The diary entries of a little girl who is now 30! ~ Part 2 - Page 191

H E L L O   D I A R Y

The SA3000 and SA5000 are, for me, indicative of Sony's best at the consumer level. What they're doing now just doesn't capture the mystique harbored by their older children, much in the same way their recent IEMs lack the boldness of direction (power word: spirit) found in the EX700. In a way these things strike me as head-fi canon; as such, those with an adventurous disposition and the means of doing so owe it to themselves to listen to all three at some point, to get a lay of the land. They're archetypal in their respective ways.

On a more personal note, the now sadly defunct EX700 has an unshakable association with the original diary thread. It occupies a place alongside the Teclast T51 and Rooth customs, at the very core of what "portable audio" connotes for me. It's circumscribed by such a particular time and place that to turn toward it also conjures memories of smoking Djarums and chatting with Kiteki about SNK. That was an enjoyable time, as the seas of portable listening lay before me in all their uncharted grandiosity, and in my relative inexperience I felt lost. Being in such a position is overwhelming, but it's also liberating in its possibility.

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I'm feeling [mostly] satisfied with my main rig at this point in time. The Liquid Lightning is really a splendid amp, and my search for an all-in-one solution to feed it has been narrowed down to either the Resonessence Invicta or the Resolution Cantata. Since the LL is already on the slightly euphonic side, the former seems like a better proposition synergistically speaking. Still, the allure of the Cantata is unshakable; the inclusion of a CD transport may be enough to justify using it in a secondary system. As I type this out however, I admittedly feel as though my heart isn't entirely in it, and my attention is being pulled in another direction entirely. The inclination has actually been there for a while now: to focus on vinyl again.

In a way, I think cartridges are the most important component---deserving of a lot of consideration---when spinning wax. Beyond the mastering on the record itself, I've found the somewhat conventional wisdom that a good cartridge can result in substantial gains to be fairly accurate. Which makes sense. The cartridge is the point of contact, the interface between our world and the spiral galaxy inhabiting the surface of a black discus, the clockwork probe tracing a decaying orbit through time and space. To that end, I've been wanting to try one of Dynavector's creations for a while now. The Te Kaitora Rua (pictured above) has a certain regal quality befitting a grand entryway; it reminds me of a Shinto gate that stands as the border between realms.

Turntables in general push all the right buttons for me. I have something of a fixation on elaborate musical devices---either manually operated or automata---such as drone boxes, aeolian harps, glass harmonicas, installation art (like organs that play themselves using weights), bells on clocks, music boxes both ancient and modern, etc. As a device, turntables are really spectacular with their spinning platters and swiveling tonearms, a contraption that is both visually delightful and intriguing from a technological standpoint. My VPI Classic has been serving me well over the years, but I'm intrigued by VPI's new Traveler, which is designed to be much smaller and lighter, easier to transport when the need arises. Aside from that I've been growing increasingly interested in the concept of skeletal designs.

The philosophy behind skeletal plinths is one of weight distribution. When considering something like the VPI Classic, one finds that the base is a massive, solid block. This is generally implemented to cut down on vibrations; it seems to work, as the VPI Classic is an extremely quiet turntable. With something like the Rega RP8 (pictured above) however, the base is designed to be as light as possible with the goal of reducing noise from the bearing and motor. To save on weight, the base is designed in an amorphous shape, only supporting key areas, rather than a rectangle with unused space. Going a step further, the RP8 in particular uses a foam material sandwiched in the middle of more solid top and bottom plates, with the majority of the weight now concentrated in the platter. What's particularly neat about the RP8 is that it allows for the use of a fairly standard, rectangular dust cover by suspending the skeletal plinth inside a rectangular outer base. While "docked," it remains independent enough to still reap benefits from its design, all the while retaining a certain level of practicality. Additionally it can be removed and used as a standalone. Which is awesome. Buying it as a set with Rega's Apheta cartridge seems like a really good deal, too.

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I've had the new Ear Suit W11LTD here for the last few days, but I've yet to give it a listen. Need to be in the right mood; first impressions are important. I'll say that from a purely aesthetic standpoint, it's rather attractive. Reminiscent of the W9, it has similar red hued wood, but it nevertheless has a certain additional antique quality the other lacks. Maybe it's the ghost walnut used in its construction? Some residual energies from the tree's spirit, the traces of times now extinct. It emits a dull glow, a certain satiny finish.

The majority of my listening this week has been carried out using the new Jecklin Float Quad Atelier. Truthfully, I've been reluctant to say much, as I don't want to come across as though I were hyping it. Especially since it has some serious quality control issues. In that sense the experience has been somewhat frustrating, but overall they're shaping up to be the sort of headphones with which I feel I could retire---at least for a while---and just focus on enjoying music. I think they may be something special, provided one is looking for pink diamonds over sapphires or pearls. What was the H2+ again? Maybe an emerald whose level of occlusion depends on what the TR2 is plugged into, or whether the TR2 is even used at all. The QA transformer on the other hand is surprisingly good-sounding even out of a modest T-amp. 

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At the moment my interests are shifted back to the realm of portable audio, wherein I'm finding a desire to resume my exploration of customs. Not sure how flexible Suyama is with regard to customization, but I like the thought of the FitEar Monet with soft pink shells, possibly with a small block-numeric "30" on one side. Also considering the Frogbeats C4 which has been praised quite extensively by some shadowy, oft-referenced "folks whose ears I trust."

Still unsure as to whether I want to get all spendy on the new Ocharaku Flat-4. I need to decide soon whether the wood housing and extreme rarity of the thing are worth the expense, as I've got one on hold more or less. I love the original Flat-4 but can't seem to get particularly worked up about this new iteration for whatever reason. What else? The Final Heaven VI shipped ...final-ly. Speaking of which their new headphone line will apparently be called Pandora. Really dig that name, so that's cool.

Bringing this around full circle: discussing older Sony Walkmen is fun and rekindles fond memories of my minidisc player. I've decided to eventually pick up one of the new F-Series players to accompany my A865.

(Above) My old MZR-700...

The F-Series with FitEar TG 334s...

Holy sh... a Qualia Walkman, the 017. 

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