Opus1 vs. MSL Platinum

Gardener

Well-Known Member
Sep 23, 2017
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Great Tango
13yrs special ,mine only 18 months still very badly behaved
So right about SAT arm I use with Koetsu and love that
Dynavector not so much
Will try Opus1

Hello Gardener,

The dog with a hat is my listening budddy. He’s been listening with me for 13 yrs. when he doesn’t like the sound he keeps walking around and settle down when the sound is right...hahahaha. You have SAT. I don’t know if you agree but to me I think it is an arm that transmits everything that your cart picks up from the groove with very little or no adding or subtracting. So it is an excellent medium to test different carts and hear a true nature of them. Synergy or not with a cart is different story though. You should try the MSL Platinum. Help cross-checking my ears :D. I think the price is attractive comparing to the Opus1.

Tang[/QUOTE]
 

Gardener

Well-Known Member
Sep 23, 2017
68
32
123
Great Tango
13yrs special ,mine only 18 months still very badly behaved
So right about SAT arm I use with Koetsu and love that
Dynavector not so much
Will try Opus1

Hello Gardener,

The dog with a hat is my listening budddy. He’s been listening with me for 13 yrs. when he doesn’t like the sound he keeps walking around and settle down when the sound is right...hahahaha. You have SAT. I don’t know if you agree but to me I think it is an arm that transmits everything that your cart picks up from the groove with very little or no adding or subtracting. So it is an excellent medium to test different carts and hear a true nature of them. Synergy or not with a cart is different story though. You should try the MSL Platinum. Help cross-checking my ears :D. I think the price is attractive comparing to the Opus1.

Tang[/QUOTE]
 

Tango

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A taste of MSL Platinum. Allen Taussant/Come Sunday (Duke Ellington).


Tang
 
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gian60

Well-Known Member
Apr 17, 2016
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Hi Tang,
but when you work?
In the evening and weekend stay with the family,during the week listen music and do some trial,but are you working sometimes?

Dear Tang,i am joking,every your video show an incredible system,could be the video i liked less is the video with Coralstone,very good,yes,but Lyra and Emt was the best and fantastic,and also this is very good.

Then depend on quality recording,because these are system like formula one so need also top recording.
Ciao
Gian
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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Tang, every time I watch one of your videos I come away with a big smile. Good job man. The joy you have is infectious!
 

Tango

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but when you work?
In the evening and weekend stay with the family,during the week listen music and do some trial,but are you working sometimes?

Dear Tang,i am joking,every your video show an incredible system,could be the video i liked less is the video with Coralstone,very good,yes,but Lyra and Emt was the best and fantastic,and also this is very good.

Dear Gian,

Work is my excuse to go listen to music :D.
I go to office 7:30am listen to music while doing routine work, signing documents, etc. Early half of the day I limit only one meeting, afternoon two max. Staying office is not creative for me. I "think" when I am out visiting customers in provinces. I made video during lunch. I dont normally listen very loud..only as loud as a person singing in front of you. My system is excellent playing at low volume. (I am bragging you here :p)

You are right about the Coralstone video. It sounded hard. That comes from the recording. It was MTV recording. The record came the day I made video. I thought the music was very involving although recording not good. The details microphone picked up was very good though. You can hear so many small details in the venue. I thought the hum at the begining of the song came from my horn so I walked around my system to check what was the problem, but found it actually was the hum from the speaker in the concert. Stupid me. What kind of surprise me was the sound staging and sound enveloping or immersive effect. It sounded like I was watching a home theatre not a two way stereo. Just different taste. I will make another one with different music to do Coralstone justice.

These day I keep going to the Lyra and EMT most. I wish I could teleport you to my place to have a listen. The video cannot show the actual tone, density, dimensionality, depth, layering and most importantly the energy the vibration of what it recorded and the sense of being "there." It is just a Samsung S8. I think a video clip makes our forum more colorful and might get members to 20,000 for Steve and Ron.

@Peter. i will make another video on Opus1 with the same music for you.

@Jack. I am happy to make you smile. Dont smile too big. Those wrikles will call you for more botox :D.

Kind regards,
Tang
 

PeterA

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Dec 6, 2011
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Thank you Tang, but please don't go out of your way. Only if it is convenient, it would be interesting to see if the differences between the cartridges and tables comes through on the video. I really like the atmosphere that your videos project of the room aesthetic. Very nice.
 

Tango

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Thank you Tang, but please don't go out of your way. Only if it is convenient, it would be interesting to see if the differences between the cartridges and tables comes through on the video. I really like the atmosphere that your videos project of the room aesthetic. Very nice.

No problem Peter. Video is like a topping on icecream. We should have more topping in WBF. I would like to see and hear friends's system but no chances like Kedar. Not trying to judge their sound or anything like that. Just try to better understand what the person is hearing, their preferences and priorities sothat when I read their comments I can make better approximation. Many time we read sound descriptions that are the same from one person to another. They write thesame but the magintude I think can be greatly varies differently from one system to another. For example, I saw a video of MikeL's room once. His room is dead quiet and the sound came out really focus. When he writes something I can better imagining how it could sound. That kind of thing. I would like to encourage people to put on video of their system if it is not too invading privacy.

Kind regards,
Tang
 

byrdparis

Well-Known Member
Nov 24, 2015
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i saw one of your videos on YOU TUBE a few days ago and comment over there, then you start publish them here,
so i will comment again:
those are truly masterful and great clips of your every day music life.
its unbelivable cool that you sharing those with us.
thank you!

Aviad.
 

Tango

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Hi byrdparis,

I didnt know that was you. I put on youtube because I dont know how to transfer file from my mobile to this forum.

Tang
 

Tango

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Opus1 vs MSL Platinum. All gears are the same except tts.

I tried Sonny Rollin’s Way Out West and other more complex music but didn’t work with the video from my Samsung phone. For example Sonny supposes to be on the left and move more left toward the end of the song and the drums suppose to be on the right. But I videoed it and the sound of everything move to the center. No layer too. So I use simple music that you can hear some differences from the video. The point is to try show some differences that I can put on video.

The recording was done without adjusting volume. The Opus1 is fully burned. The MSL has about 30 hrs.

Hint: Listen to the high. Clarity. Transient. Leading edges.

Opus1.


MSL Platinum.


Tang
 

Tango

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Keb Mo Opus1.


Keb Mo MSL Platinum.


Yes, I am pretty busy at work today Gian :D.

Tang
 

PeterA

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Dec 6, 2011
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Keb Mo Opus1.


Keb Mo MSL Platinum.


Yes, I am pretty busy at work today Gian :D.

Tang

Thank you Tang for posting these comparisons. I don't know if people can hear differences. I played the videos over my computer with the low fidelity built in speakers. The Melissa Menago sounded very similar but I do think I heard a slight difference with the Keb Mo recording. THe MSL sounded as though the leading edge or transient information was slightly more pronounced and it was clearer overall while the Opus seemed more about the midrange and decay. The Opus sounded slightly richer. The differences were subtle but I think I heard a slightly different emphasis on tonal balance, with more high frequency in the MSL and more mid range in the Opus. Perhaps knowing which was which brought out my biases because I have the MSL sig Gold and the Supreme and these are basically the differences I hear with my cartridges. The Opus sounded a bit softer in the transients.

I wish I could hear these on your actual system. I really appreciate you taking the time to make the videos.
 

Tango

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Mar 12, 2017
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Thank you Tang for posting these comparisons. I don't know if people can hear differences. I played the videos over my computer with the low fidelity built in speakers. The Melissa Menago sounded very similar but I do think I heard a slight difference with the Keb Mo recording. THe MSL sounded as though the leading edge or transient information was slightly more pronounced and it was clearer overall while the Opus seemed more about the midrange and decay. The Opus sounded slightly richer. The differences were subtle but I think I heard a slightly different emphasis on tonal balance, with more high frequency in the MSL and more mid range in the Opus. Perhaps knowing which was which brought out my biases because I have the MSL sig Gold and the Supreme and these are basically the differences I hear with my cartridges. The Opus sounded a bit softer in the transients.

I wish I could hear these on your actual system. I really appreciate you taking the time to make the videos.

When listen from YouTube, it is best if you put on the headphone, Peter. Listen with earphone. Even my cheap earphone that came free with the phone sounds much better than from computer speaker.

Kind regards,
Tang
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
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Manila, Philippines
@Jack. I am happy to make you smile. Dont smile too big. Those wrikles will call you for more botox :D.

Kind regards,
Tang

Hahahahaha! Yes, yes, good thing I am not a model!
 

PeterA

Well-Known Member
Dec 6, 2011
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When listen from YouTube, it is best if you put on the headphone, Peter. Listen with earphone. Even my cheap earphone that came free with the phone sounds much better than from computer speaker.

Kind regards,
Tang

Hi Tang, I took your advice and found my old pair of Sennheiser HD580s. I could hear the differences slightly easier. My impressions remain the same. The MSL has more leading edge/transient information. More twang with the guitar picks. His voice is less nasal, and the overall impression is that the sound is more linear with a more neutral tonal balance. The Opus is indeed very beautiful with a very slight emphasis on the lower midrange upper bass. Transients are softer. The Opus sounds a bit richer, fuller. When I close my eyes, I imagine the real performance sounds more like the MSL, but who really knows. They both sound excellent to me. My slight preference is for the MSL. Interestingly, in the MSL video near the end when you move the camera back to the turntables, the sound shifts to the left ear as it should given the new perspective. The headphones help with these subtle differences.

Very interesting videos. The impression is similar to the one I have with my two cartridges, the MSL Sig Gold and the AT Supreme. I think they are just voiced slightly differently for personal preference and a different flavor. I think Ron would prefer the Opus/Supreme to the MSL cartridges from everything he writes.

Would you mind making a video of the same Keb Mo song on the EMT/Atlas so that I can hear your version of heaven?

Edit: The Msl is more extended with high frequencies too. The silence of the groove noise is very impressive
 
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