Mr Bellow;667193 Wrote: > The first impressions with TT3.0 in my system are not positive : the > sound is emptied , much more digital , too much highs. The sound is > more defined and detailed but the whole impression is something like " > a little radio".
I think I'm beginning to understand some people who were complaining about similar symptoms that Mr Bellow described above. Let me relate my experience: I've set some time aside last night for some more critical listening of the TT3.0. Turned off all but the essential house appliances, dimmed the lights, sat down right smack middle in the sweet spot, and focused on listening to "Guajira" off Santana's 3rd album (this song has been in the constant rotation in my house ever since I was 15, so I know, by heart, every little cough, scratch and squeak recorded in there;) With TT3.0 mods fully on (including the somewhat controversial tt -k mod), this song now sounds COMPLETELY different! It's almost like a brand new, never before heard rendition of this famous song. It is a small wonder, then, that some people get very confused after experiencing this cognitive dissonance (i.e. being able to hardly recognize a song they've been listening to for many moons). The 'sound is now much more digital' remark is interesting, because I think it may be coming from a reference point of someone who hasn't had a chance to hear how a really good analog setup sounds. What I'm trying to say is that TT3.0 now offers sound experience that is getting freakishly close to the sound quality one gets from a multi thousands of dollars turntable rig (and by multi thousand dollars, I'm implying five figure setup, which I was fortunate enough to hear at a friend's house). Up until the day we've received TT3.0 from Klaus, it was quite easy to distinguish that we're listening to a digital source; now, it gets to be a bit more challenging, as the sound is now approaching the sweetness one gets when playing good vinyl pressing on Thorens 124 equipped with a good moving coil cartridge and an excellently calibrated high end arm (plus a multi-thousand dollars phono preamp). Back to Santana and "Guajira": using the full blown TT3.0 mods, listen to the tone of Santana's guitar on that song -- pure sweetness. You cannot get that tone quality from TT2.0, period. I've heard that same sweetness only on a good vinyl pressing of the same album played on Thorens 124. When I play the same song on my dinky Dual turntable, the sweetness is nowhere to be heard. So you do need a high end analog gear if you are to hear what's really embedded inside the grooves. Conclusion: the pre-TT3.0 tone of Santana's guitar is a bit scratchy in comparison (I made the comparison last night, iPad on my knee). With TT3.0 on, the guitar tone flows like the finest wine, pours over like thick, amber honey as it drips off the spoon. It's to die for:) The 'little radio' remark: I'm using the big Magnepan speakers (Maggies), in a fairly large room with high ceilings, so I cannot really relate to this (everything sounds big on my speakers). What is indeed very noticeable with TT3.0 is that the sound is much, much more focused, tighter and faster, snappier. This may contribute to the illusion, when listened to on smaller, single point of radiation speakers, that everything had shrunk to a minuscule soundstage. One thing I've noticed when comparing TT3.0 back-to-back with TT2.0 is that TT2.0 produces a sound that is more widely dispersed. It is more fuzzy. Instruments and voices appear to be ever so slightly shifting focus as the performance carries on, almost as if someone is waving a soft gauze in front of the listener. No such thing is evident when switching to TT3.0, as all the instruments and vocals are now firmly planted in their respective space, and are not budging even a fraction of a millimetre. Nowhere is this more evident than in the bass region. The bass is now incredibly taut, which may contribute to the superficial impressions that it is somehow 'emptied'. Which is actually very true, because the bass is now indeed emptied of any boominess. Whether this lack of boominess is a desirable thing or not is left to the listener's individual taste, but as far as staying faithful to the recorded material, there is no doubt that tighter, firmer, nimbler, less messy bass is getting closer to the real McCoy. I also do not understand the "too much highs" remark; yes, it is definitely the case that now with TT3.0 on it gets much easier to hear subtle nuances in the decay of the cymbals, but since when is that a bad thing? Also, since the dynamics are now considerably improved, a violent cymbal crash is gonna hit you where it hurts, but hey, that's life in the big city! Ever been close to a real drum kit? -- magiccarpetride ------------------------------------------------------------------------ magiccarpetride's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=37863 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=91322 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
