thank you Peter, the reason i had to buy first, was the inexistence of cartridges for auditioning (before buying), in Greece.
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Opus1 vs. MSL Platinum
- Thread starter Tango
- Start date
Congratulations, Brian. Happy to hear you love it. Let us know what your impressions are after it breaks in a bit more.
Dear Tang and other respected audiophile Dons!
I have an opportunity to buy either cart at a good price, but the difference is still over $5k which is a lot. I understand that Opus is more resolving and has better soundstage, but is it worth the extra money? Considering my system level and the fact that I currently use ZYX Universe II, will I hear this difference?
Thanks in advance,
Aziz
I have an opportunity to buy either cart at a good price, but the difference is still over $5k which is a lot. I understand that Opus is more resolving and has better soundstage, but is it worth the extra money? Considering my system level and the fact that I currently use ZYX Universe II, will I hear this difference?
Thanks in advance,
Aziz
i'm not an expert on those carts, other than feedback i have read. but.....your arm and phono stage are certainly going to easily show what the better cartridge will do. those pieces are found in top level systems.
and the Opus 1 will give you a higher lift over your ZYX. with .45mv output it should work great with the Io Eclipse.....the noise should be minimal.
and it's the delta between your current cart and the new one that is what you are after.
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I found the MSL Platinum to be "OK" in my system. I wouldn't buy it, personally. I love the Opus 1 in my system. I don't know what kind of price deltas you're finding, but it's always difficult to derive someone's personal value equation for them. The Opus 1 is a clearly better cart in my personal opinion, and that's what I can offer.
In general I’m not a fan of MSL or it’s private label variants, too bland IMO but I can happily live with the Opus 1. You do have a point regarding your system it probably will homogenize both cartridges to some degree eroding Opus’s resolution advantage of course it goes without saying that setup is crucial to extract the most from your investment.
david
You will hear a difference but the zyx is also a very good carts and they are more similar than different. For example, the Lyra and vdh are more different, as is a koetsu (in another direction). So at the end depending on your outlook you can spend 5k at a new sound and be excited, or not. And yes, someone might say universe premium is closer to Opus than the universe II, but still
Hi Aziz,
My comment was general and includes setup concerns I commented only because you asked definitely not targeted specifically at your tt. Question of a different front end or cartridge is part of the analog/vinyl experience you can change flavors and enhance your listening pleasure with more variety than other mediums.
david
Air tight opus 1 and TechDas tcd01 basically same cartridges and most probably My Sonic Lab platinum too. all of them are made by My sonic Lab. recently I installed a TechDas tcd01 to a friend's setup and listened a couple of times since then. it sounds live without being edgy. all the instruments are rendered perfectly especially piano. I liked it more than Kondo IO-M which I'm very familiar.
Dear Aziz,
1) You will hear the difference.
2) Buy the Opus. Superb cart all around. I only enjoyed the MSL Plat for vocal. But on classical I got bored because it was less resolving and consistently exhibited certain character (color by some) making music less real and more homogeneous than the Opus.
kind regards,
Tang
Mike, did you ever get your Io Eclipse back from Aesthetix ? If you did, how do you like it ?
Does it compare to your other phonos ?
i heard from Jim White yesterday that i should see my Io Eclipse later this month. excited to see how it fits into the mix.Mike, did you ever get your Io Eclipse back from Aesthetix ? If you did, how do you like it ?
stay tuned.
So it has been 6-7 month wait for you too !
At least i don't feel especially mistreated anymore. Funny when I think of you and the Io the sound aspect doesnot come up a concern but curious on how you gonna place the three boxes. New rack you need. Longer connecting cables for other components that will be placed further, etc. At your level it is not just the $ of the new gear introducing in but more $ to rearrange the logistic. It is a sin we are in this hobby sir.
Kindest regards,
Tang
i recognize you went through the chaos of too many boxes (and tt's) and such yourself, and then you added the whole Lamm multiple box effect too. now you are relatively simplified. 10 years ago i had 4 tt's and multiple phono's and 5 RTR decks too. and then simplified. so we've both been down this road......and i fully relate to the lens of logistics that you see my situation with.
i have thought about this in detail as you can imagine.
for the immediate challenge of integrating the Io Eclipse into my set-up; my plan is to (1) consolidate my two MSB power supplies onto one shelf, and remove one Dazia from my double Daiza stack. (2) which will free up one shelf for the Io Eclipse main chassis chose enough for the phono cables to reach from both the Saskia and NVS. then; (3) i will place the two Io Eclipse power supplies on the two shelves where my NVS and Saskia power supplies are. if necessary i can also move the air box for the CS Port tt/arm. the NVS power supply can be on my wall mounted shelf where i have my EMIA SUT's. the Air Box will fit on the wall inset CD shelves. the Saskia power supply would go where the Air Box is under the EMT 948 tt.
until i have the Io Eclipse in the system and listen it's hard for me to predict the lowest noise location for the power supplies. they need to be away from the main Io Eclipse box. so it will be a process of experimentation. i can even place both Io Eclipse power supplies where my Tana/Herzan power supplies are now on the floor between my NVS rack and MM7 bass tower. and move those Tana/Herzan power supplies. those might even end up behind my MM7 bass tower. i can also separate those power supplies for the Io Eclipse one on the floor and one where the NVS power supply is.
the Io Eclipse main box can be placed under my NVS (where my MSB dac box currently sits) so the power cables will reach the floor locations. the Tana/Herzan power cables are quite long so that is not an issue. in my mind i should have options.
i've certainly mentally moved on from keeping all these sources permanently. my 'end-game' likely will be less crowded. but i want the Io Eclipse to be in system to properly judge the keepers and the non keepers. there is no urgency to any of this. i will enjoy sorting it out......it's fun.
added note; i just realized that my main system pics don't show the 4th tt or 4th Adona rack so you can see where everything is right now. so i added this pic to show the latest view. the rack with the CS Port tt on top, the Saskia power supply on the 2nd shelf, the NVS power supply on the 3rd shelf, and Tripoint Elite on the bottom shelf. oops.....forgot that this pic does not show the added MSB Select Headphone amp on top of the MSB dac box.
kind regards,
Mike
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my moment of feeling butt hurt is now ancient memory. Jim has been in touch with me since that time and i feel good about it.So it has been 6-7 month wait for you too !
and i've come to understand that i'm getting support consistent with what others have received, other than some initial communications snafu's. shit happens. as a purchaser of a used set i came to them without any previous knowledge of their process. so that was part of it too.
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It looks like they are each queuing up to be played ,lol, I do like the Adona’s !
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