Post by rexton on Jul 5, 2021 21:04:13 GMT
I have had my Paradise for I think ~8 years. In that time it has been through many incarnations, always upgraded with the latest ideas and bestparts money can buy (sometimes you learn that WBT RCA plugs are not a good idea)!!!! I don't think my Paradise is the best in the world but it certainly has out performed anything I have ever heard and for me is my final MC phonostage. I would have to take something extremely special for me to replace it. All was perfect in my world until one channel went down. I did the usual and went through the whole chain only to find the Paradise had lost a channel. I was quite depressed to be honest, I listen to music every night and the Paradise is my reference tool for vinyl transcription.
There was only one thing to do and that to call Mr. Paradise, Si (sq225917), well known GURU on all things Paradise and all round life saver when your Paradise is buggered. I usually give Si an unlimited budget and free reign when he picks my unit up, he casn spend what he wants and modify accordingly. So, with the promise of a few mods (yeah I'm a sucker for that word) he took my unit and promptly modded away.
The modifications including some resistor tweaks, the building of a new house, voltage tweaking, new RCA's, a bit of rewiring, and a few other bits and pieces. I actually know how much work went into this rebuild and I'm actually doing making light of the immense hard work that went into getting these units sounding as good as they do.
The upgrades have produced three very noticable improvements from my paradise of old.
1. Noise. The unit is very very quite. Surface noise on vinyl is virtually a thing of the past. A well cleaned piece of vinyl renders no surface noise. My paradise was always very quiet but the upgrades on my specimen have made it virtually silent on nearly every LP I own.
2. Note definition. I remember recieving the unit and listening to a couple of bass heavy tracks that I know very well. I instantly recognised a better defined bass with greater timbral reflections to note edges. The was especially evident on the "So What" track from Miles Davis Kind of Blue (Mobile Fidelity 45rpm Remasters). Bass was indeed a little more forward, authorative, and hefty. This was not a one trick pony, I noticed a similar affect on snare drums and cymbals. Saxophones appeared a little sharper and more authorative, maybe a little more shrill, but emotively. Notes just seem to hang around in the air for a little longer. This was especially apparent on Nerfertiti on Side 2 of the Nefertiti album (Columbia Stereo press).
3. Stereo Imaging. The stereo imaging is spot on. I thought I'd mastered stereo imaging with the usage of a Fozgometer and the Ultimate analouge test LP. These two little pieces of kit allow you to check channel balance and VTA. I can honestly say things have moved up another gear. Stereo imaging is pin point sharp. Instruments have there own well defined space there is no overlap. It's just as easy to follow one individual instrument and hear every nuance or follow every instrument and have a 3D image presented to you with wide and deep stereo imaging. Perhaps the very best demonstration that I could give myself was to listen to the Analouge Productions of Janos Starker - Unaccompanied Bach Cello suites. Yep I had the guy sitting six feet in front of me every finger press on the fret, every timbral inflection, in fact Starker's continued breathing through certain pieces can be very annoying! I use my Paradise with a Garrard 301 which isn't really that good for playing complex prog passages but I decided to play my 2019 repress of Yes Close To the Edge. The first
track is the 18+ minute Close to the Edge. Steve Howe's guitar was tight, taught, Chris Squire's bass was probably the most muscular I've ever heard but the Stereo Mix really was a treat for my lug 'oles. A very complex and busy composition was just nailed by the Paradise with no fuss.
Overall I can very heartily recommend the latest tweaks for the Paradise. Money well spent. Any Paradise owner should get in contact with Si to discuss if these tweaks would benefit their unit.
