I've been listening to vinyl thru headphones,AKG K702/Burson 160 for a few days now.
The phono interconnects are Nordost Frey series 2 into the Steelhead from an SME set up,Clearaudio MC.
What I have found, is that the interconnects from the Steelhead to the Burson make or break the sound.You can easily hear how each IC changes the sound,softening it, blurring the details or taking away the hiss and scratches.
You can hear each of their colourations.Choose the one that suits you best.
Me?
I'm starting my search now,I don't like any of the one's I am using,truth be told, none are anything special.
I did like the Nordost but it's been moved out to do duty in my cd set up.The Nordost let thru more noise than the other cables did.To me that's a good thing.
Let me explain.
It's amazing to me, how a decent headphone system reveals so many differences I never knew were there when listening to speakers.The little distortions in the vinyl chain that a lot of amp/speaker speaker wire configurations mask and are not so noticeable sitting a number of feet away from the speakers which may not be set up correctly in an untreated room.
So a lot more variables to contend with when you start to audition/review phono stages.
Headphones make it so much easier,just make sure the ones you use aren't known for being of the forgiving kind.
That would put you back to square one.
Are we confused yet?
What is clear to me, is that the Steelhead isn't adding any tube noise or hum.No mechanical noise that I can hear.
What it does reveal is all that is wrong with one recording and all that is right about the next adding very little of it's own noise to the mix.At least I don't hear any extraneous noise coming from the Steelhead.
The Steelhead must be adding a sonic signature,all components do, but to me,it's not one that I can say adds or subtracts from the music.
It doesn't add bloom that's not there, it also doesn't sound thread bare.
But it will allow for those distinctions to be heard when they are on caught on the recordings.
My lps do not all sound the same.
Which is how I like it.
In other words, thru the phones, I hear the surface noise on the records that are the most worn.The noise I hear is the noise that is there from the lp.The better shape the lp is in, the less noise I hear in the background.
Granted it is a hybrid,but the there's no euphonic tube sound nor sterile solid state type of sound either, to go to extreme stereotype comparisons. I prefer to run my MC into the MM section and avoid the transformers.There's more than enough gain even using the 55 db setting.
I think anyone contemplating a phono stage,should audition it with a good headphone set up.
By that I mean not the built in headphone jacks found in some pre-amps etc.
The amount of detail,and unfortunately noise,that one can hear this way,to me indicates a phono stage that is not colouring the sound or trying to make every recording sound nice.
It's just telling it like it is.
If you don't hear any occassional scratches, then what else are you not hearing?
