harri009
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Post by harri009 on May 20, 2015 21:01:14 GMT -5
Nice table. Did you see the new VPI Direct Drive? ? Yeah I have heard it a couple times. It sounds excellent but I enjoy the look of the HRX more and sound quality is close enough that I decided to go with the HRX. Plus the DD is double the cost
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Post by qdtjni on May 21, 2015 2:12:17 GMT -5
Does it sound as fantastic as it looks?
Since you found the Cadenza Bronze too smooth, did you consider the Black or Blue instead of the Red?
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Post by vneal on May 21, 2015 7:46:49 GMT -5
Yes I understand. In the looks department your VPI is #1
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harri009
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Post by harri009 on May 21, 2015 15:16:19 GMT -5
Does it sound as fantastic as it looks? Since you found the Cadenza Bronze too smooth, did you consider the Black or Blue instead of the Red? if I had the money to throw at it I would probably purchased a Black just because, but honestly the red is sounding so good I am not doubting or regretting the red at all. When I decided to move up tables I knew I would have get a little cheaper cartridge
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Post by qdtjni on May 21, 2015 16:06:39 GMT -5
Does it sound as fantastic as it looks? Since you found the Cadenza Bronze too smooth, did you consider the Black or Blue instead of the Red? if I had the money to throw at it I would probably purchased a Black just because, but honestly the red is sounding so good I am not doubting or regretting the red at all. When I decided to move up tables I knew I would have get a little cheaper cartridge Fully understandable! Have you had enough time yet to express what you think it sounds like yet?
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harri009
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Post by harri009 on May 21, 2015 17:17:15 GMT -5
if I had the money to throw at it I would probably purchased a Black just because, but honestly the red is sounding so good I am not doubting or regretting the red at all. When I decided to move up tables I knew I would have get a little cheaper cartridge Fully understandable! Have you had enough time yet to express what you think it sounds like yet? Right now I can pretty much just tell you that it sounds great. I have been swapping the red on and off the 2 arms though to compare. I purchased a second 12in metal arm to compare to the 12in 3d. I haven't come to a conclusion yet but early impressions are that the metal is a little more aggressive and perhaps a little more detailed than the 3d, but the 3d is smoother and more real sounding. I think the cadenza red may be a better match for the 3d and the bronze perhaps with the metal. Still early though for any sort of conclusion on that.
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Post by qdtjni on May 21, 2015 17:22:34 GMT -5
Great is good! I always thought those TTs with multiple tone arms were too far out, but I start thinking that's not such a bad idea. Are you with me?
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harri009
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Post by harri009 on May 31, 2015 20:39:50 GMT -5
I got curious about the phono stage in the Janus in comparison to just a well made accurate stage, so i ordered an emotiva stand alone phono stage. I listened swapping the gear myself and came to a conclusion. Then without sharing my conclusion I had my wife blind A/B the 2. Her conclusion was amazingly exactly what I had noted. Mind you she doesn't give a crap about this hobby nor does she know the difference in the gear. She said the (Janus) sounded fuller and more like the real thing. Said if she was in the other room she wouldn't truely know if someone was in the living room playing guitar or if it was a record. The other (emotiva) said it sounded like the same music and did sound good but the realism was lost and it was obvious that it was a record. Take it for what it's worth. My thought was that the emotiva stand alone sounded very good for the money especially but it did lack body, weight, and realism. Anyways it was fun and good to know that the Aesthetix does bring a little extra to the table for the premium
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novisnick
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Post by novisnick on May 31, 2015 21:21:34 GMT -5
I got curious about the phono stage in the Janus in comparison to just a well made accurate stage, so i ordered an emotiva stand alone phono stage. I listened swapping the gear myself and came to a conclusion. Then without sharing my conclusion I had my wife blind A/B the 2. Her conclusion was amazingly exactly what I had noted. Mind you she doesn't give a crap about this hobby nor does she know the difference in the gear. She said the (Janus) sounded fuller and more like the real thing. Said if she was in the other room she wouldn't truely know if someone was in the living room playing guitar or if it was a record. The other (emotiva) said it sounded like the same music and did sound good but the realism was lost and it was obvious that it was a record. Take it for what it's worth. My thought was that the emotiva stand alone sounded very good for the money especially but it did lack body, weight, and realism. Anyways it was fun and good to know that the Aesthetix does bring a little extra to the table for the premium Would you be kind enough to give me amprice difference of the two. Do they have the same number of digits in tne price? But really to have any idea of what your talking about , and i hate to be rude, how much more is the Janus? Aesthetix? Please forgive an uninformed consumer.
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harri009
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Post by harri009 on May 31, 2015 23:38:19 GMT -5
Would you be kind enough to give me amprice difference of the two. Do they have the same number of digits in tne price? But really to have any idea of what your talking about , and i hate to be rude, how much more is the Janus? Aesthetix? Please forgive an uninformed consumer. Nick, the tax is more on the Aesthetix than the emotiva retails for. It wasn't about price, none of it is. The Janus is a full function preamp with phono stage. I wanted to see if I could use a cheaper external phono and run it back into the Janus, essentially bypassing the Janus phono stage, and get the same sound or at least how close would it be. The Janus is essentially a Calypso line stage and a Rhea phono stage built into a single chassis. The calypso portion uses 4 tube and the Rhea phono portion uses 8 tubes. The thought was perhaps since it will still be going into the 4 tubes of the pre and the 12 tubes of the power amps perhaps I can maybe bypass the phono section and the other tubes would "make up for it" in a sense. What I found out was that for $150 the emotiva sounded very very good, for the $7000 the Janus retails for it sounded full and real. I think I personally have ran about as far down the rabbit hole as I can . Mind you the only change was the phono section.
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harri009
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Post by harri009 on May 31, 2015 23:51:08 GMT -5
Nick also, this is not at all meant as a bash review. I was genuinely impressed by how well the XPS-1 sounded. i really didn't notice any loss of information/detail or anything wonky in the comparison. It was pretty much just the fullness of the instruments and the realism. The Janus really puts the player in the room while the XPS-1 didn't. Of course like you mentioned the addition of the phono stage is about $2500 compared to the $150, so it should do something better right
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Post by qdtjni on Jun 1, 2015 1:57:20 GMT -5
Sounds pretty much as my experience, when comparing the XPS-1 to my Liberty Phono Stage and my old Custom Built Phono Stage.
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KeithL
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Post by KeithL on Jun 1, 2015 10:01:16 GMT -5
My guess would be that the XPS-1 is probably being accurate, and all those tubes in the Janus are adding a little bit of coloration - and, if that's the sound you prefer, then that's the one you should go for. (I can't speak for how accurately a given recording "duplicates the live experience" since I wasn't there when they recorded it, what comes out of the mixer doesn't always sound like what you heard sitting there in person, and what ends up on the record or CD is often slightly different than either anyway.) (If the XPS-1 sounded exactly like the Janus' phono stage, then there wouldn't be much point in spending the money for the Janus, right? Nobody invests in expensive tube gear because it doesn't sound different, right?) Would you be kind enough to give me amprice difference of the two. Do they have the same number of digits in tne price? But really to have any idea of what your talking about , and i hate to be rude, how much more is the Janus? Aesthetix? Please forgive an uninformed consumer. Nick, the tax is more on the Aesthetix than the emotiva retails for. It wasn't about price, none of it is. The Janus is a full function preamp with phono stage. I wanted to see if I could use a cheaper external phono and run it back into the Janus, essentially bypassing the Janus phono stage, and get the same sound or at least how close would it be. The Janus is essentially a Calypso line stage and a Rhea phono stage built into a single chassis. The calypso portion uses 4 tube and the Rhea phono portion uses 8 tubes. The thought was perhaps since it will still be going into the 4 tubes of the pre and the 12 tubes of the power amps perhaps I can maybe bypass the phono section and the other tubes would "make up for it" in a sense. What I found out was that for $150 the emotiva sounded very very good, for the $7000 the Janus retails for it sounded full and real. I think I personally have ran about as far down the rabbit hole as I can . Mind you the only change was the phono section.
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Post by qdtjni on Jun 1, 2015 10:12:48 GMT -5
I can't comment for the Janus but my non-tube based Liberty phono pre-amp , which admittedly costs about ten times, do sound clearly better than the XPS-1 when in MC mode, both set to 100 Ohm load. That is also backed up by measurements made with AP equipment, measurements that includes the RIIA equalisation.
It could be different when using MM cartridges, where they measure more equal, but haven't tried that.
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Post by pedrocols on Jun 1, 2015 10:34:50 GMT -5
I think it will be extremely silly to spend 15k on a turntable to only use it with a $150 phono preamp.
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novisnick
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Post by novisnick on Jun 1, 2015 11:24:06 GMT -5
I get it now,,,,,,,,,why not compare the twp pre amps?? I would do the same, an from what he has reported the XPS-1 really did a great job in comparison to a much, much more expensive product! Actually, it was a great report on the XPS-1, to have so little of a difference and cost so very little.
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harri009
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Post by harri009 on Jun 1, 2015 12:42:50 GMT -5
I think it will be extremely silly to spend 15k on a turntable to only use it with a $150 phono preamp. I fully agree, it was just for fun. It had also been a while since I owned any emotiva stuff so I wanted to give it a listen again and I know when I had a full emotiva system I always enjoyed reading about how the gear held up on stuff like the HRX etc
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harri009
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Post by harri009 on Jun 1, 2015 13:00:49 GMT -5
I get it now,,,,,,,,,why not compare the twp pre amps?? I would do the same, an from what he has reported the XPS-1 really did a great job in comparison to a much, much more expensive product! Actually, it was a great report on the XPS-1, to have so little of a difference and cost so very little. I did contemplate trying an XSP-1 for a comparison but i figured I could hear what would most likely be the same characteristics in doing what I did. What I have found with my little audio journey is that the money is for the realism. Whether that be in the crispness, weight, air, tone... etc. When you hear it you know, my wife said she heard the difference in the first note. I have been extremely happy with the Aesthetix, Rogue, VPI, and Magnepan combo.
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Post by qdtjni on Jun 1, 2015 14:15:03 GMT -5
Mind you, more expensive is not always better.
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Post by pedrocols on Jun 1, 2015 15:10:29 GMT -5
Mind you, more expensive is not always better. Precisely! I always let my poor trained ears tell me what sounds best for my taste.
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