magiccarpetride;668773 Wrote:
> 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 cras
