I've already decided on the latter. But can I stay in this lane while still gaining a little bit more control (JA200) and a little bit more purity (PSET).
Ron’s New System
- Thread starter Ron Resnick
- Start date
Congratulations on putting together this combination Ron , Superb design and engineering all round … that LP needs a dust tho 
Michael Fremer, August 11, 2020: "But what the 5T arm does so well—especially spatially and without the usual tangential hassles—makes it special, an object of desire for vinyl lovers lucky enough to hear it."
I am happy to report that what I heard today is suggestive of the same magic that has haunted me ever since I heard the Grado Epoch 3 on the Reed 5T at audioquattr's house six years ago.
The tonearm seems totally amazing. It seems to function perfectly out-of-the-box. Ruta at Reed graced me with an elaborate battery power supply which became impossible to source and produce during the 2020 virus.
I am hearing an openness and spaciousness and a relaxed quality I did not hear from the ZYX on the Phantom Elite. We put the ZYX on the 5T and we both preferred the greater realism and believability of the Epoch 3. The Epoch 3 beats the ZYX to my ears. The Epoch 3 achieves both greater realism and believability at the same time it improves the richness of voices and the tonality of instruments.
Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" and Bill Henderson's "Send in the Clowns" were spectacular. So far the 5T is everything I believed it would be.
I am happy to report that what I heard today is suggestive of the same magic that has haunted me ever since I heard the Grado Epoch 3 on the Reed 5T at audioquattr's house six years ago.
The tonearm seems totally amazing. It seems to function perfectly out-of-the-box. Ruta at Reed graced me with an elaborate battery power supply which became impossible to source and produce during the 2020 virus.
I am hearing an openness and spaciousness and a relaxed quality I did not hear from the ZYX on the Phantom Elite. We put the ZYX on the 5T and we both preferred the greater realism and believability of the Epoch 3. The Epoch 3 beats the ZYX to my ears. The Epoch 3 achieves both greater realism and believability at the same time it improves the richness of voices and the tonality of instruments.
Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" and Bill Henderson's "Send in the Clowns" were spectacular. So far the 5T is everything I believed it would be.
On the 5T the ZYX displayed the openness and spaciality of the 5T, but with less sense of aliveness and presence, and with a less rich tonal balance, than the Grado. The ZYX sounded slightly less natural and organic, and slightly less like music, than the Grado.
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Ron,
most your amp questions were around does amp A or tube A have more weight and midbass energy and midrange compared to B.
in fact when you asked me what I meant by “better” and tried to get me to answer on those attributes, or compare Jadis, NAT Magma and KR VA200 on those attributes, I purposefully refused.
your 5T report is now about openness and spatial superiority. There is no mention of weight. In fact Fremer’s review (and my brief listening and compares at Anamighty followed by listening on XVX and Dohmann demo by Dohmann himself) find the shortcoming as weight and bass. So, just saying that while comparing amps, at no point did you ask which amp is more open and spatial, does not matter if it has less bass.
Not being picky on those attributes, just pointing out that sometimes when you listen, you might choose component A over B for a more holistic better than just some couple of attributes you wanted more of before you went there.
most your amp questions were around does amp A or tube A have more weight and midbass energy and midrange compared to B.
in fact when you asked me what I meant by “better” and tried to get me to answer on those attributes, or compare Jadis, NAT Magma and KR VA200 on those attributes, I purposefully refused.
your 5T report is now about openness and spatial superiority. There is no mention of weight. In fact Fremer’s review (and my brief listening and compares at Anamighty followed by listening on XVX and Dohmann demo by Dohmann himself) find the shortcoming as weight and bass. So, just saying that while comparing amps, at no point did you ask which amp is more open and spatial, does not matter if it has less bass.
Not being picky on those attributes, just pointing out that sometimes when you listen, you might choose component A over B for a more holistic better than just some couple of attributes you wanted more of before you went there.
i think we live in the moment, when we hear new degrees of attributes that impress and capture our attention, these things become the 800 pound gorilla in the room and we are suddenly aware of them, hold them up as the template for success. but what might be missing? or diminished?
we need these things that get us excited. it's good being in lust. happy to read about the excitement of the 5T. i'm one who goes through the same process.
the longer game is to live with things for awhile and allow the whole picture to settle in.
sure, my point is during the search, don’t search for a couple of attributes only especially when some things would be clearly better overall even to the searcher
Great comment Bonzo. The audiophile has been conditioned to listen for bits and pieces in the sound rather than the holistic approach of the bigger picture and the listening experience of real music. I’m not exactly sure when this shift started but I think it was years ago with the magazines. And then dealers and manufacturers picked up on it to distinguish products and we were taught to listen to attributes rather than to the music and the overall experience. Imaging, detail, black backgrounds. And here we are.
You asked Ron about the cartridges on the tonearms and their differences. We are conditioned to talk in terms of different attributes rather than in terms of the holistic experience.
I think Ron is focused on the tone and presence of the singer with instrument performing for him in his room. The emotional connection for which he is searching seems to be missing. I’m curious about which cartridge on which tonearm gets him closer to his goal of a convincing performance of a girl with a guitar in his room. I think he would be well served to focus on the whole experience rather than a few sonic attributes. It is more likely to deliver long-term satisfaction because real emotional connection depends on the whole presentation, not on specific parts.
This is because I don't think the 5T changes the weight analysis of the speaker/amp combination or adds or subtracts weight from the sound of the system overall. Or if it does I don't care, given what I gain in openness in sp
I don't hear a material difference in openness and spaciality between the VTLs and the JA100s -- maybe VTLs more structured soundstage and Jadis greater depth.
interesting observations, thank you!