Mike

I know what you are talking about. When something is sounding good, you don't ever want to change the setup in case you lose the magic :-)

downunder October 30, 2009 01:09

Shane,

yes, the A90 is still quite special sounding. i will try to find the time this weekend to mount it on either the Rockport or the Technics/Reed to get a different perspective on it. i'm very curious about what i will hear; i've simply been reluctant to mess with the Dobbins set-up on both arms. but this is a question i want the answer to also.

stay tuned.

mikelavigne October 30, 2009 00:26

Eddie,

i am trying my best at taking things slow as i know you don't fool around with bacterial pneumonia. back to work this week......so far, so good....getting to bed early, being good.

i did send my darTZeel amp in for the new boards and i should have it back tomorrow. i'm excited to hear the changes.

mikelavigne October 30, 2009 00:21

Mike

Still raving on about the A90?? Have you tried it in the Rockport yet?

very close to pulling trigger, however just unsure how it will sound with my less than good rock/alternative recordings :-)

any further thoughts on this topic, as the purity of the A90 might transcend this

downunder October 29, 2009 23:50

Mike,

Very interesting... I got sick around the exact same time you did. Mine was some sort of viral thing floating around in my lungs. Still lingering but I feel lots better. Hope you do as well!

Jonathan says I should have the cartridge in a couple more weeks. Can't wait to see how it measures up in my new system (MM2's).

Take it slow Mike!

theaudioassociation October 25, 2009 00:58

hi Dev,

thanks for the kind comments, and congrats on your plans to add a high performance tt. sorry for the delay in my response, got sick.

anyway; every tt you mention is pretty darn good. i've not actually had a Grand Prix Monaco in my system; but i've heard it with familiar gear a few times and played with it some. before i try to answer your questions; i must admit to a few tt biaes. i prefer direct drive (done at a high level of refinement) and idler drive (same comment) to belts. it's not that belt tt's don't sound great. it's more that they would sound better with dd or idler drive to my ears. i like the continuousness and spaciality of dd/idler.

i've only heard the Monaco with a Graham Phantom and a Dynavector arm. i'm not sure those 2 arms would be optimal for the Monaco. i think it needs something more lush sounding. otherwise the Monaco is right up there with anything. perfect speed; very lively, low noise, and stellar build quality. is it as good as my Dobbins Technics with the Reed arm? do i prefer it to my Dobbins Garrard/Triplaner/Loricraft?

i think with the right arm it competes but i would choose my tt's. Rockport? nope.

i think a used Monaco around $10k--$12k with a good arm is a steal. you could try a few arms and choose the synergy that works best. i can't see how you could go wrong with that.

regarding the TW Acustic. wonderful sounding belt driven tt's. nothing to criticize. i've heard them make great music. i prefer my dd.

it's really not a right and wrong thing. it's about the sound you like. the Micro Seiki is wonderful; if it is in good shape you cannot lose.

a case can be made for any of these tt's. very subjective subject.

mikelavigne October 24, 2009 22:37

Grandizer,

no doubt lots of music has an edgy unnatural sound which may not benefit from a high resolution system. but it's hard to generalize about such things. in other words, high resolution systems can be too knife-edge in their tonal balance and push otherwise enjoyable recordings into 'edgy' territory. high resolution is only one attribute of a system. many issues can affect the overall natural balance of a system.....too numerous to list really.

i think it takes time to tweak a system to have that overall balance to where you can clearly assign 'edgyness' to a recording software and not to the system or particular source gear.

when i first was in this new room i went thru a few years of discovery on how the room and system interacted on various types of music.....this room retained much more reflected energy than my other room. i needed to adjust my set-up and evolve as a listener.

i found better more natural digital sources (over a few generations of a couple of different products)

i also discovered that the phono cartridge i had been using, the vdH Colibri, was causing edgyness. i had to learn about how to work with different speakers.

with lots of feedback from visitors and lots of listening eventually i did get a system balance which i am satisfied with. now i feel pretty confident that my sources are inherently natural as is my room; if the music is edgy it's a software issue.

as far as what i do when 'software' sounds too edgy; well.....i rarely encounter that these days. yes; some pressings are 'leaner' sounding than others, but it's more a matter of 'less wonderful' and not 'bad'.

i do have tweeter adjustments on my speakers but i have not touched those for over a year now.

if you find that lots of music you encounter is too edgy; then maybe consider that it may be that you are evolving as a listener and that your system needs to change to something that is more natural sounding. 10 years ago i switched from Levinson/Wilson to Tenor/Kharma......and never looked back.

as far as DSOTM as a recording; it's not acoustic music.....and therefore not particularly good as a reference. maybe consider something with acoustically recorded piano, violin, horns, guitars, massed voices. if those sound natural and full bodied, then you are on the right track. if they sound thin or edgy......look at your high resolution gear. something is maybe missing.

mikelavigne October 24, 2009 19:17

Jazzdoc,

thanks for the kind words. and thanks for bringing all the great new music. there is nothing better than getting exposed to great music. i do need to take better notes.

that 'Staple Singers' tape is awesome; i love to play it. it shows what is possible. i continue to use all three tt's, they are definitley different. i'm getting up the nerve to move the cartridges around; but i'm reluctant to disturb Dobbin's set-up magic on the Technics/Reed and Rockport.

anyway; once i do move them around we'll need to do some more work, and hopefully we can include a visit to your place next time in the festivities. i need to hear the changes in your room and system, particularly your new speakers.

mikelavigne October 24, 2009 18:46

hi Ed,

sorry for the delay in this response. last week was crazy, out of town 2 days and visitors 2 nights; then last Friday i got bacterial pneumonia, 103 degree temp and i've been off the grid for the last week.

i was in one of those Fremer/Fieckert seminars at RMAF and spoke to Fremer and Chris Feikert too; the A90 has lots of fans......you may have it by now.

best,

mikelavigne October 24, 2009 18:22

Hi Mike,

well I will say what has been said many times already "you have a very nice set-up along with some great pces" I have followed along for a while now and enjoyed reading your journey.

I do not currently have a table within my set-up (had one many years ago, a Teres) so the plan is to add one again, which one I'm not sure as of yet. I will also need a phono pre.

A couple of questions for you;

I read some time ago you were going to try a Grand Prix Monaco table in your set-up, did you do this and if so what were your thoughts. If you do not want to post kindly send me off line, don't see one in your set-up so that usually say's something.

My wish list would be to do this once, purchase a great table that I would want to keep for a long time. There are so many out there and my list at one time was long but I have narrowed it down a bit so I think. Below are a couple that interest me but if you could also recomend would be great.

You will likely say what's your budget, well if you read below should help in that, really just depends in the end what I get along with the differences offered, as you already know it just depends.

TW Acustic, not sure if I was to buy to just get my toes wet with the Raven One or just get the latest Black Night which would allow me to add other arms down the road if I choice too. If I go with this manufacturer they now offer a phono pre also which I will need to get anyways so there's a thought but not sure of the quality sonic wise.

Grand Prix Monaco table????? direct drive, looks pretty simple once set-up but does not offer use of more than one arm and I'm not interested in having more then one table but if it works than that's okay too.

I have no problem if the table can only handle one arm but I would want it to be pretty special.

I was also looking at a Micro Seiki 5000 or 8000 which I really like the look of and the build quality looks robust lasting a life time, the TW Acustic looks similar. Not being a die hard vynl guy and without all the connections and/or experience I was a little concerned about the future, any issues etc. so I have put them on the back burner currently.

I believe I would feel more comfortable with a manufacturer whom are still in business, I would at least have some type of support and not have to rely on others all the time.

So if you have some recommendations I'm all ears.

My current set-up.

MBL 101E speakers (very happy with these)
MBL 1621A Ref. transport (very happy with this)
Accustic Arts Ref Tube dac (vert happy with this)
Audio Research Ref3 pre (could change this)
Bryston new 28 Squared mono blocks (replaced CAT JL3 Sig. MK2 mono's, very happy with these)
Cable Stealth through out, IC's Indra, PC's Dream, SC's Dream double run (very happy with all the cables)

Thanks

dev October 20, 2009 02:20

In any event, one thing I have now noticed with more resolution is the problem with source limitations. I listen to some rock/pop music that varies wildly in production quality. Unfornatualy as one gains resolution I can now hear how bad some of these recording are, and as a result can no longer listen to them on my system because some receding are too bright, thin & hard to enjoy now.

Do u have a tricks to override these inherent problems in the recording that are independant of system issues? Do EQ devices or other have any yeild ...any thoughts?

It also amazes me that some of these professional recording engineers produce some of these records to sound bright, thin and hard. Why would someone try and make it sound like this? Why not just copy so the recording tecniques used in classics like Dark Side of the Moon for this type of music??

grandizer33 October 18, 2009 21:21

Last night I had the opportunity to listen to all of Mike's new goodies. As always, Mike is the consumate host and his love of music and audio are incredibly energizing.

Mike played his LP of the Staples Singers, which is marvelous. Then he played the RTR -- WOW! The detail, energy and dynamics of that performance were overwhelming and certainly the best reproduced music I have ever heard.

We spent most of the night comparing two of his state-of-the-art vinyl playback systems. We played multiple LP's with a wide variety of music on the Rockport table with Lyra Olympos cartridge through the Allnic H-3000 phono preamp and the Dobbins Garrard/Triplanar with Ortofon A90 through the DartZeel preamp. I really like how the Olympos interacts with the Rockport. Much more forgiving than the Colibri cartridge. The Rockport/Olympos was a little 'quicker' and 'resolving' but the Garrard set up had PRAT in spades and incredibly involving. Obviously it's difficult to assign particular characteristics to any one component. But it was all good. Actually it was all terrific.

Mike, I am willing to throw myself on the grenade and hereby volunteer to listen to your systems as you attempt to optimize and match cartridges, tonearms and phono stages. I do this not for selfish reasons, but only for the betterment of the Audiogon community. It is dirty and dangerous work but I'm willing to do it!

Thank you for such a wonderful evening.

jazdoc October 16, 2009 17:12

Mike, thanks for the great write up on the A90. I'm eagerly awaiting mine from Jonathan at Chambers.

Talked with Dr. Chris Feickert at the end of his workshop with Fremmer. He said that the A90 was the best cartridge he's heard. He made sure to mention that he's heard many a cartridge and this A90 was something very special.

Also got Chad at Acoustic Sounds to recommend some new vinyl. So needless to say, Teresa and I were carrying some prized treasures back on the plane.

Also eagerly awaiting my MM2's! Hopefully in a couple more weeks!

Happy listening!

Ed

theaudioassociation October 12, 2009 04:47

Mike,
Thanks. Your experience and insights are greatly appreciated. Cartridges are so difficult to evaluate prior to purchase since you can't get a home demo and it's near impossible to listen in a system with which you are familiar. Purchasing a cartridge always feels like a 'leap of faith' rather than a decision informed by critical listening. Your comments with respect to the Dynavector are especially intriguing to me as I am considering a change....

jazdoc October 12, 2009 03:20

Mark,

btw; if you want pictures here is a link to some of them;

Ortofon MC A90 pictures

i tried to avoid comparisons until i switch the A90 to the Technics/Reed and Rockport. i have the Allnic on the Reed and the Olympos on the Rockport now. the Garrard tt is enough different sounding that it's hard to be accurate until i switch the A90 around to different tt's.

regarding how the A90 compares to the Colibri; i think that the A90 approaches the Colibri closely on openness, detail and microdynamics; but is always natural and under control, where the Colibri was always on the edge and you could tell. with the A90 you relax and are comfortable that only music will happen. the A90 has quite a bit more body and ease than the Colibri yet is close in energy. the A90 has that wonderful Colibri neutrality.

compared to the XV-1s that i owned, the A90 is more open on top, more neutral and transparent in the mids, has a more immediate and vivid overall presentation, and more punch and grip in the bass. the XV-1s is a bit more lush and warm.

the A90 might be mid-way between the Colibri and the XV-1s.....which to my ears hits my sweet spot about perfect.

is it as 'magical' as the Lyra Olympos?

here's where i need to move it to the Rockport for the answer. if you drove me to the wall and threatened me with bodily harm.....my guess would be that the $11k Olympos has an edge in refinement and see-thru transparency over the A90. but the A90 might have the edge in 'boogie' factor.

i have not heard the Koetsu Coralstone or PC-1 Supreme in my system. i did hear the Supreme at RMAF and it could be better than any of these or at least right there.

with only 25 hours on it it's too early for me to have solid comparative conclusions. i posted these thoughts because by the time i finally have the whole picture there may not be many of the 400 A90's left for people to purchase.

mikelavigne October 12, 2009 02:36

Mike,

As someone who is living the 'analog dream' that many of us can only fantasize about, could I prevail upon you to provide more details regarding the A90, especially what you think are its specific strength and weakness versus your other fine cartridges such as the Colibri, Olympos, etc? If you were only allowed to have one of your cartridges, which would you choose?

Thanks

jazdoc October 12, 2009 00:40

i've had the new Ortofon MC A90 in my system for about three weeks. i've put about 25 hours on it. i think it may be overall as good a cartridge as i have heard in my system. it's what i would call an 'truth sayer'. it's not going to 'warm over' or 'round' anything, it's not going to 'bloom' where the pressing does not.....but it does have a huge soundstage and fills the room. it has wonderful tone, super clarity, it's both micro and macro dynamic, and it has this organic body and ease that is very involving. the top end is very open and extended but with no edge or etch. the bottom is full and meaty, but not dull or boomey. it's quick and can handle the most challenging passages without breaking a sweat.
some cartridges have that 'magical' ability to rise above the parts and convey the music in a special way; the A90 is one of those. but it does so while remaining very true, nuetral and exciting to listen to. the music comes alive and you want to listen. it's very lively and my feet are tapping, my shoulders are relaxed and i'm smiling. it communicates.

right now it's playing thru my dart phono stage and it loves it.....a great combination. later i'll try it on the Allnic H3000.

right now the A90 is on my 'Dobbins' Plinth'd Garrard 301/Triplaner. once it gets a few more hours on it i will also try it on my Rockport as well as my Dobbins Technics SP-10 Mk3/Reed arm.

this is my first Ortofon, so i can't compare it others. there are a few design highlights which Ortofon touts as significant and have been previously used in the Winfield; (my quotes are from an Ortofon white paper).

"the Field Stabilising Element (FSE) can ensure that the force field remains stable regardless of movement of the armature. The FSE consists of a small cylinder of silver plated copper placed inside of the magnetic system."

"Wide Range Damping (WRD) system. In this system, a small, heavy platinum disc is sandwiched between two rubber absorbers, both with different properties."

"the A90’s boron cantilever – the unique Ortofon Replicant 100. This ultra-fine and now extra polished diamond first was introduced on the famous MC-3000 MkII and MC-5000 cartridges, and has also been used on the revered MC Windfeld."

my A90 is serial number #008, and there will only be 400 of these made.

i purchased mine from Jonathan Tinn of Chambers Audio.

the very big deal here is that it 'only' lists for $4200 retail. that's lots of money; but today the price of admission for the top level of cartridge performance is $10k+ list price.

it's built in a whole different way than any other cartridge.

"At the heart of the new A90 lies a revolutionary customized SLM (Selective Laser Melting) manufacturing procedure in which micro particles are laser-welded together, layer by layer."

it's made of solid stainless steel.

"all of the essential components are built directly into the onepiece
body, including the magnetic system (including the moving parts), the terminal block, and the silicone rubber wire guard."

i wonder if other smaller companies that now build cartridges will be able to take the same high tech approach to building a cartridge.

it weighs 8 grams, has .270mv output, and it's tracking force range is 2.0--2.5 grams.....i'm currently tracking it at 2.3 grams until i get more hours on it. i'm running it level but have not really played with VTA much.

i was at RMAF and attended Fremer's set-up seminar on the first day. Mikey has had the A90 and there is a review on it in the November Stereophile. i asked him what he thought about it and he called it a 'game-changer' and got excited when he said it. they were handing the Nov Stereophile out at RMAF so i did read the review. it's 'over-the-top' but i can understand why.

so far; based on my experience, i agree with him.

mikelavigne October 11, 2009 16:21

Mike, just recieved "Julie is My Name", it gave me goosebumps! At times her voice is so real it's startling (except for the added echo on "Laura" which is on the original) this is one fine mono recording.

idos October 10, 2009 13:24

i just purchased a bunch of Lps, including 45rpm reissues of Aqualung and Julie London's 'Julie is My Name'.

i have owned a bunch of Aqualung pressings over the years, most of which were pretty rough, my DCC has been my favorite. the new 45rpm Classic Records 'clarity' reissue 4-disc pressing pretty much creams it. clarity, super dynamics, and a real immediacy and vividness bring this alive. i had never appreciated how good a recording Aqualung was until i heard this. this is one of those times where an 'Icon' recording becomes new and fresh again, it's that good.

the Julie London 'Julie is My Name' 45rpm Cisco 4 disc reissue is also very special. it's a very intimate, simple recording, just Julie, Barney Kessel on guitar, and Ray Leatherwood on acoustic bass. Kessel's guitar is the prefect accent to Julie's full bodied but subtle voice.....and everything is in perfect tone. you will appreciate the super quiet background on a recording this spare and intimate. i do have a noisey early pressing of this which does not approach this reissue. it's hard to imagine who might not like this. oh and btw, it's a mono but if i didn't read it on the Lp i would not have realized it.

two winners here if you have even a passing interest in the music.....which i definitely do.

mikelavigne October 10, 2009 04:50

regarding RMAF, i just posted some comments and pictures on audioasylum here;

RMAF pictures and comments

it is much easier and faster to post lots of pictures on audioasylum for me.

mikelavigne October 06, 2009 06:45

thanks Geoff.

actually The Carpenters i referred to is the SACD which is 'The Singles' 1969 to 1981. it is multi-channel and i purchased it in the year i had multi-channel SACD in my room and kinda got attached to it then.

i do own the CD of 1969 to 1973 but i cannot ever remember playing it. i do have the Lp of 'The Singles' 1969-1973 and have played that occasionally.

i would enjoy another visit from you anytime you happen to be someplace close and have the time.

warmest regards,

mikelavigne October 06, 2009 06:39

Mike,

Regarding The Carpenters CD - I assume we are talking about "The Singles 1969-1973"? If you have the normal remastered version, I can recommend looking for the Audio Master Plus version, made in Japan. A&M+ CD 3601. Easy to find in the used CD stores and cheap.

I remember hearing "When the Levee Breaks" from that LZ 45 at your place some time (and some system changes) ago. A nice memory.

Regards,

metralla October 06, 2009 04:27

hi Sc,

thanks for your thoughtful comments, and it's nice to reconnect.

to take your connection even further back....the first high end piece of gear i purchased in 1994 was a Meridian 500 Transport and 563 DAC. 2 years later i sold it and purchased a Levinson #37 transport and #36 DAC....but i'll always remember how sweet sounding that Meridian stuff was.

i have no problem admitting that i love Karen Carpenter's voice, or Enya, or really any great pop music. The Carpenters stand the test of time. i hope i'm never a music snob or forget music that sounds good just because it's not 'hip'. i could have mentioned any of hundreds of recordings; it's always appropriate to mention a 'guilty pleasure'.

furthermore; this past weekend i was at RMAF and one room i really enjoyed was the Microcompaniet room with their new $30k speakers. i've always enjoyed the natural sound of Microcompaniet electronics and the speakers remind me of Kharma or Marten; coherent, transparent, and musical.

it appears we continue to have common musical and sonic sensibilities.

mikelavigne October 05, 2009 22:35

Hi Mike, just catching up on all your changes and projects and admiring your improvements etc. I'm the woman who used to have the same CD player you had: the Marantz SA-1! Anyway, we've both moved on from there, though I still miss the Marantz. I'm back to a Meridian 500 transport (which I used to own in the early 90's) and a Squeezebox into an Electrocompaniet upsampling DAC--sounds very nice to me. I just had to comment on your inclusion of THE CARPENTERS on your fab10 list! I've never even heard of a guy who'd admit to even knowing who/what the Carpenters are! I still have their LPs from my college days but have not listened to them since the 70's! Good for you!!

sc53 October 05, 2009 20:15

Ron,

i'll add a note that with each of those recordings i typically play the whole album from beginning to end and savor every minute.

mikelavigne September 30, 2009 05:14