Post by Bigman80 on Oct 12, 2021 13:20:55 GMT
Originally written on 11 October 2017
As per usual I am going to break this down into segments. I find it easier that way.
Angus (Phonomac of this forum) got in touch not long after I posted my thoughts in regards to the Alphason and Mission tonearms I was playing with. I had already remarked on the aesthetic appeal of the AT-1010 when I saw one on Montesque's re-plinthed Garrard 401. The email was simply to ask if I would be interested in having a listen to his modified version of the same arm. I was of course going to say yes!
Lets start with looks,
I think its a very 80's idea of what the modern (2000's) arm would look like. I don't know when the AT-1010 came in to production but to me, that's how it feels. They were wrong of course BUT its a very nice looking arm all the same.
10/10 : I love the looks. Very different and very me ha!
Build quality,
Well to look at the arm, you would presume it would feel....Cheap. You know what I mean when something Metal is actually lightweight and flimsy feeling, but no, Its satisfyingly heavy. Its rock solid. The black bar which supports the rest and the arm-lift lever is a metal die-casting, only the clip and lock are plastic, it still has a very good quality feel to it. The arm lift is reassuringly firm and smooth in operation. The bias weight, anti-skate weight and counterweight are all feel very well made and a visual inspection shows that they are very well machined and look the part. The arm lock is very effective too. I am impressed by the quality so far, but wait! What's this I have spotted? Its a casting ridge. The bearing housing is a cast piece of metal which, when done usually produces a ridge or seam where the cast moulds meet. These are usually sanded off and left to look like they never existed. The Phonomac AT-1010 has a slight ridge. This isn't a concern in terms of performance or an indicator that its not up to scratch but it does show that Audio Technica's QC should have been more diligent. Shame that, It was going so well!!
9/10, The ridge on the bearing housing has let the finish down a bit but its still incredibly well engineered. I've seen another two of these arms and neither have a blemish. Just mine, Typical! hahaha.
Set-Up,
It looks a bit of a doddle. Angus has this set up to perfection in a little over 10 minutes. Yes, 10 minutes. No special tools, just a laminated alignment protractor print out from Conrad Hoffman’s arc protractor software, a mirrored azimuth checker and a few allen keys and we are ready to go. I am sure a manual and 30 minutes would have me reach the same standard of set-up so no fear there. So, beginner friendly? Definitely. I set this up personally in less than 25 minutes and to the same level as done by the expert. Its a really easy arm to set up. I love the detachable headshell.
10/10 Its easy enough for a beginner but has many areas for adjustment that the Audiophile can spend hours adjusting it. Excellent.
Sound,
Well where do I start?
It feels like we have turned the focus ring on the Camera lens and everything is cuttingly sharp and accurate. This means there's excellent levels of separation between instruments. Crescendos are clear and completely smear free. Its very precise and coherent. I am taken aback at how poised and completely under control the arm is. There's no smudging of the soundstageand even in the busiest parts of the track, it is all completely audible and easy to follow. Bass is tight and full of impact. The drum rolls and kick drum really stir up a lot of atmosphere and the sound and motion of the skin flexing on the drum roll travels from left to right in a totally realistic manner. The attack of the drums is accompanied by what I can only describe as the possibly the cleanest soundstage I have personally heard. It sounds like i have now got a focused sound. Pinpoint and deliberate. Transient repsonse is clean and delivered with attack and shimmer.
It's powerful too. I noticed an immediate increase in the output when I dropped the needle for the first time. Angus suggests this is due to the Cantilever delivering more signal due to the rigidity of the arm and the ultimate stability of the bearings which means less effort is required from the cartridge to stabilise the arm. It has a very firm grip of intonation and the flat wound strings on McCartney's bass really thud rather than boom. I am also happy to report that the very bottom end is as articulate as the midrange and treble. Balance throughout the frequency band is superb and nothing flies out in front. Very even delivery.
I recently heard anOrtofon RS-309D 12" tonearm and felt that it was pinpoint accurate, neutral and incredibly detailed. The Phonomac AT-1010 is equally as good according to memory. I would like to do an A/B but as I don't have £2000+ lying around, that's not gonna happen!
This arm is doing a great job at opening up the sound stage, The sound is coming from around the speakers rather than from the front and this is giving a real sense of space. It's very easy to be lost in the track and be totally absorbed into the ambient noises in the background of the track. These noises aren't usually this apparent or vivid but here they are, sucking me in. I feel like I am on a journey through time and space, listening to “Dark side of the Moon” Cliche I know, but still a great album. Guitar notes travel from way beyond to up front and centre as Jimi Hendrix takes me on a drug fuelled trip around his mind. It really is conjuring up mental images and flaring my imagination.
So tonally, we are in dreamland. A perfectly balanced presentation and what feels like utter transparency ensues when we strap an Ortofon Vienna to the Phonomac AT-1010. Acoustic guitars are spot on and attack is very punctual. Decay is swift and doesn't linger which makes way for the next note. I actually feel like I have more time to listen to the track such is the timing. Odd sensation. It's kind of like the turntable is no longer rushing through the track. Rather taking its time to get everything right. Rhythmically, its a foot tapping fest. Its no slouch just "sniper" accuracy and precise. Always under control. The Ortofon Vienna shows me exactly what the arm is capable of in the hands of a top class cart. Stunningly good.
Imagine a room full of people under pressure whilst chaos and panic ensues. There is always one person, cool, calm and collected, a Bond like figure. This is Bond.
It reveals everything and hides nothing. Detail retrieval is obviously a strength and I am hearing, very clearly, two track vocals which have been over-laid and then the harmonies are there for your listening pleasure too, also very well separated. Its a fantastic listen. Everything is individually audible but part of a bigger, well drawn, picture. 12 string guitars are portrayed accurately and believably.
Vocals on Fleetwood Mac have me questioning how Stevie Nicks ever got the job as lead singer. It not that the arm isn't portraying her voice well, its actually showing me all the flaws and poor breathing technique she used. She's out of air so can't stop the note from wavering and its all a little shaky. The truth is the arm is really displaying more detail than I am used to and it very revealing. Onto a better vocalist (Sarah Jarosz) and we have glorious tone and timbre. A brief listen to Mozart – The Toronto Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestra is full, flowing and delicate. There's drama and emotion with wonderful balance and tonal superiority. Violins are audible at the right balance with the Basses and wind instruments. It really is very good.
10/10 Simply stunning performance. Very hard to fault anywhere, unless you are Stevie Nicks!
In my opinion, in my setup, the AT-1010 a superior arm to anything ive owned or heard. Quite surprising really but thats the only conclusion i can come to after listening to it relentlessly. If you doubt it, i suggest you let Angus show you what you're missing. I'd expect this to be difficult to beat for any tonearm under £2500 (based on the Ortofon i previously mentioned). Yes, any.
Conclusion.
Angus tells me the price of this modified arm is £825 including supply of the original arm. I am a little surprised that an AT-1010 would cost so much (a recent standard AT-1010 sold for £400ish on eBay recently).
We have a chat about how the price is evaluated. The level of work which goes into the bearing upgrade is quite shocking. We have one piece of plastic, part of the bearing assembly, which is a moulded piece. Angus takes this out and remakes it with better materials. A process which has over 20 different machining operations to make it, demonstrates the level of attention to detail he goes to. It also creates a larger area on which to attach to. This increases the rigidity of the arm. More is done to the arm but at the risk of exposing his methods, I decided not to share them. Suffice to say, when you take into account the materials used, new parts sourced, all the machining it goes through and labour, £825 is looking a bit cheap! Angus might be a one man band, working out of his garage/workshop, but his quality control is top notch. The adapter plate made to fit the AT to my Toshy is as professional as anything available anywhere.
In an ideal world, I would like to hear how the standard AT-1010 and the Phonomac AT-1010 compare. This could happen and if it does I will update this thread.
I am confident to say that this is a real world priced, Top class tonearm. Upon hearing it, even the most dedicated brand buying consumer couldn't argue. I was suitably impressed with the Ortofon RS-309D, I am in love with the Phonomac AT-1010
P.S, the car horn on “Country Honk” - Rolling Stones, just made me look out the front room window. Outstanding lol."
Written on 10 October 2021
It was almost four years ago to the day that i heard the first PMAT-1010. Since then, it has become a globally known tonearm that has now cemented residence in systems on almost every continent. Today, Angus visited with the arm that i had been waiting for, the PMAT-1010 MK8b.
The tonearm had been scheduled for an upgrade for some time. The upgrades being Hybrid Ceramic bearings in the vertical AND horizontal plane, rather than with the MK6's Vertical axis only. Clearly envisioned as the MKVII, i waited patiently for the day this significant upgrade would become a reality. However, Angus and i discuss a great deal these days and one of the areas we chatted about was the possibility of maxing out the performance of the tonearm. A once and for all upgrade list.
I was really keen to upgrade was the wiring. being a huge fan of PC-Triple C wire, i desperately searched the internet for a source of material that would be suitable for such a job. Alas, it was not to be, but Angus did find a very nearly suitable candidate in the form of PC-OCC. Another area of great concern for me, was the amount of brass in the signal path. We all know that the first 12" of tonearm wire can be critical to preserving that tiny signal, so the thought of it having to navigate brass made me shiver.
Thankfully, after recent discoveries with various types of copper, Angus agreed on the idea in principle. Unfortunately, after doing some experimentation it was clear that replacing the brass contacts in the headshell and the arm chuck was nigh on impossible.....so i had a radical idea. "Can't we just drill out the contacts and through wire the arm from the din to the cartridge tags?"
Angus - "well we could"
After that, i left the subject alone as i know how busy Angus is with the SP10's, refining the Avalon and basically answering all the mind leakage i send his way lol
Fast forward to Sunday 10 October.
Angus arrived at my house with a little present, the PMAT-1010 MK8b!
I was totally gobsmacked as i hadn't been aware that we were even close to seeing one. However, here it was.....and it looked marvellous.
Obviously being in a state of shock, Angus pointed out that it was a MK8b due to the fact we have now entirely skipped the MK7 (just bearing upgrade) and we now had a tonearm that had OCC wire, a full complement of Hybrid Ceramic bearings and not only that, but he had also totally removed the mechanical connection between the headshell and the arm. The collet/chuck was now a solid joint using a precision machined piece of high-grade aluminium. The headshell (MS-9) retained all of the adjustment facilities, but it was the only piece of the assembly that could move.
To say i was busting a gut to get it in the system is an understatement.
Seeing as a lot had changed in the listening room here since Angus' last visit, I wanted to make sure that Angus was well and truly up to speed with the system as it is now. To do this we went through a fair bit of vinyl. Whenever we do something like this, we usually end up using a Dire Straits track, and today was no different.
Private investigations was selected from the MoFi pressing and away we went.
With the Mk6 and Vienna in place, we felt very pleased with the performance of the Avalon, the BT2 and the MK6 arm. After a brief discussion, we put the Ortofon Windfeld on the MK6.
Playing the same track, the nylon strung guitar at the beginning had more plasticity to the sound. Knopfler's snapping technique was sharper, faster and more energetic. The leading edge of the "twang" cutting through the air with a speed that felt like he was spitting it out at you. The glockenspiel creeping into the left-hand speaker, audibly a little earlier than it does with the Vienna. It also floats free form in the air. Knopfler's vocals are more fleshy and exhibit a more bodied tone. Never warm, just fuller. Drums now having a more impactful energy, harder hitting, but cleaner too.
Listening through the track and the shuffling feet were in the room behind the listening room, the breaking glass being totally separate from the rest of the track.
The ease of the Windfeld left its impression on the track. Offering a level of fluidity and lucidity that is unparalleled by anything from my back-catalogue of equipment. There is a pause in the track and with the Windfeld, that pause just seems to be longer. Sustain from the instruments were clearly audible for way longer. This all added to a sense of greater drama or threat..it really was palpable.
It was all next-level stuff, which pleased me as I was getting the uplift in performance from the Windfeld. I had been concerned as even though I know my system is probably capable of letting the Windfeld sing, I still have reservations about the room. In truth, I think there is a limit on the performance from the room but not enough to hinder a real uptake with the Windfeld in place.
But then towards the end of the track was a moment that caught me out.
Toward the end of the track, there are 4(?) drum strikes. Very dramatic stuff....but this time they were different. This time they came out into the room in steps. They came out of the soundstage in such a way that i can only describe it as if i had just opened up a giant pop up book.
Strike one was behind the speakers, strike two came level with the speakers, strike 3 was by my feet and 4 was like it was sat on my chest. I jumped up and played it again...and again...and again....every time the same thing happened. I was stunned.
We discussed this a lot, and I have to admit that in these feverent years of listening to all sorts of systems, all sorts of prices, all sorts of styles of kit...imaging and soundstage has always been width, depth and height based. Today, it took on a new axis for me.
Blown away by this, and also knowing that we couldn't put the Windfeld on the MK8b, we decided to get into the MK8b arm using the Vienna.
So now we had the Ortofon Vienna, PMAT MK8b, Avalon, BT2 and 686 in use.
Obviously, the first thing I wanted to do with the MK8b, was to try that Dire Straits track again. So we did. immediately, i realised that the MK8b was now pushing the Vienna into levels of performance that were VERY close to what we had just witnessed from the Windfeld. Sustain, detail, soundstage separation, Soundstage height width and depth....literally almost everything had been elevated from the MK6 + Vienna combo. The drum strikes were coming up, and I waited, but it didn't quite happen in the same way. The Vienna wasn't able to create the pop-up book encroachment in to the space between me and the speakers.
We moved on to other material like Buena Vista Social Club, Sera Una Noche, Marc Cohen...then I broke out other material too, and on everything we listened to, the elevation in performance over the MK6 arm was clear. This was a very special tonearm.
We mention fluidity a lot and that is quite an illusive term, so I am going to say that to my ears, the MK8b had a more naturalistic flow. The music flowed seamlessly from the TT into my ears. Listening to intrinsic detail was completely effortless. I did not have to pay attention to hear what was going on. Angus commented on the Buena Vista LP that usually when listening to songs in a foreign language, the lyrics can become a bit of a blur. It was so true, but I had just heard the only 5 words of Spanish that I know, and I picked them out of a song AND understood them. All with consummate ease.
We played more complex material and again, it just made it so easy to decipher.
I should mention the OCC wiring too. The extensively tried and tested experiments with this stuff have always yielded greater transparency and detail in comparison to OFC, and It was no different here. The Vienna now sounded like a better cart in every discernable parameter and that is all down to the work Angus did with the bearing and the wiring.
Unfortunately, Angus had to take the MK8b back with him as the experimental arm now needed refining.
I can tell you this:
After that listening session, I didn't care what the arm cost ... I would have found a way to buy it. Luckily, as I am a MK6 owner, I can get the upgrades done to my existing arm for a nominal cost. "Nominal" because whatever Angus charges me....it wouldn't be too much for this arm.
As per usual I am going to break this down into segments. I find it easier that way.
Angus (Phonomac of this forum) got in touch not long after I posted my thoughts in regards to the Alphason and Mission tonearms I was playing with. I had already remarked on the aesthetic appeal of the AT-1010 when I saw one on Montesque's re-plinthed Garrard 401. The email was simply to ask if I would be interested in having a listen to his modified version of the same arm. I was of course going to say yes!
Lets start with looks,
I think its a very 80's idea of what the modern (2000's) arm would look like. I don't know when the AT-1010 came in to production but to me, that's how it feels. They were wrong of course BUT its a very nice looking arm all the same.
10/10 : I love the looks. Very different and very me ha!
Build quality,
Well to look at the arm, you would presume it would feel....Cheap. You know what I mean when something Metal is actually lightweight and flimsy feeling, but no, Its satisfyingly heavy. Its rock solid. The black bar which supports the rest and the arm-lift lever is a metal die-casting, only the clip and lock are plastic, it still has a very good quality feel to it. The arm lift is reassuringly firm and smooth in operation. The bias weight, anti-skate weight and counterweight are all feel very well made and a visual inspection shows that they are very well machined and look the part. The arm lock is very effective too. I am impressed by the quality so far, but wait! What's this I have spotted? Its a casting ridge. The bearing housing is a cast piece of metal which, when done usually produces a ridge or seam where the cast moulds meet. These are usually sanded off and left to look like they never existed. The Phonomac AT-1010 has a slight ridge. This isn't a concern in terms of performance or an indicator that its not up to scratch but it does show that Audio Technica's QC should have been more diligent. Shame that, It was going so well!!
9/10, The ridge on the bearing housing has let the finish down a bit but its still incredibly well engineered. I've seen another two of these arms and neither have a blemish. Just mine, Typical! hahaha.
Set-Up,
It looks a bit of a doddle. Angus has this set up to perfection in a little over 10 minutes. Yes, 10 minutes. No special tools, just a laminated alignment protractor print out from Conrad Hoffman’s arc protractor software, a mirrored azimuth checker and a few allen keys and we are ready to go. I am sure a manual and 30 minutes would have me reach the same standard of set-up so no fear there. So, beginner friendly? Definitely. I set this up personally in less than 25 minutes and to the same level as done by the expert. Its a really easy arm to set up. I love the detachable headshell.
10/10 Its easy enough for a beginner but has many areas for adjustment that the Audiophile can spend hours adjusting it. Excellent.
Sound,
Well where do I start?
It feels like we have turned the focus ring on the Camera lens and everything is cuttingly sharp and accurate. This means there's excellent levels of separation between instruments. Crescendos are clear and completely smear free. Its very precise and coherent. I am taken aback at how poised and completely under control the arm is. There's no smudging of the soundstageand even in the busiest parts of the track, it is all completely audible and easy to follow. Bass is tight and full of impact. The drum rolls and kick drum really stir up a lot of atmosphere and the sound and motion of the skin flexing on the drum roll travels from left to right in a totally realistic manner. The attack of the drums is accompanied by what I can only describe as the possibly the cleanest soundstage I have personally heard. It sounds like i have now got a focused sound. Pinpoint and deliberate. Transient repsonse is clean and delivered with attack and shimmer.
It's powerful too. I noticed an immediate increase in the output when I dropped the needle for the first time. Angus suggests this is due to the Cantilever delivering more signal due to the rigidity of the arm and the ultimate stability of the bearings which means less effort is required from the cartridge to stabilise the arm. It has a very firm grip of intonation and the flat wound strings on McCartney's bass really thud rather than boom. I am also happy to report that the very bottom end is as articulate as the midrange and treble. Balance throughout the frequency band is superb and nothing flies out in front. Very even delivery.
I recently heard anOrtofon RS-309D 12" tonearm and felt that it was pinpoint accurate, neutral and incredibly detailed. The Phonomac AT-1010 is equally as good according to memory. I would like to do an A/B but as I don't have £2000+ lying around, that's not gonna happen!
This arm is doing a great job at opening up the sound stage, The sound is coming from around the speakers rather than from the front and this is giving a real sense of space. It's very easy to be lost in the track and be totally absorbed into the ambient noises in the background of the track. These noises aren't usually this apparent or vivid but here they are, sucking me in. I feel like I am on a journey through time and space, listening to “Dark side of the Moon” Cliche I know, but still a great album. Guitar notes travel from way beyond to up front and centre as Jimi Hendrix takes me on a drug fuelled trip around his mind. It really is conjuring up mental images and flaring my imagination.
So tonally, we are in dreamland. A perfectly balanced presentation and what feels like utter transparency ensues when we strap an Ortofon Vienna to the Phonomac AT-1010. Acoustic guitars are spot on and attack is very punctual. Decay is swift and doesn't linger which makes way for the next note. I actually feel like I have more time to listen to the track such is the timing. Odd sensation. It's kind of like the turntable is no longer rushing through the track. Rather taking its time to get everything right. Rhythmically, its a foot tapping fest. Its no slouch just "sniper" accuracy and precise. Always under control. The Ortofon Vienna shows me exactly what the arm is capable of in the hands of a top class cart. Stunningly good.
Imagine a room full of people under pressure whilst chaos and panic ensues. There is always one person, cool, calm and collected, a Bond like figure. This is Bond.
It reveals everything and hides nothing. Detail retrieval is obviously a strength and I am hearing, very clearly, two track vocals which have been over-laid and then the harmonies are there for your listening pleasure too, also very well separated. Its a fantastic listen. Everything is individually audible but part of a bigger, well drawn, picture. 12 string guitars are portrayed accurately and believably.
Vocals on Fleetwood Mac have me questioning how Stevie Nicks ever got the job as lead singer. It not that the arm isn't portraying her voice well, its actually showing me all the flaws and poor breathing technique she used. She's out of air so can't stop the note from wavering and its all a little shaky. The truth is the arm is really displaying more detail than I am used to and it very revealing. Onto a better vocalist (Sarah Jarosz) and we have glorious tone and timbre. A brief listen to Mozart – The Toronto Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestra is full, flowing and delicate. There's drama and emotion with wonderful balance and tonal superiority. Violins are audible at the right balance with the Basses and wind instruments. It really is very good.
10/10 Simply stunning performance. Very hard to fault anywhere, unless you are Stevie Nicks!
In my opinion, in my setup, the AT-1010 a superior arm to anything ive owned or heard. Quite surprising really but thats the only conclusion i can come to after listening to it relentlessly. If you doubt it, i suggest you let Angus show you what you're missing. I'd expect this to be difficult to beat for any tonearm under £2500 (based on the Ortofon i previously mentioned). Yes, any.
Conclusion.
Angus tells me the price of this modified arm is £825 including supply of the original arm. I am a little surprised that an AT-1010 would cost so much (a recent standard AT-1010 sold for £400ish on eBay recently).
We have a chat about how the price is evaluated. The level of work which goes into the bearing upgrade is quite shocking. We have one piece of plastic, part of the bearing assembly, which is a moulded piece. Angus takes this out and remakes it with better materials. A process which has over 20 different machining operations to make it, demonstrates the level of attention to detail he goes to. It also creates a larger area on which to attach to. This increases the rigidity of the arm. More is done to the arm but at the risk of exposing his methods, I decided not to share them. Suffice to say, when you take into account the materials used, new parts sourced, all the machining it goes through and labour, £825 is looking a bit cheap! Angus might be a one man band, working out of his garage/workshop, but his quality control is top notch. The adapter plate made to fit the AT to my Toshy is as professional as anything available anywhere.
In an ideal world, I would like to hear how the standard AT-1010 and the Phonomac AT-1010 compare. This could happen and if it does I will update this thread.
I am confident to say that this is a real world priced, Top class tonearm. Upon hearing it, even the most dedicated brand buying consumer couldn't argue. I was suitably impressed with the Ortofon RS-309D, I am in love with the Phonomac AT-1010
P.S, the car horn on “Country Honk” - Rolling Stones, just made me look out the front room window. Outstanding lol."
Written on 10 October 2021
It was almost four years ago to the day that i heard the first PMAT-1010. Since then, it has become a globally known tonearm that has now cemented residence in systems on almost every continent. Today, Angus visited with the arm that i had been waiting for, the PMAT-1010 MK8b.
The tonearm had been scheduled for an upgrade for some time. The upgrades being Hybrid Ceramic bearings in the vertical AND horizontal plane, rather than with the MK6's Vertical axis only. Clearly envisioned as the MKVII, i waited patiently for the day this significant upgrade would become a reality. However, Angus and i discuss a great deal these days and one of the areas we chatted about was the possibility of maxing out the performance of the tonearm. A once and for all upgrade list.
I was really keen to upgrade was the wiring. being a huge fan of PC-Triple C wire, i desperately searched the internet for a source of material that would be suitable for such a job. Alas, it was not to be, but Angus did find a very nearly suitable candidate in the form of PC-OCC. Another area of great concern for me, was the amount of brass in the signal path. We all know that the first 12" of tonearm wire can be critical to preserving that tiny signal, so the thought of it having to navigate brass made me shiver.
Thankfully, after recent discoveries with various types of copper, Angus agreed on the idea in principle. Unfortunately, after doing some experimentation it was clear that replacing the brass contacts in the headshell and the arm chuck was nigh on impossible.....so i had a radical idea. "Can't we just drill out the contacts and through wire the arm from the din to the cartridge tags?"
Angus - "well we could"
After that, i left the subject alone as i know how busy Angus is with the SP10's, refining the Avalon and basically answering all the mind leakage i send his way lol
Fast forward to Sunday 10 October.
Angus arrived at my house with a little present, the PMAT-1010 MK8b!
I was totally gobsmacked as i hadn't been aware that we were even close to seeing one. However, here it was.....and it looked marvellous.
Obviously being in a state of shock, Angus pointed out that it was a MK8b due to the fact we have now entirely skipped the MK7 (just bearing upgrade) and we now had a tonearm that had OCC wire, a full complement of Hybrid Ceramic bearings and not only that, but he had also totally removed the mechanical connection between the headshell and the arm. The collet/chuck was now a solid joint using a precision machined piece of high-grade aluminium. The headshell (MS-9) retained all of the adjustment facilities, but it was the only piece of the assembly that could move.
To say i was busting a gut to get it in the system is an understatement.
Seeing as a lot had changed in the listening room here since Angus' last visit, I wanted to make sure that Angus was well and truly up to speed with the system as it is now. To do this we went through a fair bit of vinyl. Whenever we do something like this, we usually end up using a Dire Straits track, and today was no different.
Private investigations was selected from the MoFi pressing and away we went.
With the Mk6 and Vienna in place, we felt very pleased with the performance of the Avalon, the BT2 and the MK6 arm. After a brief discussion, we put the Ortofon Windfeld on the MK6.
Playing the same track, the nylon strung guitar at the beginning had more plasticity to the sound. Knopfler's snapping technique was sharper, faster and more energetic. The leading edge of the "twang" cutting through the air with a speed that felt like he was spitting it out at you. The glockenspiel creeping into the left-hand speaker, audibly a little earlier than it does with the Vienna. It also floats free form in the air. Knopfler's vocals are more fleshy and exhibit a more bodied tone. Never warm, just fuller. Drums now having a more impactful energy, harder hitting, but cleaner too.
Listening through the track and the shuffling feet were in the room behind the listening room, the breaking glass being totally separate from the rest of the track.
The ease of the Windfeld left its impression on the track. Offering a level of fluidity and lucidity that is unparalleled by anything from my back-catalogue of equipment. There is a pause in the track and with the Windfeld, that pause just seems to be longer. Sustain from the instruments were clearly audible for way longer. This all added to a sense of greater drama or threat..it really was palpable.
It was all next-level stuff, which pleased me as I was getting the uplift in performance from the Windfeld. I had been concerned as even though I know my system is probably capable of letting the Windfeld sing, I still have reservations about the room. In truth, I think there is a limit on the performance from the room but not enough to hinder a real uptake with the Windfeld in place.
But then towards the end of the track was a moment that caught me out.
Toward the end of the track, there are 4(?) drum strikes. Very dramatic stuff....but this time they were different. This time they came out into the room in steps. They came out of the soundstage in such a way that i can only describe it as if i had just opened up a giant pop up book.
Strike one was behind the speakers, strike two came level with the speakers, strike 3 was by my feet and 4 was like it was sat on my chest. I jumped up and played it again...and again...and again....every time the same thing happened. I was stunned.
We discussed this a lot, and I have to admit that in these feverent years of listening to all sorts of systems, all sorts of prices, all sorts of styles of kit...imaging and soundstage has always been width, depth and height based. Today, it took on a new axis for me.
Blown away by this, and also knowing that we couldn't put the Windfeld on the MK8b, we decided to get into the MK8b arm using the Vienna.
So now we had the Ortofon Vienna, PMAT MK8b, Avalon, BT2 and 686 in use.
Obviously, the first thing I wanted to do with the MK8b, was to try that Dire Straits track again. So we did. immediately, i realised that the MK8b was now pushing the Vienna into levels of performance that were VERY close to what we had just witnessed from the Windfeld. Sustain, detail, soundstage separation, Soundstage height width and depth....literally almost everything had been elevated from the MK6 + Vienna combo. The drum strikes were coming up, and I waited, but it didn't quite happen in the same way. The Vienna wasn't able to create the pop-up book encroachment in to the space between me and the speakers.
We moved on to other material like Buena Vista Social Club, Sera Una Noche, Marc Cohen...then I broke out other material too, and on everything we listened to, the elevation in performance over the MK6 arm was clear. This was a very special tonearm.
We mention fluidity a lot and that is quite an illusive term, so I am going to say that to my ears, the MK8b had a more naturalistic flow. The music flowed seamlessly from the TT into my ears. Listening to intrinsic detail was completely effortless. I did not have to pay attention to hear what was going on. Angus commented on the Buena Vista LP that usually when listening to songs in a foreign language, the lyrics can become a bit of a blur. It was so true, but I had just heard the only 5 words of Spanish that I know, and I picked them out of a song AND understood them. All with consummate ease.
We played more complex material and again, it just made it so easy to decipher.
I should mention the OCC wiring too. The extensively tried and tested experiments with this stuff have always yielded greater transparency and detail in comparison to OFC, and It was no different here. The Vienna now sounded like a better cart in every discernable parameter and that is all down to the work Angus did with the bearing and the wiring.
Unfortunately, Angus had to take the MK8b back with him as the experimental arm now needed refining.
I can tell you this:
After that listening session, I didn't care what the arm cost ... I would have found a way to buy it. Luckily, as I am a MK6 owner, I can get the upgrades done to my existing arm for a nominal cost. "Nominal" because whatever Angus charges me....it wouldn't be too much for this arm.
