[]eep]

So continuing...
I didn't buy the highly praised LRS+. It was good, but the enemy of good is better. I could even drive it well with my little 40w translinear current amplifier. Only when driven hard I started to hear compression. And the bass was good but under a certain frequency it was just gone. The sense of space was great. And clarity... This took the longest listen just to set a basins and get to learn the room and simply enjoy the speakers.
Then I switched to the amp set I requested as an option for later; the Nuprime AMG pre+power. Not your average class-D. Yes, it was clear this delivered the power. But it was also very... erm, clear. Not harsh or bright but transparent and clear. Only, again my amp wins in micro dynamics and sounds just a little bit more sweet. The Nuprime set was better, but not more likable and that at more than 10x the price (even with the 25% discount on the demo pre-amp).

Then we switched to the 0.7. I already liked the looks better when it came in. I was not prepared for this. There was the bass. And ease. And space. And no sharpness or anything like they say about the 0.7. Yes the same overwhelming clarity of the Nuprime. But clearly better in all aspects. I was instantly convinced. There's things you just know. This is it! Only... that nagging caveat: you need power for Maggies. The more the better. I brought a butter knife to a tank battle. Does this bigger panel not need more power? So we switched back to my little amp.

And surprise, surprise. It was easier to drive! On both speaker types the VU-meter (or better power meter) finally showed signs of life. At home it rarely budges from the left side. In this heavily damped room with low sensitivity panels and ear damaging volumes the power meter was going at it like a window wiper in a rainstorm. Finally in the red (ie touching on it's dynamic headroom). It never flinched, it never showed any sign of weakness. And I was playing Infected Mushroom and Rammstein and Metallica. Things it's not supposed to do well. (thank you Carl Popper for your theorem)

In cycling terms this wasn't a sprint. This was riding ahead of the group at 47km/h showing off what I'm good at while the rest is gasping for air in my wake. Before the whole panpanic I could keep that up for close to half an hour. It's that same feeling of 'look at me, this is how you do it'. (I have to back on the iron horse.)
So I was laughing all the way home. My tiny amp gave better performance than ever. And it gave better synergy. More dynamic range because of the more extended bottom end, that top I'm never going to need. That bit of sweetness matches well with the 0.7. Clarity, space, drive, speed. With an amp that is specced at 70W@4Ohms.

Now I have them at home in a much less damped room, a concrete box with ample damping and treatment. But more lively than the near dead listening room. Whoops. That bass is REALLY strong. Positioning is easy in an empty room. I now have the snug up to the couch and a lounge chair. The bass is just OK now. My subs only need to fill in the bottom octave 20-40 Hz.

So how does this sound with vinyl? That is the question. I can't equalize that. But it doesn't need to be. I played Apocalyptica, loud symphonic rock with a lot of acoustic instruments in a real space. It was just awesome. The sense of space! And transparency and speed. And the grunt of that bass and cello. You totally forget you are listening to a rock grinding a plastic groove. It's so silent. And natural and rich sounding. Little clicks or pops are totally not disturbing the illusion. They just remind me I'm actually playing an lp.

This is a big step up. And I payed €100 LESS for the as new 0.7 than for the new LRS+ which comes at €1850 here. With a €350 'crappy Chinese' amp. That is the world upside down. But I don't care because I trust my own ears and judgment. But you need to be able to compare.


That's why we need actual stores.

 

[MisterMudd]

So continuing...
I didn't buy the highly praised LRS+. It was good, but the enemy of good is better. I could even drive it well with my little 40w translinear current amplifier. Only when driven hard I started to hear compression. And the bass was good but under a certain frequency it was just gone. The sense of space was great. And clarity... This took the longest listen just to set a basins and get to learn the room and simply enjoy the speakers.
Then I switched to the amp set I requested as an option for later; the Nuprime AMG pre+power. Not your average class-D. Yes, it was clear this delivered the power. But it was also very... erm, clear. Not harsh or bright but transparent and clear. Only, again my amp wins in micro dynamics and sounds just a little bit more sweet. The Nuprime set was better, but not more likable and that at more than 10x the price (even with the 25% discount on the demo pre-amp).

Then we switched to the 0.7. I already liked the looks better when it came in. I was not prepared for this. There was the bass. And ease. And space. And no sharpness or anything like they say about the 0.7. Yes the same overwhelming clarity of the Nuprime. But clearly better in all aspects. I was instantly convinced. There's things you just know. This is it! Only... that nagging caveat: you need power for Maggies. The more the better. I brought a butter knife to a tank battle. Does this bigger panel not need more power? So we switched back to my little amp.

And surprise, surprise. It was easier to drive! On both speaker types the VU-meter (or better power meter) finally showed signs of life. At home it rarely budges from the left side. In this heavily damped room with low sensitivity panels and ear damaging volumes the power meter was going at it like a window wiper in a rainstorm. Finally in the red (ie touching on it's dynamic headroom). It never flinched, it never showed any sign of weakness. And I was playing Infected Mushroom and Rammstein and Metallica. Things it's not supposed to do well. (thank you Carl Popper for your theorem)

In cycling terms this wasn't a sprint. This was riding ahead of the group at 47km/h showing off what I'm good at while the rest is gasping for air in my wake. Before the whole panpanic I could keep that up for close to half an hour. It's that same feeling of 'look at me, this is how you do it'. (I have to back on the iron horse.)
So I was laughing all the way home. My tiny amp gave better performance than ever. And it gave better synergy. More dynamic range because of the more extended bottom end, that top I'm never going to need. That bit of sweetness matches well with the 0.7. Clarity, space, drive, speed. With an amp that is specced at 70W@4Ohms.


Now I have them at home in a much less damped room, a concrete box with ample damping and treatment. But more lively than the near dead listening room. Whoops. That bass is REALLY strong. Positioning is easy in an empty room. I now have the snug up to the couch and a lounge chair. The bass is just OK now. My subs only need to fill in the bottom octave 20-40 Hz.

So how does this sound with vinyl? That is the question. I can't equalize that. But it doesn't need to be. I played Apocalyptica, loud symphonic rock with a lot of acoustic instruments in a real space. It was just awesome. The sense of space! And transparency and speed. And the grunt of that bass and cello. You totally forget you are listening to a rock grinding a plastic groove. It's so silent. And natural and rich sounding. Little clicks or pops are totally not disturbing the illusion. They just remind me I'm actually playing an lp.

This is a big step up. And I payed €100 LESS for the as new 0.7 than for the new LRS+ which comes at €1850 here. With a €350 'crappy Chinese' amp. That is the world upside down. But I don't care because I trust my own ears and judgment. But you need to be able to compare.


That's why we need actual stores.

What a great story, and much thanks for sharing. You HAVE to trust your ears. Even old ones like mine. Lol. I recently acquired the Wharfedale Lintons 85th Anniversary but am looking at the .7 for another space. I have heard various Maggies and always came away very, very impressed. You are a lucky man and I wish you infinite hours of musical joy with your new speakers. BTW - nice picture!

 

[]eep]

Thanks man.

Take in consideration that my living room is pretty standard European size and construction. It is 3.8m by 9m. That's 12' by 30' and bass does not get absorbed by sheet rock walls or wooden floors. There still is a difference in frequency response and speaker build between American, British and German spaces. Well, there used to be. American living rooms are often much larger and construction is often wooden frameworks. This requires a lot more bass power.

That said, the Magnepans really are grandiose. And the main reason I chose them is that they don't age like magnetostatic speakers do. We have two (3?) Dutch brands of magnetostatic speakers (Final, Audiostatic and piosound) but the slackening of the foils is putting me off.

My current amp is called Amp60 translinear by audience.net.cn and are only on Aliexpress afaik. They are not expensive however. Just FYI

 

[]eep]

I have just installed one of my idle cartridges on a headshell. One formidable MC cartridge that can't be overrated. Especially at the price. It's the Audio Technica AT33PTG-II. Be cantilever, ML stylus. I bought this a few years ago as a spare for my Koetsu.

I am kept busy by my guest cat. So far she hasn't discovered the new gigantic scratch posts yet (the Maggie's). As long as I'm busy she just supervises. A good reason to do those things I've been postponing. I needed a closet inspection for mice. So I took out my Lenco that had the PTG installed and put it on one of those cheap headshells. I found out the head was not fixed to the collar So I fixed that too.

Anyway I got it playing. And the first album I tried is that bass-heavy skipping Chemical Brothers album. Yes, this is the brother of my old AT-OC9. Neutral, open, fast. And it tracks really well! With VTF increased a little bit from a 2g on the fly (just balance and push the weight 1 click forward=2g) it didn't rattle anymore on track 2.

If you want better than MM, start here and invest in a really good phono amp! Or a tranny (not the creepy blue wig kind that reads children's books).

 

[]eep]

Did anyone score any Record Store Day stuff? I'm curious because I sadly don't have a brick store near-by.

 

[]eep]

I don't know if I said this before. But I am baffled. I don't understand how my experience can be so out of sync with what I read. Or viewed.

This is about vinyl and Magnepan. About all the bs about 'the mystery'. My personal experience does not corellate with anything I read about Magnepan. Don't worry I'm not mad or disappointed with them. But it's so completely opposite of what I expected.

1: my Magnepan .7 does not scale well.

2: the magnepan does not have incredible detail.

3: it's not bass light.

4: it does not need 500W amplifiers

5: my Magnepan .7 is the big equaliser between vinyl and digital. Or worse actually, it prefers digital. It just throws away the magic of vinyl.

I know. Big words. As it stands it's a love hate relationship. Why didn't anybody tell me? Why does nobody criticize it for the right reasons? I believe the panel is great but the input is crap. It sounds fenomenal with CD material and for watching video with subwoofers. Because you don't know what you're missing. Unfortunately I do know what I'm missing. Detail. And quite a lot. Why? How?

I need to do a lot of explaining. And take this as a caveat: I can only describe what I heard. I'll take it point by point.

1: scalability is the ability to rise to the occasion. Transducers will sound better and better with good auxiliaries. A good turntable will sound better with a good cartridge. A good loudspeaker will sound better with a good source and better with a better and matching amplifier.

... After the break let me continue

This is an early lesson I learned in Hifi. My first speakers had no crossover, just one cap for the tweeter, just like the later Reference3a. They sounded incredible. My second pair was the Roger's LS3/5a that has an incredibly complicated x-over yet scales really well. But it lacks air and bass. Especially the highs were slow and rolled off. I loved them but I hated that. My own design is an ode to the LS3/5a only totally different. No dome tweeter, faster bass speaker 2x3" io. 4" and bipolar, closed cabinet and filter in a seperate compartment. Solid bambu walls with bracing for the woofer. Filter as minimal as possible with very high quality parts.

What is probably correct is that planar speakers need powerful amplification. But more precisely an amplifier with enough current and a stable powersupply so when the impedence is low it can still push. An amplifier with a tiny PS can be 100W @8ohm but only 120W@4 and 60W@2. A stable amp with a big PS doubles its numbers as impedance halves. Like 100W@8 200@4 and 400@2 Ohms. Those are ideal figures.
I played the LRS + with my tiny amp. On some loud passages I could hear it congest. With a 'real' amp, the 130W Nuprime that pushes far above its weight, that disappeared and power was more than enough. But it didn't sound better. Tighter but also less fluid and less micro dynamics. Mind you, this amp combination costs more than 10x what my amp costs. If the Maggie's scaled well it should be blown away.

The 0.7 sounds much wider and deeper. There's real bass and my little amp didn't flinch with the same loud music. The Nuprime AMG, which are not agressive sounding class-D amps just played louder. And sound more 'modern'. It's like dating a supermodel with a brain but no sense of humor.

So where is the scalability? I was blown away with the musicality and finesse and power of my 40W amp. It had synergy. It can deliver 'only' 70W at 4 Ohms versus the 230W of the Nuprime AMG. That is just 5dB of extra headroom btw. (5.16dB)

2: Over to the second point. And this is hard to understand. My Magnepans do not have incredible detail. It's a headscratcher. When I finally bought Random Access Melodies by Daft Punk on vinyl I was in heaven when I first played 'Georgio' and 'Get lucky'. I could not have guessed how much more detail it had than the digital version. Giorgio had a real aged brittle voice that had a presence in my room. On 'get lucky' I could hear the singer breathing in before a sentence. Uncanny micro dynamics and detail. Yes there is a bit of boxyness, some distortion that the Maggie's lack. But my speakers are directly coupled to the amp in the mids. No filter, just a resistor to lower the mids (bafflestep compensation). Otherwise it's full range with an AMT supertweeter.

The Magnepans do have a complete crossover filter. They sound incredibly fast and open but the low level detail gets stuck in the cheesy crossover. I haven't opened it up, and there are NO pictures of it online (huh?) but I can see an iron core inductor, a sand cast resisistor and a compound 3 cheap foil caps. I also have no understanding for that fuse. And the binding posts are anachronistic. Reminds me of 50-ies tube amps.
So while the panels still sound incredible they're never getting all the information.

3: in my room the bass is NOT light. I live in a flat with concrete shoebox 4m wide compartments. The bass was initially way too much. It needs placing with tweeters out to help distancing from the side walls. Over 4 feet from the back 2 feet from the side its still a little bass heavy but ok.

4: I don't know what anyone means by big amps and maybe they means cinemas and concerthall sized living rooms? In the overly damped studio it was crazy loud with my 9" squared 40W transistor amp. Playing it louder with 130W was not pleasant to my ears.
What you need is a stable amplifier with a proper 'overdimensioned' power supply. I haven't tried it with a tube amp. I'll try them on the 4 ohm taps. But the low damping factor on those iron core inductors is bound to sound flabby. Other than that it just need a decent amp that can handle low impedance. Not power.

5: like I wrote: the magic I heard with Random Access Memories is totally gone. It sounds the same as redbook digital. Analog or digitally sourced vinyl? Don't bother. It all sounds wonderful. But I know now that it's limited. It limits my vinyl playback and most of my investment in playing vinyl is wasted. And that bothers me.

So I will be pulling the tacks out from under soon to see what I can fix. Look up the values and get some air core inductors and high end caps. And see what that resistor is for. I'll probably use the caps I have plus some vintage PiO's.

 

[]eep]

I liked this interview. I've never seen an interview with Origin Live. They are especially known for their great tonearms. But also the complete TT is great. Some accessible explanation why a tonearm is important.

I'm not quite in agreement about how you should devide your budget over the different parts of a vinyl setup. I have learned to spend a lot more on the cartridge. The interviewer, Terry, has followed good advice. Only to 'upgrade' to a €100 Goldring from the AT91 (with the carbon cantilever) on a TT costing thousands is ridiculous. Just swapping the needle for an Lpgear CFN3600LE for €39 would rend the same upgrade only better. Same carbon cantilever that sounds full and sweet with a lot more detail. Or even better: the ATN3600DLXVL (Deluxe Vivid Line). Yes, it's a hefty $110 but it's a snap to replace and it's a top of the line 6x75 um stylus on a lightweight alloy cantilever. https://www.lpgear.com/product/LPGATN3600DLXVL.html I use it on my third tonearm.

He has a very good phono amp and Avid turntable with upgraded platter, Rega RB300 arm. I would get an MC cartridge, high output maybe. A Hana maybe. Or an AT33-EV. And yes the arm could be upgraded but I think the RB300 series can handle a lot more than basic entry level MM's. But hey, he has only just started with vinyl and doing pretty well.

Nevertheless a good and interesting interview.

 

[]eep]

It's good to keep some stuff in your basket so you notice price drops. Look at this €66 haul ! Blue Note seems to be on sale here.

 

[FYFL]

Haven’t been ON in a while. Need few days just to catch up. Is someone having fun with LRS+?

 

[]eep]

Haven’t been ON in a while. Need few days just to catch up. Is someone having fun with LRS+?

No. I got the 0.7. It's a lot better. And my little amp is an incredible match even it can only deliver 70W @4 ohm. But it doesn't flinch or pinch or gets in any kind of trouble.

However, the crossover is not up to par as I noticed it takes away detail from vinyl play. Vinyl sounds very much like streaming now. I also got a lot of bass. So that's quite the opposite of what I expected on 3 issues. Lots of bass, easy to drive and lost detail. Go figure...

But it does make everything sound wonderful.

 

[]eep]

OK. Sit down. Be calm.

There's a verdict in the MoFi-gate class action suit. It has been settled for 25 million dollar. $25000000. Yes. And if you bought a single step Master or any other dsd based lp sold as 'pure analog' chances are its very unlikely you get your pound of flesh.

You can get either
1 a refund
2 5% returned
3 10 discount

But there are so many restrictions. You need to be the original buyer, American, have the receipt, prove to still own it or send it in. All accompanied by a special form.

What a scam. You could have bought an original or repress for $25 but decided to buy the $150 MoFi instead because of all the promises. Then you can keep it, put in an incredible amount of effort, and get $7.50 returned. Or get a $15 discount on your next fake. And outside of the US you're screwed.

That is what I call a Pyrrus victory.

 

[]eep]

Oh my. I've done it. I've bought another phono pre-amp. One that I always wanted to try. It's a Chinese 'knock-off' of the Ear 834. When I saw the seperate box and the price I just pressed 'buy now'. I still have a few ecc83/12ax7 nos tubes. And The board is just begging for some mods. The parts look pretty nice, but I will put some PiO 0.1 + 0.1 and 1uF in.

I wanted a good extra phono with a narrow width or stackable. This one fits the bill. And Bill only has to pay €240. It even looks nice next to the black Gold Note.

 

[]eep]

I just received it today. It's looking good. It is just begging for modifications to bring it to an even higher level. The parts are quite good, so is the board. Thick copper traces with values written on the board and plenty of room for expensive caps. The coupling caps are ok, but ERO 1813 MKT is just a placeholder. I ordered 'without tubes' because I already have a stash of cheap Chinese 12ax7 tubes. And I intend to put some original Philips Miniwatt ECC83 in there. And upgrade the coupling caps with vintage PiO, Sprague and Gudeman. The rest of the parts are fine. The volume pot is a real blue velvet 50k. That's nice for matching volume.. I love those rca plugs and the ground terminal. Not a basic finicky thumbnut but just press, insert and let go. Great.

I thought I had a problem with customs. I got an SMS asking to pay vat + clearing. But since Aliexpress is now obligated to charge tax this would be double. As usual I posted a request with the Big Boss in the sky.

This morning (bad night) I got a phonecall from the FedEx mailman. If my adress number was correct... Huh ? Yes. It is a highrise. 'OK, I'll be there in a half hour'. So I got out of bed, still reeeeally sleepy. So he asked for a signature and that was it. But I asked him: "Hey, why did I get asked for double VAT? What should I do?" He said : don't pay it. It'll be all right. We get a lot of those bogus messages. Yeah. I noticed that. The website was full of red warnings. So much I got distrustful.

So... FedEx is plagued by phishing. Good to know.

But the package was pristine. And so is my Hotline. The guy confessed: I typed in the address wrong. With one less 'a'. What are the odds?

So, I'll be getting back in the saddle with soldering. So many projects still unfinished.

 

[]eep]

Getting old.... I had the thing gutted on the table when I remembered my plan to listen to it FIRST 'as is' BEFORE modifications. *Sigh*
So I put humpty together again and collected all the cables to hook it up.

So now I let it warm up a bit. It is not burned in. It's new. I have the AT33ptg connected to my second xformer.

So now I'm playing Elbow - Flying dream 1, their latest album created under lockdown conditions in a small theater.

I already noticed this album is very up close. But the 3 ecc83 tubes of the ear 834p make it sound very intimate, clear and big. Very spacious. I also notice some distortion but it could be I gave the arm post a bump in passing. I have to check the cartridge alignment.

Initial assessment for now is: wow. The potential is there. This already sounds far beyond what you would expect from a €270 total price. That is if I count €30 for 3 Chinese ecc83.

I'm also going to try an ecc82 in pole position. That might bring down the amplification a bit.

Edit:
I compared to the Gold Note, same side. Yes the amplification was rather hot. So I took out the first 12AX7 and replaced it with an old FSG ECC82 (12AU7). Problem solved. No more overmodulation.

The tubes certainly have that magic sound. Less clinical, a bit loosened up and very intimate. Only problem now is hum. I can't connect the ground because I can't find a wire. I'm not in the mood for diving into the spaghettimonster behind my rack just for a quick listen.

 

[]eep]

So I made the final upgrade. I found a great help on the lencoheaven site for this amp. It has pictures with what to watch for. As I found out, I was spot on with my comment on the over modulation. There's a resistor with a certain value that on this board is prepared for an ecc82 in third position. And there are still a lot of possible mods that one could do. Maybe if I read up and understand the purpose I'll do them someday.

Another thing I had to check. The capacitors are rated 250V. And my Gudemänchen (that's German diminutive, reminds me of Mainzelmänchen ) are only rated 100V. As I whipped out the DMM I measured only 26V. Anxiety based on nothing. Well, as they say in timber: measure twice, cut once. Better safe than sorry.

Here's the result:

Look at those beautiful vintage glas terminated PiO caps. And Philips Holland tubes.

So how does it sounds now? I played the same Elbow lp first.

Wow! Buttery smooth. Like fresh made artisanal ice-cream with honey and cream on top. This sounds sooo nice. Ambiance, air and lush voices.

Then I changed it over to the arm if is intended for with the Miyajima Zero mono. And the hum is gone. I knew this would be hone with this cable. All I had to do was switch the sme-plug terminated cables.
My first choice wasn't that great. A real old Errol Garner 10". Not the best recording and pretty worn. But it showed just that. Nothing more, nothing less.

Now I'm playing another 10" Columbia records mono. Amalia Rodrigues. This is a great recording. Very good presence and depth. Her voice is so clear, young and fresh. And the mandolins are so clear and real in the background. There's really not much noise. The record is 70 years old! It's like watching an old black and white movie that has been restored in 4k.