Hello and welcome to my new post. For a long time I wanted to do this comparison test, but since some equipment moving and assembly was involved, my lazy self prohibited me from doing it. That was until last weekend.
In my home there is a Technics MK2 turntable with a Stanton 681EEE cartridge and a Jico shibata stylus. In Pano’s house there is a Dual 505-4 Audiophile edition turntable with an Ortofon Super OM30 cartridge. These are two completely different turntable designs, the Technics is a direct drive unsuspended design with medium mass S tonearm and the Dual is a belt driven suspended turntable with an ultra low mass straight tonearm. The two cartridges are also different; the Ortofon Super OM30 is lighter and smaller in size compared to the Stanton.
For first time readers, here is some history; as I describe at this post, the Ortofon OM30 is a bad match to the phono stage of my Luxman C-03 pre amp with a significant lack of low end. Also, let me add that when in the past Panos brought me his phono stage pre amp, I saw an improvement at the sound of my Stanton 681EEE with the moderate Stanton MKIII stylus - back then I hadn't discovered the magic of the Jico stylus I now have. For the record, let me remind you that the Dual with it's ultra low mass tonearm is a very bad match for the Stanton whereas the Technics has no problem with the Ortofon. Also, keep in mind that both turntables / cartridges combos are excellent performers at the systems they are connected to.
So as you guessed I took my beloved turntable to Pano's home in order to make comparisons and drive some conclusions regarding the design of our turntables and the difference it makes in sound. Or at least, that's what we initially hoped for.
The reason that I got my turntable at Panos home and not the other way around was because we already knew that my Luxman hates his Ortofon and we also knew that Pano’s phono stage seemed to have no problem with the Stanton.
Now, let me say a few words about Pano’s phono stage which is a valve, custom made design from our tech guru. I sympathize with you being suspicious when you read in a blog about fantastic custom made no brand machines. There are so many people claiming that their custom made gear is the best and all other owners are idiots so you don't know what to believe. Unfortunately, apart from the idiot thing, we claim the same - however as I have repeatedly mentioned at this blog, out tech guru that has designed the phono stage has proven his value for so many times.
Back to our test, we started with two very familiar reference albums (Stan Getz / João Gilberto Featuring Antonio Carlos Jobim – Getz / Gilberto, Verve Reissues / Quality Record Pressings / Analogue Productions B0015625-01 & Hugh Laurie - Didn't it rain Warner LC14666) at the Dual and then we plugged in the Technics. The sound had a heavier bass and even though details were not gone, we felt like the sound was somehow muted. Listening again to the same tracks at the Dual, we both agreed that the music was more involving. Even the heavier bass of the Technics was unnecessary heavy. Remember, at my system when the very same phono stage was connected it sounded just right - but as I said back then I had a different stylus at my Stanton cartridge.
Both knowing how the Technics / Stanton / Jico combo is sounding at my system, we concluded that what we actually were witnessing was a bad system match. And since we usually have a tendency to make our comparison tests longer, we took advantage of a spare new Ortofon Super OM30 that Panos has and we installed it at the MK2 taking care of proper VTF, VTA, antiskating etc. as is described at this interesting post. This way we could listen to the sound of the same cartridge installed at two different turntables - a fantastic opportunity. However, let me just point out that the new Ortofon was totally unused and the headshell we installed it was made by Reloop.
First listening was with Michael Jackson's "Bad" at the Technics. Immediately we noticed the improvement of the sound coming from the MK2; now the low end was deep and solid, not heavy. The muted kind of sound was gone. Without listening to it back to back in both turntables, we felt that the track was better played at the Technics. We continued with Stan Getz and Hugh Laurie, there seemed to be no fault with the sound. We focused at those two tracks and we listened them back and forth at our two turntables. After this, we concluded that the sound from the Technics was more dynamic with deeper low end and accuracy at all the details, but in the long run listening to those tracks at the Dual was more pleasant. Soundstage was warmer and we felt it was easier to relax in the music. Last track we listen to was Dire Straights Sultans Of Swing; here the Technics sounded awkward, we felt like Dire Straights were performing in a day that they received their tax bill from a Greek government and were out of tune.
Knowing how Sultans Of Swing sound like when the Technics / Stanton / Jico combo is connected at my system, we concluded again that what we actually are listening to is the good or bad match of the components. I mean, yes, this Ortofon seems happier installed at the Dual but just that; being already aware of what happens when the Stanton is installed at the Dual (don't try it) we understand that if for example we had two Stanton cartridges then our results would be flipped: the Technics would sound much better than the Dual.
This leads to a good question: can two turntables be really compared based on their sound? I tend to believe that such a comparison test can not be objective. I mean yes, you can take under consideration things like the speed accuracy, the noise floor and the immunity in vibrations of the turntables - something that the low end pieces of wooden planks finished in impressive colors and with a motor & tonearm bolted on them kind of designs suck. You need speed accuracy and low wow & flutter, the sound will only benefit from that no matter what cartridge and phono stage you have. But going further and comparing the sound of two different turntables and driving conclusions about them, is not very wise. Take as example our listening test. Should we had chosen to do this test at my system, we would have thrown the Dual out of the window: the Ortofon cartridge is not a good match for my phono stage and if we had installed the Stanton cartridge at the Dual, things would still be bad for the Dual since this cartridge is a bad match for Dual's tonearm.
So what we learned is that when a turntable is good enough - meaning it has a decent arm, correct speed, low wow & flutter, immunity to vibrations and electrical noises - what matters mostly is the right system matching. The cartridge has to be a good match for the phono stage. The cartridge / stylus combo has to be a good match for the tonearm. In case of external phono stages, the output of the phono stage has to be a good match with the input of the pre amp. Yes, you can change turntables and cartridges and get better sound, but this doesn't guaranty that better sound is the result of better components instead of better matching. In other words, it is tricky to say that turntable A will sound better than turntable B in any given system with any given cartridge.
So the only recommendation I can make you is that if you have a Luxman C-03 pre amp, you can confidently try a MK2 with a Stanton and a Jico. Avoid Ortofon OM30, which however is a wonderful cartridge when installed at the right system.
Either way, you can only benefit from proper turntable adjustment so I suggest you reading this older post.
If by coincidence you have a Dual 504 and an Ortofon OM30 cartridge, this post is for you!
If you liked this post, there is a part II.
In my home there is a Technics MK2 turntable with a Stanton 681EEE cartridge and a Jico shibata stylus. In Pano’s house there is a Dual 505-4 Audiophile edition turntable with an Ortofon Super OM30 cartridge. These are two completely different turntable designs, the Technics is a direct drive unsuspended design with medium mass S tonearm and the Dual is a belt driven suspended turntable with an ultra low mass straight tonearm. The two cartridges are also different; the Ortofon Super OM30 is lighter and smaller in size compared to the Stanton.
For first time readers, here is some history; as I describe at this post, the Ortofon OM30 is a bad match to the phono stage of my Luxman C-03 pre amp with a significant lack of low end. Also, let me add that when in the past Panos brought me his phono stage pre amp, I saw an improvement at the sound of my Stanton 681EEE with the moderate Stanton MKIII stylus - back then I hadn't discovered the magic of the Jico stylus I now have. For the record, let me remind you that the Dual with it's ultra low mass tonearm is a very bad match for the Stanton whereas the Technics has no problem with the Ortofon. Also, keep in mind that both turntables / cartridges combos are excellent performers at the systems they are connected to.
So as you guessed I took my beloved turntable to Pano's home in order to make comparisons and drive some conclusions regarding the design of our turntables and the difference it makes in sound. Or at least, that's what we initially hoped for.
 |
| The Dual 505-4 Audiophile edition and the Technics SL-1210MK2 are ready to be compared. |
The reason that I got my turntable at Panos home and not the other way around was because we already knew that my Luxman hates his Ortofon and we also knew that Pano’s phono stage seemed to have no problem with the Stanton.
 |
| The two tonearms and cartridges are two different approaches. |
Back to our test, we started with two very familiar reference albums (Stan Getz / João Gilberto Featuring Antonio Carlos Jobim – Getz / Gilberto, Verve Reissues / Quality Record Pressings / Analogue Productions B0015625-01 & Hugh Laurie - Didn't it rain Warner LC14666) at the Dual and then we plugged in the Technics. The sound had a heavier bass and even though details were not gone, we felt like the sound was somehow muted. Listening again to the same tracks at the Dual, we both agreed that the music was more involving. Even the heavier bass of the Technics was unnecessary heavy. Remember, at my system when the very same phono stage was connected it sounded just right - but as I said back then I had a different stylus at my Stanton cartridge.
Both knowing how the Technics / Stanton / Jico combo is sounding at my system, we concluded that what we actually were witnessing was a bad system match. And since we usually have a tendency to make our comparison tests longer, we took advantage of a spare new Ortofon Super OM30 that Panos has and we installed it at the MK2 taking care of proper VTF, VTA, antiskating etc. as is described at this interesting post. This way we could listen to the sound of the same cartridge installed at two different turntables - a fantastic opportunity. However, let me just point out that the new Ortofon was totally unused and the headshell we installed it was made by Reloop.
 |
| A second Ortofon Super OM30 was installed at the Technics MK2 turntable. |
First listening was with Michael Jackson's "Bad" at the Technics. Immediately we noticed the improvement of the sound coming from the MK2; now the low end was deep and solid, not heavy. The muted kind of sound was gone. Without listening to it back to back in both turntables, we felt that the track was better played at the Technics. We continued with Stan Getz and Hugh Laurie, there seemed to be no fault with the sound. We focused at those two tracks and we listened them back and forth at our two turntables. After this, we concluded that the sound from the Technics was more dynamic with deeper low end and accuracy at all the details, but in the long run listening to those tracks at the Dual was more pleasant. Soundstage was warmer and we felt it was easier to relax in the music. Last track we listen to was Dire Straights Sultans Of Swing; here the Technics sounded awkward, we felt like Dire Straights were performing in a day that they received their tax bill from a Greek government and were out of tune.
Knowing how Sultans Of Swing sound like when the Technics / Stanton / Jico combo is connected at my system, we concluded again that what we actually are listening to is the good or bad match of the components. I mean, yes, this Ortofon seems happier installed at the Dual but just that; being already aware of what happens when the Stanton is installed at the Dual (don't try it) we understand that if for example we had two Stanton cartridges then our results would be flipped: the Technics would sound much better than the Dual.
This leads to a good question: can two turntables be really compared based on their sound? I tend to believe that such a comparison test can not be objective. I mean yes, you can take under consideration things like the speed accuracy, the noise floor and the immunity in vibrations of the turntables - something that the low end pieces of wooden planks finished in impressive colors and with a motor & tonearm bolted on them kind of designs suck. You need speed accuracy and low wow & flutter, the sound will only benefit from that no matter what cartridge and phono stage you have. But going further and comparing the sound of two different turntables and driving conclusions about them, is not very wise. Take as example our listening test. Should we had chosen to do this test at my system, we would have thrown the Dual out of the window: the Ortofon cartridge is not a good match for my phono stage and if we had installed the Stanton cartridge at the Dual, things would still be bad for the Dual since this cartridge is a bad match for Dual's tonearm.
So what we learned is that when a turntable is good enough - meaning it has a decent arm, correct speed, low wow & flutter, immunity to vibrations and electrical noises - what matters mostly is the right system matching. The cartridge has to be a good match for the phono stage. The cartridge / stylus combo has to be a good match for the tonearm. In case of external phono stages, the output of the phono stage has to be a good match with the input of the pre amp. Yes, you can change turntables and cartridges and get better sound, but this doesn't guaranty that better sound is the result of better components instead of better matching. In other words, it is tricky to say that turntable A will sound better than turntable B in any given system with any given cartridge.
So the only recommendation I can make you is that if you have a Luxman C-03 pre amp, you can confidently try a MK2 with a Stanton and a Jico. Avoid Ortofon OM30, which however is a wonderful cartridge when installed at the right system.
Either way, you can only benefit from proper turntable adjustment so I suggest you reading this older post.
If by coincidence you have a Dual 504 and an Ortofon OM30 cartridge, this post is for you!
If you liked this post, there is a part II.
Happy listening as always.
Christos
Christos
No comments:
Post a Comment