Ah, OK.... Let’s call your observation of the Whest as more neutral to your hearing. I would agree with you. I don’t find it pushes either end of the spectrum; it does it all just right.
I’ll be receiving my new custom built PS.30 RDT SE 2019 tomorrow according to the tracking information. My plan is to plug it in, let it run on power for most of the day to warm up things and then start my comparison to the Whest Three Signature I have had in the ’on’ state for several months. This should be interesting not because it’s a new RDT SE with the 40 series input stage and all of the other 40 series updates, but because James modified the input to 20 pf vs. the standard 91 pf (which my Three has) and he added an additional gain setting at 46 db to the standard 43 db in the RDT SE series for MM use. The Three has both 43 db and 46 db and I found the 46 db was dialed in with my system. So the new RDT SE will have the added 46 db gain plus a 20 pf input capacitance to enable me to hit 150 pf total capacitance with my interconnects and tone arm wiring added to the input of the RDT SE which will match the specification of the AT20ss cartridge. If I need more capacitance, I can make adjustments by using other cable lengths. I am using a .7 meter cable currently which is at 120 pf. It is expected that the lower capacitance will smooth out the upper end even more than it is now.
A smoother upper end in conjunction with the enhanced resolving power of the RDT SE will hopefully work out nicely.
I’ll be receiving my new custom built PS.30 RDT SE 2019 tomorrow according to the tracking information. My plan is to plug it in, let it run on power for most of the day to warm up things and then start my comparison to the Whest Three Signature I have had in the ’on’ state for several months. This should be interesting not because it’s a new RDT SE with the 40 series input stage and all of the other 40 series updates, but because James modified the input to 20 pf vs. the standard 91 pf (which my Three has) and he added an additional gain setting at 46 db to the standard 43 db in the RDT SE series for MM use. The Three has both 43 db and 46 db and I found the 46 db was dialed in with my system. So the new RDT SE will have the added 46 db gain plus a 20 pf input capacitance to enable me to hit 150 pf total capacitance with my interconnects and tone arm wiring added to the input of the RDT SE which will match the specification of the AT20ss cartridge. If I need more capacitance, I can make adjustments by using other cable lengths. I am using a .7 meter cable currently which is at 120 pf. It is expected that the lower capacitance will smooth out the upper end even more than it is now.
A smoother upper end in conjunction with the enhanced resolving power of the RDT SE will hopefully work out nicely.