Henry,

good to hear from you. regarding the real world, sales have leveled off at the new reality (we've gain market share in a declining marketplace), but we've all learned to live with it by now and resized our expectations so less stress.....and music/audio has reclaimed the 'proper' share of my time and energy. i'm a happier guy for it, i can tell you.

yes; i have had Kevin's and jtinn's new Evolution BNC interconnect in my system between the Playback Designs and the dart preamp for a few weeks now. i love it. as good as Herve's BNC was, this new one captures more air, you hear deeper into the music, better micro-dynamics, more emotion and pulse to the music. it is not a night and day difference; but it is more than a slight difference. in the context of the performance of my system it is significant.

i have only tried it on the source. i would expect it to make at least as big a difference between the dart pre and amp.

it is not cheap. i wanted to get both the one between my Playback and pre and the 7 meter between the pre and amp; but for now i can only afford the short one for the source for now. but i will get the longer one later when i can afford it.

Herve's BNC's sound great and this is not a 'good' and 'bad' thing. more like 'really, really good' and 'even significantly better'.

i hope that helps.

mikelavigne November 18, 2009 14:29

Mike, its been a while...are sales picking up for you these days? Sure hope the worst is over...

I was wondering if you have tried Kevin's new interconnect and speaker cables yet. I haven't read all your posts for a while, so I may have missed your blog.

mtkhl567 November 16, 2009 04:03

Shane,

thanks for the feedback on the A90; i'm happy that you like it. as you point out, it seems to transend catagorizing and just get right to the music. it's neutral but has lots of substance and extension all at the same time.

i especially like the fact that it gives me most of the excitment of the Colibri's but it's always behaved. i've had it on three arms so far and it has thrived on each one.

mikelavigne November 14, 2009 15:27

Mark,

the A90 does seem to be standing tall to further investigation.

i too am very curious how the TALEA might sound on my Dobbins SP-10 Mk3 or Garrard 301. i suspect it will knock it out of the park.

stay tuned....hopefully sometime soon we may have more answers.

mikelavigne November 14, 2009 15:16

Mike - Got my Ortofon MC A90 up and running for 2 days. WOW!

You got it right man, this cartridge is unlike no other I have ever heard. I was expecting it to sound extremely detailed and analytical, but hopefully pure enough for me to like it. I was wrong, this just sounds like pure music.

If you like your system & LP's, you will luv this cartridge.

I am like you Mike, I don't find it stark whatsoever - in fact it is kind of laid back and a little full sounding, with plenty of transparency and dynamics - hold it, thats how I have voiced my system to sound.

This cartridge is so pure sounding, especially in the upper frequencies that you just listen to the music.

thanks for the tip Mike - great cartridge

downunder November 14, 2009 01:54

As one of the lucky attendees at Sunday's analog fun-fest, I heartily agree with Mike's assessment of the A90 on the TALEA tonearm; it kicked ass! Possibly the best audio reproduction I've ever heard. We played a DG Sibelius conducted by HVK, literally goosebump time. Equally as magical with Neil Young and Duke Ellington.

Hmmm...wonder how the TALEA/A90 sounds on a Technics SP-10 MkIII or a Dobbin's Garrard? ;-)

jazdoc November 13, 2009 21:15

hi Ed,

i'm feeling fine, thanks. the bug is gone i think. still trying to be a bit careful though with all the stuff going around.

the Benz Lp is a pretty darn good cartridge. in the December Stereophile Fremer writes about how the Benz LP S (is that different from a Benz Lp?) compares with the A90. he likes them both and says they 'produced profoundly different but equally credible reproductions of the music'. the Benz leans toward romance, the A90 leans toward stark analysis.

personally; i don't find the A90 'stark' in any non-musical way. i find the A90 reveals all the information and energy of the music, does not add anything, but puts all the musical parts together with a great amount of synergy. you hear into the music in a special way.

this last Sunday some friends were here. we had occasion to do some cartridge swapping and comparing of tt's, arms and such. my opinion of the A90's abilities relative to any others was only reinforced by what i heard on Sunday. it kicked ass. the words 'stark analysis' were not uttered nor even thought of.

mikelavigne November 13, 2009 05:44

Hey Mike!

Got my A90 mounted... by Brooks and Brian Berdan. Did an excellent job. The cartridge sounds very different from my Benz LP. Gotta put some hours on it but out of the box it sounds pretty good!

How are you feeling? Got the bug out of your system yet?

Ed

theaudioassociation November 12, 2009 03:14

Microstrip,

that had been suggested to me by Fred Thal (who did the refurb on my Studer) a year or so ago. it would be a wonderful thing if Herve would do it. twice at RMAF Ralph Karsten has mentioned to me that he could easily modify the phono circut in his Atmasphere preamp for tape.

there would be a few challenges.

not sure how long a cable the head amp in my tape decks can push. my Studer and Ampex are very large and right now they are on the other side of the room from my dart preamp.

then there is the EQ switching which repro amps typically have. i suppose it's easy enough to design in.

would there be enough demand to justify Herve's time to design? i don't know. there are a few darTZeel tape heads out there.

maybe i'll inquire about it. hard to imagine a potentially better tape repro unit than a battery powered dart.

mikelavigne November 04, 2009 22:50

Hi Mike,
Have you considered having the second phono card of your Dartzeel modified to accept the direct output of the heads of your tape recorders (Bottlehead style)?
Then you could compare the A90 with your Tapeproject recordings ...

microstrip November 03, 2009 23:14

hi Dave,

it's hard for me to be in a bad mood when i'm messing with audio gear, although i'd rather be listening. this weekend with the upgraded darTZeel amp i had been looking forward to lots of listening....which did not happen....which was the worst thing about the lost screw.

i do need to update my gear profile on A'gon, as well as audioasylum. the big problem is i'm not the sharpest guy with computers and such so it's a bit intimidating......and typically kinda a grind for me to get thru.

but you are right on about the Seahawks; they really suck this year so that does allow more audio/music time on Sundays.

mikelavigne November 03, 2009 01:11

Sounds like great fun Mike.

Here's another task that I loath, updating my equipment profile on A'gon. I can see that you don't like it either, given how far out of date your pictures are. With the Seahawks having such a bad year, maybe you could dedicate a Sunday to that soon. ;-)

Kidding, of course.

Dave

dcstep November 02, 2009 17:38

best laid plans.

so early Sunday morning (about 8am PST) i was switching the A90 from the Garrard/Triplaner to the Technics/Reed. the A90 comes with 4 different length screws since there is limited depth to the screw holes. on the Reed, due to the thickness of the headshell, the 2mm screws were appropriate. they are really tiny. i was trying to get them 'started' and i inadvertedly let go of the arm (still holding the A90) and the arm 'flipped' upward and launched the two tiny screws behind my gear into the semi-shag carpeting.

arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!#@&*$1!!!!

i spent 45 minutes trying to wiggle my big inflexible 58 year old body here and there behind all my gear, under my gear, under and around everything. i found one screw about 10 minutes in. but the other one was 'nowwhere' to be found.

so i proceeded to disassemble my whole system piece by piece. including the 90 pound Dobbins Garrard and the 120 pound Dobbins Technics. even after spending about an hour taking everything (except the 600 pound Rockport) away......i still could not find the screw. so i went away and watched the Seahawks get pounded by the Cowboys as long as i could stand it.....and then get fed by the wife.

i came back about 90 minutes later and searched for another hour; finally the screw decided it had taken enough of my time and it revealed itself. i immediately mounted the A90 onto the Technics/Reed while it was sitting on the floor so if i had a 'replay' i could find the screws easily.

ok; since everything was spread all over my room i carefully dusted all the racks and renewed all the sobothane compliance discs under my Grand Prix Audio Formula shelves. i then reassembled all the gear.

finally about 2pm i was done, and sore and exhausted. and my daughter, her husband and my son were due to arrive for a family day in the next half hour or so. so it was to the showers for me and setting up the A90 and Allnic Verity 'Z' on the Garrard would have to wait for another day.

about 9pm i was able to sneak out to the room and did set the VTF of the Technics/Reed/A90 to 2.20 grams and i did listen to about 45 minutes of music. this was without 'any' overhang adjustment whatsoever.

it sounded fabulous really; i listened to Ella on the 45rpm version of 'Songs for Distingue Lovers'.....wow!

anyway; that's my excuse for not having more A90 feedback......it was not for lack of effort.

mikelavigne November 02, 2009 14:37

hi Eddie,

i'm not the most knowledgable guy either on cause and effect of cartridge loading......so don't take the following as gospel.

the A90 calls for '>10ohms' (greater than 10ohms) which likely means 100 ohms 'probably'. at the moment my dart pre phono (one of 2 phono cards in my dart pre) is set to 810 ohms and 54db of gain. i likely need 60db of gain to be ideal for the A90's .27db of output and when i get that changed i'll also drop my loading to 100 ohms. the A90 sounds quite good even at the 54db gain setting.

when i move the A90 to the Technics/Reed i will then use the Allnic H3000 phono stage which has easily adjusted gain and loading. i'll likely start out at 60db and 100 ohms. i'll report later on what i find.

mikelavigne November 01, 2009 15:31

Ed, congrats to you on acquiring a new A90! I looked over MF's review and he made no mention of loading other than the manufacturer's spec which you referenced. In the HiFi News review test section they loaded it at 100 ohms, so that's where I'd suggest you start. As you increase the loading resistance you will notice a gain in the high frequency's level and extension. It's up to you to determine the setting that gives you the most desirable tonal balance in your system. If you still use the Steelhead you can change the loading on the fly, so it makes it pretty easy to hear the effect of the changes. Enjoy your new toy and please let us know your impressions as you progress with the break-in process.

bill_k November 01, 2009 15:15

Mike, congrats on getting your Dart's back. Sounds like the upgrade was a huge success!

Just got the A90 mounted up today. So far it's very impressive! I know I've got a ways to go before I get to the real juicy tunes but I have to say I like what I'm hearing with only a few hours on it.

One question I have is what load setting on your phone stage you're using. I only have the following setting available:

MC: 100, 250, 470, 1K, 2.5K, 4.7K, 47K

I believe the specs say to use > 10 Ohm. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed so I'm at a loss on what setting to choose.

Hope you're feeling better!

Ed

theaudioassociation November 01, 2009 04:57

the 'new' dart amp continues to amaze me.

i have a CD given to me by Andrew and Jack from HK a few years ago. it is a 2002 Chinese CD 'Paramita' by He Xun-tian (Wind TCD-5258). track 7, 'earth drums' has been a reference track for dynamics since i first heard it. the only problem was that if i pushed the volume much past normal listening level into 'demo-track' levels the lights on the dart would start to flash with each drum wack signifying that i was approaching clipping. so it would tense me up playing the track because the dart was essentially out of it's comfort zone.

not only is this track waaaay more dynamic and vivid now; but the dart amp is not seeming to even break a sweat. everything has an ease and flow and my shoulders don't tense up. this track is on fire! the track now sounds holographic and real in my room.

i'm not one to play 'sounds' much; but they have their place in trying to get a grip on changes.

mikelavigne November 01, 2009 00:47

Adam;

Silver soldering crimp connectors does sound like a common sense tweak. unfortunately with the cost of freight it will have to be something done 'next time', for me anyway. i'm assuming it was not done on my amp.

best regards,

mikelavigne November 01, 2009 00:17

Mike,

Silver soldering crimp connectors was a service offered to me by Hevre at darTZeel factory. Hevre sweared by it. You need to ask Kevin about that upgrade, not sure if they offer it outside the factory, but it is simple tweak, so why not.

Best,
Adam

elberoth2 October 31, 2009 18:44

Elberoth; Kevin (in San Diego) just got the circuts this week, and he had the time to get right on it. i did pay for 'overnight' shipping so i would have it back for the weekend.

i have no idea about the AC socket and crimp connector issue.....i'll have to ask about it. whatever was done is quite amazing.

i listened till late last night, and then left it playing all night. there is a bit of a break-in process happening. it may be just a warm up issue after the shipping; but maybe a very slight improvement in the top end smoothness has occured since last night, improved refinement. hard to identify exact cause. might just be me.

to my first impressions from last night i would add; mid-range clarity and the sense of body and fullness is better; vocals are sifnificantly better, pianos are fantastic.....the added micro-dynamics bring them alive. on small combo jazz the standing bass lines are more significant.

i'm pulling out disc after disc where my musical memory is locked in; they have all taken that magical leap forward in involement. it's going to be a great music weekend.

mikelavigne October 31, 2009 14:59

Jones4music; thanks. one can never have too much Valhalla.

mikelavigne October 31, 2009 14:32

Mike,

How did you manage to get you amp before me, haveng sent it in for upgrade some 2 months later, and living some 10.000 miles further from Switzerland than I do, is beyond me :-)

Anyway, I should have mine on monday, hope the change is as big to my ears as it is to yours !

BTW - Did you ask Hevre to remove AC socket and speakers crimp connectors, and directly silver soldere wires to the corresponding leads ?

elberoth2 October 31, 2009 08:17

WOW! Holy Sh*t!

i just got my dart amp back from having some circut upgrades.

the darTZeel NHB-108 Stereo amplifier upgrade is a very big step up in performance. like supercharging the amplifier. i've been listening here for an hour or so and it's difficult to identify what part is not better.

the upgrade has to do with adding a circut which eliminates the need for DC compensation, and in some way stabilizes the amp. i'm really not the one to 'splain it.

in any case; the amp has much more grip, much more of a 'jump' factor and boogies better. micro and macro dynamics are a few orders of magnatude better. the noise floor is lower, backgrounds are blacker, ambient retreival is better......you hear farther into the music.....and the music is less forced, it flows easier. more detail and more transparency. the soundstage is larger, more stable, and has more layering. and all this while retaining the sweetness and absense of any solid state etch or flatness.

the 'old' dart amp could be pushed to the verge of hardness on peaks; so far i've not found that spot with this upgrade.

if you own the dart stereo amp you gotta do this right the hell now. there is nothing subtle about this upgrade.

mikelavigne October 31, 2009 03:09

Well done! I use some Valhalla in my system as well.

jones4music October 31, 2009 03:05

Oooohhh, new boards! Can't wait to see what your thoughts are when you get them back!

Take it very slow. Had pneumonia 2 years ago and now any time I've got an inkling that there's something funny going on in my lungs I have to go right in and get it checked out. I'll never go down that road again! You're doing it right. Rest, rest and more rest!

Ed

theaudioassociation October 30, 2009 05:21