comment of "sweet," you are kidding, right Mike?

unoear January 12, 2012 00:47

nice audio porn....

Wave Kinetics NVS turntable with large Halo and Durand Telos Tonearm (A90 cartridge)

sweet!

mikelavigne January 11, 2012 22:12