Need a $400.00 phono stage? The Graham Slee Amp2 SE rocks!

eric the red · « **on:** 26 Apr 2007, 07:49 pm »

Finally was the first one in the email pool and picked up one off the 'gon last week. As others have said, this little box is stupid amazingly good. Am using it with a MMf-5 with an Ortofon OM30 Super and am just about ready to regulate my 600+ cds to truck duty, sell my Rega Apollo and upgrade my TT. I like it so much I just ordered the Slee PSU1 matching power supply. Can only imagine what the higher end Slee pres like the Era GoldV must sound like. I take back everything I ever thought or said bad about the spinning black discs: Vinyl rocks

gooberdude · « **Reply #1 on:** 26 Apr 2007, 08:13 pm »

All it took for me was a few choice gear acquisitions to fall head-over-heels as well.

that, and the 2 years prior spent fighting analog!!!

glad to have you on our side...

consider an umbilical from RAL to finish the combo at a later date - that would be an excellent X-mas gift.

Scott F. · « **Reply #2 on:** 26 Apr 2007, 09:57 pm »

Quote from: eric the red on 26 Apr 2007, 07:49 pm

Can only imagine what the higher end Slee pres like the Era GoldV must sound like. I take back everything I ever thought or said bad about the spinning black discs: Vinyl rocks

ETR,

Glad to see you picked up a Slee. I'm one of his biggest fans. That guy has an ear and best part is he has the average audiophiles pocket book in mind when he prices them.

....and yes, the higher end models are even better.....lots better. I don't think I could live without my Jazz Club

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #3 on:** 26 Apr 2007, 10:46 pm »

ETR, we all expect a formal review now of the Graham Slee in Critics Circle or here on Vinyl Circle.

You walked right into that one with this thread.....

Unless I missed one looking thru the paltry offerings of Vinyl Gear reviews on the Critic's Circle, no one's ever posted one.

Now you'd think an Graham Slee lovin', Pulitzer prize winning (okay, made that up, but he writes like one!!) scribe like 'Scott F' woulda' already written one.....

eric the red · « **Reply #4 on:** 26 Apr 2007, 11:08 pm »

Quote from: TheChairGuy on 26 Apr 2007, 10:46 pm

ETR, we all expect a formal review now of the Graham Slee in Critics Circle or here on Vinyl Circle.

You walked right into that one with this thread.....

Unless I missed one looking thru the paltry offerings of Vinyl Gear reviews on the Critic's Circle, no one's ever posted one.

Now you'd think an Graham Slee lovin', Pulitzer prize winning (okay, made that up, but he writes like one!!) scribe like 'Scott F' woulda' already written one.....

Here's the review: Need a $400.00 phono stage? The Graham Slee Amp2 SE rocks!

Seriously though, my little vinyl rig has caused me to do a 180 degree spin on what I thought about LPs and LP playback sound quality. After 20 years of trying to get cds to sound OK and after cycling through about 20 different cdps, it's a welcome change to sit and listen to music again without trying to figure out wtf is vaguely wrong here....

Scott F. · « **Reply #5 on:** 26 Apr 2007, 11:15 pm »

TCG.

Au contraire

eric the red · « **Reply #6 on:** 26 Apr 2007, 11:19 pm »

Quote from: Scott F. on 26 Apr 2007, 11:15 pm

TCG.

Au contraire

"I see all of you guy's out there thinking, “Hey he's using that thing like an tone control. It's going to destroy the soundstage or smear an instruments presentation. String him up, quick!” Well…....so damned what. Who cares (other than you). I just want to listen to all of the music I've collected over the years, not just the good recordings."

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #7 on:** 27 Apr 2007, 12:47 am »

Ah, that's more like it Scott

I guess I shoulda' looked at your employers e-rag first

ETR, your revelation 'After 20 years of trying to get cds to sound OK and after cycling through about 20 different cdps, it's a welcome change to sit and listen to music again without trying to figure out wtf is vaguely wrong here' is exactly where I was beore my return to vinyl a couple years back.. Not as many CDP's, but all the same, mostly displeasure listening to CD's. Or, at least, not the intense pleasure an LP is.

Thing is, you don't know if if you don't have a TT, or a decent TT, at least. You keep trying to make great music from these technological marvels...only to find it felled by a 50+ year old medium that looks, and acts, archaic.

I've about given up listening critically to any classical music with CD's....it just can't reproduce strings, small woodwinds, triangles and piano right. Also, some emotional content of every CD seems missing somehow....tho I don't know why it is so, frankly.

LP's are equalized to hell well before we ever hear them - if re-equalization helps you feel the music more, go to it and embrace it, Scott

It's great to know both you guys are enjoying music again...and that the Slee's were a good bit of the reason. I'll have to put them on my radar in the future.

JoshK · « **Reply #8 on:** 27 Apr 2007, 01:01 am »

Hey Scott,

Since my TT isn't quite up yet and I have a bit of time before it will be, I can send you my Hagerman Bugle 2 (A super reg version of the original) if you are interested. You can just give comments here, nothing super special as in a pro review. But maybe you wouldn't be interested because it isn't a production version. Just thought I'd offer, so people looking for inexpensive phono's have some feedback.

Scott F. · « **Reply #9 on:** 27 Apr 2007, 03:02 am »

Ya know, I was actually thinking about doing a follow-up or a revisit article to the Jazz Club over the last couple of days. The variable EQ'ing was one of the main reasons.

What got me going on about it again was the other night I popped on JJ Cale's Naturally. As I wen tback to my listening chair and sat down, it sounded awful. It was dark and muted with no midrange and lower treble. So I got up and switched the EQ settings on the Jazz Club. Come to find out, Naturally was mastered wrong. A quick flip on the treble turnover to 11/500 (rather than the 13.7/500 of RIAA) told me that the guy that mastered this followed the old Decca/FFRR EQ settings. You would be amazed just how many "current" albums are mastered with the wrong EQ settings. The Jazz Club lets you compensate for that.

Josh,
It would be fun to hear what you did to your Bugle. I remember Steve K's pretty well. He ended up building the Seduction which is another great sounding phono pre.

I just noticed in that article.....I sure type a lot don't I?

Nels Ferre · « **Reply #10 on:** 27 Apr 2007, 05:55 pm »

Quote from: Scott F. on 27 Apr 2007, 03:02 am

Come to find out, Naturally was mastered wrong. A quick flip on the treble turnover to 11/500 (rather than the 13.7/500 of RIAA) told me that the guy that mastered this followed the old Decca/FFRR EQ settings. You would be amazed just how many "current" albums are mastered with the wrong EQ settings. The Jazz Club lets you compensate for that.

Scott,

Is that what early Who stuff sounds like crap? Lets say anything before "Tommy"..or did they just not spend any time getting things to sound right?

You know I prefer the early stuff, but the sonics are horrid. The new Classic reissues are better, but it's just a higher degree of "suck."

Scott F. · « **Reply #11 on:** 27 Apr 2007, 11:39 pm »

Nels,

Dunno, I'll spin some up over the weekend and play with the settings on the Jazz Club and post what I find.

Airborn · « **Reply #12 on:** 1 May 2007, 01:00 am »

Hey Eric, nice choice.

I recently auditioned a Gram Amp 2 SE and thought it sounded fantastic. Very detailed but at the same time relaxed and open...not strident or harsh in any way. I am currently saving my pennies so I can get a new one from LP Gear. I gave up waiting for one to come up used on Audiogon or here because they never do and if they do, their gone in a few minutes. I hope you post a formal review, but it will be hard to outdo Scott F.

eric the red · « **Reply #13 on:** 1 May 2007, 01:23 am »

I don't really have any kind of a reference as this is my first vinyl rig in 20+ years after stupidly ditching all my LPs and TT but I can't imagine getting much better sound out of a phono stage for $500.00 for the cost of a used Amp2 SE and the new PSU1. I got back into vinyl hoping I wouldn't like it and now my "analog like" Rega Apollo is a $995.00 background music player here...And yeah Scott covered the bases already I think on this one

http://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/jazzclub_e.html

Airborn · « **Reply #14 on:** 1 May 2007, 05:29 am »

Eric, I seem to be a few steps behind you going down the same road. I have 600+ cds and a brand new Onix CD-5 HDCD player and yet I find I prefer the sound of my $150 Audio Technica AT-PL50 turntable with $20 cart (and Chair Guy inspired Franken-table plasticlay mods). In fact, I almost went for the P2 + Grado Red combo you had for sale a while ago, but I decided to save for the Gram Amp 2 SE since I already had a table. Problem is I have less than 200 LPs and most of those are left over from high school 20 years ago. I figure by the time I get a fully upgraded vinyl rig set up, music will all be free and the Olive will be perfected for perfect "analog" sound.

eric the red · « **Reply #15 on:** 1 May 2007, 05:45 am »

Let me know before you pull the trigger on the Amp2 SE as I may want to upgrade to the Aura Gold V by then. I too have 600+ cds and listen regularly to maybe 100 max. The problem is that my $6-7000.00 investment at $10-$15 a cd is now worth about 2 bucks a cd on the resale market.

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #16 on:** 1 May 2007, 04:35 pm »

Be proud - let's see that franken-table, Airborn

This was my last table...I haven't had the heart to clay over the top plinth of my newest JVC DD (it's much purdier without the clay...but the topside plinth applied clay was amazing beneficial to the sound, however)....

Airborn · « **Reply #17 on:** 1 May 2007, 05:05 pm »

Eric- I am told by She Who Must Be Obeyed that no more audio purchases are allowed until August, so if your upgraditis can wait until then, I'd love to consider your Amp 2. Is it the older black painted version, or the newer version shown here?

http://www.lpgear.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LG&Product_Code=GA2PP&Category_Code=PP

TCG- I AM proud of my ugly, affordable, automatic belt drive TT and would post a pic if I could. But my digital camera recently mysteriously "disappeared".

I think I could "find" it if I could have a few hours alone in a windowless room with a bright light and a couple of my teenager daughter's unsavory "friends". But again She Who Must Be Obeyed said

Good thing most of these kids no longer have cd players or even know what an LP is or I'd be worried about "losing" that stuff too.

eric the red · « **Reply #18 on:** 1 May 2007, 06:18 pm »

It's this one

and if/when I get the urge to sell I will PM you.

eric the red · « **Reply #19 on:** 16 Jul 2007, 01:48 am »

Hey Airborn-check yer PMs