Ron, you can have David install two SME 3012R arms on your new AS2000 and get both cartridges. Then you will really KNOW which you prefer and how they work with your phono stage and gain. See how easy that was?
Ron's Speaker, Turntable, Power and Room Treatment Upgrades
- Thread starter Ron Resnick
- Start date
Ron, you can have David install two SME 3012R arms on your new AS2000 and get both cartridges. Then you will really KNOW which you prefer and how they work with your phono stage and gain. See how easy that was?
The Asethetix Io only has 1 phono input. Perhaps a Lamm LP2 for the second arm, go for a higher gain step-up and run the low output mc through the Lamm. DDK could bring the Lamm phono when he installs the AS.
Playing around with some masking tape and a tape measure I am thinking about the ribbon drivers being 4 feet in from the side walls and 10 feet into the room from the front wall. That gives me 3 1/2 feet from the rear wall. The ribbon drivers and the listening position would form an equilateral triangle of 11 feet on each side of the triangle.
Too many variables to consider. One of the most important is your preferred listening levels and room gain - speaker sensitivity can be very misleading, particularly for panels. There are you have some nice sites with calculators that help people to calculate gains if you want to go that way.
Yes!
But how do I choose between the Opus and the mythical MSL Platinum Signature?
Ron, The room is looking good. For what it's worth Gunther Frohnhöfer of Acoustic Signature tells me this is one of the bests carts he has ever heard. He said it has no weakness.
Fascinating. I have not heard any reports about the MSL Signature Platinum. There can't be too many people who own one yet. I'm waiting for Tango to share his impressions.
From a couple of a'philes whose ears I trust, I have heard that the MSL Platinum Signature is a significant step-up over the Air Tight Opus!! They both told me that this cartridge was the best that they had ever heard.
One of these guys owns a ZYX Ultimate 2...he is going to sell this to get the MSL.
However, without hearing the cartridge myself, I wouldn't plunk down the big $$$....even though I do trust these guys hearing ability...just not as much as my own on my system; if that makes sense.
One of these guys owns a ZYX Ultimate 2...he is going to sell this to get the MSL.
However, without hearing the cartridge myself, I wouldn't plunk down the big $$$....even though I do trust these guys hearing ability...just not as much as my own on my system; if that makes sense.
Davey, how much is the MSL Sig. Platinum? There is a new US distributor but I have not seen a price list. I think my Sig. Gold retails for about $11K. Fortunately I got a great deal on a used one with only 20 hours on it. I find it difficult to believe that the flagship MSL can be a "significant step up over the Opus" considering all of the glowing reports about how good the Opus is.
Peter, I have heard the Opus on a couple of occasions...it is truly a superb cartridge! The inner detail that it allows one to hear is extremely impressive. Also, it is very quiet in the groove and has excellent separation...along with superb top and bottom resolution. Having not heard the MSL SP, I cannot say how that would compare, but the guys who have heard both extensively tell me that the MSL SP is even more resolving at the frequency extremes than the Opus ( which is really saying a lot!!)
As to price, I only have an inkling of the Japanese price...which is approximately +- $5500-
The price in the US will, as usual, be multiples of that...after all the numerous middle men have to make their cut.
. . . the guys who have heard both extensively tell me that the MSL SP is even more resolving at the frequency extremes than the Opus ( which is really saying a lot!!)
As to price, I only have an inkling of the Japanese price...which is approximately +- $5500-
The price in the US will, as usual, be multiples of that...after all the numerous middle men have to make their cut.
If the MSL PS is even more resolving at the frequency extremes then I would prefer the Opus.
Thank you, Paul. But he probably likes a more neutral sound than I do. At Steve's we all agreed that the Anna is more neutral, but we preferred the ZYX (different tonearms acknowledged).
I don't think the reason we preferred the zyx set up to the Anna (or in Mike's GFS to the Anna), had to do only with neutrality. There were a while load of other things the zyx SME set up was better at. And it is not a colored cart, though it is not as neutral as a Lyra or an ortofon a95. Also I think it is unfair to classify higher resolution at frequency extremes as brightness.
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