@wrm57 Fair points. In all honesty I’m 100% satisfied with my Sig Gold. I’m happy that it costs a bit less as well. :)
I have a thought on the Gold that is a bit off topic of this thread, so I will message you directly. Look out for that if you can.
My Sonic Lab Platinum v Gold Signature
Has anyone compared them? I’m tempted by the Platinum but a little concerned it might edge into hyper-detail, which is not my happy place. The Gold reputedly has more body, but I’m wondering whether this comes at the expense of hard-won things like nuance and dynamics.
From what I can tell the main, perhaps only, design differences are cantilever and body material. The Platinum features a boron cantilever and titanium body; the Gold sports Duralumin, a form of aluminum, for both. Myself, I’ve never heard an aluminum cantilever that didn’t color or soften the sound somewhat, but then I’ve never heard one on a top flight cartridge like the MSL. Both have a DCR of 1.4 ohm and an output of 0.5mV.
The tonearm is a Graham Phantom Supreme; the phonostage is an Allnic H3000, probably via its 13x SUT. Based on MSL’s recommendation, the ideal load impedance is around 3-400 ohms (surprising for such low DCR), so this ratio should get me pretty close to what either one needs. Turntable is an Artisan Fidelity SP10R. Music is mostly jazz.
I'm especially interested in direct comparisons, but I also welcome experiences with either cartridge, and thoughts on how they might mesh with my arm and 'table.
Thanks in advance.
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@vonhelmholtz , Some years ago I owned Mac 501 monoblocks and a C2300 tube preamp. Driving PMC IB2i monitors (big things with transmission line woofers), the sound was rich and musical. I've never heard the M12000 but it looks to be similar in concept: a preamp based on 12AX7 tubes, with beefy solid state amplification based autoformers. I can imagine the higher resolution of the Platinum being spot on for the alluring Mac sound. |
@wrm57 - you and I remain doppelgängers in so many respects. I have never used the MSL though had a few Airtights back in the day. When I finally visited Albert in person-- long overdue- he had two 14 inch Kuzma 4 Pts set up on his tweaked out SP-10mkiii. One had a Blue Lace, the other the Airtight Opus. The latter sounded more linear but the wood from the drum sticks was lifelike on the Blue Lace. Easy to hear the difference given Albert’s set up which allowed us to switch back and forth between arms/cartridges playing the same record simultaneously. I can’t answer your question. I know @mijostyn is a big proponent of the MSL line (not sure which model he prefers). FWIW, I stuck the same Stillpoints under my Allnic phono power supply with the same results. (Currently using a GEC u52 cup base rectifier, which seems to voice "just so" with my system as presently set up). So much has to do with the overall voicing of the system that what works well in one system may not be the right answer in another. best regards, Bill Hart |
Hey @whart , I was hoping you might join in, given our Allnic and other similitudes, and your history with Airtights, which are MSL siblings. I almost mentioned you regarding the Stillpoints, since I knew you had been using them under your PS, too. So you've moved on from Airtight to Koetsu? Jeez, I guess that means I have to think Koetsu now if we're to remain ghostly doubles.:) While you're here, a quick question about your Airtight/Allnic experience: were you running into the 20x step up at 47K? I seem to recall the PC1 had a little lower output than the MSLs I'm considering, which on paper would seem to like 13x. Good to hear from you! Bill |
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