A note I just received from a friend reminded me that it's time to post an update on the Criterion's break in process. I just checked my spreadsheet, and it appears that I have now reached approximately 510 hours of music making on the pre.
With the premise that I'll never be caught dead saying nonsense such as "Capri sounds broken by comparison"., Criterion is a different experience all together. . . The general effect is not so much of you having a 'better' view into a venue, but of the venue stage becoming an extension of your listening room starting with the front of the speakers. . . The effect is truly uncanny. The staging and the solidity of the instrument images is magnificent, including pipe organ recordings, where the stage has been usually somewhat flat in my prior experience with most pres.
The overall impression is now of an extremely expansive sound with great ease, combined with a degree of detail that I am not accustomed to on my own system. This was particularly apparent on my (1960s) recording of J. S. Bach's flute sonatas performed by Jean-pierre rampal and Traver Pinnock. As you may know, one of the hallmarks of Rampal's playing is of a certain generalized breathiness. . . the breathiness is certainly still there, but it has now resolved itself into several components. . . his of air from the player's upper lip, intermodulated high pitch narrow band warble probably coming from the outer sides of the embochure, and rush of air from inside the flute's pipe. . . and more breathing of the player. . . which sounds like the breathing of a young man. And it is ever easier than before to follow the various contrapuntal voices in the harpsichord part, while the cello basso continuo is ever so much clearer.
Listening to the Goldberg variations played by Glenn Gould is a real treat, if you do not mind is impromptu singing-along, which is, whether we like it or not, more in evidence than before. What I found that now I can even hear some very minor flaws in the performance that were masked before.
I have been asked if the Criterion has authority and good bass definition. . . yes, definitely for both. The bass is extremely extended, and seems to have reabsorbed some minor humps and trofs that were present in the early stages of break in. . . and authority is exceptional, both for bass and treble, which is now incredibly sweet. I find (I believe I may have said this already) raising the volume more and more, because I keep hearing more music and detail without a sense of things starting to break up, even in complex passages
I enjoy listening to a song by Norah Jones. in a semi Dixie style about a sinking boat. . . the song has now reached a delicious transparency and wistfulness, with Jones clearly trying to imitate in a passage or 2 the throaty voice of Armstrong.
I have done about 200 hours on XLR input 1 using my CD player and the rest on RCA input 6 using an old NAD tuner. . . because I do not want to use the CD player as a beast of burden. This means that the XLR input may not be optimilly broken in yet. My friend Lee Roitberg here in Austin has just constructed for me a very nice transformer-based RCA2XLR converter/adapter, which is now enabling me to feed my tuner in XLR input 1 as a balanced signal. . . this means that I can now exercise the primary input for a few more hundred hrs without burdening my CD player. Let me know if anyone is interested in such a device. Lee may be able to construct a few more of them.
A few days ago audiogoners Aaron Lindsey and Scott Oliver have loaned me prototypes of the fruit of their new joint venture: the new Appogg isolation platforms. . . this is my very 1st experience with isolation products. . . I must say that their platforms work very well, particularly on the CD player. . . the platforms are tunable for the weight and size of components. The effect seems a further solidification of images and coherence in the bass. . . . the platform under the Criterion may undergo some further tuning. Info/pics/prices about the platforms at
http://www.appoggsystems.com
Interestingly enough, the esthetics of the platform has been even approved by my wife, who in general finds most hifi thing hideous. . . of course, she is skeptical about the concept, but admitted that they are "very pretty, and quite elegant".
G.
