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In Reply to: RE: Rega Planar 10 & Apheta 3, one month in posted by padreken on October 11, 2021 at 12:37:48
I'm glad you like your new Rega but I take issue with parts of your review. Disclaimer: I own two Regas and love them so it has nothing to do with the brand. It rather, concerns your description of the sound."The combo tells the truth-whatever is on the record is what you'll get."
"Every record sounds just like it's supposed to...-."
To my mind these are meaningless comments. I've read comments like this in reviews more times than I can count. How do you know what the "truth" is? How do you know what a particular record is "supposed" to sound like? Were you in the studio at the time of the recording? There are so many factors that influence the sound you hear from the original recording session to the moment you spin it on your turntable. The sound, since originally recorded has gone through so many iterations that it is no longer the same sound heard in the studio that day. It's been mastered, pressed, possibly remastered, perhaps digitized. And how about YOUR equipment, your amplifier, preamp, speakers and your room? They all contribute to the sound you hear and the same record sounds different on everyone's system. Am I not hearing the TRUTH because I'm playing it on a different table? Is my TRUTH any less valid than yours?
So what's the REAL truth? There is none. What you're saying essentially is that you like the sound of a particular record. The tenor sax sounds like a tenor sax to YOU.The drums sound like drums are SUPPOSED to sound to YOUR ears.
Sorry to be picky about language here, but I come across these expressions so often and they explain nothing and I can't believe I'm the only one that finds it irritating.
By the way, glad you love your Rega. Many happy playing sessions!
Edits: 10/12/21 10/12/21Follow Ups:
Sounds almost like you are trying to crowd me as a pro level neigh sayer. dadgummit, there is always some new whippersnapper trying to challenge my self appointed leadership as Captain Coldwater.
I certainly agree with your point, having consistently pounded on the "what is real" deal , thinking it a too often overlooked consideration in this hobby. I usually skip the mechanical and electrical issues, thinking the way the brain processes hearing is universal and easier to factor when considering a change of opinion, in that the established science is not subject to question, plus anyone who has ever taken a hearing test has first hand experience with the phenomena of hearing errors as real sound.
Of course, this thinking doesn't sell a lot of magical wire or other high profit junk, so I am used to this scrub science approach to audio reviews. How car reviews can manage subjective issues to be included in their write ups and audio can't is illuminating, If one wants to go beyond the fan boy stage of audio consumer.
As you might know, a perfect example of "I can only know what I hear is not illusion" is over in the section where wires are discussed. the section headed with a warning that true believers only are welcome . I would hope that a person spending a thousand bucks or more on a new cord from the wall socket to the electronics would would have more than a subjective opinion to go by, but think that somewhat of an impossibility .
BY the way of coincidence, I have a low mass design platter spinner, a Michell gyro, and am quite happy. Michell offers a massive platter as an upgrade to the acknowledged classic gyro design, and the heavier upgrade gets mixed reviews. I do have a version of the rega arm, and if more aggressively marketed, might have gone full rega. I respect a company that can run consistently at the top of the market without a lot of flavor of the moment product that comes and goes.
Since I developed an interest in high fidelity record playing I have struggled to find what things truly sound like, everything is amplified, pretty much everywhere, even at the symphony. I play a few instruments , so that helps, but the sonic perspective is different . Last un-amplified sound I listened to was a strolling Do whop singing group at the county fair, a meager diet for any reference.
BC, I haven't read enough of your posts to know if this one is typical or not. I do know that, of what I have read, I usually find what you post to be pretty articulate and generally well-reasoned.But I think you're off-base here, at least as relates to my own experience.
"Thinking the way the brain processes hearing is universal"
This is where I believe you are absolutely, 100% dead wrong, my friend. The building of new neural pathways in the brain by means of periods of focused attention is a concept well known and accepted in the sciences. Audio freaks, pretty much by definition, spend long periods of time in focused attention listening to their audio systems, those of their friends, and/or live music. The variety of kinds of music listened to, however, are unique, as are the volume levels, listening environments and general circumstances, therefore the neural networks by which we process sound are likewise unique. The means by which we hear music may be universal, but the means by which our brains process that sensory input sure as hell are not.
I had this principle graphically illustrated when visiting a fairly high-end salon with a friend, and listening to a $30K set of Vienna Acoustics speakers. My friend was blown away, and I remember trying to figure out what so impressed him, because to me they sounded like boxes. By that point in my life, my home system used large stats. Now I run horns for the same reasons. At HiFi 99 in Chicago, I listened to an $80K set of Dynaudios. Nope. Not for me at any price, much less $80K.
After moving to my cabin year-round, I had more available income to devote to audio, so I was able to bring my setup to a far higher level of resolution than I ever thought would be available to me. Cable differences became more apparent with every improvement. Installing a new and potentially expensive cable often took me in the wrong direction, and I couldn't rip it out fast enough. As far as I can tell, the efficacy of power cables especially lies largely in their ability to prevent ambient noise from being introduced into a component. I found this to be particularly true when I installed a Synergistic Research pc with active shield on a Von Gaylord LAD-L2. I had sent a pc back to the mfr because I was clear that its substantial price tag was unjustifiable, but when I installed the SR on the preamp, a layer of grunge was removed that I hadn't even known was there.
As far as I can tell, good cabling is largely about keeping noise out of the system. In my experience, some cables do it a whole lot better than others.
You make a valid point-I've complained myself about the cliches that are often present in audio. I always chuckle when I surf over to the Better Records site to see what outrageous prices they are charging-they use a template for every pressing they list that uses the term "tubey magical midrange" for tons of records that don't have a single vacuum tube in the entire production chain.
I'll give you an example of what I'm hearing in my system-my vinyl pressing of Donald Fagen's Morph the Cat has some seriously fat sounding bass, almost (but not quite) to the point of distraction. I have the CD too, and it's a little tauter in the bass but the mids/highs/soundstaging are superior on the vinyl. I put that record on the Rega, and lo and behold the bass is still all there but is tighter and better defined to my ears.
I agree with you about the great bass sound on the Donald Fagen album! I only have the CD (the same with Sunken Condos). What do you think of these last two Fagen releases? I love Morph the Cat, but I find Condos a little repetitive, despite the excellent playing and recording. I didn't know either of these was released on vinyl, actually.
Alex
I got them in a box set, Donald Fagen:Cheap Xmas Complete. Out of print now, sadly but it has all of his solo albums-I didn't need another Nightfly but it was worth it to get Kamikiriad, Morph and Condos. There was a cool extra LP of B sides and extra tracks from movie soundtracks and live shows, all cut by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman mastering. Hopefully this gets another release.
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