Nude Turntable Project

Dear Lewm: First I don't took the TT and decided to go naked as first option. I check both with three different plints before naked: my custom made and beautiful 40kg green marble one alond the 40kg beige onyx one and the own Denon hard wood.

Both custom made plynts were over four of my AT pneumatic footers and both " sounds " the same and outperform the Denon one.
After that I tested in naked fashion and decided that nake/nude is the way to go, differences are important it were not tiny ones.

In all cases I use it my LOMC reference cartridge and ADC Astrion, Sonus Dimension 5 and AT ML180 OCC.
I used two identical tonearms ( our prototype design. ) and two identical arm pods ( more on this latter. ) and same cartridge to phono stage wiring. I tested too with my AT 1503-3.

Obviously that I tested through my own test procedure ( that continue the same with the same recording tracks. ) as always.

No, both TT Denons are in perfect condition and as similar as they are are not the same. The measure rumble figure in the DP-75 was measured by a friend that own a DP-75 and he found out was/is: -88db at the same standards that Denon took it. Even on brochure the DP-75 has better specs than the DP-80. Other difference is that the DP-80 has higher motor's torque that means in some ways higher energy to dissipate or latent.

I use our self TT mat design that I'm using for last 2-3 years and that through my experiences with other mats is unbeatable.

Arm pod: I'm still using an Acoustic Signature one. If you take a look to my virtual system you will see where the tonearms are " seated ", well I took the whole AS arm board that is screwed at the TT plinth at the bottom. Well this was to compare against the AS ones and with the stone's plinths the tonearm were surface mount ( mine not the AT. ).

As you can see I took things seriously about or: could you think for a moment that I come here to make such statement with out real facts and real foundation?, a mistake from your part if thinked that way.

You can take a look to the MM thread and you will find that in the last times there are almost no posts from me. I took almost three weeks only in this comparison.

Maybe in the nears future I will make a better arm pods but right now is fine with me and I have no time to change.

Yes, both Denons are great and IMHO better than the SP-10s, at least in my system.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Raul,
Yes, i did notice your absence from these fora, and I was hoping that you had not left us and that you were not ill or something bad like that.
Also, I did not think you were not cognizant of the importance of the turntable mat, and it interests me to know that you guys have developed your own. Is it available "to the public"?

I always felt, and said so, that the DP80 gives away nothing to the SP10 Mk2, but to say that it is superior to the SP10 Mk3 means to me only that you need to re-acquire a Mk3 that is in bona fide good electrical condition and listen to it again using your acquired knowledge. Contrary to what you once told me, I hear a big difference between Mk2 and Mk3.

Since you are not shy about stating your negative opinions, please I ask you not to be insulted when I say that marble is not good material for a plinth (don't know about onyx) and that the stock Denon plinth, even the best one that came with my DP80, pales in comparison to slate. The Denon wood plinth imparts a dead/dull sound. (Yes, plinths can do harm,and I am not surprised that naked beats Denon wood plinth.) And I now know that slate can be made better by CLD'ing it with a hardwood base, as I have done for my SP10 Mk3. I am going to do the same for the DP80 plinth. These sentiments are all "IMHO", of course.

The differences between the spec sheets for the DP75 vs DP80 don't mean "spit" (American idiom for "nothing"). I even think the two tt's were measured by Denon back around 1979-1980 when the standards for measurement changed, and all tt's suddenly became 2-3 db quieter, just due to the new method of weighting. Example of that is the Exclusive P3 vs P3a, which looks quieter on paper but was subject to a different method of measurement vs P3. If you hear a diff between those two motors, it is not due to stuff you can find on the spec sheets.

Raul,
Since you have discovered a turntable that reduces distortions considerably over what you have been using, then surely that renders your views on the best cartridges moribund. You may well have written off many cartridges that you thought were not neutral, but in fact were highlighting turntable distortions.
Are you now going to re-review the 200 odd cartridges that you thought were no good?
Agree with Lew from personal experience marble ( sharp upper midrange resonances ) and wood ( dull, turgid ) are very poor plinth materials.
Also agree with Lew re the SP10mk3, I have 3 friends who have owned these for many years, and the improvement over the SP10mk2 is huge. I would rate the L07D as superior to the SP10mk2.

Dear Lewm: TT mats are critical on any analog rig. Our blend propietary build material makes very good job and perhaps in the future could be available to the public, what stops us to do it is that the material is to expensive but obviously that that " expensive " level depends on the " rewards " when using it: we will see.

Yes, you are right about the SP10 2 and 3, things was that I did not compare it bis a bis and the last time I heard the 3 was on Steve Doobins system and even that was a good experience I can't say that the 3 performance was excellent but only a good one.
What I'm hearing through my Denon DP-75 is just outstanding, I don't have on hand a SP10MK3 but what I remember is way out of the DP-75 naken performance level.

Yes, agree with you about marble and I don't know how easy is to " excite " 40kg of marble through a Denon TT.

Btw, when I bought my Denons I remember I bought each one as stand alone TT/motor units where I can choosed between different plinths and tonearms.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Dear Dover: No, I can't re-review not 200 but even 20 cartridges again. IMHO the ones I top rated could be stay in that way because the Denon TT contributes the less to performance degradation in the same way for the top and lesser one cartridges, of course that could be one or two " surprises " with the lesser cartridge but I don't thing so in that way.

What is clear to me is that every time distorion system goes lower each one audio item system link quality performance goes higher and shows additional " things " that were hiden through those now lower distortions.

As I said it several times: differences on system quality performance level depends mainly on distortion levels on each system. IMHO the name of the game in our beloved high end audio world are: distortions distortion levels and distortion level means accuracy levels.
I always look for neutrality that for me means: accuracy and low low distortions ( every kind. ).

Many of us are in love with our each system distortions till step by step and time to time we are aware of those distortions and when we improve/lower those distortions then we fall/take in count that what we was hearing ( higher distortions ) was way wrong even that we liked.

Normally we are aware of distortions when those distortions goes lower. If nothing change in our systems we can't or is almost imposible to be aware of those distortions other than comparing it to other systems.

I discussed several times with other Agoners about distortions and some of these persons give me answers like this : " if those are distortions so be it because that's the way I liked ".

My system as all other audio systems has its own distortions but I can say that today the distortions in my system are really low and this fact makes a difference for the better not easy to imagine and understand it only when you heard/hear it.

Unfortunately the AHEE accustomed to almost all of us to hear high distortions through our systems and those distortions high levels are part inherent on our each one audio system but IMHO we need to improve about asking: hey is there something wrong in my system? where? why? how can I improve over? and all these is a hard exercise that needs certain knowledge level to achieve new system quality performance targets. I continue on this very well rewarded system improves quest.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.