I was going to create a new topic here, since the subject wavers a bit, but I think it would have gone against our guidelines.. I hope it gets seen anyhow.
First.. About me.. I guess!
I'm a 'mid budget.. audio enthusiast.'. I used to think I was some kind of audiophile but I've seen too many people using that label who believed more in 'Voodoo' than tangeble sound. Of course, that's not everyone! I might change my mind on that title, but I'm not sure I have spent the cost of entry. Which in itself is an issue that I really object to.. but that's another post.
Anyway, if people want to get an idea of who I am based on my equipment, here you go. Paradigm Monitor 9 speakers, a newer Sony surround amp which is bi-amping. A Harmon Kardon Rabco ST-7 turntable. Judging by my research it might be the only one working perfectly in the world. Zero tracking error, and flawless operation. I am a bit of an authority on these things I guess. I have solved every problem that they seem to ever get. I also found a modification that made a huge difference to tracking problems. I love this thing. LOVE love. Almost emberassing to talk about. I have been passing the signal from my shure M97xE through the phono preamp of an HK 930 amp. Does that amp raise my cred? I have read that the preamp is lacking anyway, and using the preamp of another receiver just feels lacking anyway. Not a proper setup. I also have one of those Pickering XSV3000 Stereohedron carts with the original stylus on it. I'm preserving that one for now. There's no wear on it, and I like it that way. a newer Sony surround amp which is bi-ampingYou mentioned,
I read about schiit for a long time. Really like their approach. No nonsense and all that. Design legends make me feel better. I am also aware of suggestibility. So I pretty much expected to hear no actual difference, and to imagine there was.. a bit of a difference.
So that sets the stage for the stage. (I'm kind of proud of this one.)
So, my first impression, after looking at the teardown pictures of this unit, was that it was a lot heavier than I expected! Didn't look like there was much in there. Guess the pictures don't give the right impression. The chinese wall wart that they supply with no apologies looks.. pretty common.. but it works, and I really don't think they would hinder the unit with a power supply that hurts it in any significant way.
Some people have criticized the bright white LED on the front of it. In the wrong setup it might be an issue, especially in a darker room, but for my system, it screams 'finally a quality component'! I just like it I guess. But that's one of those subjective things. I feel bad for the people who don't like it, but I hope it's not high up on their list of problems in life.
So I hook it up, and I get sound! That's it folks. Good night.
Seriously though, (and that might be a better policy for the rest of this review...) I had a hum. Turned out there was a ground wire inside the turntable that was barely hanging on. Once all that was sorted, the hum was gone. It was at about -70db at 60hz. I didn't notice it before. Does that mean the old setup had more background noise?
Actually, yes, it did. This thing is very quiet when it should be. The noise floor is fantastic. I am currently set up running directly into my m-audio fast track pro interface. Levels are set so that the loudest records come dangerously close to clip level. (Some hit it.) The noise floor is just below 90db from 400hz up, and just below 75db below that point. The overall level indicator on my audio software shows -68 db, all wired in, cart lifted up. So.. how does it sound? I'm not going to say that every record I have now slams the digital versions, that would be stupid. I can safely say... that my table has never sounded this good for sure. I am not doing a/b with the old pre... Yet... But to speak of the sound I am hearing here, it's real pretty! Being a very hetero guy, that was a weird word to use... But yea, I am certainly understanding more easily the appeal of vinyl. On the noise front again, they did something that greatly improves the static pop situation as well! Very clean, pleasant sound.
The enlightened among us know that the reason a lot of older vinyl sounds so good is the care that was taken with how it was mastered. I can certainly see that more easily now. Maybe it would be more accurate to say that they were made before so many engineers lost their freaking minds.
So, yea, my vinyl enthusiasm has increased a bunch!
I don't have... Let me check again.... Nope, I don't have a $10000 tube preamp to compare it against, or one of those $500 preamps that this one is supposed to compete well with, not that my other components would show that difference for sure, but I feel VERY good about this purchase, even here in Canada where, with UPS, this thing ran me $240 CAD, with duties also.
On another note, the awesome friend who gave me this table, with his collection of about 50 records, several years ago, is going to love this also. The only condition was that I was to convert his collection to digital. I'm finally finishing that job. Actually I re-started with this pre. His FLAC files are in my cloud account, waiting to be shared. If anyone wants a sound sample, PM me for a link. His tastes are a bit different from mine, but I have been enjoying listening to all that stuff while converting it! Ever heard of 'War'? I hadn't. Manhattan Transfer also. A bunch of stuff I wouldn't have ever given a listen to if it wasn't for this. Very cool new horizons opening for me.
Oh yea. I decided there must be an easy, fast, and cheap way to split a vinyl rip into seperate tracks, and that I was finally going to figure it out. The software that did everything I needed, with ease, including the recording? Audacity. It beat Audition for this job hands down. I love these open source geniuses!
Another point of interest was that the dip switches were set to the lowest gain setting, while the book said they would be one step up from there by default. The gain seems great, so not sure of any implications. They haven't responded to that question. They probably have too many people keeping them busy with trying to reproduce religious experiences.
I have one other query. Needless to say, linear tracking has almost completely vanished. Does it seem weird to anyone else that so many people, whose cables cost enough to buy a car, happily accept a 2% tracking error? These are people who would freak out if their VTA was out by half a hair... Just doesn't compute to me. Anyone else?
Anyway, yea, buy this schiit.
PD
