Tranfiguration Orpheus description

I'd like to share my thoughts and Paul's.

First, our thanks for Andrew's kind words about our system. We heard the things he described, with one exception, plus some things he did not mention. He is not an experienced classical music listener, so comparing strange music in a strange system represented a double challenge.

I'll describe what we heard on each LP, to give context and to help organize my thoughts.

'Past Times - Piano Rags'
Nonesuch H-71299 (sealed promo copy)
Surprisingly good rendition of solo piano and soundspace for a non-audiophile label

The O lacked the last edge of speed and did not differentiate the many sounds of a piano so clearly (action of mechanism, hammer hitting string, string vibration, echo off the case, vibration of the case). It slightly muddied all of these.

The O also lacked true HF extension, but this often improves with break-in and it would be unfair to consider this a flaw at the 80 hour point. The shrillness Andrew described at 47K ohms, which was reduced at 1500 and gone at 200, all occured at ~14KHz and below. Frequencies above that were attenuated, though they will probably open up with time. Nsgarch is very probably correct that continually lower input impedances will prove best as the cartridge runs in. I have experienced this with several new cartridges.

'Trio' - Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmy Lou Harris
Warner Bros. Records W1-25491 (sealed copy)
The difficult thing about this record is differentiating between the very close vocal harmonies. In addition, this copy was in cellophane too long and developed a nasty warp.

The Orpheus was virtually unable to resolve Dolly and Linda when they sung tight harmonies. Emmy Lou is easy to resolve due to her unique vocal timbre, but the other two sounded almost like one rather full-bodied singer.

The Orpheus was unable to play track 1, at all. It literally jumped out of the groove. We double checked everything but setup was normal and nothing was brushing the record. The suspension simply couldn't handle that warp (the UNIverse tracks it cleanly and plays without distortion). We had to play middle tracks to hear the Orpheus on this record.

Certain accompanying instruments had a slightly smoothed over quality, but this was easier to hear on other records so I'll describe it there.

'Sonic Fireworks, Vol. 1'
Crystal Clear Records CCS-7010
Many of you are familiar with this direct-to-disk showoff disc. Enormously powerful bass and kettle drums, intense brass and a big cathedral pipe organ on some tracks will challenge the dynamic strength and subtlety of any component in the system.

The O's macrodynamics were very good, but its bass response was flawed. (This is where we and Andrew heard differently.) The O's bass was neither deeper nor stronger in amplitude than the U's. It was slightly boomy, which made it seem relatively more prominent compared to other frequencies. This proved problematical for two reasons.

First, it lacked texture. Compared to the U's deep and growly bass, the O's bass was bold but smeared.

Second, it interfered with the rest of the spectrum. I'll give two specific examples:

a) This record contains many large cymbal hits with long decays. When a big bass or kettle drum hit in the middle of a cymbal decay, the decay was temporarily overwhelmed and became inaudible, then reappeared after the drum energy died down a bit. Those familiar with the U know that it never does this. All frequencies are reproduced cleanly and independently, no matter how crazy, complex or dynamic the rest of the music gets. The O could not match this level of transparency.

b) This record contains both a huge bass drum and a set of very large kettle drums. The O had a hard time distinguishing which was which. The U not only does that, it resolves the size and shape of each.

'Fragile', Yes
Atlantic Records SD 19132 (very minty copy)
Andrew's a rock listener and this represents the best (and almost the only) LP from my rock "collection". ;-)

He asked for the beginning of the last cut on side 2, 'Heart of the Sunrise', and I'll defer to him for why that cut was chosen. Paul and I both heard the same thing however, a dynamically flatter or restrained presentation. The O did not attain the dynamic range between loudest and softest that we're used to.

I think that about covers what we heard. The Orpheus is, as Andrew said, a neutral, uncolored and resolving cartridge. Its bass is solid but flawed and it does not control energies well enough to attain the very low noise floor and wide dynamic range that ZYX listeners are used to. This is what prompted Paul to speculate that a Schroeder might be a good match, since Frank's arms tame excess energies better than any we know.

I'll be happy to answer any questions, but speculation about whether VTF, VTA, azimuth, impedance or other setup parameters might have improved things will not be answered, since that is pointless speculation. We did our honest best in the time we had, with the owner standing right there and confirming every adjustment. No audiophile I've met has ears to match Paul's for VTA and VTF. Andrew and I both confirmed the azimuth setting by ear and we all heard the impedance changes easily. My belief is that we got at least 95% of what this particular Orpheus is capable of given its fairly low hours.

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Doug,
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Nice post. Thanks for taking the time and effort to do into all of the detail and explanations.
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Rgds,
Larry
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I have finally been able to fully digest your post Doug.My very last response to Audiofeil was, in essence, of a defensive nature.Sorry!
I can only imagine how good a sound system you,and Paul,have put together.Based on the well articulated description of it,by Andrew,it has to be damn good,and revealing enough to be appropriate in this "coil shootout"!
Based on your analysis,and perspective by Paul and Andrew, this new Transfiguration design comes off as almost flawed,to me.Especially at the asking price which is in line with the clearly far superior "UNI".The "UNI" must really be special!Especially once voiced in a set-up that is designed to harbor it,on a permanent basis.I have NO doubt.My own "taste",last Thanksgiving was obviously an appetizer.I am most interested if this new Transfig will get good universal press,as based on what you had to say,it should not.We'll see.
I hope my friend does not read Audiogon,as we thought we were happy,last week.
As I am at a point of considering a new cartridge,this leaves me in a conundrum of sorts.Maybe Cello was right.Do I really have to go for a new arm AND cartridge?Let's see how things shake out!
Though you have pointed to some decent performance aspects of the "O"'s design,I "read" your thoughts as underwhelming,towards it!I would not want to own a design that performed to the level you heard with the "O",regardless of the design it was put against.I can only imagine how poor the Temper-V would have fared,knowing how it is a rung below the "O".If your post was in a major publication I see little reason for any of us to want to acquire the new Tranny over the "UNI".
Be happy,as you have what most of us only strive for.
Best!
Mark

Thanks Doug. Great notes.

Speedy, I was in no way questioning your intelligence. A close read of my post bears this out.

Nsgarch, you're a Tranny owner correct? You might want to check out Doug's notes. I hope you enjoy them.

Mark,

We're still striving but we are indeed blessed, not only with some good mainstream components (which anyone might choose) but mostly by a friend who makes rare and very special preamps and amps for remarkably affordable prices. We have not heard anything better them, at any price, except for Dan_Ed's four-chassis version of the same preamp. (Lucky guy!) Meeting Nick was a huge bit of good luck.

Back to the Orpheus. It is a good cartridge, it will get better with time and those with certain listening preferences could prefer it to an Airy 3 or even a UNIverse. The trick is conciously understanding our sonic preferences before choosing a component.

The Orpheus does nothing obviously wrong, it never steps out of line and it is always satisfying and musical, which is more than I'd say about most other cartridges. (You know how forgiving I am!) The shortcomings we heard were sins of omission, the kind of things you never notice until you hear something better. Rushton, Zaikesman and others told me the same thing about my old c-j PV11 preamp, but I never quite believed them until Nick visited us with an Alaap in tow. Then we understood.

Our guess is that "typical" classical/jazz/acoustic listeners would prefer the ghostly quiet noise floor of a ZYX. This unflappable, jet black background lets colors, textures and sudden dynamic contrasts leap out with an "eery" reality, as Andrew noted. OTOH, the Tranny's somewhat higher noise floor gives it an insistent sort of energy that some rock/amplified music listeners would prefer. Those aren't my preferences so it's harder for me to explain them, but I became an old fart when I discovered classical at age 16 and I'm not getting any younger!

Best,
Doug