It escapes the ‘LP’ sound and demonstrates that structural resonances in pick-up arms are responsible for much that makes vinyl records readily discernible from master tapes.
#Vintage sme tonearm instalation series#
Series V sound has an almost startling dynamic range and neutrality. “…the challenge is to design and build a pick-up arm which, unlike others in existence, would make no detectable sound contribution of its own. In SME’s own words, this British precision engineering company set out to do what I would have wanted them to do: I’d like to introduce the new arrival chez LJC, the long-awaited arrival of a tonearm worthy of the Dynavector TKR cartridge and the Avid Volvere Sequel turntable, the classic SME V tone arm. You also probably have weak points in your system, even if you don’t think about it. Since the cartridge and turntable upgrades, the tone arm has long been a weak point in my system. The vinyl interface is a balancing act: you need a good turntable, an equally good cartridge, and an equally good tone-arm. Vintage records are not matched by vintage hi fi. The vinyl source is what it is, but the equipment which reads that source is highly variable in its performance, its ability to retrieve information from the groove and to hand it all over to the amplification department in good order. There are people out there with just Dark Side of the Moon on their record shelf. You need a well-engineered recording that is a good pressing to start with, by which I mean vintage vinyl. Whether the music and musicians are any good is entirely a matter of your personal taste.
#Vintage sme tonearm instalation upgrade#
At times in the past the hi fi has got in the way, but as you find your way up the upgrade path, you reach a point with the right balance of the right equipment, the hi fi steps aside, offering something very close to the real thing. What I am looking for is always the time machine experience, being transported back to the moment of recording and playing, presence of musicians in the room, not listening to hi fi noting the bass floor or the absence of distortion in the upper register, but following the artists musical intent, the individual skill and artistry in improvisation, the responsiveness of the musicians to each other, and the ability to track four or five different instruments simultaneously. At least I don’t have to think about what the words mean, as I have no singers on vinyl (my loss, I am sure). “Music, not hi fi” requires very good hi fi
It was a useful reminder not everyone is looking for the same thing. A lot attention is given to these qualities by hi fi enthusiasts, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if some of the visitors actually preferred the digital replay, a better experience than reality. If anything the digital playback sounded fuller and richer than the real thing – hi fi added qualities. It was with some relief I thought the musician playing sounded better than the digital recording, but it was a close-run thing. An acoustic guitarist played, following which we listened to a recording of what we had just heard – a Nagra 24/196 digital recorder, played back through an audio monitor system, of course.
One of the highlights of the National Audio Show the other week was an interesting presentation by a sound engineer of the difference between live music and a recording of live music. It’s my blog, and we are going to have a little variety. Thinking of suggestions, when I was playing in a band many years ago someone came up to us and asked: Do you do requests? Sure, I said, what would you like us to do? W hy don’t you hurry up and get off the stage! Earlier posts remain open if you want to add to those, you are welcome. Taking a break from the marvellous conversations sparked by recent interactive posts, I want to catch up on events in the audiophile department. I am also going to post some more records shortly, but LJC will be back with more polls and interactive questions, don’t worry.
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