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I just received the unit a few days ago and thought I would put my thoughts here as well as the vinyl asylum. My friend came over to help install the Denon 103R Cart which I also just received from Japan. After setup and some initial time powered up we started spinning records.
Previously I had been using a heavily modified Audionote Kit preamp with their phono stage. The second gain stage in that preamp had the cathode cap and resistor pulled and replaced with an LED which greatly improved bass. Also I pulled the AN copper PIO caps and replaced them with Auricaps which did so much for the sound, but that is for another rant on PIO caps. The Cart was a Sure V-15 on an sme 3012 II arm on a TD-124.
I give you this background to show that I went to a moving coil and LCR from the Sure V-15 with modified audionote type phono pre. The current settup is a Denon 103R with the Cole LCR. This combination not only works, it works exceedingly well. Associated equpment is a Thorens TD-124 with a SME 3012 arm and SME cables, K&K balanced active line stage a modified Fi-X 2A3 amp and custom made transmission line speakers using focal drivers and a design created by Randy Hedgebeth. interconnects are the cheapest stuff that comes free with your vcr and speaker wire is single conductor copper from BELL with cloth insulation from the 1930s.
On initial setup there was a loud buzz that clearly showed a grounding problem. This was solved by running a copper wire from the ground stud of the phono section to the ground of the preamp. Silence followed.
The only noise is actually from the case of the power supply leading to the phono stage which emits a loud buzz. The buzz only starts after a relay switches the high voltage into circuit and comes directly from the power supply case. This can be damped with a few hevy books on top of the case and a cloth napkin below it. I will open it later to see what else can be done for this noise, which is apparent in my quiet listening room.
So how does the Cole sound? Marvelous. Plucked strings are clear, cymbals crash, drum skins are felt. Is it better than the Sure/Audionote combination? The moving coil provides more upper frequency information. The preamp opens up every note accurately and noise free. There is a High/Low switch that I believe refers to the amplification factor, but I haven't gotten the hang of it yet. The documentation included is for the non-lcr Cole and it would be helpful if they sent the actual "as built" circuit diagram if I wanted to mod it. The controls are intuitive but the documentation could have been better.
I played differing styles of music to get a feel of the unit. A virgin copy of Brian Jonestown Massacre, His Satanic Majesty's Second Request really brought out the strengths of this unit. The sound is alive and strong as the recording is good and clean. Yes, Fragile, showed the power of the string plucks and vivid sound of the harmonics. Sinatra, The Voice showed the unit to be a little tame on the Columbia sound from the 40s and 50s. Various other recordings, provided an example of how the unit revealed the quality, or lack thereof, of the source material. Crappy recordings still sound crappy.
The thick rich Moving Magnet sound that was present with the V-15 was replaced by the more level sound of the Denon Cart. I don't really know which one I prefer at this point. The preamp was, for the level of amplification involved, surprisingly noise free. The RIAA curves seemed accurate but my love of rich sound may require a head to head comparison with the Sure Cart. Unfortunately, I lost the stylus and new ones are not cheap.
Looking at the unit with the cover off, you can see the quality of the parts. Through my prior experience with Black Gates, which are liberally used, they take time to adapt to the voltage when they are moved. I expect they will take some time before sounding their best. The same for the coupling caps which are all copper cased Obbligatos. The only tweak I can imagine is upgrading the Obbligatos to teflons, but strangely the website for the Cole LCR seems to suggest the Obbligatos are teflon caps?
Anyhow, it was worth the wait and the expense. Other than cracking the PS case to see what is buzzing in there, I don't expect to change anything any time soon.
Enjoy!!
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