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My Aries 3 finally arrived!

98.169.55.18
Posted on May 30, 2015 at 06:59:40
Jabs1542
Audiophile

Posts: 90
Location: Virginia
Joined: December 18, 2014



It took a while but my Aries 3 arrived yesterday. I got het set up and did some listening last night, Hoe-Lee-Crap!

A lot of changes happened at once so I am not sure which change affected which area of the sound but somehow the vinyl sounds cleaner (less ticks and pops) yet it is MUCH more dynamic - I mean horns just jump out and slap you I the face when intended, and drums really sound like drums.

The changes include the deck itself (Scout SE to Aries 3), note that I already have the SDS, the cartridge (Benz Gulwing to Koetsu Rosewood Sig), and the SUT (EAR 834P internal SUT to Bob's Devices Cinemag SUT built onto the deck itself).

I have to give Bob Sattin (from Bob's Devices) a lot of credit here. He knew what I had and was cautious with spending money on smaller incremental upgrades (I was initially thinking of a Prime). He didn't even remotely steer me towards anything, we just talked about his experiences with the sound differences between the different decks and cartridges - he prefers the Classic 3 and 4. I met him last year at CAF and was very impressed, now I am extremely pleased with my choices.

Now for some pics...

 

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RE: My Aries 3 finally arrived! - Pic 2, posted on May 30, 2015 at 07:02:04
Jabs1542
Audiophile

Posts: 90
Location: Virginia
Joined: December 18, 2014



Note that the first pic shows the mat that came with the table, I'm using it for a dust cover for now.

 

RE: My Aries 3 finally arrived! - Pic 3, posted on May 30, 2015 at 07:02:53
Jabs1542
Audiophile

Posts: 90
Location: Virginia
Joined: December 18, 2014



This shows the VTA tower and the Cinemag SUT

 

RE: My Aries 3 finally arrived! - Pic 4, posted on May 30, 2015 at 07:03:48
Jabs1542
Audiophile

Posts: 90
Location: Virginia
Joined: December 18, 2014



This shows the Koetsu.

How do you add multiple pictures to one posting?

 

Very nice -congratulations (nt), posted on May 30, 2015 at 07:16:04
Gary
Audiophile

Posts: 1294
Location: New York, NY
Joined: April 21, 2000
 .

 

RE: My Aries 3 finally arrived! - Pic 3, posted on May 30, 2015 at 08:26:36
Guss2
Audiophile

Posts: 514
Location: South Florida
Joined: August 29, 2002
 Does VPI add the SUT at the factory or do they send it off to Bob's for installation? I really need to start learning more about SUT's and the benefits to using them. Beautiful table, congratulations.

 

I have a similar set-up..., posted on May 30, 2015 at 08:52:02
Waxxy
Audiophile

Posts: 2648
Joined: July 19, 2011
Contributor
  Since: November 22, 2011
 Congrats on your new gear. Should keep you happily spinning records for years to come.

" it is MUCH more dynamic - I mean horns just jump out and slap you I the face when intended, and drums really sound like drums." If I was to hazard a guess as to which product / upgrade is the main contributor to the improvement in dynamics, I'd say it's the SUT. After having mine installed for quite some time, I spent a few months listening to alternatives and then reinserted the cinemag into the system. My "other" phono stage is a 47 Labs Phonocube which is known for being quite dynamic. The Cinemag into a tube based MM blows it away in this regard! Its also a very good match for Koetsu cartridges.

I have an older Aries and an older metal arm and I'm very happy with it with no plans to upgrade. I did try the newer stainless steel arm and 3D arm but eventually sold them to return to the older arm because it was a better match for my cartridges.

As far as posting pictures, once you have chosen the file, hit the "preview message" button and you will then be able to choose another file. Continue this process until you have posted as many photos as you please.

Have fun!!

 

Preview, posted on May 30, 2015 at 10:01:56
slapshot
Audiophile

Posts: 2248
Joined: January 9, 2006
 After you add one image, hit "Preview Message", then you can go in and add another one; you can do this each time you want to add a new image. You will see the html code in this box, and you can even rearrange the order the images are in by cutting and pasting the code.

So....how did you suspend the turntable from the ceiling for this shot? :)

 

RE: My Aries 3 finally arrived!, posted on May 30, 2015 at 14:40:36
throwback
Audiophile

Posts: 762
Location: Colorado
Joined: December 8, 2003
 Excellent! Is that a Gingko Cloud 11 base under your Aries? I'm thinking of getting one for my Transrotor Rondino.

 

RE: My Aries 3 finally arrived! - Pic 3, posted on May 30, 2015 at 15:38:07
Jabs1542
Audiophile

Posts: 90
Location: Virginia
Joined: December 18, 2014
 When asked if the SUT was installed by VPI or by Bob. I had them ship the table to Bob and he did it, actually I ordered the table through Bob in the first place. Reading his website it looks like the SUT is a simple Bolton kit if you have the right table to start with.

 

RE: I have a similar set-up..., posted on May 30, 2015 at 15:39:53
Jabs1542
Audiophile

Posts: 90
Location: Virginia
Joined: December 18, 2014
 Yes, I'm beginning to think the Koetsu is a better tracker, thus quieter, and the Cinemag SUT is strengthening the dynamics.

 

RE: My Aries 3 finally arrived!, posted on May 30, 2015 at 15:42:20
Jabs1542
Audiophile

Posts: 90
Location: Virginia
Joined: December 18, 2014
 Yes it is Gingko Cloud 11, with the little seperate platform for the SAMA.

My room is on the second level over the garage, which means long spans that results in footfall problems. My Scout had a Cloud 9 and the Cloud 11 does the same job with stability as people walk around in the room.

 

Nice looking set-up., posted on May 30, 2015 at 16:10:23
mark111
Audiophile

Posts: 4699
Joined: April 12, 2002
 I'm a little jealous.
enjoy,
mark

 

RE: Wowser...., posted on May 30, 2015 at 17:37:05
user510
 ...that looks fantastic!

It looks highly functional and elegant.
Style and substance.

-Steve

 

The internal SUT in the 834P is no great shakes. CineMag much, much better., posted on May 31, 2015 at 06:24:37
Opus 33 1/3
Audiophile

Posts: 4184
Location: D.C. Area
Joined: February 19, 2014
 When I got an 834P I specifically looked for the MM only model and used an external CineMag SUT with my Dynavector. Great combo.







Opus 33 1/3

 

RE: The internal SUT in the 834P is no great shakes. CineMag much, much better., posted on May 31, 2015 at 13:00:51
teenage diplomat
Audiophile

Posts: 896
Location: burke, va usa
Joined: February 3, 2001
 I don't agree. I ran my EAR 864 (same internal transformer as the 834p) head to head against a Cinemag installed on my VPI HRX and any small difference I heard was in the EAR's favor. Not a knock on the Cinemag, just my personal experience with both. The cartridge was a Denon DL-S1 LOMC.

 

Both Abe Collins and myself heard otherwise. He had the MM/MC 834P, posted on May 31, 2015 at 16:26:48
Opus 33 1/3
Audiophile

Posts: 4184
Location: D.C. Area
Joined: February 19, 2014
 and much preferred the EAR set to MM, using an external CineMag SUT to the 834P set for MC using the built in SUT. I heard the MM/MC version with the same cart I use, then switched to MM and a CineMag SUT. The difference was not subtle and in favor of the EAR set for MM and the external SUT. Made me glad I bought the MM only version of 834P, which, to this day, remains my favorite phono preamp.





Opus 33 1/3

 

Could it be that subtle differences exist between individual units from the same brand..., posted on May 31, 2015 at 17:56:02
genungo
 ..? Sounds feasible to me. That way, it's possible that all of you guys are right.

 

RE: My Aries 3 finally arrived!, posted on May 31, 2015 at 18:20:45
shallow pockets
Audiophile

Posts: 765
Location: Michigan
Joined: June 27, 2009
 That looks like a 'last' turntable if I ever saw one. Enjoy your well thought out purchase.

 

Or could it be that ..., posted on May 31, 2015 at 18:43:35
Charlie F.
Audiophile

Posts: 984
Joined: March 31, 2000
 ... Subtle differences exist between listeners' ears and/or their preferences?

[Sorry. My mistake: I meant to append this post to the "Both Abe Collins ..." entry.]

 

yes, posted on May 31, 2015 at 18:44:34
teenage diplomat
Audiophile

Posts: 896
Location: burke, va usa
Joined: February 3, 2001
 in my case, it could well have been a cartridge specific issue with the Cinemag. I tried to resolve it with Bob (of Bob's Devices) without success. My point isn't to denigrate the Cinemag, but rather to provide a counterexample to the "EAR trannies suck" stuff I read here far too frequently. My experience is that the trannies EAR used in my EAR 864 are just fine. Fellow asylum dweller John Elison, who has heard many CD-24s ripped from my vinyl front end to an Alesis Masterdisk has said several times on this forum that they are the best he has ever heard, and he is a dyed-in-the-wool Cinemag fan. So yes, there could well be a sample-to-sample variation at play here.

 

What a glorious table!, posted on May 31, 2015 at 20:23:40
CometCKO
Audiophile

Posts: 873
Joined: August 9, 2002
 Congratulations, looks like a wonderful setup. That should give you many years of musical satisfaction.



"Knowing what you don't know is, in a sense, omniscience"

 

RE: What a glorious table!, posted on June 1, 2015 at 04:38:59
Jabs1542
Audiophile

Posts: 90
Location: Virginia
Joined: December 18, 2014
 Thanks is for the kind words.

Yesterday I did a little comparison between MoFi vinyl on my new deck against the same DSD albums through my Lampizator DAC - very interesting (this is all 80's rock)
Boston (first album): MoFi was much better than the DSD
Supertramp COTC: MoFi and high res (24:192) were similar but clearly from different masters
Dire Straights BIA: About the same though the MoFi had a wider stage
Steely Dan Goucho: DSD was better
Pink Floyd DSOTM: The MoFi had better air and dynamics, but the DSD had cleaner sound (admittedly this vinyl has seen some party days)
Pink Floyd WYWH: MoFi was better hands down (this vinyl was better preserved)

Note that most of these albums are around 30 years old. It was quite the rock-out, everything was played at excessive volumes - as it should be with this music :)

 

RE: My Aries 3 finally arrived!, posted on June 2, 2015 at 12:35:55
miner42
Audiophile

Posts: 473
Location: Texas
Joined: April 28, 2007



What a beautiful table you have. VPI was spot on with the Aries 3.

 

RE: My Aries 3 finally arrived!, posted on June 5, 2015 at 23:26:27
PMC0607
Audiophile

Posts: 168
Location: Austin, TX.
Joined: January 1, 2014






Nice table I was looking @ that table when I was in the market for a new TT. I end up buying a TTW Audio Eliminator turntable and a Shelter 7000

 

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