Phono Stage upgrade to complement Dohmann Helix One Mk 2

@sksos : " a sound that keeps me engaged and enjoying the music and brings the musicians into my space, or better yet me into their space. "

How what I posted could goes against your statement or against true fidelity? or against accuracy that you mentioned??

About SUT I owned/own over 15 different units including Kondo and I listen Kondo electronics several times in my system.

Certainly you can’t know what is true fidelity when your all tube phono stage is inherently just colored, yes is what you like and this is not under questioning.

Btw, I was not know that you are an audio dealer, it’s ok. No problem with.

R.

Sorry @rauliruegas I usually place at the end of a post "Dealer disclaimer" especially when I talk about any equipment. I've been a member here since 2006 and as you can see I don't post much, up to 114 posts now. As for Kondo gear, initially it wowed me then I found it just too euphoric and "earthy" sounding. Yes I wanted a more accurate sound which I think you still can achive with some tubes. 

I'm not the most knowledgeable about different turntables, so my experience is rather limited.  I've only had a Rega P3, Rega P8, and then made a (very large) jump to the Dohmann Helix One Mk2.  The audiophile friend who's been in vinyl for decades was very impressed with the Dohmann.  Coming from the Rega P8, it's a world of difference:  a vast improvement in every aspect:  detail and clarity most obviously improved to my ears

@drbond I had the wisdom, luck, or just curiousity to stop by Dohmann HQ on Sat Feb 18th. (Mostly to see about a Schroder brass HS weight)

It was a wonderful couple of hours, and it is hard to find any fault with the TT as it was setup, and the music that was there was about a 50% overlap with what I have, so it was a good sign.

There are many “double negative” Australian sayings, and they can be subtlety different than without double negatives… but as the saying goes, “Dohmann makes it hard to not like him.”

I have a good cart, arm, phono stage and the SOTA rebuild is proceeding. But that Helix is really something else again.
I don’t think you will have much left to blame things on… but cartridge set up is an easy way to find a failure even with everything being good on its own.

well done!

Helix is one of the best I’ve ever heard.

@holmz

Thanks for sharing! Was the Dohmann HQ in Australia, or Bulgaria (as I just read a Fremer article about Dohmann, Schroder, and another sound equipment manufacturer joining together to form a conglomerate in Bulgaria.)

Yes, the alignment was tricky the first time, but I made all my mistakes on the Rega P8. I’ve only used the UNIDIN alignment on the SmarTractor, since I listen to entirely acoustic/classical/jazz music. Do you have any idea how the Baerwald or Loefgren alignment would affect the sound, if at all?