advertisement


When equipment exceeds your expectations…

John said:
Unique among MM cartridges as it doesn’t offer a snap on replacement stylus which is part of the reason it performs so well.
Click to expand...

The configuration of the cartridge is different from typical MM carts and it does sound different. The cheaper carts also have a bold, solid sound but they don't sound balanced. They are short on detail and low-level information. Like a picture in poster paints with no subtle shades. You get the big picture but not much else.

The Exact fixes all that. While it doesn't have a user replaceable stylus Rega address that by offering a generous exchange. You give them your worn out cart, they give you a new one at a reduced price. It actually works out cheaper than buying a new stylus for a lot of the carts in this bracket.
 
I have no desire to change anything. No system is perfect, but I agree, if you can't wait for a chance to listen to music, the system must be OK.

My latest or only purchase in the last few years, the Chord Qutest DAC was a great success. Detailed incisive, but not harsh and the opportunity to try 4 different filters, all of which really do sound different.
 
Having worked my way through the evolutionary cycle of high bit-rate upsampling DACs I'd grown towards the "all DACs sound [almost] alike" camp.

Then a mate put his lightly-tweaked Audio Note UK DAC 1.1S up for sale for peanuts, so I bought it thinking of second-system duties, only to find I love the even-handed, highly musical but insightful sound.

It's from the era when ANUK were housing their more affordable products in alloy shoeboxes and building them in Slovakia, so it's AN's circuits with very basic components. I've since upgraded a lot of the critical internal components to very good effect.

It's bought my digital-listening back to life, so much so the TT is feeling a little neglected lately...
 
DPA Little Bit DAC. It beat M-DAC and some Rega TOTR thing that a mate once brought round (he agreed yes). It was a freebie, which was nice, and a replacement actual SMD DAC IC was kindly sent from the Czech Republic gratis by "Lord Vodemort" as he's now probably known on pfm, plus I rejigged the analogue output stage and recapped it. I can't fault it.
 
After nearly 40 years of incessant box-swapping:
  • Chrome bumper Nait 2. Never had any Naim kit that came close to such joy. Rue the day I sold it for £170 when I "upgraded" to Naim 62/SNAPS/140 and, apart from better channel balance at low volumes, I couldn't hear any improvement.
  • An old Musical Fidelity B200 amp which a relative gave me, amazing since I didn't rate my A1 back in the day. It's as good as a Supernait 1 on a good day. Linx Nebula integrated amp - in some ways more enjoyable than its more expensive Vega and Stratos pre-power brethren due to amazing dynamics. Both the B200 and Nebula need servicing.
  • My current Lindemann MB55 power amp. Idiosyncratic but just wow!
  • My current MC RL21 speakers - so good I bought another pair, though I still have fondness for Shahinian Super Elves and retain a set of Ikea stands just in case I need to buy a set for the third time....
 
Rana said:
After nearly 40 years of incessant box-swapping:
  • Chrome bumper Nait 2. Never had any Naim kit that came close to such joy. Rue the day I sold it for £170 when I "upgraded" to Naim 62/SNAPS/140 and, apart from better channel balance at low volumes, I couldn't hear any improvement.
  • An old Musical Fidelity B200 amp which a relative gave me, amazing since I didn't rate my A1 back in the day. It's as good as a Supernait 1 on a good day. Linx Nebula integrated amp - in some ways more enjoyable than its more expensive Vega and Stratos pre-power brethren due to amazing dynamics. Both the B200 and Nebula need servicing.
  • My current Lindemann MB55 power amp. Idiosyncratic but just wow!
  • My current MC RL21 speakers - so good I bought another pair, though I still have fondness for Shahinian Super Elves and retain a set of Ikea stands just in case I need to buy a set for the third time....
Click to expand...

The MF B200 is a great little integrated that deserves more attention. You get a P140/150 power amp with a line amp and phono stage for not much money and about 70WPC. Yes they run hot and yes they need recapping before being put into use.
 
MF P170, mmmh I have 3 sitting unused from my triamping days lol, but my personal recomendation goes to the lowly topping e30 dac. Performance well above and beyond its miniscule costs, i actually prefer it to many if its more expensive brothers
 
Rega P8 and its predecessor, the RP8. Those two turntables saw off some vastly more expensive competition in my system. I still have the P8 sitting alongside my much more expensive PTP Solid 9/AO PU7.

Neat Ekstra speakers. I have owned a few Neat speakers in the past and never been that impressed with them, but the Ekstras have blown me away. So engaging and musical, and work well in small rooms with deep, very tight and fast bass. They remind me of the Epos ES14 I owned 20 years ago, but better.
 
RossB said:
Rega P8 and its predecessor, the RP8. Those two turntables saw off some vastly more expensive competition in my system. I still have the P8 sitting alongside my much more expensive PTP Solid 9/AO PU7.

Neat Ekstra speakers. I have owned a few Neat speakers in the past and never been that impressed with them, but the Ekstras have blown me away. So engaging and musical, and work well in small rooms with deep, very tight and fast bass. They remind me of the Epos ES14 I owned 20 years ago, but better.
Click to expand...
Those look neat!

http://neatacoustics.com/ekstra/
 
Mr Ian said:
MF P170, mmmh I have 3 sitting unused from my triamping days lol, but my personal recomendation goes to the lowly topping e30 dac. Performance well above and beyond its miniscule costs, i actually prefer it to many if its more expensive brothers
Click to expand...
What ?! 3 P170 accumulating dust ? It’s a sin ! :eek:
 
ReggieB said:
Heybrook HB1s that I bought for a fiver. I replaced the main drive units and was amazed with the results. They led me away from floorstanders after a dalliance with TDL RTL2s. Been a stand speaker man ever since.

I still have the speakers. I can't seem me ever selling them as the guy I bought them from painted them with a "wood effect" paint. So they look "interesting". I can't imagine anyone ever wanting to buy them from me.
Click to expand...

I would :)
 
Second the Topping E30. I have two. Whether used with their A50 headphone amp and HD600's in 'balanced' mode or to directly feed a pair of Meridian active monitors, they make music just as sublime as far more expensive DACs I have used, whilst being tiny and boasting a mountain of flexibility and features. I wonder if their P50 power supply could make it any better.
 
After a recommendation here I tried the Topping as a converter, it failed straight out of the box. Looking around I believe this is not unusual amazon refunded me no problem.
 
  • My current Lindemann MB55 power amp. Idiosyncratic but just wow
Agreed… bought online to feed power hungry speakers. Never had Class D before and very pleasantly surprised. Fantastic power amp.
 
Benz Micro MC20E2-L

Its a budget MC cart and a NOS unit came up for sale so I took a punt.
Works so much better at the end of the Ittok than my recently Goldring refurbed Karma or AT-OC9.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top