As a former piccoloist, who has soloed Stars and Stripes Forever while high-stepping up the 50-yard line, I'll share a couple of brief thoughts on piccolos and flutes.
Whether a flute, and piccolo to a lesser degree, sounds round (meaning overtones and breath are evident) has a lot to do with the style of the performer. A very pure tone may be found in Galway. A more rounded tone may be found in Herbie Mann. To me, Galway may be compared to Yo Yo Ma, a technical virtuoso. Mann, and perhaps Eric Dolphy, may be more likened to Pablo Casals. A flute played at lower register with a lot of volume of air and diaphram support should have a resonant quality, similar to the overtones of the low strings of a cello played with force. If performed this way, a good test is to see whether a system can reproduce the roundness of the instrument and the vibrato of the performer.
Personally, I liked the overtones of the flute and found, especially in the lower register, that they are emphasized by employing a wide embouchure coupled with a strong diaphram. Other flutist prefer a purer tone, meaning overtones and breath are less evident, and this usually means using a smaller embouchure and perhaps blowing less air. In short, if you are using the flute or piccolo to test your system, it will be helpful to know the style of the performer.
After having strived to sound like Jean-Pierre Rampal, I eventually came to prefer a less technically pure sound in favor of one with rough edges to it. If you have not heard it, I highly recommend a listen to Herbie Mann's, At The Village Gate, an imperfect but wonderfully musical recording that shows a soleful side to the flute. I use it to test cable midrange. Many cables sacrifice the roundness, meaning mostly low overtones, in favor of a correct upper register.
If your system can accurately play a piccolo at realistic volume and not sacrifice a bunch of other musical attributes to do it, then I give you "props" :).
Last thing: I'm bringing ear plugs for any full on piccolo tests.
Best, Jeff |
Jj, I know exactly what you mean. I actually have had a thing with my right ear that seems to resonate with real high freq. and high vol. blasts (piccolos, irish pipes)...feels like it is popping in and out. High frequencies are my hot-spot and I can't stand it when they are wrong...at live venues, I constantly am stuffing my ears with plugs or napkins, or whatever is available when things get loud and shrill. But, that is live music, which, even if poorly balanced and sucked-out in the midrange, if amplified, is still live and still trounces the best systems I have ever heard when it comes to emotional connection to the music. A couple of weeks ago I was at a Santana concert at an outdoor venue with really awful PA balance... napkins stuffed in the ears, bitching every 20 minutes that the sound guy should be fired for steeling (sp. error intentional) the magic coming from Carlos Santana's Gibson...all that, plus the 20-something, midriff baring dancing narcissist women in front that made it hard to see or concentrate on the real performance...still, an experience that no stereo could ever duplicate. We spend countless hours and ridiculous amounts of money and achieve a sound at home that is objectively superior to what we hear in concert, in areas of correct tonal balance, timbre...blah, blah, blah... but never even come close to the joy of feeling that thud in the chest, or soaring extended notes that live performances revel in, even though recorded versions of the music do not allow such "excesses"... Reminds me of the problem I have with Glenn Gould's decision to walk away from live performances in favor of the "control" possible with recorded venues...but where is the life? The irony there was, they spent countless dollars and hours trying to damp out his own live exhuberance (a serial hummer...) at the keyboard on recordings, which he could not suppress, that would have been either inaudible, or welcome at a live performance.
Sorry, did not at all wish to undervalue the achievements of Mr. King at the vtv show. Rather, he should be applauded for the passion he has maintained in his work with tape machines. This is probably an indicator of his knowledge of music and that it just sounds more alive through his rebuilt Stellavox than just about any other medium. And, if he is aware of this, it is no surprise that he could put together a very musical small system that works well in a hotel room.
I remember returning repeatedly to a room at a mid-90's Stereophile show to relax and lose myself in the music being produced by Victor Tiscareno of Audio Prism with his little 70 watt stereo amp driving a pair of the original Totem 1's. Lovely. Sounded (if on a slightly smaller scale) like what I heard in the concert hall with chamber music, or solo acoustic guitar, or vocal... Of course, that year, Wilson Audio won "best sound" of show, even though it was totally out of whack, overly huge, harmonically challenged...and hurt my ears. Not a mention of the AudioPrism/Totem room, even though, to my ears, it was no contest. Taste? Perhaps. However, if you spend a lot of time at live events, you know what musical instruments sound like (Jj, as a musician knows, certainly, better than I) and what usually passes for high-end audio ain't it. Sometimes live music hurts your ears, sometimes it is far more delicate than any stereo can be. But "we strive on, against the stream..." ever hoping to get closer to the magic that a well-practiced hack with a guitar and a stool can achieve on any give Wednesday night at an open mic. What fun... |
Sheeesh!I never meant to imply exclusive lp listening sessions of piccolos."GADZOOKS!!Da ya think I sit with all my Piccolo discs at hand( I don't even know how many I have),going through the haze of "rooty toot,toots"?
Also,NOT solo piccolos,but sometimes in the fabric of the piece,being interpreted.
If any of you have the EMI/Melodiya pressing of Rachmananoff's Vespers,with the multiple male/female voices,please relate as to how well your cartridge fleshes out the distinction between the male and female vocal choirs.As well as the actual "mouthing" of words."Cheeks/lips/tongues"(I think I'm getting turned on).I cannot get this nearly as well as I have heard it with the Air Tangent,in Sid's system.Good is NOT good enough,once you have heard it to this level.The vocalists are going "full tilt" and the energy level is INTENSE,yet it is very well recorded and is AMAZING when done accurately.A "Bitch" to get right and a "classic" lp,and a must hear---THINK, HERE, LINEAR ARM!!!---
I don't mean to be disrespectful,but what I'm referring to,and am clearly incapable,as of now,of getting is something that clearly is a "mini distortion" thing!This I believe to be the actual tangency,and minute distortions that ride along with the music.Some may be OK with this.C'mon!How much more forgiving of system performance,were any of you,even three years ago.I bet the Schroeder Ref can take a good crack at it.No bearing distortions!!
It is completely possible that I simply "stink",in getting my system set correctly,and maybe some of my componentry is not up to the task.I believe it is more "me",and what I "must " have from my lp's(but am beginning to become aware of the resonances that cannot be squashed,in a normal pivoting arm),having been exposed to a superb linear arm,on a massive table.
I hope I have not inferred anyone is not getting what they claim.I simply have not heard it "anywhere",other than my friend,and I have listened for this "type" of reproduction(not necessarily piccolos,but the energy of that frequency,sort of)on a load of really maxxed out systems.
Everyone has a Holy Grail.It used to be a great backhand,to me.Now it's lp reproduction,like "my boy" has!This can take a music lover,into the Golden years,with a smile on the face.So many great lp's out there,to find.
Passages employing the Harp,being played at pretty loud levels,will also do a "job" on the "Stylus/Groove" interface.The "sustain",and pitch/glow of the string,resonating!And I know it's easy to "know" it's a harp.Go hear the exact disc,on a good Linear arm,and then tell me it is as convincing on a pivot(I have a pivot,for those who don't already know).Then I'll take anyone's word,at face value.
I was touching on the "fact" that the type of "energy" touched off by loud piccolo blasts,ain't easy for a cartridge to navigate.It is a tracking thing,and a really good linear arm vs a pivot comparison will clear this up,and fast.Guaranteed!!
Best!
Mark |
Nsgarsh,and anyone interested...Well my pal has just ordered the Orpheus.I will be installing it for him,in about two weeks.
I will NOT be able to do an A/B comparison,with the Temper-v,as you MUST send back the "V" as part of the trade in price.However,as I have installed the "V" in his set-up,and have heard his system for hundreds of hours,with constant fine tuning,I should be able to make a decent comparison!Also,I own a "V",as well as 90% of his exact components.
A question,in advance of my set-up.I do notice loading is for 3 ohms(recommended).We have always found 47 ohms preferred.Any thoughts.
Al;so,we find 1.87 gms downforce to be "almost ideal"!This is voiced whenever we have a critical session.The Orpheus supposedly has a recommended downforce of 1.8 gms,like the "V".Any additional thoughts here,as well as other hints,could aid my set-up,and would be appreciated.I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO GO BACK TO HIM,ONE WEEK LATER,AS THE TOLLS/GAS COST ABOUT 40 DOLLARS!!
He will be doing a rough install,just to break in cartridge,before I come over.
Thanks!
Mark
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Mark, I'd set it up as follows:
Tonearm dead level (parallel) to the platter for now. No sense trying to dial in the SRA until the suspension is broken in after at least 150 hours.
VTF 2.0 to 2.2g gms. It'll help limber up the suspension quicker and won't damage anything if you have an accurate scale. The Trannies have a push-pull suspension arrangement - which I presume means there's rubber on BOTH sides of the coil, not just the back -- I'm not exactly sure, but there's clearly more "squishing" to be done to break them in;--) After 100 hours, reduce it to 1.9, and leave it untill after 200 hrs, then readjust for max output: the name of the game IMO, when trying to find the best place in the VTF range, has to do with optimizing the position of the coil in the flux field. So there's no point getting too anal about it until the cart has around 200 hrs on it. After that, I listen to a 1000 Hz pure tone and go up or down (from the middle 1.9 in this case) until I think I'm getting max output (probably could use a meter for accuracy, but I'm lazy ;--)
Only minimum anti-skate for now, 1 gm or less. I wouldn't
use any horizontal silicon damping either, unless using a heavy tonearm. The O has low(ish) compliance, especially when new!
Loading should be good (for now) at 50 ohms. Theoretical optimum is 62.5 ohms. I've been working with Andrew (Aoliviero) who has a Triplanar, and just bought an O which he's running at 50 for now also, because the presets on his CAT preamp are at 50 and 100. It's better (easier to hear IMO) to start on the low side and add load, than to start high and reduce.
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