When you’re an audio enthusiast and your mate isn’t, but leaves town for the weekend, what better time is there to host a lively listening session?
My bride, Belle, had planned months ago to fly to Florida with her youngest son and grandson to visit her mother for the weekend. Say no more! I arranged an event to share some system updates since our last meeting and make some comparisons and observations about some equipment in for review. In all fairness, she encouraged me to meet with friends, and soon, I cobbled together an agenda and invitation, and texted my audiophile friends and acquaintances. During the week before, I cleaned records, vacuumed, and purchased groceries after I had the final tally (roughly 10 to 12). Even after asking people to bring their own drinks and a plate to pass, I was surprised at the food costs. I provided soda, water, a pasta main dish, chips, and salsa — with several large pizzas from Aldi’s (an inexpensive grocery store) in the refrigerator on standby. Clearly, the domestic policies in the U.S. haven’t done our pocketbooks any favors in the short run!
SOTA Turntable’s Christan Griego, at right, seen chatting with Joe Jurzec, former partner with Purity Audio Design and Jamin Audio
The morning came fast. SOTA Turntable’s owner, Christan Griego (you can read about my tour of SOTA’s factory HERE), arrived early at 9:00 AM to set up their SOTA Total Eclipse package using a brushless, three-phase external motor, a Phoenix Engineering Condor power supply, and a Phoenix Engineering Roadrunner tachometer to monitor and correct the speed of the platter to within 0.005 RPM in order to minimize audible speed variations and improve clarity. It mated well with my Micro Seiki BL-91 turntable.
Removing the faceplate covering the toggle controls and belt drive pulley on my Micro Seiki, he left its drive belt on the platter while the belt of his Phoenix motor hooked connected directly above it for easy A/B comparisons. The whole process took maybe 10 to 15 minutes. We listened and, at his suggestion, I made a minor vertical tracking angle adjustment, lowering the tonearm just a smidgen. A certain sibilance was irritating his mid-ear. Oops! My first attempt went too far; it sounded a little soft, for my tastes, but my subsequent adjustment upwards hit the sweet spot. We both agreed that was good.
Soon, guests arrived — along with their side dishes. Due to the early 10:00 AM start hour, there were lots of pastries and some coffee (Belle had questioned this beforehand). There were also chips, an incredible cheese and chicken dish that a friend’s wife had provided (I ate a lot of that!), flavored waters, cheese platters, guacamole, and more! The attendees came from a variety of backgrounds; Bob, for instance, is a retired mechanical engineer, Joe programs, and manages software support for hospital clients, Jeff is a retired large capital equipment sales rep, and Mike works in urban planning; I met som through audio connections, while others were friends from church. Bottom line, though, we all loved the music!
We started off with an assortment of vinyl, favoring jazz initially with Ella Fitzgerald and others, but eventually working in some Indie folk (Fink), prog rock like Roger Waters’ The Wall, and pop/rock like Sting 3.0. And the Dynavector XX-2A phono cartridge, in tandem with the Korf Audio HS-A02 Ceramic Headshell and the Audio Creative GrooveMaster 3 tonearm did a wonderful job in rendering the goods with clarity and aplomb.
Soon, the comparisons began. Switching back and forth between the SOTA Eclipse package and the Micro Seiki’s motor, it became apparent that the precision of SOTA’s external motor had better pace and energy. Think tapping your toes to a beat; with the Eclipse engaged, it was spot-on, while with the vintage Micro Seiki, it lagged a split second and sounded slightly softer and less dynamic. It was an eye-opener.
Next, we compared the performance of my ATC SCM40 passive loudspeakers with the some high end, popular isolation feet versus spikes. Previously when I owned a pair of Usher ML-802 loudspeakers (which were extremely detailed, especially on the mid to higher frequencies), the isolation feet did a splendid job of taking off sharper, digital edges and warming up the presentation. To me, they were a delightful addition. Then, when I employed them with the ATCs, they also had a warming and burnishing effect, shaving-off a bit of the digital edge to HDTV and HiRes digital recordings, and giving the soundscape a slightly more organic, lustrous, and natural quality. However, here was the rub: although the ATCs possess a legendary midrange driver, their tweeter are not quite on the same par; they are less pronounced in the highs than the Usher’s magnesium-lithium tweeters, and with introduction of the footers, they lost a touch of their studio monitor analytical definition and detail that, as a reviewer analyzing audio equipment, I covet. Hence, for the ATCs, grounding –or coupling — them to the slab floor was a better solution than decoupling them. The overall consensus in the room was that for the ATCs, in my acoustically treated room, spikes were the better option.
The ModWright Analog Bridge sits atop my beloved BDI Corridor 8173 media console (which Belle insisted we get to help hide the clutter). To the left is the Pass Labs X150.8 amplifier seated atop a cube end table/seat.
After playing a variety of music on vinyl, Brett Meinke arrived. A friend of Griego’s and the owner of Hi-Fi Life, a new audio shop located in Brookfield, Wisconsin (an affluent suburb of Milwaukee), Meinke came by to demonstrate the ModWright Analog Bridge tube buffer for the group. Taking a few minutes, Griego and Meinke set it up between the preamplifier and amp via balanced interconnects. It was a huge hit, enriching and expanding the soundstage, adding a sense of warmth and depth.
“It is a very low noise, very low distortion, wide bandwidth buffer,” ModWright’s proprietor, Dan Wright said in a Facebook post.
Featuring a bypass button that allowed listeners to instantaneously compare the signal with and without the buffer on both digital and audio playback, it was interesting to hear the differences that it made.
The Sonore Signature Rendu SE Deluxe network audio streamer rendered streaming and digital file playback into my Schiit Yggdrasil Analog 2 DAC without a hitch (My review of the Sonore will appear elsewhere on the web very soon), while my Intel NUC performed music server duties. Pass Labs provided the amplification, while Quadratic Audio’s MC-1 Moving Coil Transformer teamed-up with the Pass Labs XP-17 phono stage to optimize vinyl playback. Straight Wire cabling was used throughout (you can see a breakdown of my system HERE)
Dashing upstairs, I boiled pre-cooked tortellini and a red sauce (using a vodka sauce mixed with crushed tomatoes), and served it hot for the gents downstairs some 20 minutes later. A big smile crept across my face when someone asked, “Do you mind if we have seconds?” But, of course!
The sound was detailed and balanced the way I like it. Actually, The REL Acoustics S/812 subwoofers were subtle and unobtrusive, blending in well, but kicking in with power and oomph when called on. For example, Joe asked that I put on a song by Radiohead. As I listened intently, he said, “Wait for it…wait for it!” A few moments later, a huge, subterranean bass swell rushed over us. We grinned like kids exiting a thrilling roller coaster ride.
People came and went, with the last people clearing out around 5:00 PM. As he was leaving, Meinke said, “You’ve got some really nice people here!” Yes, I do.
An hour or two later, my childhood friend, Scott, arrived for dinner, conversation, and a hefty palate of music listening ranging from Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew on Mobile Fidelity’s Ultra Disc One to Fink’s Wheels Beneath My Feet on WAV digital download. We A commander for a nearby police department, he occasionally plays guitar for a blues band and, like me, stays busy with work, family, and grandchildren. When I lived in Southern California in the 80s, he visited a handful of times, catching shows at the Baked Potato Jazz Club in North Hollywood. In 1997, we both endured the failure of our first marriages just days apart and, later attended each other’s second weddings (we’re both still happily married). It felt good to catch up. He left several hours later, my music fix thoroughly sated, and after cleaning up, I caught some boxing championship highlights and called it a night.
The next day, Belle told me that although she missed me, she was having a wonderful visit in Florida. As we recounted our events, I assured her that I pined for her, too, but had an awesome time with my friends. Sometimes, it does your soul good to fellowship with people who enjoy the music like you do. Here’s to more listening with our compadres!
Great time Juan. The sound was very crisp and distinct. It brought out the best of the more mature technology with the new. Enjoyed the experience immensely.
Thanks, William! I appreciate it.
Have a wonderful week,
Juan