Opus1 vs. MSL Platinum
- Thread starter Tango
- Start date
Like I said, playback through soundcard and desktop speakers, though many of Tang videos sound pretty good. Do you know the performance and label; if I have it I'll play it on my system.
I did not know what B meant by 'up-tilted' other than possibly treble emphasis. I didn't think the treble was too emphasized, rather the paucity of mids and bass. We're wrangling here with words.
Master Sig does have more upper octave energy when it is brand new (first ~5hrs) but I found bass and lower mids coming in better around 10hrs and continuing to develop from there. I assume Tang's carts are broken-in.
Master Sig is this year's model - the current 'It' cartridge. Deserved. I keep thinking Mr. vdH is 81 and in good health - but how long can he keep making them? I hope for the best. If you want one, this probably would be a good time.
Rollins vid was 'unavailable' when I tried.
I did not know what B meant by 'up-tilted' other than possibly treble emphasis. I didn't think the treble was too emphasized, rather the paucity of mids and bass. We're wrangling here with words.
Master Sig does have more upper octave energy when it is brand new (first ~5hrs) but I found bass and lower mids coming in better around 10hrs and continuing to develop from there. I assume Tang's carts are broken-in.
Master Sig is this year's model - the current 'It' cartridge. Deserved. I keep thinking Mr. vdH is 81 and in good health - but how long can he keep making them? I hope for the best. If you want one, this probably would be a good time.
Rollins vid was 'unavailable' when I tried.
Those are echos de rompon which is some rare LP tang got from G. I haven't heard it before. I asked him yesterday which was it because I liked it
I have been at the Crimson Stradivarius before tang bought it. When I heard it in 2017 may, in the WE room at Munich. That time they let me compare it to the tsar DST on a couple of my own records. Though the tsar was on another table, my gut was the Crimson causing a lot of the difference. The next year in 2018 at Munich they brought the master Sig on in various rooms. It became the IT cart then.
And I finally got to compare in two systems... At Tang's that October, and earlier in a system with aesthetix IO eclipse, Allnic 5000, modded kodo beat and modded Vyger Indian... With various carts.
It became an IT on this forum because of Tang's videos. A lot of people not believing in videos think it's a good thing.
Unfortunately everything in euro will now be expensive
I have been at the Crimson Stradivarius before tang bought it. When I heard it in 2017 may, in the WE room at Munich. That time they let me compare it to the tsar DST on a couple of my own records. Though the tsar was on another table, my gut was the Crimson causing a lot of the difference. The next year in 2018 at Munich they brought the master Sig on in various rooms. It became the IT cart then.
And I finally got to compare in two systems... At Tang's that October, and earlier in a system with aesthetix IO eclipse, Allnic 5000, modded kodo beat and modded Vyger Indian... With various carts.
It became an IT on this forum because of Tang's videos. A lot of people not believing in videos think it's a good thing.
Unfortunately everything in euro will now be expensive
How is this for reporting consistency https://www.whatsbestforum.com/thre...adivarius-on-the-way.24740/page-2#post-521564
You got it right. To me (and apparently @Audiophile Bill ) the Opus sounded as though the VTA needed to be adjusted down. Treble was bleached as you say and the lower end lacked substance. If I strike a piano key in my living room, the sound I get more closely resembles what I can hear from the MSL in this comparison. (Which we all know is limited and flawed). If VTA was on the mark, then the character of the cart itself may be somewhat more lean than the MSL.
I've gotten concerned about dealing with physical flaws on a Master Sig, and have a demo Blue Dragon coming in soon.
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From what I know, you'll still pay less than in the States.
My understanding is the Master Sig is more difficult to build, partly because of its suspension, which is different from other vdH carts. And yes there have been some problems. However - although it may take a while - vdH does accept them back (some may go back more than once) and he works to resolve them. Returns go back to vdH with new orders through distributor and repaired/re-worked carts come back with those orders, so it's not onesies at a time. The wait is almost as frustrating as having an issue in the first place. Although he's training his son, Mr. AJ is just one guy; cartridge rework is not his sole occupation. This is not to say you would have any issue at all, but to confirm, ime, customers are made whole.
You do want to be v. specific about what you want to use the cart with, especially if you have one-off tonearms, such as my Tri-Planar and 11" 4Point. Don't buy a, forgive me here, 'generic' Master Sig then have it modified. If you know what will be needed ahead of time, and you should, buy one, no, order one for your specific context of use.
Imo, the trick is either to do as Bonzo suggests viz have an experienced person pick out one for you. I hope he doesn't mind my mention - here I think @ddk is easily the go-to guy (for many reasons). Alternatively work with your dealer or a dealer who has a good relation with the distributor. Very recently vdH distributorship in the US became split (only for cartridges, not his electronics or cables); one is now VPI, the other is Finest Fidelity. If you do go through a dealer, personally I'd choose one who works through Finest Fidelity.
All of which is to say, I would not give up on Master Sig. If I didn't have other fish in the pan, I wouldn't think twice about ordering a third one.
You have been quiet in giving detail sonic impression on Master Sig. Is this your way of saying "Yes I do" to this cart.
You have been quiet in giving detail sonic impression on Master Sig. Is this your way of saying "Yes I do" to this cart.
I'm waiting for 100 hours.
I'm also waiting to mount my 4Point version that just came back.
How 'bout "Yes I will". ;->
why use both? if you use red it doesn´t take a brain surgeon to figure out what´s left/black
classic audionut symptom for symmetry hangup
audio freaks fall over in the sofa if the singer isn´t dead center, whether recorded that way or not
best
Leif
Different setting of VTF could give a very noticeable sonic difference in terms of body and weight vs bright and lean. I recalled the manufacturer recommend 1.9 - 2.3 gram of tracking force according to the instruction manual. However, I found out in my setup, MSL sound best in the lower side of 1.91 gram, it gives the best balance of body and vivid feeling. As Opus and MSL are coming from the same designer, Opus may result similar by playing the VTF a bit, IMHO.
The vtf of my Opus and MSL are set at 1.9. I don't know how others like to set their vta but I sure don't let any software dictate my hearing.
Tang
@tima yeah I do trust that sending the cart back to VdH once or twice to resolve initial issues will eventually do the job. I'd prefer VdH just didn't rely on the distributor or end customer to QA their carts. Aligning carts again and again is not something I enjoy terribly, which is why I like the 4 point head shell system so I can set and forget, and still swap out carts when the mood strikes. Though I'm still considering it because it does seem to be an excellent sounding cart when all is said and done.
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Well, I've got a new favorite cartridge. I've only clocked a few hours on it thus far, but I can call it already. The Air Tight Opus 1 is the best cartridge I've yet heard in my system. It's spectacular.
It measured impeccably well. In Analog Magik, I measured between 1.5% and 1.8% in both channels for the VTA measurement across the entire track, -29.5 dB crosstalk in both channels with the headshell level according to my Starrett level, anti-skate adjusted to within 0.09% across channels. Zenith remains the most critical parameter according to AM and the only way to get the VTA IMD below 2%. I''m running VTF at 2.1g. I usually like to use AM as a starting point and tweak by ear from the "by the numbers" baseline. This time, I am hearing no reason to touch the setup from the AnalogMagik starting point. It's phenomenal as is. I'm having that "I need to relisten to my entire record collection" experience.
It measured impeccably well. In Analog Magik, I measured between 1.5% and 1.8% in both channels for the VTA measurement across the entire track, -29.5 dB crosstalk in both channels with the headshell level according to my Starrett level, anti-skate adjusted to within 0.09% across channels. Zenith remains the most critical parameter according to AM and the only way to get the VTA IMD below 2%. I''m running VTF at 2.1g. I usually like to use AM as a starting point and tweak by ear from the "by the numbers" baseline. This time, I am hearing no reason to touch the setup from the AnalogMagik starting point. It's phenomenal as is. I'm having that "I need to relisten to my entire record collection" experience.
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Congratulations Brian. Tang really likes this cartridge also. From what I’ve read it seems very well balanced. Enjoy it. Any photos?
Thanks, Peter. I should have blown the dust off before taking the picture. I did after taking it.
Congratulation Brian.
I was sure that you would love this cartridge.
i Purchased lately some expensive cartridges (VDH GC, Etsuro Gold, Lyra Lambda Etna, Lyra Lambda Atlas, Airtight Opus I)
VDH GC and Etsuro Gold had failed to impress me. The first due to the very poor material and fabrication quality; and the second due to assembly and sound quality - I was lucky that some friends were in love with theit reputation and purchased them without a second thought.
I kept only the Lyra Atlas Lambda, Lyra Etna Lambda and of Course the Airtight Opus I.
these three cartridges are exceptional in terms of design and fabrication quality and they are offering an outstanding sound.
as I wrote you the Opus I (at my system) is the Emperor
I was sure that you would love this cartridge.
i Purchased lately some expensive cartridges (VDH GC, Etsuro Gold, Lyra Lambda Etna, Lyra Lambda Atlas, Airtight Opus I)
VDH GC and Etsuro Gold had failed to impress me. The first due to the very poor material and fabrication quality; and the second due to assembly and sound quality - I was lucky that some friends were in love with theit reputation and purchased them without a second thought.
I kept only the Lyra Atlas Lambda, Lyra Etna Lambda and of Course the Airtight Opus I.
these three cartridges are exceptional in terms of design and fabrication quality and they are offering an outstanding sound.
as I wrote you the Opus I (at my system) is the Emperor
Ciao,
can you explain well why Etsuro Gold failed in sound?
Could be little worse than Opus is one thing but failed in the sound seems strange
VDH i can understand,some like and some no,some model are not well done and some is difficult to setup,but for Gold i cannot understand
Also i never listen Etsuro Gold
Dear Gianluigi,
I had experienced abnormal sibilance and very thin, etchy sound. It was really a pain in the ears.
Also the specific unit had probably stylus issues as the IMD distortions remained really high, despite my efforts with zenith correction and VTA adjustments, also the channel separation was too low.
VDH GC had foundamental issues which were obvious with naked eye.
Vienna, now that is the way to settle on the right cartridge: buy all of the contenders, listen to them in your own system over time, keep the ones you like, sell off the ones you don't. Congratulations. That is a wonderful set of cartridges you have there.
I don't have the Opus 1, but a good friend has both that cartridge and the Atlas Lambda. I think he mostly plays the Lambda. I have the Airtight Supreme and MSL Sig Gold, but prefer my Colibris. I've read about the inconsistent build quality of the Colibris and mixed reports about the Etsuro Gold so I am not surprised by your findings. I think we should be pleased with all of the good choices available. Enjoy your wonderful collection.
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