too long ago ,....
but from my memory the Solid state PSU was more detail, the Rönt had more punch lower mids, never heard Rönt III
Question for Brinkmann owners...
- Thread starter rDin
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but from my memory the Solid state PSU was more detail, the Rönt had more punch lower mids, never heard Rönt III
I have compared the Ront II and III as well as the III without the Brinkman "rectifier" , I also had the Ront I on my La Grange- which btw is a great table and some may prefer to the Balance.
The addition of any Ront is going to contribute more air, sense of space and depth - perhaps the emphisis on lower midrange.
These are things that I value and the addition of the Ront , for me, was irrefutable... its presence was known. Now whether you prefer it or not is personal. No one in my group would run the Balance without it.
On the Ront III that really is a sign of the times and the unavailability of good NOS British GZ34's. Not sure if it is still going on but if you order the anniversary edition Balance it comes supplied with a real Mullard GZ34.
I prefer the Mullard Gz34 in the Ront III-- that is how I run mine.
The addition of any Ront is going to contribute more air, sense of space and depth - perhaps the emphisis on lower midrange.
These are things that I value and the addition of the Ront , for me, was irrefutable... its presence was known. Now whether you prefer it or not is personal. No one in my group would run the Balance without it.
On the Ront III that really is a sign of the times and the unavailability of good NOS British GZ34's. Not sure if it is still going on but if you order the anniversary edition Balance it comes supplied with a real Mullard GZ34.
I prefer the Mullard Gz34 in the Ront III-- that is how I run mine.
Ron,
For me the Balance is more expressive with than without it. I think by reading your preferences and comments you would prefer running with it.
Do we know if the solid-state emulator version sounds as good, or almost as good, as the actual Mullard tube version?
One clear difference between the two is repeatably measurable with AnalogMagik, and that is speed stability. With the solid state supply I get stability reading (wow & flutter) of 0.03%. With the Ront II it's 0.003%. An order of magnitude better. Can you hear the difference? *shrug* I actually have the BZ34 on order as a replacement for the aging tube, so will be interested to measure this aspect once installed.
Hi rDin,
I’m curious about the AM w&f results you shared. Could there be a mistake cause I’ve never came across 0.003% w&f with AM, not even 0.03%. If there is no mistake then they’re absolutely amazing results IMHO.
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I applaud you for this candor! (I, too, have no problem admitting I sometimes don't hear a difference in a comparison.)
(I wonder how much more accurate some of our (the collective "our") reporting would be if we didn't feel the pressure or bias to find a "difference.")
Yes, it’s possible there’s a decimal point error - I’m going from memory - but the Ront ll definitely measured 10 times better. Repeatedly. I’ll redo the Ront measurement next time I get the opportunity and post the result.
edit: remeasured Ront w&f @ 0.05%, so the solid state supply was more like 0.5%
This is my direct drive Bardo turntable.
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I have run the new "Bz34" and a mullard GZ34. The best description for me is probably more incisive with the BZ34 and more perceived depth and space with the real Mullard.
On speed stability, the SS is taxed as a small class A amp to indirectly provide heat to the bearing housing as well as using the rails to provide power to the motor. There should be a difference between the Ront and the dual purpose SS supply.
On speed stability, the SS is taxed as a small class A amp to indirectly provide heat to the bearing housing as well as using the rails to provide power to the motor. There should be a difference between the Ront and the dual purpose SS supply.
There is a guy who doesn't post much these days - Vienna (Savvas). I had recommended him the BB sonically, as had dcc, he bought it, but the way he went about his auditions was also quite measurement based. He measured all the tables he demoed, and found BB to be the best measuring one.
I considered the RONT but just found it very expensive for what it is. I have the large PS posted earlier before the bigger Taurus came out.
I had a Balance TT during ten years and I recently sold it.
It came with the RonT II but I only plugged it after several weeks and there were audible subjective improvements. I subsequently swapped the stock rectifier tube for a Mullar GZ34 and again, I could sense some improvement.
Two years ago, I sent the RonT II to Brinkmann for a small overhaul. During several weeks, I had to only use the SS power supply and I could clearly sense that I was missing something. I was very happy when I got the RonT II back. It also came with a BZ34. In my case, I preferred the BZ34 and the Mullard GZ34 has remained in a drawer since then.
The turntable got measured with AnalogMagik by Ana Mighty Sound. I don't recall the measurements we obtained (I might find back some screen shots) but I remember François telling me that we had excellent W&F figures.
It came with the RonT II but I only plugged it after several weeks and there were audible subjective improvements. I subsequently swapped the stock rectifier tube for a Mullar GZ34 and again, I could sense some improvement.
Two years ago, I sent the RonT II to Brinkmann for a small overhaul. During several weeks, I had to only use the SS power supply and I could clearly sense that I was missing something. I was very happy when I got the RonT II back. It also came with a BZ34. In my case, I preferred the BZ34 and the Mullard GZ34 has remained in a drawer since then.
The turntable got measured with AnalogMagik by Ana Mighty Sound. I don't recall the measurements we obtained (I might find back some screen shots) but I remember François telling me that we had excellent W&F figures.
I wanted my end game TT so It got replaced by A CSPort TAT1 M2 with two tone arms.
My Bardo with SS supply measured around 0.04%. The decimal point is correctly placed.
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