Okay, now you guys don't all start pummeling me at once here...
I recently sold my [IMHO very wicked, once properly set up] Nottingham Analogue Studio Horizon/RB300/Grado Ref. Plat. in order to purchase something I had basically pop into my head - a B&O Beogram TX2 in literally new condition, with an MMC3 cart.
I know, I know - what was I thinking!? Well, I'll tell you: nostalgia. I was 14 when I first saw a TX2 at Sherwood Audio in Houston and, as with all B&O's stuff, fell in love with its design.
So, now 17 years later I decided to go for it, figuring I would have the extra dough to do whatever with during the holidays, and you know what? I got it all set up* yesterday, and to my astonishment it sounded amazing! Yes, you heard right, "amazing!"
The sound was extremely clear, without being too bright. The imaging was, again to my astonishment, really kind of strangely 3D. And finally the bass - the bass I had been missing with the Nott arrangement - was there, and combined with the clarity of the treble, created a crisp, yet full, presentation. I was completely blown away - how could this be?!
Was the suspension that isolating? Was this tiny cart. really bettering my Grado (although sometimes I don't think it would be so hard to)? Was this linear tracking really a superior design? As with The Eight Ball, "All signs point to yes."
So, anyhow, if I were you, and you know who you are, I wouldn't knock B&O's tangentials until you've tried them. If you've tried them and dislike them, so be it, move on with your vinyl-loving selves and find what you like - remember that means what sounds the best to you...be it a Transrotor or an old Dual.
Cheers to you guys,
Mark
*It's playing through a Musical Fidelity X-LPS phono pre, into a Lexicon processor, amplified by Bryston, feeding a pair of Klipschorns, all running over DH Labs Silver Sonic cabling.
I recently sold my [IMHO very wicked, once properly set up] Nottingham Analogue Studio Horizon/RB300/Grado Ref. Plat. in order to purchase something I had basically pop into my head - a B&O Beogram TX2 in literally new condition, with an MMC3 cart.
I know, I know - what was I thinking!? Well, I'll tell you: nostalgia. I was 14 when I first saw a TX2 at Sherwood Audio in Houston and, as with all B&O's stuff, fell in love with its design.
So, now 17 years later I decided to go for it, figuring I would have the extra dough to do whatever with during the holidays, and you know what? I got it all set up* yesterday, and to my astonishment it sounded amazing! Yes, you heard right, "amazing!"
The sound was extremely clear, without being too bright. The imaging was, again to my astonishment, really kind of strangely 3D. And finally the bass - the bass I had been missing with the Nott arrangement - was there, and combined with the clarity of the treble, created a crisp, yet full, presentation. I was completely blown away - how could this be?!
Was the suspension that isolating? Was this tiny cart. really bettering my Grado (although sometimes I don't think it would be so hard to)? Was this linear tracking really a superior design? As with The Eight Ball, "All signs point to yes."
So, anyhow, if I were you, and you know who you are, I wouldn't knock B&O's tangentials until you've tried them. If you've tried them and dislike them, so be it, move on with your vinyl-loving selves and find what you like - remember that means what sounds the best to you...be it a Transrotor or an old Dual.
Cheers to you guys,
Mark
*It's playing through a Musical Fidelity X-LPS phono pre, into a Lexicon processor, amplified by Bryston, feeding a pair of Klipschorns, all running over DH Labs Silver Sonic cabling.