I have had my ARS Machine with a My Sonic Labs Signature Platinum cartridge for 10 months and continue to have the same excitement I had the first time I heard it. Granted, I have tried my best to insure that every mm of the signal path is as good as it can be, both on the analog side and the digital sides using Westminster Lab class A equipment for my mono blocs and preamp with the Angus 'phono stage all with CMS Ultra footers under each component including the TT with its special vibration absorbing base. For reference my digital arm is aTaiko Extreme with the upgraded USB card and the new network card and switch outputting into a Lampizator Horizon running an assortment of different tubes and all connected by MasterBuilt Ultra cable except for the TT which uses FTA cable because the MB cables are too stiff for the application. My speakers are Von Schweikert Ultra 9's modified to accept the CMS LS 1.5 footers, which entails removing the skirt on the speakers, a new plinth allowing the footers to be direct screwed into the speaker cabinets. Of coursse I have upgraded my power and use outlet that are not commercially available, but sound great from Caelin at Shunyata. I even reinforced by floor under my system with 10 4X4's bracing my joists.
Needless to say I am both very fortunate to have the resources to have put this system together for total MSRP in the high 800K range combined with almost 55 years of endless component changes including 5 linear tracking tonearm TT's including the 110 of 110 Jonas Miller Sound custom built Rabco tone arm (unlike lithographs where the lower the number the better, with this tone arm the higher the number the better because the designer made improvements with each new tonearm, which I was very fortunate to be able to buy from Jonas because he was like a second father to me) and at least 15 pivot arm TT's from numerous high end VPI's, Triangle Arts Reference with both a $4500.00 Rockport Air Bearing straight tracker on a Thorens 125 TT, a B&O straight tracker and two heavily modified HK Rabo ST7's as well as others that I am not remembering, not to mention at least 25 high end cartridges including the $18k ZYX Optimum X, several of the top of the line Benz Micros, Sumiko's, Supex's, and numerous top of the line B&O's and at least 4 Grado Signatures hand picked by Joe Grady plus many more my 74 year old brain cannot remember.
I have had dipoles (at least 5 pairs of Martin Logan modified (both physical and circuit modifications to improve the consistency of the charge on the CLS's, a pair of ML Quests and Tympani 3A's, not to mention I built a dedicated reverse live end dead listening room designed by the former lead engineer for The Beach Boys with 5 tons of specially chosen rocks that I listened to to get the right amount of quartz laced through the rocks and then mortared them to the concrete wall behind the speaker so that I would have an irregular (15" variation) rear wall for the back wave reflections to be randomized, Dunlavy 5's a and even Dayton Wrights for a short time, plus many more including BG 6 foot tall reference line sources and freestanding woofer columns quad amped with all class A Pass amps, numerous JL and Entec subwoofers plus a wide array of English speakers (LS35A's) and even full top of the line MacIntosh speakers and electronics, etc. etc. The dead end of my room had a 6 foot deep bass trap built out of concrete with side walls that angled outward at 1.5 inches per meter, and a special hung ceiling that absorbed 97% of the sound
I tell you all of this nonsense so you have some idea of my experience and knowledge to help you realize how dramatic my following comments about the sound of the ARS Machinae and cartridge, which I must say does not make physics sense to me because it is better sounding than all of my linear trackers which should be impossible for a pivoting tonearm and for that matter better than any other turntable I have heard at any price. up to $500k!!!
To sum it up, there is no discernible groove noise and the image as rock solid as you can wish for, with NO audible tracking error, despite only being tangent to the grooves a 2 points in its arc????? While my digital arm is extraordinary and about to get even better when I make another $10K upgrade fromTaiko Audio, at least till I make the next upgrade, with a super high quality and superbly enginereed record and possibly direct to disk, not to mention many test pressings from Real-Time records directly from being cut on Real-Time's NeumannVMS 70 lathe, there is no question that the analog sounds better with a much better sound stage and much closer to real life than I have ever heard from any playback system, including some costing more 10 million dollars, including John Iverson's fabled Force Field system which I listened to for 10 hours in his lab.
As I have written, I live half way between NYC and Philly, about 50 minutes from both. Feel free to come by and if it is boating season I will take you out on my boat and barbecue you a meal. I promise I am not exaggerating!!!
I hope some of you will take my up on this offer.
