Hi Raul,
I agree that Japanese tastes are not universal, possibly because their homes and systems are very different from the rest of the world. However we should agree that many great products come from that country and it is because those Japanese engineers take this much more seriously than the rest of the world do. They are not exactly running after quick money. They rather dedicate their life to design something special and finally money follows.
Anyway, we are drifting. I have now about 25 hours on the Miyabi. It is changing continuously. At the moment here is what I hear:
Positive:
1. Tonal Neutrality - Thankfully here is one cartridge which is high resolution but doesnt mess up with the tones. Old school music sounds "old school" and newer recordings sound "new age". This may look trivial but to me it is not, because many modern cartridges (e.g ZYX) sound too modern.
2. Midrange Dynamics - The ability to surprise the listener even on very well known music by the virtue of clean dynamics is a strength of this Miyabi.
3. Decode Rhythms: This cartridge can unravel very complex rhythms in a very simple way. A crowd of instrument which previously was heard as a crowd now has a meaning because every individual instrument is not only separated spatially but also has different amplitude of loudness. That makes the purpose of those hidden instruments very clear.
Negative:
1. Previously I had a ZYX which presents a huge sound space almost enveloping the listener. Music is all over the room. That sense of space is somewhat missing in this Miyabi. The Miyabi has a very cut to cut soundstage, very focussed and neatly laid out.
2. I am also missing a little bit of warmth and bloom at the moment. The color saturation could have been a little more. I know I can get this by adding a tube gear to my all solid state system but I dont want to do anything so soon. I will let it burn in some more and see how it develops.
BTW, I sold the Vector tonearm within 2 weeks of purchase. My 47 Labs RS-A1 tonearm absolutely massacred the Vector. The Vector has a neat and clean sound but it is lifeless when compared to the 47 Labs tonearm. I know 47 Labs looks like a "not so serious" tonearm but please give it a try someday I am 110% sure you will learn something new about your music.
I agree that Japanese tastes are not universal, possibly because their homes and systems are very different from the rest of the world. However we should agree that many great products come from that country and it is because those Japanese engineers take this much more seriously than the rest of the world do. They are not exactly running after quick money. They rather dedicate their life to design something special and finally money follows.
Anyway, we are drifting. I have now about 25 hours on the Miyabi. It is changing continuously. At the moment here is what I hear:
Positive:
1. Tonal Neutrality - Thankfully here is one cartridge which is high resolution but doesnt mess up with the tones. Old school music sounds "old school" and newer recordings sound "new age". This may look trivial but to me it is not, because many modern cartridges (e.g ZYX) sound too modern.
2. Midrange Dynamics - The ability to surprise the listener even on very well known music by the virtue of clean dynamics is a strength of this Miyabi.
3. Decode Rhythms: This cartridge can unravel very complex rhythms in a very simple way. A crowd of instrument which previously was heard as a crowd now has a meaning because every individual instrument is not only separated spatially but also has different amplitude of loudness. That makes the purpose of those hidden instruments very clear.
Negative:
1. Previously I had a ZYX which presents a huge sound space almost enveloping the listener. Music is all over the room. That sense of space is somewhat missing in this Miyabi. The Miyabi has a very cut to cut soundstage, very focussed and neatly laid out.
2. I am also missing a little bit of warmth and bloom at the moment. The color saturation could have been a little more. I know I can get this by adding a tube gear to my all solid state system but I dont want to do anything so soon. I will let it burn in some more and see how it develops.
BTW, I sold the Vector tonearm within 2 weeks of purchase. My 47 Labs RS-A1 tonearm absolutely massacred the Vector. The Vector has a neat and clean sound but it is lifeless when compared to the 47 Labs tonearm. I know 47 Labs looks like a "not so serious" tonearm but please give it a try someday I am 110% sure you will learn something new about your music.
