After listening to the same electronics for many decades they were finally replaced with a Van Alstine 120 Control Amplifier and Vision Phono Preamp.
The first thing I noticed is silence regardless of volume setting from the listening position. The second was dynamic range. On large orchestral pieces e.g., Die Meistersinger live from Bayreuth a Phillips recording, I didn’t hear any aural congestion. The music wasn’t being squeezed.
Instrument placement was solid, it didn’t waver from one place to another. The Ohm Walsh drivers throw a large sound stage without a pinpoint sweet spot, both horizontally & vertically. You could tell where the musicians were sitting whether it was a quartet or full orchestra.
I’ve probably got 100 hours on the Van Alstine gear over the past month and it’s really opening up. The bass is tighter & deeper than the first time I turned it on. Lousy recordings sound really bad now but good recording sound great. I was surprised how flat my recording of Who’s Next sounds, a 180g re-issue when I initially put it on the turntable. Today it’s vibrant, a joy to listen to. Brubeck’s Time Out, a 2 Eye Columbia recording, he’s in the room!
I have a soft spot for Leontyne Price and particularly Aida. Unfortunately the copy I have is an RCA Red Seal Dynaflex pressing. There’s a fair amount of surface noise but the music shines through. It is so much more alive than what I heard previously. Next up is the Soria recording of Tosca. Need to wait for the house to quiet down (washer, dryer, dishwasher, etc.). I once defrosted the fridge/freezer
That’s my story & I’m sticking to it!
