I have been fortunate to be able to try the RSL cards as part of the loaner programme, in a Naim NAC 12S preamp.
I Installed the cards with the gain set to normal and the loading of mc cards at 470Ω / 6.8nf. I used three turntables:
· Michell Hydraulic reference/Naim Aro/Linn Troika
· Lenco 88/Zeta/Dynavector DV20XL
· Garrard 401/Naim Aro/Dynavector XX2MkII/Naim Prefix
For CDs, a Naim CDS/CDPS
All in the context of my regular active Linn Kans system.
When I played side two of Be-Bop Deluxe – Drastic plastic, one of the first things that I noticed was the crisp sound, the metallic ring to guitars and cymbals and the space around individual instruments; a good start!
The first CD that I put on was Fast Floor’s – The eternal dream, and this came as a bit of a shock, because I had never heard a CD sounding this good! So much space, the little detail coming through and that edge to the percussion. On this album, it is all computer generated, but nevertheless, the studio effects came through as they were intended. This was a superb result, especially coming from someone who is a dyed in the wool vinyl fanatic!
I put Joan Armatrading’s eponymously titled LP on the Lenco and again, the massive amount of space around instruments, excellent attack on drums, especially the cymbals, and good depth too.
One album that I enjoyed listening to on both CD and LP, was the B52’s – Good stuff. First up, the CD and again, the drum kit came out so clear and dynamic; that CD could sound this good, was very impressive.
Same album, but on vinyl and a change of record player to the Michell Hydraulic reference/Naim Aro/Linn Troika and the same Kit Ryan trademarks shone through.
The same album on the 401, through the prefix was slightly disappointing though. It was generally softer and not as exciting as it had been through the Michell. Switching over to the Lenco on the same album and yes, it was better.
I had to find out why the Aro/Dynavector XX2MkII/Naim Prefix was so off colour, so I switched arm tops and played the same album on the Michell Hydraulic reference/Naim Aro/ Dynavector XX2MkII, and like wow! A much crisper sound than I had heard through the Garrard. Pace, Rhythm, and timing was spot on, good projection and again, the drum kit came across so well too. I could live with a turntable sounding this good, it was a total revelation!
So, the Aro/Linn Troika was now on the 401/prefix, sounding surprisingly good; it seems that the Troika works better with the prefix than the XX2, most likely to the cartridge loading. I have run the Garrard 401/Naim Aro/Dynavector XX2MkII/Naim Prefix for quite a long time now, without realising that it was not a good match.
I Played Gary Boyle’s Electric glide through the 401/ Aro/Dynavector XX2MkII/Naim Prefix and thought that it was sounding surprisingly good; swapping arm tops worked out well, because now, both the XX2MkII and the Troika, were now sounding better.
Playing the same LP on the Lenco 88/Zeta/Dynavector DV20XL, revealed what an excellent turntable this is! The thing that impressed me with the RSL cards, was how revealing they are; I was now able to hear clear difference between the turntables and was able to optimise the set up.
Back to CD and Nick Drake’s Five leaves left, I was not sure what to expect of this, it being a 24-bit transfer from the original analogue master, but it sounded superb! A revelation because CD has never sounded this good in my system!
Given the differences I heard when I switched arm tops, I decided to change the loading on the RSL mc cards to 100Ω, as recommended by Dynavector and that was certainly a worthwhile change; both Dynavector cartridges were sounding excellent now! On the strength of this, I think I will exchange the XX2MkII for a new one or have it rebuilt by Dynavector when the time comes, because this was a question that I have been pondering for some time.
I was fortunate enough to be able to buy a Naim NAC 32.5 and it arrived while I still had the RSL loaner cards. The main advantage in the 32 from my point of view, was the extra inputs, but it is also dual rail, so theoretically should sound better too.
I used the last couple of days with the RSL cards, to try out various combinations.
Interestingly, as Kit predicted, changing over to the RSL cards made the biggest difference and everything else I tried paled in significance in comparison. To sum up the sound quality, I liked the crisp and rhythmic sound of the RSL cards; they are made for the drum kit! Individual instruments have their own space, and the sound is so open, with excellent depth, and studio artefacts are laid bare.
The active Linn Kans system is quite complex in terms of the box count and I have three turntables, so I had set myself quite a task in testing all possible combinations during the loan period. The big thing about the RSL cards is how discriminating they are! I felt that I was able to achieve an optimum setup, where previously, the differences were masked. For instance, running the Dynavector XX2MkII through the RSL cards, rather than the prefix.
I have been running the Michell and Lenco through an external switch box, but I found that the loss with this in circuit, was insignificant, compared to the improvement gained from using the RSL cards.
At this point, the RSL loaded NAC 12S, was sounding so good, that I was concerned that changing anything would spoil the sound, but I need not have worried, because the NAC 32.5 sounded excellent. Again, I would judge that swapping to the RSL cards, was a bigger difference than that between the two pre-amps.
I think I might end up with using the NAC 32.5 with the custom RSL set, plus one set of Z150 cards, using the external switch for now. I will keep the Prefix for the 401/Aro/Troika for now, possibly adding a second set of Z150 mc cards to the 32.5, so that I can take the switchbox out of circuit (the NAC 32.5 has two phono inputs). Then, I will have look into either modifying the prefix to take RSL cards or buying an Aro arm cable, so that I can run the 401/Aro/Troika into an external phone stage with RSL cards.