Sublime Sound

Don't you mock him. I envy how Marc can consistently multiple-climax and happy about his system more than anyone else here. I try very hard to get to that point but my system can only give stiffies.

I also heard he doesn’t clean up after so I am procrastinating my visit
 
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You're the one who gets crumbs everywhere eating all the time. Messy puppy.
 
I think its laudable what Peter has been working on the past few weeks - as few people tear down their system to the nuts and bolts and rebuild piece by piece. I truly believe we tend to add things but never go back to the beginning to see if what's added interferes with other components. Or especially after a speaker change. I similarly went through this process when I changed rooms recently.

I will be curious in 4-6 months to hear about how it sounds. Long term listening will be the critical factor.
 
Thank you Keith. And thank you for bringing the thread back on track.

Yes, long-term listening will tell the story. Next for me is changing my electric supply to the components and mass loading my rack with large steel plates.

I am trying to get back to basics. In the process I have become a different kind of listener and I’m moving away from analyzing the sound and more towards appreciating the music in a more holistic natural way.

Some recent posts have inferred that my intent was to make general comments about product categories And suggest that what I hear will be the case in other systems for other people. That is incorrect. I am only trying to describe what I hear in my system with my components in the hope that others will enjoy reading about it. If people are intrigued by what I have posted and this leads to their own experimentation, that would be fine. And I would enjoy reading about their experiences.

I am fully aware that others will have different experiences and different priorities and different preferences and that what is happening in my system may not be at all applicable to anyone else’s system.

Bob is right. Life is short, and this stuff should be fun. Happy listening everyone !
 
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About ten days ago or so, I repositioned the speakers to aim straight ahead. I estimated that they were parallel to the side walls and more or less equidistant to the listener, but I could not really confirm this. Before, when I had the speakers toed-in some, it was easy to simply place a laser on the inside edge to determine if each speaker had the same toe in and that the tweeters were indeed equidistant from a reference dot on the wall directly behind the listener's head.

Yesterday a lightbulb went off and I found a solution. I located my old drawing protractor from my architecture days. We used to draw with pencils on vellum or mylar. I can place the adjustable protractor on the flat inside edge of my speaker and find the angle to the reference dot. Then I lock the protractor, add a laser light, and that's it. Angle and distance can be measured very precisely and then the whole thing can be flipped over and used on the other speaker to confirm that each speaker angle and distance is identical. I simply use a tape measure to confirm that each tweeter is the same distance to each side wall. I don't think this is as critical as it might have been when I had more toe in, but I feel more assured knowing that each speaker is precisely symmetrical. I use a bubble level on the top of each speaker to confirm that each speaker is level, and the laser on top of each speaker to confirm that they are the same height.

Perhaps others will find this technique useful. It is quite another challenge if one has curved sides on his speakers.

IMG_6427.JPG
 
With that reply it has become a need of humor .... or a history lesson.

For a dollar I'll explain it to you. :-o

I happily would pay a dollar for lessons on Mahler from you, but not a single cent for your history lessons on Tordesillas. :) I have studied Tordesillas several times along the years in school , currently own a Potestant server ;), but could not understand you reference to " upset about having to pay for Europe " ...
 
I happily would pay a dollar for lessons on Mahler from you, but not a single cent for your history lessons on Tordesillas. :) I have studied Tordesillas several times along the years in school , currently own a Potestant server ;), but could not understand you reference to " upset about having to pay for Europe " ...

Yes, if any one should know about Tordesillas it will be you. Surely many lessons in school. In the division it wrought Portugal gets the still lucrative at that time Old World. But today... ;)
 
I switched from the MSL Sig Gold to the AirTight Supreme on the V-12. It sounds a bit different than I remember given my recent system/room changes. It does not have the resolution or "liveness" of the Master Signature, but it has a very nice midrange with rich colors and body. Very nice sounding on string quartets and vocal music, if not as resolving and real sounding as the Master Signature on the 3012R.

At some point I plan to mount different cartridges in the 3012R but I think I will try to get some more headshells first. Still getting used to having a choice between two arm/cartridge combinations. Conceiving of more than two kind of blows my mind. Throw in a second medium and my head might well explode, :eek:

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Dear Peter,

Do you have any further thoughts on the issue as to whether the energy, resolution and “liveness” of the vdH Master Sig on classical and jazz is coming at the expense of sibilance on vocals or edginess on certain brass instruments on jazz?
 
Dear Peter,

Do you have any further thoughts on the issue as to whether the energy, resolution and “liveness” of the vdH Master Sig on classical and jazz is coming at the expense of sibilance on vocals or edginess on certain brass instruments on jazz?

No issues with brass instruments on original jazz LPs that I can hear, Ron. Just on a few specific jazz reissues like Count Bassie 88th Street, muted trumpet, and a bit of sibilance on two or three modern pop female vocal tracks. One exception is your reference Thelma Houston LP. That is a bit hot, so I have my other cartridges for those few LPs.

As MikeL has described, some of the vdh cartridges live right on the edge. Not for everyone, but I must say the Master Signature is my go to cartridge for all classical, acoustic, and choral LPs. Most jazz too. It just sounds more real to me. Al M. prefers my MSL Sig Gold on some recordings like Art Pepper + Eleven. Preferences here, I suspect.

I do think the energy, resolution and "liveness" is what the Master Sig is all about. I happily live with the tradeoffs. It is very dynamic too and that is what makes the string quartets sound so real. That energy coming off of the strings, the texture and hollow sound are reproduced very convincingly. My other cartridges are more pleasing on hot recordings, but a bit less life-like on the good recordings. They sound subdued, a bit overly warm and ripe to my ears.
 
I switched from the MSL Sig Gold to the AirTight Supreme on the V-12. It sounds a bit different than I remember given my recent system/room changes. It does not have the resolution or "liveness" of the Master Signature, but it has a very nice midrange with rich colors and body. Very nice sounding on string quartets and vocal music, if not as resolving and real sounding as the Master Signature on the 3012R.

At some point I plan to mount different cartridges in the 3012R but I think I will try to get some more headshells first. Still getting used to having a choice between two arm/cartridge combinations. Conceiving of more than two kind of blows my mind. Through in a second medium and my head might well explode, :eek:

View attachment 60639
Try adding a nice tube phono into your all SS setup for a different flavor.
The Master Sig apparently likes that.
 
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Try adding a nice tube phono into your all SS setup for a different flavor.
The Master Sig apparently likes that.

Is the van den Hul Phono stage tube or solid state?

I appreciate all suggestions but right now I’m pretty happy with my electronics. Doing some work on the sailboat so I’m not interested in spending money on audio right now. :)
 
Is the van den Hul Phono stage tube or solid state?

I appreciate all suggestions but right now I’m pretty happy with my electronics. Doing some work on the sailboat so I’m not interested in spending money on audio right now. :)
Whatever floats your boat :)
 
Is the van den Hul Phono stage tube or solid state?

I appreciate all suggestions but right now I’m pretty happy with my electronics. Doing some work on the sailboat so I’m not interested in spending money on audio right now. :)

The VdH phono is solid state. It can get a bit hot, and is extremely fast ... Much like the Master Sig. It's got a lot of slam too.
 
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No issues with brass instruments on original jazz LPs that I can hear, Ron. Just on a few specific jazz reissues like Count Bassie 88th Street, muted trumpet, and a bit of sibilance on two or three modern pop female vocal tracks. One exception is your reference Thelma Houston LP. That is a bit hot, so I have my other cartridges for those few LPs.

As MikeL has described, some of the vdh cartridges live right on the edge. Not for everyone, but I must say the Master Signature is my go to cartridge for all classical, acoustic, and choral LPs. Most jazz too. It just sounds more real to me. Al M. prefers my MSL Sig Gold on some recordings like Art Pepper + Eleven. Preferences here, I suspect.

I do think the energy, resolution and "liveness" is what the Master Sig is all about. I happily live with the tradeoffs. It is very dynamic too and that is what makes the string quartets sound so real. That energy coming off of the strings, the texture and hollow sound are reproduced very convincingly. My other cartridges are more pleasing on hot recordings, but a bit less life-like on the good recordings. They sound subdued, a bit overly warm and ripe to my ears.

Thank you, Peter. I understand.
 

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