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The sound of SPU

Friends, I have never heard an SPU but have heard a lot about it. It has an amazing following. The general impression I get from reading various opinions is, SPU has a big, bold sound which is somewhat rolled off on the top and is not too detailed. It is musical in the traditional analogue way but not very transparent or extended.

Recently a friend of mine lent me an old (1970) Ortofon SL15 ELL cartridge which was suppose to have been built on the SPU engine of that time, but is naked and with some modifications to sound more open. Nevertheless it was still aimed at the SPU listeners. Since my tonearm cannot take a regular SPU it was a good way of getting a taste of SPU sound. It is a very low output cartride (0.125 mv) and comes with its own SUT. I have been listening to this cartridge for the last 7 days or so. To my surprise I find it to be a very open, detailed, fast and neutral cartridge. It doesnt have the dynamics of my ZYX but it has a warmer midrange which makes it sound more humane. It is also not as detailed as the ZYX but there is still a lot of it. This is coming from a 40 year old MC cart which was not a top end cart even at that time, has been borrowed from SPU, has only a "normal" aluminium cantilever. The SUT is very good but still not all that great so I am sure it is eating some resolution, still the cartridge makes for such a fulfilling experience, better than most cartridge costing $1k today and many costing much more.

The question is, what is the sound of an SPU ? Is it really fast, detailed and extended compared to other cartridges of its price point or is this SL15 experience is kind of exception ? Moreover today we have much more advanced SPUs like the Meister Silver and SPU90, what can be expected from them ?
pani
213cobra
885 posts
 
The sound of SPU is spatially big, tonally vivid, dynamically strong. I have the Meister Silver and the Synergy. I also use Zu103, Denon 103D, 103S, 103M, 103FL, 305, and have used Koetsu, Accuphase and others in the past. The SPU is not as rounded on top and bottom as its reputation -- it needs an appropriate tonearm and is preferably used with a commensurate step-up transformer.

You can find other cartridges that trace more finesse from the groove and present greater nuance, but the SPU is detailed enough when set up well. Its tonal density and ability to project -- no, hurl -- sound into your room is not duplicated by any other cartridge. It looks old school, has by modern standards a standpipe of a cantilever and what looks like half a carat of diamond jammed into the end, but pay no attention. There's organic truth in that big lump, and SPU completely negates the trend of modern cartridges to make vinyl sound ever more like digital, yet doesn't sound dated.

A Thomas Schick tonearm is a simple and affordable way to hear an SPU authentically.

Phil
bydlo
142 posts
 
Pani, not mean to steal your topic, but which ZYX do you use?

I've been thinking to try SPU meister silver after i finish experimenting with Decca Jubilee, there is a nice summary (in german, post #189):

http://www.analog-forum.de/wbboard/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=88609&pageNo=7

what a bit worries me is the fact that it seems to have some "problems" with complex passages (i remember finding the same comment somewhere else). i wonder if anyone can comment on that?
pani OP
1,219 posts
 
Bydlo I was using a ZYX RS30, which is similar in level to the R100 of the current line up.

213cobra, your description is very interesting. Have you heard the naked version, SPU Royal N ? It even has a replicant 100 stylus profile which is the latest generation profile by Ortofon and is used in their very high end A90 cartridge. I wonder whether that will give the Royal N a more CD like sound. BTW, what do you think about the speed and timing of SPU carts ? Do they sound slower because of their "big sound" ?

Why do you suggest a step up transformer, the output voltage seems quite high for most MC phonostages to handle, isnt it ?
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