Frank,
He is using the modified Philips 1000 but has the new Meitner transport coming soon. I'm certain that Steve wouldn't mind you contacting him directly about exactly which other cables and interconnects we tried. I'd hate to mis-speak about such in this thread. His Audiogon username is Vetterone. You may wish to check out his virtual system too as the room is really something. Regarding the silver cables, I have been very surprised at the lack of any audible edge when using the Ridge Street's. The low end has much more body than with anything else I've listened to. The highs just go on and on without any glare. Even my midfi solid state system responded well to the silvers.
I don't want to speak for Steve but I believe even the Merlins are supposed to sound best with copper but in our auditioning that wasn't the case at all.
We didn't speak much last night because, mainly I guess, I was speechless. Steve had remarked that the harmonica on one of Neil Young's songs from "On The Beach" was a little harsh. I know this material very, very well and assured him that the same edge was apparent with my analog source. I'm sure that the occassional note like that is a studio phenomenon recorded to the media and honestly transferred through the components.
Don't take my comment about my midfi system too much to heart and assume I'm not qualified to make these types of judgments. I consider my system to be very good, just not in the same league with Steve's. I've been in this hobby for over 35 years and use live music as my benchmark for evaluation.
I'm of the understanding that the new transport will probably kick the performance up a notch. Plus, knowing Steve as I do he will likely try other cables and interconnects in an attempt to make the most out of this spectacular system. If the Ridge Street cables are bettered I will post the results, for what that may be worth. It's just my opinion and others may not agree. At this point the differences are very subtle but still very audible. For sure, if a generic CD from a long time ago can sound so good to me then bright isn't happening, IMNSHO.
Again, I'm very glad for all you owners of the EMM labs gear. It's a home run. I can only hope that there is a trickle down effect some day for those of us on a lesser budget. I'm missing out on a lot of newer music by only spinning vinyl.
He is using the modified Philips 1000 but has the new Meitner transport coming soon. I'm certain that Steve wouldn't mind you contacting him directly about exactly which other cables and interconnects we tried. I'd hate to mis-speak about such in this thread. His Audiogon username is Vetterone. You may wish to check out his virtual system too as the room is really something. Regarding the silver cables, I have been very surprised at the lack of any audible edge when using the Ridge Street's. The low end has much more body than with anything else I've listened to. The highs just go on and on without any glare. Even my midfi solid state system responded well to the silvers.
I don't want to speak for Steve but I believe even the Merlins are supposed to sound best with copper but in our auditioning that wasn't the case at all.
We didn't speak much last night because, mainly I guess, I was speechless. Steve had remarked that the harmonica on one of Neil Young's songs from "On The Beach" was a little harsh. I know this material very, very well and assured him that the same edge was apparent with my analog source. I'm sure that the occassional note like that is a studio phenomenon recorded to the media and honestly transferred through the components.
Don't take my comment about my midfi system too much to heart and assume I'm not qualified to make these types of judgments. I consider my system to be very good, just not in the same league with Steve's. I've been in this hobby for over 35 years and use live music as my benchmark for evaluation.
I'm of the understanding that the new transport will probably kick the performance up a notch. Plus, knowing Steve as I do he will likely try other cables and interconnects in an attempt to make the most out of this spectacular system. If the Ridge Street cables are bettered I will post the results, for what that may be worth. It's just my opinion and others may not agree. At this point the differences are very subtle but still very audible. For sure, if a generic CD from a long time ago can sound so good to me then bright isn't happening, IMNSHO.
Again, I'm very glad for all you owners of the EMM labs gear. It's a home run. I can only hope that there is a trickle down effect some day for those of us on a lesser budget. I'm missing out on a lot of newer music by only spinning vinyl.
