Nagra VPS

Dear hevac1: I respect your point of view but certainly I don't agree with. My comments on the VPS have the same " decorum " that the one over the Atmasphere. If you read carefully what I posted you could understand that I " go " to a more wide level subject(s) that only quality performance in the VPS item.

First than all I'm a music lover and second an audiophile : the Essential was a happy " accident " and I'm not married with it and don't makes me close my eyes with what is happening around: for the good or bad. It happens that I like to learn in a continuous way.

+++++ " Not everything on paper sounds good, thats why we listen. " +++++

exactly and that's why you have what you have and listen what you are listening.
In the MF review he certainly heard exactly how the VPS measure , of course that he has to be polite/corteus due that the magazine needs advertizing but he write about those VPS colorations/distortions.

There is nothing wrong with what you like, this fact is part of our each audio learning curve

Now, today audio " things " are improved in some ways and are different from the old times when we readed " incredible " audio item specifications and when we heard that item the sound was terrible, IMHO today is different the item sound is better and now you really can hear " inside " those specs. I always say that I'm nt a specs lover but as part of our learning curve and as part of my quest for " perfect " synergy " I have to choose very carefully some specs to decide about, example: RIAA eq. deviation, amplifier output impedance, preamp output impedance, etc, etc., these specs are critical as critical is a cartridge/tonearm match.

Imho we need to understand at least those specs and understand why are so important and how affect the quality performance in an audio system.

At other level of " things " IMHO we need too to understand the advantages and disadvantages of different kind of designs in audio items, example: non feedback VS feedback and where, balanced vs unbalanced, direct coupled, fully differential, etc, etc,, this is not only part of our audio culture NO it is part of our audio learning curve that can help us to improve and achieve our top quality performance targets in our home audio systems.

IMHO to bring a top quality performance audio system is not only a money subject but know how in different topics and is this know how what makes " the difference ".
You and me want to learn every day sometimes with very simple things that sometimes we can think are not important till we try it.

Anyway, the important subject is that you are happy with what you have and this is what it counts about.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Raul
I think you hit the nail on the head when you say :"...you are happy with what you have..and that is what counts..."
I am the newest member of the VPS tribe with my unit being barely a week old with somewhere around 25hrs on it.
I have read MF's review as also his follow up comments on the VPS while reviewing the Naim phono stage in the next issue. MF is fairly clear in his remarks that the VPS adds a veneer of coloration but goes on to add that given the number of bad recordings out there thats not necesarily a bad thing.
I will in all humility, given your formidable reputation and knowledge, take issue on one critical aspect. In my subjective opinion the end gaol of our hobby is the pursuit of musical enjoyment and not transparency or neutrality per se. For example and I suspect the analogy is not altogether misplaced, how do you like your food : tasty or entirely neutral and true to the ingredients that go into the food?
I also suspect that there is no final or absolute answer to this question.
That said I could'nt agree more with both Hevac1 and Jfrech and ALSO MF that the VPS is among the best phono stages out there.
Cheers and Happy listening.

Dear Sunnyboy1956: That's why I love democracy.

I know that is really difficult to understand in deep what I'm talking about because what you are satisfied with what you are hearing: you like it!.

I know too that there are different " taste " in each one of us but in general we like the " same food ", IMHO I think that over the time it would be a good thing to almost every one of us take in count not only the synergy on our ears but the electrical/specs ( at least ) synergy between audio items in an audio system, I can say with out doubt that in that way we can grow-up fast and more important we can achieve better quality performance of what we have.

This whole synergy subject maybe is the main target in our self audio learning curve. Of course ( I understand ) that when we take in count the " electrical-specs " synergy in our buy decisions the alternatives goes down-not so wide but IMHO the rewards could and can be worth the effort.

I'm not only looking for " perfection " per se NO I'm trying to looking in an intelligent way and of course looking the quality performance that put my " toes tapping ".
I have a lot of experiences ( like any one of you ) in the quest to be truer to the recording and between those experiences every time that made/make a change to lower distortions in a link in my audio system chain ALWAYS ( till today ) the system performance improve, not that sound only different NO the quality performance go 1-2-3 steps foreward.
Un-matched impedances between audio items ( phono stage-line stage, speaker-amplifiers, etc,, ), high RIAA deviations, asymetry ( frequency deviations ) between channels in any electronic audio item, cartridge/tonearm, etc, etc, makes/build distortions and we hear it so trying to lower those different kinds of distortions is one of my main target because as I say it: the rewards are worth the effort.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Dear friends: I'm not against any of you or Nagra, what I'm trying to share with all of you is to find " roads " that permit to improve the whole quality on the high end audio industry and IMHO I think that the audio customers ( along audio magazines/reviewers. ) are the ones that can contribute the more to achieve that target.

Why ( example , nothing against it. ) Nagra makes the VPS design in that way: because its design know-how is a low one? because they really don't care about ? because they only want to make money? because....? because.... ? IMHO Nagra and many other manufacturers try to build/design at its best but they know something: that the high end audio community ( Customers ) is really whom does not care about, they know that it does not matters if its RIAA deviation is high or its output amplifier impedance is high: the customer does not question about so they don't have to be better: NO ONE ASK FOR IT!!!
I'm totally sure ( no doubt about ) that not only Nagra can do better but almost all the today manufacturers.

Please, for a moment try to imagine an " scene/stage " where we all customers before to buy an amplifier ask for a low output impedance or before to buy a phono stage ask for no step-up transformers or very low RIAA deviation, or whatever.
In this kind of " stage " several products ( lot of them ) like the ones that are on offer today ( VPS as example ) no one can/want buy them at any price so in these stage conditions/enviroment the manufacturers have to design according making better ( a lot better ) audio items in benefit/benefice of each one customer and on the whole audio industry.

What can we do about?, three very simple things:

ASK FOR IT, ASK FOR IT and ASK FOR IT!!!!!!!

We have to try to help to our self because no one will do it if you don't do it, remember that the " market " and the needs of that market is made/make/doing mainly by the CUSTOMERS ( you and me ) not the builders.

Friends we have to be better!!!!!, we deserve better and the best: we have to ask for it, we have the right to ask for it: we are the ones that pay for it!

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Come on Raul, say it the way it is: the Nagra is a overpriced metal box with lots of air in it. :)