Why will no other turntable beat the EMT 927?


Having owned many good turntables in my audiophile life I am still wondering why not one of the modern designs of the last 20 years is able to beat the sound qualities of an EMT 927.
New designs may offer some advantages like multiple armboards, more than one motor or additional vibration measurements etc. but regarding the sound quality the EMT is unbeatable!
What is the real reason behind this as the machine is nearly 60 years old, including the pre-versions like the R-80?
thuchan
Dear Thuchan: Some tracks on those CDs has high content of low mid bass/low bass and are very good to evaluate the system bass management at low and high SPL.

What to look for?: that room/flor shake?, certainly not. What we are looking for is a bass perfomance with: fast transients, short decay time, no overhang, pitch, definition/precision,quality of, natutal color not " organic /bloom ".

We are looking for a firat rate bass management that permit to enjoy that bass frequency range with out " touch " the midrange/high frequency ones, i mean with out lost of midrange/hf transparency but the othet way around: clean, transparent, higher detail and endless dynamics on these frequency range.

Some of the tracks in the Gladiator CD is very good about because combine that kind of bass with full midrange/hf range music. It has very demanding " grooves " where only with top system quality performance can enjoy it and can follow each single mid range/hf notes at each single layer in the " grooves ".

Of course that there are passages where the bass go not only deep but with enough quantity to feel it inside your " bones " but even there the other frequency ranges must be hear it clear with detail and emotionally right.

It is not an easy task for any audio system, always a chllenge that when " you win " the overall rewards are richness than ever.

There are other CDs that are very good tools to evaluate that regards as: The Day After Tomorrow.

Those CDs tool/tests helps to improve room interactions, speakers/subs right position, faults on electronics.

Yes, you have to make changes or confirm that your system is just RIGHT and inproving.

Btw, I'm posting about because you ask for.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.
Raul, I have Vangelis' 1492 on LP; it absolutely **smokes** the CD version, better bass, more detail, smoother high end, greater extension, obviously more transparent (less distortion). Its does not seem to matter what digital system used, the results are consistent.

I agree that getting rid of distortions is important, but I have found that the ear 'cares' a whole lot more about certain distortions that it does about others. The result of that is, for example, that there are a lot of amps with 'high distortion' that seem to be more transparent, less fatiguing, more lively overall than some amps that seem to have hardly any distortion at all.

The bottom line is understanding what the ear cares about. If that is not understood who knows what the result will sound like? But if you know and honor the ear's hearing rules you are guaranteed to be able to build something that will sound better.
Dear Thekong: +++++ " So, that goes back to what I like / prefer ... " +++++

not exactly, maybe I did not make a good explanation or you don't read it pefectly what I posted because your statement is not what we are looking for. We don't want more of the same because in some ways more of the same were wrong.

What we like it what you like or what I like or prefer is not the main subject but what is right or wrong, it does not matters if we like it or not.

When you attend to listen music ( example a horn player ) maybe you could like what you hear or not but that does not cares to any one.

What you are listening ( I'm not talking here: the kind of music but the instrument sound. ) is the way the instrument " speaks ", it's the self instrument color/voice and you can't do nothing to change it. The player does not ask you if you like it that instrument " voice ", he just play.

Maybe you could like more that hron sound if been less agressive or more smooth or not so bright or with more lush. All these because it's that way you are accustom to for all your audio life is that way that your " ears " prefer the music sound but what you normally are accustom to maybe is not right but wrong maybe it's not the sound of music in a live event at near field listening position.

So, what you like mor prefer is not important. What we are doing is wuestioning if what we heard through each one system is right or wrong against live music.

I posted here:

" if we have to grow up and the first change must be in each one unbiased attitude " +++++

" ++++ along attend as many times you can to hear live music. " ++++

that means no more: " I like or I prefer ", because the main subject has nothing to do with what we prefer because what we prefer is subjective ( and could be way wrong ) and how in true a horn " speaks " is objective: like it or not.

The example is with a horn but is valid with each instrument or at orchestra levels.

With all respect I don't care what you like/prefer or do not or if you want to change it all that's up to you
. I'm only sharing a " road "/alternative to improve each one audio system enjoyment and that's all.

IMHO something that could help to each one of us is how each one of us can enrich the whole subject/idea/alternative more than question it because we can't question it something that we never have the opportunity to experience.

I think is futile/useless to question/argue against something that we are not willing to do/try.

Everyone of us think that we already achieved the audio Nirvana at home and that could be not exactly as that because: do you think that exist thousands kind of Nirvana's?

IMHO exist only one, the right one. I'm still on the quest of it.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Thanks Peter. Coming back to the thread' s topic after we all have mirrored ourselves as poets .

I read EMT is like climbing the Everest? Perhaps....Emt made all their products to make money. Selling in a competitive market....so how to succeed in a competitive BtoB market? Two ways... Low price or innovation/high quality....Emt took the high quality innovative
route in line with their ethics and German culture. So the Emt is good
because it had to be not because they wanted it to be....in the end they
went under because the market changed. Climbing the Everest is not about money nor is it a BtoB market...it is about personal achievement or ego......
All mirrors have two side!
Dear Atmasphere: The issue is not if lP " smokes " the CD or the other way around. If you hear Gladiator in both formats then you can heard that digital smokes analog but this is not the issue. It is only a tool.

I make emphasis precesily in that was a tool and don't try to compare anything on LP vs CD as you posted because, again, that's not the subject.

In the other side, my experiences with different kind of electronics is that high distortions always are evident when you make comparisons/tests at high SPLs and I made emphasis on this regards too.

No process is perfect and mine on distortions neither.

Yes, the ears cares about distotitons if those ears are true educated on what is right or wrong because if are educated on what you prefer then does not helps on what is the alternative to upgrading that I'm sharing.

You posted the answer: ++++ The bottom line is understanding what the ear cares about +++++"

again, not what is prefered but what is right or wrong. To understand it you have to have the knowledge level, have to be aware of.

Normally we are accustom our ears are accustom to what we prefered more than what is right. Of course some of you already know what is right or wrong but some of us are not aware of that subject and what I'm saying is for the ones that are not aware of.

Now, till this moment I posted some steps that could help to be sure where we are " seate d" and till this moment no one posted something that can enrich the proposal/alternative.

Seems to me that no one is willing to " unglue " of what learned and with this kind of attitude is almost imposible to have a formal discussion that can help to achieve better conclusions or better alternatives to improve what we have.

I gave two steps to improve system distortions: better bass system management and system matched electrical impedances. Till today no one posted that he already achieved it years ago or that started yesterday to do it through system changes and shared his experiences.

So, what's all about?

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.