Top Wing Seiryu arrives at Believe High Fidelity
- Thread starter Believe High Fidelity
- Start date
How did I miss this line. Disappoint of what? I wrote plenty good things about this cart.
My hearing and testing protocol must be substandard then.
Right now I clock 60 hrs on this cart. I changed the phono from Ayon to the EMT with continuous adjustable loading. Two days ago, I was playing with the loading adjustment knob for two hours. I know what I am hearing. But since my hearing is not so good, maybe I should just send this RS to Peter or Shane or Gian to listen to it for a month and write a comparative review. Peter has been living with Airtight and MSL while Shane has been living with Atlas and AtlasSL and Gian even has both Opus1 and AtlasSL. All of them should be more experience than me and not an industry associate.
Tang
I compared the Top wing to Allaerts boron mk2 and a bespoke cart of less than 0.2 mv made by Anamighty sound using the Schroeder CB arm and the Anamighty sound phono (anamighty is a vinyl services shop in Paris). I preferred the Anamighty sound cart the most- it was like a musical version of Lyra... Extremely detailed, fast, transparent, but with more decay and musicality than Lyra. Fast transients like Decca. The Allaerts came second with more body and depth than top wing, and better on vocals, while top wing had more liquid highs and details than the Allaerts. So, I kind of relate to Tang's comments. However this is not what Bill heard, and I would like to listen to these carts with the Thrax next. They are a dealer for top wing and extremely good at set up. They changed VTA by fractions to affect sound, it was quite interesting watching them in action.
Ked, I’m sure you know as much as anyone that there can be a trade off in speed/agility v heft/density/bass extension.
This v well may be what you will hear in La Grange v Balance.
Certainly when I heard La Grange many moons ago, it seemed superior to TW AC3 and SME 20 (different dealers, different systems).
My guess is that for purely classical listening, the authority/heft/texture of Balance would mean more than perceived extra nimbleness of La Grange.
Just my 2 cents.
This v well may be what you will hear in La Grange v Balance.
Certainly when I heard La Grange many moons ago, it seemed superior to TW AC3 and SME 20 (different dealers, different systems).
My guess is that for purely classical listening, the authority/heft/texture of Balance would mean more than perceived extra nimbleness of La Grange.
Just my 2 cents.
Ked, were they changing VTA during the initial cartridge set up proceedure, or after that to further fine tune the sound for different LPs? I suspect, as more listening impressions are shared for these new Top Wing cartridges, that people will find things they like and don't like so much. In this sense, they seem little different from other top tier cartridges, despite the incredible early reports. It is clear that no one cartridge does it all, and that they all have various strengths and weaknesses.
How did I miss this line. Disappoint of what? I wrote plenty good things about this cart.
My hearing and testing protocol must be substandard then.
Right now I clock 60 hrs on this cart. I changed the phono from Ayon to the EMT with continuous adjustable loading. Two days ago, I was playing with the loading adjustment knob for two hours. I know what I am hearing. But since my hearing is not so good, maybe I should just send this RS to Peter or Shane or Gian to listen to it for a month and write a comparative review. Peter has been living with Airtight and MSL while Shane has been living with Atlas and AtlasSL and Gian even has both Opus1 and AtlasSL. All of them should be more experience than me and not an industry associate.
Tang
I would not worry, Tang. Not everyone will be satisfied with your reports of what you hear, or your methods of comparison. You are not a professional reviewer, nor are you paid for sharing your impressions. I appreciate your efforts and willingness to write in these forums. You are only able to do what you can within your limits of time and experience. As you own many top flight examples of turntables, arms, and cartridges, I value your position as a hobbyist and collector and not as one who has a vested interest in the results. I like your style and your candor.
We’ll figure out the dates to make it work when we’re closer to d-day!Too close. Even with the LAAS show being cancelled I will still be flying out on the 5th on June coming back on the 12th. May end up missing the grand occasion
davis
Peter, as you say not every component does it all, incl carts.
If this Top Wing did, I guess well heeled audiophiles would all flock to it.
And it seems it’s all in the install/dialling in as well.
Nothing new here.
What’s interesting is that the AE crowd have gone gaga over the Top Wings, and for the first time I’ve heard of reports on our side (Audiophile Bill, ZeroStarGeneral) that are backing up the hype.
As opposed to other AE epiphanies that get little or no feedback here eg Trinity, Divin, Pranawire, Wadax etc.
If this Top Wing did, I guess well heeled audiophiles would all flock to it.
And it seems it’s all in the install/dialling in as well.
Nothing new here.
What’s interesting is that the AE crowd have gone gaga over the Top Wings, and for the first time I’ve heard of reports on our side (Audiophile Bill, ZeroStarGeneral) that are backing up the hype.
As opposed to other AE epiphanies that get little or no feedback here eg Trinity, Divin, Pranawire, Wadax etc.
Tang writes better than many reviewers. Also it helps he is not limited by set up. Across so many different phonos and arms and tables, we will get a better perspective than across one. So yes, his impression may, or may not, change.
Thanks for your kind words. One thing you know very well but many might not realize is that when evaluating a very good cart, if there is another very good cart or more installed next to it, it is so much easier to hear the difference than when you try in a system with single arm cart. Another thing about evaluating a very good cart in a single arm cart system is that given that this level of cart is very very good, it often can impress you so much and grab so much of your attention with its signature you get too excited of the new sound. And the fact that you just paid a high price for it part of you will try to justify the money you just spent. When honeymoon period is gone you will know whether it serves your preferences. Leave your ego behind and you will admit what I am saying is true.
Kind regards,
Tang
How did I miss this line. Disappoint of what? I wrote plenty good things about this cart.
My hearing and testing protocol must be substandard then.
Right now I clock 60 hrs on this cart. I changed the phono from Ayon to the EMT with continuous adjustable loading. Two days ago, I was playing with the loading adjustment knob for two hours. I know what I am hearing. But since my hearing is not so good, maybe I should just send this RS to Peter or Shane or Gian to listen to it for a month and write a comparative review. Peter has been living with Airtight and MSL while Shane has been living with Atlas and AtlasSL and Gian even has both Opus1 and AtlasSL. All of them should be more experience than me and not an industry associate.
Tang
Oh Tang. Silly rabbit, you can play with the loading all day and that doesn't matter to a cartridge like the RS. I trust what you are hearing, just disappointed that you are not hearing all of it. If your dealer, or whomever is supplying you with the carts to test, didn't tell you the RS and Blue Dragon are not loading sensitive then shame on them.
OTOH by your own admission you are not listening to the RS at ts full potential. XV-1 as well as other wrote the following....
Hi Tang
You still haven't told us what impedance you load the cartridges at?
And your response to that was....
So if you don't know what impedance setting your RS is at how can you know that you are listening to the RS at all? Incremental changes in anything from VTA to VTF to Impedance make world of difference. This is why setup specialists take many hours to setup a table correctly. Maybe the terms loading and Impedance loading are not clear? So if your definition of loading is not "loading", but setting impedance than I am curious to which impedance setting you found the RS to sound best at. From your prior post you mentioned to set all the same.
I think you have certainly hit on its major virtues, but miss out on others for sure hence my disappointment. My disappointment is not "in you", but more "for you". As a music lover and the investment in all your systems it is a shame to not reach full potential when available.
On a side note, your writing good things about the RS is not a good thing or a bad thing. I pickup what I feel is the representation of my company without bearing to the opinions of my peers as I have listened to it and it has passed my criteria. I inform those interested of what I am doing and what is available for them to audition. The fact that you, Byrd, and other have chimed in is always nice to hear the thoughts of others, but never an expectation.
Well I certainly hope it isn't a honeymoon phase because I definitely didn't order just a pair.
Rather than going around in smart arse circles and contradicting yourself - stating that loading does not matter on cartridge like the RS - then stating Tango is not getting the best out of the RS as the loading is not correct.
What is the preferred loading from the manufacturer or by your esteemed self?
BTW - you do realise that a professional cartridge set up guy sets up all Tang's cartridges - so personally I have no doubt they are set up about as good as they can be.
Joshua, WBF started as predominantly as a place for enthusiasts and punters to talk about gear, concepts, sounds.
If engineers did chime in, it was never to hawk their wares, but to genuinely add to the discourse (Ralph of Atmasphere being a good example).
Only in the last couple of years has WBF morphed into a hybrid with manufacturers/designers AND NOW dealers getting involved.
Now there’s a lot more “fake news” potentially about.
So for you to in effect say “I’m alright Jack”, but will “tolerate” more mixed reports from those like Tang, well hey, thanks for the courtesy .
If engineers did chime in, it was never to hawk their wares, but to genuinely add to the discourse (Ralph of Atmasphere being a good example).
Only in the last couple of years has WBF morphed into a hybrid with manufacturers/designers AND NOW dealers getting involved.
Now there’s a lot more “fake news” potentially about.
So for you to in effect say “I’m alright Jack”, but will “tolerate” more mixed reports from those like Tang, well hey, thanks for the courtesy .
Similar threads
