Inoculator

Really lives up the Rega trademarks, very energetic/lively sounding, but not in a fatiguing way. PRAT king for sure.

I was a jazz band kid back in the day, so was TOP obsessed during my teen years. Loving this recording!

TV for you tonight: KCTS, 8.30-10pm - Tower of Power: 50 Years of Funk and Soul.

Do you have a preference for gimbals? Curious of what features you are looking for in a table at these price ranges.

@Gazny I have never had a unipivot, but initially wanted to give it a try with an old VPI scout, but was sent the wrong model and damaged. Ultimately I am agnostic at this point, have only tried gimbaled arms. Originally was looking for a deck to pair with my Zu 103r. Ordered the P8 with no cartridge planning on trying out that combo.

But it is more fun for them to be FOTM and move on. This is why Drop model sucks. They constantly have to have the need for yet ANOTHER product to keep the cycle going.

I was really hoping for 800, oh well. even with their pseudo 900 dollar price I don't think I will bite. Luckily SBAF has a better headphone in the works. So I will stick to that in the near future.

In the age of instant gratification, waiting 9 months is too long.

Is the OG HD800 driver even made anymore? I thought they revised it for the HD800S

Interestingly enough the Gungnir Multibit A2 actually had better synergy, but I parted with it when downgrading whole chain to SE. Thinking the 2541 might be a reasonably priced option with better synergy.

"Zach has talked on live-streams about a sub-1000 closed-back he's working on with a more harman-esque tonality..." Ok thanks. I was hoping for a Verite V2 with a more even tonality or something similar.

KossxDrop Porta Pro +++

What if they pull the same crap with the 580 and make it low impedance

Let us know how that thing is. I still think that table is a bit overpriced for what it is just by the looks of it.

@rtaylor76 Will do for sure. Have it coming with the top cartridge (Mastertracker) so will share my thoughts. Has gotten glowing reviews, but mostly from industry publications, and is a product from one of the largest equipment dealers online...so will see if I can provide some validating real-world impressions.

@Inoculator I'll be looking to read your impressions. Real-world (not audio publication) impressions are most valuable.

@Gaspasser a VPI Scout (the Aries model with cone feet, acrylic platter and JWM memorial 9" tonearm). My first deck that I can truly dial in/tinker with, excited to take that step in the hobby. Going to learn my way around it with the stock cartridge, but then get my ZU 103R on there.

How goes the setup? The vinyl struggle is real

@gaspasser well bad news... Tonearm clip came unmounted in transit and tonearm went for a wild ride. Scratched the crap out of stuff and is surely warped ...and I was sent the wrong model by accident. So back to the drawing board. Working out what the replacement will be with the company on Monday.

Every turntable I had before this shipped kind of plug and play, or was a vintage table that I shop alignment/setup work for me. Ready to start taking setup and tinkering into my own hands. Figure an old original VPI scout will be a fun deck to really spend time dialing in.

Does that have a uni-piviot arm?

@rtaylor76 Yep, the JMW memorial 9".

Is this “Start Walkin’ 1965–1976”?

This Darlington Labs phono is the first loaner tour I have gotten to be part of, such a treat to get the chance to try some gear out this way. Excited to share my findings!

Leon Bridges "Shy" is a good example and it drives me crazy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfVhJkQ-mt8

You would definitely hate lofi hip hop lol.

@E_Schaaf @Phantaminum valid point, and for sure hear where you are coming from. Just means I have to reserve listening to that stuff from my Porta Pros.

https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/the-all-purpose-advice-thread.19/page-509#post-336279 Where I talk about everything I am considering

The Ultradeck looks way overpriced to me. Looks on par if not lower than a VPI Traveler V2. The beauty of the Technics is in the coreless motor - it has tons of torque that belt drives wish they had. The 1500c is a decent deal under $1000. If you want to go fancy, still nothing wrong with a Sol with that unipiviot arm.

Anything higher than $1k, I would post in the Advice forum. I don't keep up with some of those uber priced models.

@rtaylor76 The MFSL looks deceptive, as far as I can tell it uses higher quality components than its looks suggest.

Crunch time for my work, so long days WFH running my LS3/5A for Zoom/Teams with music sporadically throughout the day. Have a long stretch today with no meetings, so fired up the SW51+...guess I will always be a sucker for headphones. Al I want to do is melt into my chair and chill now.

Boo. 2-channel FTW!! Haha just kidding. What do you think compels you with hp vs speakers? Is it the more intimate feeling of it? Or just a different presentation?

I think it must be the more intimate feeling, I am just so much more focused on the music with headphones (bad for during work though, haha). Presentation-wise I feel more sucked into the space of the music and out of my physical space. That being said, nothing is as tactile as a well record live performance from the LS3/5A, it is like I have a saxophone or vocalist right here in my tiny little basement with me.

@Gazny I actually just went cheap with the Rhino panels as I did not have much space. Cheap but effective as far as I can tell.

I just got our little side room cleared out enough to use as an office. I know the dimensions and reflections in here are awful so I'll be doing this myself. I've used GIK at work but I'll look into Rhino.

@Azteca for purely sound dampening, they seem to do the trick. I had really bad reflections from the hollow drywall behind my desk (speakers also sitting a bit too close). Putting a row of the rhino panels in has largely solved the issue. Kind of sounds like a "hi-fi" switch has been flipped, like that awe you get from the first time you listen to a legit DAC.

Until a viable alternative to the Chord Mojo+Poly combo (yuck) comes along for portable roon streaming, I guess I am just stuck using my phone as a Roon endpoint when on the move around the house.

That would be nice. Hmm, you had me look into it and you can get an Android DAP like FiiO but it's still not true RAAT. https://community.roonlabs.com/t/which-dap-to-buy/58337/15

@Azteca yeah unfortunately anything with android is probably going to run into issues. It is crazy to me there is not already something out there!

Granted different rooms/chains (usually at GHA they are hooked up to Line Magnetic integrated or top end Naim setup). At least with the LS3/5A and comparing my listening there and at home, it seems they sound a bit technical/aggressive with kind of tinny bass too close to the wall and over isolated, and instead very musical and natural on proper stands. Will see if that holds up once I have a pair though

What did you think of the 5/9 vs the others? Some report they are more rolled off on both ends (esp the highs) and not extended enough compared to the LS6.

I am going to have to give another listen, was a short visit that day and all I remember was being completely gobsmacked at how good it sounded. They were rocking a $20k Linn LP12 build that day for the source so I kind of just had my jaw on the floor drooling at that. I do remember them sounding pretty effortless for a bigger monitor in a relatively small space, so that might suggest a bit of that rolloff.