Continued..
AS2000.
- The American Sound is not a tt that would wow you from the start. It is a tt with no "bling" in sound. No explosive dynamic. The sound stage is narrower, less deep and less layer than the AF1P. Instruments also not neatly laid out like the Techdas. It sure sounds smaller with less rhythmic punch than the EMT 927. And music just does not pop out from muted dark background like the Kronos. To be honest on the first day I did not feel anything very special about it except for hearing music more transparent and open than from the other tts.
It is not a wow tt what good is it then? The more I listen the more AS2000 impresses me with its "naked transparency." It is just so darn transparent so clear so open. This make you hear more from a vinyl and make you able to hear better atmosphere of the recording venue, the difference between pressings of the same music and the new gear or tweaks you add into the system. The nuances coming out of AS is phenomenal..better than AF1P and 927. I think since it does not try to make back ground so quiet by erasing or blackening, or accentuate certain tone, the tiny micro info is still left available to hear. The sound is naked and you will keep hearing things the more you listen to it. It just does not expose things in obvious way. The beauty of its sound is in the naked-ness without putting makeup cosmetic on. More of a beautiful woman in front page of National Geographic rather than Vogue.
Next impressive thing is its ability to expose how a singer control his/her voice, or how a violinist control a stroke of his/her bow. You can hear when there is a tiny shift in control. This helps boost the sense of realism and make you impress how musician or singer perform more than the sound. I value this so highly because I like to compare the same piece of music by different musicians and I choose which one I like more by the way he/she plays. I don't know how much speed consistency and accuracy contribute to this.
Third is the size and scale of images. Big or large is not my cup of tea. To me for things to sound real the size and proportion of sound should give a good approximation to you to visualize the actual event. I listen to a lot of old records. Old recordings tend to not put microphone very close to the sound source like today. So they somewhat sound like you stand away in front and use your hand phone recording a band playing Live. The sound size of AS playing classical old records gives me the sense of realism in term of size closest to my analogy. Ddk might think otherwise but I find 927 while gets less in the way of music, the size of its sound is less realistic in comparison to the AS.
Now this is very important. The AS2000 makes me realize I don't need a sheer grunt, hefty out right constant dynamic to make listening interesting and feel more natural presentation of the musical performance. The AS2000 instead shows me that the
contrast in dynamic, tone and timbre when music is performing by different instruments is actually the key to natural sound. Different contrasts at micro and macro level make sound reproduction less homogeneous. The AS 2000 especially with the 3012R allow me to hear these contrasts more than other tts I own.
I cannot end with out saying this. I think the tuning of a cart is so crucial for AS2000 to show how good it is. (Also doing the things that PeterA is doing now.) As I said at beginning the AS has no bling to add to sound. It will pretty much play vinyls as good as the vinyl is...no helping. So you have to have your arm cart set the best you can to extract what is in the groove. I think this is why ddk practically
made me learn how to set up a cart. A difference of two cards thick can mean a worm hole that happens infront of you to hear Heifetz playing with the sound of his violin pouring out of that worm hole and the one that like a very clear glass window with less connection to the sound of his violin.
99% of my time is spent listening to music from AS2000 now. The more you listen to music from AS the more you make "realization" of sound, you also realize you don't miss anything, if anything is missing it is probably something down the line in your system, and at the same time be amazed at how much music is in those vinyls. The vinyls themself become a determinant how good the sound will come out of your system.
@ddk. I am sorry my friend the way I wrote about your tt may sound like a lame duck.
Sincerely,
Tang
; did the SAEC 407/23 you bought bring anything to the table (pun intended) when compared to your flock of 3012R arms?
