There are enough hours on the system now to post some impressions. KAB (Kevin Barrett) rewired the tonearm on the Technics SL-1200 MKII with the Cardas litz tonearm wire. There is a small custom made wiring block that is under the center tonearm assembly and the signal plus a grounding wire from the arm are then connected to a heavier Cardas shielded cable which carries it to a custom block that attaches to one of dustcover hinges where the RCA females and ground are located. In my system the interconnects run to an Eastern Electric Minimax phono section and then to the Eastern Electric Minimax line stage to a Music Reference 6EM7/13EM7 amp to Omega Compact Hemps plus a sub.
The Hemps are still developing but @ 200+ hours their basic character is present. The Roger Modjeski amp is a terrific match for them. They are roughly in an 8 foot triangle setup, with a slight toein and the imaging and crisp clarity is startleing at times.
But I wanted to talk about the cartridge and the rewire. I have changed to an unused but no longer manufactured Ortofon cartridge, the MC 20 Super MKII. The prior cartridge, in this system where resolution is so high, had started to feel too zingy. I think that both carts are fine trackers but the Ortofon is more nearly neutral and less showy.
This system really nails the timbre of the piano. In this system the wider range of harmonics produced by the instrument are present and this leads of course to a more natural and realistic view into the music. On newer really well recorded LP's, the rewire and the new cart produce as realistic a playback as I've heard.
I listen to a lot of jazz recorded a long time ago and it needs to be stated that in this system, music that I'm very familiar with, has a nuance and context that is new and different. Surface noise on my thrift shop bargains is somehow still slightly there but not an overlay, more off to the edges. It doesn't harm the enjoyment of those performances.
Now that I have a feel for the character of this system, I am certain that the tonearm rewire added more transparency to the playback chain. There a lot of things in this system that are more resolving than previously. Essentially the tonearm rewire allows the cartridge to pass those details up the chain more effectively than the original wire. It was cost effective for me at this stage of system building because the rest of the system had reached a level of quality that there is a clear benefit. It may not have been nearly as effective in a less resolved system. I don't think I am being egotistical about this. If you are looking at this upgrade and you haven't dealt w/ more basic things like the room or power, I would advise spending the money there but this is a very nice upgrade.
