New Technics SU-G700 Mk II on the horizon

@nonoise how is your new Technics getting along?

Ah, @mr_bill , you caught me after listening to Anais Reno and Lady Blackbird. I sit about 7.5' from the plane of my speakers and both sound like they were about 10' away with a level of clarity I've not previously experienced. With my Marantz they just okay, with the Technics, absolutely wonderful. 

The separation I mentioned last week is much, much better as well as the layering. There are now distinct rows and what is placed towards the back stays locked in place, just like the engineer wanted, with lateral presence in that layer. Kind of what you'd hear in real life.

It fleshed out even more (just today) with a lower midrange and base to die for. I'm talking real presence without absolutely any bloat or smear. Both my Marantz and my Kinki don't do what the Technics does. The Kinki betters the Marantz with a bold, detailed and in your face presentation but lacks the Technics effortlessness, grace, texture, tone, and naturalness. This is real iron fist in velvet glove performance. I really can't stress enough the naturalness of the Technics. 

For awhile I thought that there was something missing as it was so engaging but light in tone. I was just too greedy and wanted it all from the start. For anyone who says break in is a myth, just smile and leave them alone to their misery, unaware of what is within their reach.

All this prompted me to rearrange my speakers a bit and now I have some of the best imaging I've heard. Ever. What made me aware of it was while playing Bach's Solo Cello Suite No.1 in G Major-Prelude from Dialoghi, by Elinor Frey, I noticed that Elinor is not facing directly at the listener but just right of center, facing a bit to the left. When she played, the body of the cello came out so robustly that it traveled some to the left speaker and that was when I noticed a bit of a blank area dead center.

I've never experienced that with my previous two integrateds. The lengths Technics has gone to to lower the noise floor and deliver the cleanest signal is evident in everything I'm playing now. Please don't anyone confuse clean with stark, shrill, dry or etched. I've never winced once with the Technics and I have with the previous ones mentioned. It happened with strong female singers as they belt out the tunes and some horns and woodwinds. With the Technics, they just get louder like they would in real life, which leads me to what the Technics does so well: it scales dynamically like a champ. 

I can't tell you how many times I'd adjusted the volume to a nice, acceptable level (for apartment living) only to quickly reach for the remote to bring the volume down a bit when a singer puts in some real lung power. 

I've yet to delve into rock as I don't really listen to it anymore but some Black Keys sounded especially grungy and cleaner than I've heard. That's about it for now, except that I'm sorely tempted to say "to heck with it" and just get the matching SL-G700 SACD player and call it a day until I pass on from this mortal coil.

All the best,
Nonoise

The Kinki EXM is a real good integrated so that adds more praise to the Technics. 
what speakers are you using?

I’m using a pair of JBL 4319 monitors. For the first few days I thought that the JBLs didn’t have enough body as the sound was so clean but a tad bit lean. After things fleshed out over the past week, my CD case’s glass doors now vibrate in sympathy with not only the base, but the lower mids as well. Now I have to close them completely until they latch shut. I’m even feeling those vibes in my body over a much wider range or music.

They’re rated at 38Hz-40Hz (-6db) but when the mids and base are realistically reproduced, as the Technics does, believe me when I say they’re not base light. Not in the least.

And, yes, the Kinki is one great integrated and can run over the Technics, so to speak, but it doesn’t have the finesse and naturalness. Picture calm and strong compared to excited and strong. Both can do the trick but I’d never tire of the Technics.

All the best,
Nonoise

Oh, one more thing. SACDs playing through the Technics have a definite edge over most CDs. There's that something, that je ne sais quoi that CDs don't normally have unless they're mastered by an artist and not some guy just doing his job. 

The Technics processes the signal as intended and it shows. 

All the best,
Nonoise