Newsletter November 2004

NEWSLETTER

November 2004

In This Issue

Recent Additions to the website

Request for feedback

Origin Live comments

Garrott Optim FGS vs The Cartridge Man’s Music Maker 3 phono cartridge

GSP Era Gold Review

Special offer on Origin Live Soli-Core speaker cable

Vibration absorbers at special prices

Wireless Headphones offer

Interesting Hi Fi site

Top Products for 2004 Summary

RECENT ADDITIONS

Bookshelf and Cube enclosure kits for Jordan JX92Ss

Feedback Page (link from the About Us page)

Vibrapod Cones

Origin Live slotted arm and bearing modification

Moth Record Cleaning Machine and kit

Greater range of turntable belts

AudioTechnica AT95E cartridge

Universal tonearm rewire kit

S150 subwoofer kit

Two additional rear speaker stands

FEEDBACK REQUEST

Most of the times we send out an order we don’t hear anything so we assume it has been received and performed satisfactorily. But it really helps to receive feedback, particularly about a product’s performance. We have added a Feedback Page to the website and welcome your comments on the products we sell. Just email them to feedback@decibelhifi.com.au

ORIGIN LIVE newsletter

Some of you may already receive this but for those who don’t I thought Mark Baker’s comments on phono preamps worth passing on.

“One of the things that continually surprises us is how many people are using their cartridge / tonearm output directly into their integrated amplifier or pre-amp (with on board phono stage). This is almost guaranteed to vastly reduce the potential of the moving coil cartridge in comparison to what is achievable through a specialist outboard phono stage. Why is this? When one considers that 95% of the bass amplification for a moving coil cartridge occurs in the phono stage it is easy to understand why. For the midrange 80% of the signal amplification occurs in the phono stage. (for moving magnet cartridges the figure is about 60%)

The truth is that many integrated amplifiers use little more than a single chip costing all of £1 to carry out this critical function. It is no more than a token so that people can hook up a cheap deck. Even integrated amps with allegedly “good” phono stages still fall far short of the amazing stand alone versions that are available. The reasons for this can be summarised as follows

1. It is a highly specialist aspect of electronic design - companies that love vinyl have focussed a great deal of time and effort into this area. Most amplifier manufacturers are catering for CD / line level signal levels and have not invested R & D work into this area.
2. To reduce costs, it makes sense for amplifier manufacturers to minimise costs of phono stage components in an integrated amp. The simple reason is that only a small percentage of folk are likely to use a turntable of real quality.
3. The most performance enhancing aspect of all amplification is a clean, unimpeded power supply. With integrated and pre-amplifiers the phono stage has to “piggy back” off the power supply for amplification that is far more current hungry. To put it mildly this is bad news – not only are voltage sometimes lacking but the phono stage supply is badly contaminated by the workings of the main amplification. Even audiophile integrated amps or pre-amps such as Naim, Sugden, Audio analogue etc that have supposedly “good” phono stages still fall well short of good stand alone applications at around the £200 mark.

If you are using an integrated amp for your phono amplification we would suggest trying a stand alone device – you will be amazed at the difference. Having said this please be wary that not every stand alone model out there is a safe bet. Models that offer both moving magnet and moving coil facility at £100 are nothing short of disastrous and a complete waste of money in our view. We recommend a number of phono stages on our web site and to summarize briefly our tried and tested hot list runs as follows:
For moving magnet cartridge outputs – The GSP audio range, which starts at £85.
For moving coil cartridges – Creek audio at the £190 mark & Trichord Dino at the £300 mark
Above this, the choice becomes a lot less clear as there are a lot of good phono stages but the GSP audio range is one of our favourites and has received a number of rave reviews across a wide range of magazines.

Hope this is of some help to those on the upgrade path.”

Also in his newsletter is a link to a brief guidance document that he has produced on system philosophy and upgrading. Well worth a read if you are into vinyl LPs. http://www.originlive.com/system_brochure.pdf

FRONT END REVIEW

I had the opportunity recently to spend some time comparing the Garrott Optim FGS cartridge and the Music Maker 3. Both are moving magnet cartridges, have advanced shaped diamond styli, are hand tuned, and have quite a high output signal. Turntable used was a Linn Sondek LP12 with Armageddon power supply and Naim Aro tonearm. I was also using the ME RIAA phono preamp, a Sugden P51 power amp, and Jordan JX92S transmission line speakers.

The Optim FGS is tremendously revealing. It's remarkable how much information can be extracted from a wiggly groove in a vinyl disk. Overall sound is spacious, very good imaging, excellent bass and transients. After listening to the FGS for a day or two I changed to the Music Maker 3. There still was the same detail but somehow the sound was "sweeter", less harsh on loud passages. I replayed many of the tracks I had been impressed with using the Optim FGS and have to say I preferred the MM3 by quite a margin.

Both these cartridges will "find out" poor recordings. The difference between good and mediocre pressings is easy to notice. The good records are superb in their portrayal of the original performance.

I have heard that the MM3 is more "fussy" of tonearms (the Aro is a unipivot) than the Optim, however when I changed over to a Moth (Rega) turntable with modified Rega 250 tonearm I did not notice any difference in tracking ability and only a slight reduction in the width of the sound stage and spaciousness.

I next changed to an Era Gold V5 phono preamp. Unbelievable. The clarity of this unit is a major step up from the ME. Everything sounds better. Even at low listening levels the degree of detail that comes through is astonishing. No wonder this has been getting such high praise from reviewers around the world. The combination of MM3 and Era Gold is magical.

I recommend that if you are interested in any of the items above you read all the reviews before deciding which to purchase. No one has ever returned an Era Gold after trying one, and I suspect the same will apply to the Music Maker 3 cartridge.

You may have read in an earlier review of the GSP gram Amp 2SE and ME RIAA phono preamps where I said that at times I forgot which one I was listening to because they were both very good and similar in performance. Recently I compared them again; this time the difference seemed more noticeable – the Gram Amp has a cleaner better defined sound than the ME.

SPECIAL OFFER on ORIGIN LIVE Soli-Core SPEAKER CABLE

SoliCore speaker cable is available in Basic, Ordinary, and Super versions. The Super version is for Bi-Amping and has 4 wires. The Basic and Ordinary are 2 wire and differ only in the type of insulation used. Up to now we have been selling the Basic for $15.40 a metre, the Ordinary for $18.70, and the Super for $25.30.

We have negotiated a much better price by buying a large quantity of the Ordinary cable, and as a SPECIAL OFFER to our newsletter readers can now offer it at just $13.20 per metre, a SAVING of 29%. Not only that, it has a 30 day MONEY BACK GUARANTEE.

So if you want to try a high performing speaker cable at a budget price give this SoliCore cable a try. When you place your order via the website make sure you use the instructions section to refer to this special offer so that we charge it to you at the reduced price.

VIBRATION ISOLATORS

Vibrapods have been available for years and there are some excellent reviews of their effectiveness. Take these links if you want to read up on them. http://www.vibrapod.com/index.html

http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/steve06.htm

The Vibrapod Company has now introduced a new device called a Vibrapod Cone, and when used in conjunction with the original Vibrapods gives even better results – evidently. Have a read of this review. http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/vibrapod/cones.html

We have taken the plunge and ordered a large quantity of both devices in order to get the price much lower than what we have been able to offer previously.

The Vibrapods were selling for $14.30 (incl GST) but are now listed on the website for $11.00. The VP Cones are on the website for $14.30. BUT we have had a SPECIAL OFFER on the website till the end of October and are now extending it for newsletter readers. Vibrapods are just $8 each (plus GST if applicable) and the Cones are $10 each plus GST until the end of November. Please mention this special pricing in the instructions section of your order.

These are sold on a 30 DAY TRIAL BASIS. If you don’t think they make an improvement you can send them back for a full refund (apart from the postage).

This is probably the least expensive thing you can do to make an audible improvement to your sound system.

WIRELESS HEADPHONES offer

These innovative headphones enable you to hear good quality sound at a distance from your hi fi system without cables. Normally priced at $108.90, during November we have them on special for $88. A great Xmas gift. Once again you need to mention the special pricing in the instructions section of the order form.

http://www.decibelhifi.com.au/category2_2.htm

Audiophile Website of Arthur Salvatore

I stumbled across this website some years ago, and the thing that most struck me was his argument that it is the low level detail which is the most important in achieving a “live” sound. And the fact that most measurements of equipment are concerned with the high output levels when in fact it is the signals being reproduced at minute fractions of a watt that are more important. He also espouses a minimalist philosophy where the least number of components, connections etc is better. His comments on the “very high noise-floor” of digital recordings also make sense. There’s also a very interesting list of Supreme Recordings. Here’s the link – select the MY AUDIO PHILOSOPHY button. http://www.high-endaudio.com/index_ac.html . I hope you find it interesting.

TOP PRODUCTS

The Decibel Hi Fi website has now been operating for 2 years, and we have experienced tremendous growth over that time. Here’s a summary of the top selling products this year.

Accessories

Disc Doctor Record Cleaner

Disc Doctor Stylus Cleaner

Disc Doctor Brushes

Turntable Basics Alignment Tool

AM Carbon Fibre Brush

Ortofon Stylus Pressure Gauge

Hi Fi News Test Record

Major Products

GSP Era Gold phono preamp

Garrott P77 phono cartridge

Jordan JX92S driver

GSP Gram Amp 2 SE phono preamp

ME RIAA phono preamp

Moth Alamo DB2 turntable

Secure ecommerce shopping cart software
and credit card processing provided by ezimerchant