Just reading this brings me joy. Each time we have experiences like yours it affirms that what we like is obtainable. The subjective becomes objective.😊
The most important spec: 'rizz.
- Thread starter JohnVF
- Start date
Is it weird that I think they look like a shoe? Acutex carts hold a special place in my heart as my first turntable that I purchased came with one fitted on it and I still have it to this day. The cart, not the table.
They do kind of look like a shoe. There's a couple of carts that are in the shoe camp. The Shure Ultra-400 is another one (which I'd also love to have).
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Another comment on the draw of this stereo. The one I listened to all day/all weekend isn't my biggest stereo, it's the 'little' one with Dynaudio bookshelf speakers and a Luxman integrated. I had told myself that the moment my wife's plane takes off I'm going in the basement to get the 'real' stands for the Harbeths in the main system, then I'm going to put the 'good' turntable in the Harbeth setup and listen to that bigger separates setup all weekend.
But I didn't. I like this room better, with the smaller stereo. And dammit if it just doesn't do all the right things. I'm here again at 6:20am listening to Janet Baker sing Mahler's "Ich ben die welt abhanden gekommen"... and what a wonderful, beautiful way to start the day.
But I didn't. I like this room better, with the smaller stereo. And dammit if it just doesn't do all the right things. I'm here again at 6:20am listening to Janet Baker sing Mahler's "Ich ben die welt abhanden gekommen"... and what a wonderful, beautiful way to start the day.
Janet Baker 😍
JoeThePop
Known member
This is me. I would pick the more inviting room to relax in and listen to music. Of course with the given that your “little” system is no slouch.
It's small in size, well, relative to many setups. Whatever is going on here it works, the components, speakers, and room really get along. There's also the common-denominator of this turntable...it's been in all of my favorite setups that I've put together.
If Maxwell Smart can use a shoe as a telephone, I guess a miniature shoe can play rekkids?
Today while working from home I was swapping gear out, as I had no video-calls today and could just have music on while I wrote. First I swapped my Leben CS300x tube integrated in place of my Luxman L-507u solid state integrated. I would say the Leben has 'rizz' but... it didn't stay long. Not because of a lack of charisma, but because I just didn't want to listen to it. It sounded so inferior to the Luxman, despite driving my Dynaudio speakers better than I thought it would, that it was nothing more than a "well, finally settled that question" experience. So 'rizz' only gets you so far. It's a great little amp with the right speakers but its limited power makes it a pain in the butt. I think maybe I'm just not a tube guy and its only taken me about 15 years to figure that out.
Then I put my Lehmann Decade phono stage in place of my Primare phono stage, to see if it gets along better with the AT-24 cartridge that's new to me. The Lehmann -should- be better as its significantly more expensive but nope, it didn't last more than a few hours before I just got tired of listening to the combo and put it back in my other system. The Primare grabs my attention, it keeps me listening, it just sounds GOOD. It lacks a bit of the frequency extremes of the Lehmann but is more more adept at making music. The midrange is beautiful on this thing, and it puts an image farther out into the room. Its more tangible.
So on both fronts I just went back to what I had- what kept me listening and what won me over in this system in the first place. The challengers were 0-2 today.
Then I put my Lehmann Decade phono stage in place of my Primare phono stage, to see if it gets along better with the AT-24 cartridge that's new to me. The Lehmann -should- be better as its significantly more expensive but nope, it didn't last more than a few hours before I just got tired of listening to the combo and put it back in my other system. The Primare grabs my attention, it keeps me listening, it just sounds GOOD. It lacks a bit of the frequency extremes of the Lehmann but is more more adept at making music. The midrange is beautiful on this thing, and it puts an image farther out into the room. Its more tangible.
So on both fronts I just went back to what I had- what kept me listening and what won me over in this system in the first place. The challengers were 0-2 today.
Very astute observation.
That really nails it.
Originally I was going to make this thread about the only thing that matters is whether you keep listening or not. And that’s more of a true tell.
