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Post by nrg on Jan 12, 2016 11:08:39 GMT
BTW AT cartridges should have at least 100 ohm loading - I found increasing to 150 ohm made the 33EV sound a little more open. Why? There is no hard and fast rule here. I primary load the SUTs I use and implement a Zobel network on the secondary to tame transformer ringing. Even before this using secondary loading, I used a 5x~7x loading. I've found 50 Ohm works well for me on the 33...I use a high loading on my Kontra B as well. YMMV. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2016 11:22:11 GMT
BTW AT cartridges should have at least 100 ohm loading - I found increasing to 150 ohm made the 33EV sound a little more open. Why? There is no hard and fast rule here. I primary load the SUTs I use and implement a Zobel network on the secondary to tame transformer ringing. Even before this using secondary loading, I used a 5x~7x loading. I've found 50 Ohm works well for me on the 33...I use a high loading on my Kontra B as well. YMMV. SUT's are different than active phono stages - was referring to the later. |
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Post by MartinT on Jan 12, 2016 11:26:26 GMT
Yes indeed, I was able to load the Shelter with a low 15 ohms or so when I had the Choir Audio SUT, but it uses 100 ohms now with the Aurorasound VIDA phono amp.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2016 12:52:33 GMT
Good result, glad you are happy. I didn't notice any "noise" with my Lentek, what exactly do you mean? I can understand when you say you don't notice the FRT-3 - do you mean that you feel the Lentek added some colouration to the sound?
Is the Fidelity Research FRT-3 new or pre-owned? I can see them on ebay for about $300 used but a Google search didn't show up any for sale new.
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Post by MartinT on Jan 12, 2016 13:10:03 GMT
The Lentek is a head amp, so noise with that amount of gain is always going to intrude to an extent, depending on cartridge output, gain and volume setting. The FR is a step-up transformer so has no inherent noise.
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Post by ChrisB on Jan 12, 2016 13:15:42 GMT
Maybe worth reminding folks of the rest of the system Jules.
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Post by julesd68 on Jan 12, 2016 13:21:03 GMT
Good result, glad you are happy. I didn't notice any "noise" with my Lentek, what exactly do you mean? I can understand when you say you don't notice the FRT-3 - do you mean that you feel the Lentek added some colouration to the sound? Is the Fidelity Research FRT-3 new or pre-owned? I can see them on ebay for about $300 used but a Google search didn't show up any for sale new. Thanks - it's a pre-owned unit. Without any music playing, if you have the volume turned up to a reasonable amount, there is an appreciable amount of noise coming through the speakers - I guess it sounds something like wind rushing! I wasn't aware of this when listening to music, but if the background can be totally silent, so much the better in my book ... |
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Post by julesd68 on Jan 12, 2016 13:23:49 GMT
Maybe worth reminding folks of the rest of the system Jules. Yep - The Source turntable > Kuzma Stogi > AT33 PTG/II Fidelity Research FRT-3 SUT > Conrad Johnson EV 1 phono Consonance R150 integrated Tannoy Chatsworths (HPD's) |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2016 13:41:48 GMT
The Lentek is a head amp, so noise with that amount of gain is always going to intrude to an extent, depending on cartridge output, gain and volume setting. The FR is a step-up transformer so has no inherent noise. OK, understood. When I switched from the Lentek to the RFC MC1 SUT I didn't notice any change in the speaker hiss however, so I can only assume it wasn't caused by the Lentek. |
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Post by MartinT on Jan 12, 2016 14:17:00 GMT
Yes, that would be hiss created elsewhere in the system. The Lentek hiss would be there, but below the system noise floor.
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Post by jandl100 on Jan 13, 2016 8:29:31 GMT
It’s as though the veils of a thousand vestal virgins have all been lifted at the same time. Keep it clean, Juilan, keep it clean.  Nice review, good outcome! |
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Post by MartinT on Jan 13, 2016 9:15:56 GMT
It’s as though the veils of a thousand vestal virgins have all been lifted at the same time. Keep it clean, Juilan, keep it clean. I don't think my heart would cope! |
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Post by julesd68 on Feb 12, 2016 12:05:09 GMT
Just a quick update on the AT cart.
It has been a bit up and down as I get used to the accuracy and neutrality of the cart but in the end I'm really enjoying this.
The best recordings sound better than before and the not so good sound worse!
I made the mistake of buying the Audio Fidelity release of Kate Bush's Hounds of Love, without doing a bit of research on it first. Quite apart from the numerous pressing faults, the re-mastering isn't anywhere near as good as Sensual World. There's very little treble to speak of, everything just comes across as a slightly compressed midband without any sparkle. Very dissapointing but the cart has shown up the deficiency of the pressing very well!
Another example is the latest David Bowie lp. Listening to it I realised very quickly that it had been mastered from a cd / file. Some great songs but shame they didn't put as much care into the mastering as they did the fancy packaging ...
On the upside, I have found listening to some of my classical lp's is almost like listening to a different piece of music, such is the extra detail the cart is digging up! Dynamics can be really startling at times as well.
So all in all I can thoroughly recommend adding this cart to your shortlist if you are looking for a low output MC that is at the more affordable end of the spectrum. It has been an incredibly good value buy and can imagine it will be some time before I can buy something significantly superior. I bought it with very low hours so should be with me for some time.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2016 13:44:32 GMT
All modern recordings are mastered from files so the new Bowie will sound digital. However it will be better than the CD due to higher bit depth and lack of compression. I think the AF Hounds Of Love is the best vinyl version I have heard so the recording is likely the problem. It does have some pressing issues however though luckily they are minor on my copy. Steve Hoffman does tend to smooth of the top end a bit on his masterings which can sometimes be better or worse. At least it sounds more analogue than other cuts (both original and EMI 100). The original pressing of HOL was never great.
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Post by julesd68 on Feb 12, 2016 14:17:50 GMT
Digital can sound ok when it's digital done well - AF Sensual World also sounds smoothed out but there is still some top end there and better sense of dynamics - I really like that lp and the pressing is superb, no issues at all ... Maybe that and Hounds were pressed at different places?
I've started buying some new classical vinyl where it is possible to get fantastic quality all analogue recordings. These can compare favourably with recordings from '60s and '70s. It's generally easier to know exactly what you are getting from these smaller labels as they most often give you more details about the mastering process etc
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Post by MartinT on Feb 12, 2016 15:22:50 GMT
My experience is that Kate Bush does too much tampering in the studio. She smothers the life out of recordings. Compare her more recent albums with The Kick Inside, which is excellent and not produced by her.
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Post by dsjr on Feb 13, 2016 15:39:42 GMT
No such thing as a 'digital' sound, but certainly a case for an 'analogue' sound ime.. Hounds of Love originally sounded excellent on both vinyl and CD and the mastering engineer (Chris Blair?) seemed to gently ride the level controls when cutting the vinyl. Not compressing as such, just gently bringing down the loudest bits and boosting the quiet ones just a little, so you'd only notice in a direct a-b which I did a few times back then. 'The Red Shoes' was the one though. All instruments out of phase so that when played on a Dolby Surround system, most of it sprayed from the rear channels. The same CD sounds much better today though, for whatever reason  |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2016 16:01:52 GMT
Apparently there were two mix tapes for Red Shoes (same mix) - one to digital and one to analogue. Digital was used for the original CD and vinyl. The recent Fish People reissue CD uses the analogue tape and sounds much better for it.
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Post by dsjr on Feb 13, 2016 18:58:17 GMT
There are mixing/mastering facilities who nearly closed when analogue went out of the window and many artists recorded at home. A few of these I'm told, were able to slip into analogue mastering for vinyl cutting, taking digital original recordings and preparing them for vinyl mastering. A year or two ago, these people were incredibly busy again.
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Post by julesd68 on Jun 6, 2016 16:18:28 GMT
I've now had this cart a good few months now and possibly the best tribute I can pay to it is that I've been pretty busy on the vinyl buying front!
It's just an immensely satisfying cartridge all round with no obvious weaknesses for me. It has made me understand that none of my previous vinyl set-ups have been anywhere near as good in revealing the true character of the source material, good and bad. The Fidelity SUT must also play a big part in this aswell and they appear ideally matched.
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