2. analog
  3. 131346-99360

koetsu

seeking advice as to where the sweet spot is in this line price/performance.

dancekerl
nandric's avatar
nandric
4,086 posts
 

Dear chakster, You remind me of this opera aria from Rigolleto

''La donna e mobile''. I try to please you by supporting your

opinion about the need for a SUT by low output MC carts. My

''division'' or the value of 0,3 mV may be arbitrary but this does

not change the ''idea''. However in your latest post you seem to

agree with the user of the ''Holy water'' from New Zealand who is

against SUT's at any (output) value. But you can't have it both

ways despite the fact that your ZYX CPP-1 is an active device.

I think that you would use any ''authority'' whatever provided they

praise your ZYX which is, alas, totally unknown to other members

of this forum except Dover. The problem with him is , as I mentioned

in my former post, that when he uses too much of this ''Holy water''

he then thinks to know everyting better. I thought that one Raul is

sufficient for the whole forum (grin).



chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
Well, i have transformers inside my WLM Phonata Reference MM/MC phono stage, but unfortunately this stage is also unknown to the members here. The construction of the stage is also unusual as it has "automatic load imedance for any cartridges" (not fixed load imedance like on most of the mc stages). Those transformers are very small, must be lundahl transformers, i screwed up my device when i changed 47k resistors for MM input (to vishay naked foil 100k).

I wish i could try more SUTs, because the gain on my MC stage is not enough for 0,05mV Ortofon MC 2000, but OK for 0,17mV FR PMC-3 as i said earlier.

And as the oppisite to the SUTs i have those headamp and additional JLTi phono stage with "high gain" to handle 0,20mV carts (not not high enough for 0,05mV carts like MC2000).

So it’s not the point to praise zyx headamp, but just a curiosity what is better and why.
For some reason (for the first time) i have hum when i use zyx with FR PMC-3, but when i use same cartridge with my WLM MC phono stage (with build in transformers) i have no hum.

I’m gonna continue my experiments with everything (SUTs, headamps, and high gain prono stages with plug in load resistors). At the moment i can’t say what is better. Sadly no one use the same gear here.

What i don't like about those external devices is that i need more cables and those cables must be top quality to avoid hum. Some cables what works fine for MM carts does not good for low output MC carts. 
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
I’ve come across @rauliruegas post from 2013 and his list of tested SUTs looks impressive (see below):

Dear Dover/friends: Maybe any one could ask: why me that always is against SUTs wants to test it again?.

Well, the at random finding at my place of those SUTs give me the opportunity to test it and to make something that I never try it: the SUT up to date.

I owned and heard a lot of SUTs in my system and in other systems.

I can remember some of them. From Audio Technica: At630, AT7000, AT1000, etc. from Ortofon: T30, T2000,T3000,T5000,etc. Luxman 8020/8030. Denon 320,HA1000, Pionner headamp. Two different Audio Note Kondo’s. Expressive Technologies. Highphonic. Dynavector DV6 ( or something. Classe NIL3 headamp. I owned 2-3 vintage SUT’s by USA designers that I can´t remember. Bent Audio and many many more.

In no one but the NIL3 I made any single up date.

-Raul

This Classe NIL3 is also in Arthur Salvator’s list, it’s funny @nandric but Raul’s farovite Classe N.I.L. headam was creamed by ZYX headamp in Salvator’s tests :)

A.Salvator said: "The Classe was the finest solid-state "head amplifier" ever made (until the ZYX CPP-1)." http://www.high-endaudio.com/RC-Step-ups.html
So i think Raul should try CPP-1, lol

Maybe i already have one of the best headamps, who knows.

The Audio-Technica AT1000T and AT300T, Denon AU-1s and Ortofon T2000 were in my wantlist for some of my LOMC, never tried them yet.

nandric's avatar
nandric
4,086 posts
 

Dear chakster, I have no idea how old you are but I do know

that you are from the former Sovjet Union. Anyway you should

know about collective admiration of the authority there. I was

always wondering in my native Serbia how is this possible in a

country in which one can hardly find 4 persons who can agree

about anything. I got the answer from a totally unexpected source.

Alfred Hitchcock. Ingrid Bergman complained by him about her

next role stating ''I don't believee that  I can play this role''.

Hitchcock: ''But dear Ingrid you only need to pretend''.

All those people in Sovjet Union, China, Serbia, etc., etc., obviously

knew this without Hitchcock explanation. We all have seen many

moves and learned by watching who were good and who bad

performers. So we all can see that the worst performers are the

people in Nord Korea.  Collective weeping is the least convincing

performance one can imagine.

In my opinion your are pretending to search for approval for

your equipment choice by the ''authorities'' like Raul and

Salvatore but you overlooked that you made you choices without

them. You yourself stated that nobody else in our forum owns

your stuff. So, one would think, you deed not need us for your

choices. You are actully making your own discovery jurney and

don't care about what other think. You can't of course state such

things and pretend to care in order not to insult anyone. You are

a kind of one friendly individualist (grin).

ps68
230 posts
 
How does Koetsu Black (wood body) compare with Koetsu Black Goldline (Aluminium body)? Same price in the UK, different spec, but it would interest me to know their characters if anyone can help?

Rgds,
Paul
More to discover