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Word got out on this one right as the supply dried up. Luckily, I got two for a cheap price. One was $59, and the other wasn't much more. Anyway, this ADC with its advanced suspension, sapphire cantilever and very fine line contact stylus is the best moving iron cartridge that I have ever used. Another Inmate classes it with his Benz Ruby. They just don't make them like this anymore.The winner here actually got a very good deal.
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Open Your Ears....
I believe it came after Pritchard had left ADC. By the time this cartridge was produced, BSR owned the company. If my somewhat hazy memory serves me, this cartridge dates to 1984. It wasn't made in the US by ADC, either. Rather, it was made under contract in Japan. Based on sketchy information, and comparisons with cartridges he did make under contract, it was probably made by the founder of ZYX. In any event, it shows an uncanny amount of care and craftsmanship. The precision of the TRX-2 has few equals. Not many were sold because they were introduced right before ADC closed its doors forever. The eBay seller had a handful that he acquired from the estate of an ADC engineer. Mine are numbers 51 and 98. I also managed to get a TRX-1 which is similar, except the tip is slightly larger and the cantilever is titanium. Ray-o-Stat got the only TRX-3 the guy had. I couldn't snipe him because we have an agreement. ;) Anyway, we'll find out about that one when it arrives at his house, but it is rare beyond belief.
Looking at the chronology of ADC products, the first generation of post-Pritchard ADC (with BSR backing), yielded the excellent ADC Astrion and the so-so carbon fibre models. These cartridges were an obvious first attempt at addressing the problems of resonance of the cartridge body. The Astrion was unique in that not only did it have an acrylic body (sound familiar ZYX fans?) but it also sported a Sapphire cantilever with an exotic tip. The end results were good, but not as great as the later TRX's. In absolute terms, the Astrion would have still sent most any MM I've ever heard back to the dugout.The TRX line which came afterward were speciifcally called the "Zero Resonance" Series and they employ a mix of cartridge body materials as well as a much more secure method of stylus attachment than the typical slide-in replaceable stylus assembly.
Non-MC's never got as exotic and sophisticated as these. It's a shame that they were ignored and over-shadowed by the tidal waves of MC's that were flooding the market at the time. ADC was on to something and certainly their association with the ZYX guy really bore fruit.
cheers,
Close to the Edge, down by the river....
-Ray
I missed the USPS delivery of the TRX-3 yesterday, so I will have it tomorrow.If anyone doubts the news about the outstanding fidelity of the TRX-2. Please note that my Accuphase AC-2 is currently on my tonearm and I have a wand on its way from Germany specifically meant for the TRX-2. The Benz is listed in the classifieds. The AC-2 is a killer design by the ZYX dude and most definitely the best cartridge I have ever owned. It just needed to be mounted to a better matching wand in order to reach its full potential. The ADC TRX Series are a close second.
'nuf said, eh?
Cheers,
Close to the Edge, down by the river....
-Ray
I would have paid anything to buy it, but you bid first.Darn It....
...but we are set already. :)
You said it! A great run, that is still to finish.I am still waiting on 2 cartridges and I have high expectations from both.
Close to the Edge, down by the river....
-Ray
I can't wait to try this cartridge. I heard the TRX-2 on "tubesforever"s custom Thorens. Blew me away. There wasn't anything it couldn't do. I loved it. We compared it to my Dynavector Ruby Karat on a Rega RB900-Sota Sapphire, there was no question that the ADC is a great performer. I have since installed a Benz M2 that is in mid life, 400 hours or so. It is very clean sounding with good bass and soundstaging, but from what I remember of the TRX-2 it will be fun to hear some of my LP's again. I know I paid probably too much for it, but then again, it should be well worth it.
And Tom I am so glad you ponied up to get one. It is as expressive and detailed as my Grado Ref Master (an 800 dollar cartridge) and displays less surface noise and less sibilance.I still prefer my Grado. It has a more extended top end with air and ambiance, but really the ADC is just about 90 percent as good without the sibilance that drives me nuts on the Grado.
It is a superb cartridge and as Mosin has told me...it hasn't even cut its teeth yet. When I played it for you it had less than 10-15 hours on the thing.
It sounds better with every hour of play which is also something Mosin told me to watch for.
It is worth easily twice what you paid and puts the DL103R to absolute shame.
LOL.
What are you talking about?
It eats Grado's for lunch!Its top to bottom neutrality, low distortion, dynamic expression, and superb tracking ability are in another league entirely.
of course, it needs to be mounted correctly on the proper tonearm, on a turntable that spins at the correct speed, and connected to a low distortion and quiet phono stage with accurate channel balance, to actually realize these benefits.
Just a few "minor" details, eh?cheers,
Close to the Edge, down by the river....
-Ray
The Grado beats it on the following levels: More focus meaning a clearer and cleaner background that the music is delivered; More dynamic from quiet to loud passages; Plus I can hear micro detail with the Grado like the shape of a singer's mouth, and the air vibrating the vocal cords.The TRX-2 hints at these, the Grado fleshes it all out and lets you down only in one area. Its high frequency extension is much higher, and on my ribbon tweeters this also contributes to just a little more sibilance.
I love my TRX-2 and I play it as often as I like. I just wish I had your level of equipment to see how good it actually is. My system is only awesome.
My TRX-2 has maybe 25-40 hours on it, so I expect it to continue to open up and sound even better in the upcoming weeks.
Reality is a bitch or so I hear. The Grado Reference Master is the real deal on the Magnepan Unitrac or other very low mass tonearm. Extremely close to my Rosewood Signature but with better bass, and a better high end. The Rosewood is significantly sweeter in the midrange but lacks on the top and bottom.
I would shoot you a comparison CDR of the TRX-2 and GRM but it would only be fair after the ADC has an opportunity to break in some more.
I will ship you my Grado if you want to try it first hand and it should sound great on any arm that complements the ADC.
I want to know how much different the sound is on the TRX-3 vs TRX-2.
and I mean no disrespect, but the CD you sent me demonstrated the Grado as having a severe channel balance problem and in fact could have also been out of phase. There was also a significant amount of speed control variation coming through the rather high degree of surface noise on some of the cuts as well. In fact, the "wow" was too severe to even listen to the RLJ cut and the Eagles cut with any amount of seriousness.To be honest, I am not sure how anyone could glean the sonics of a phono cartridge based upon the overall quality of the playback demonstrated on that CD, let alone a comparison of two.
That said, I am not quite sure how to validate your comments with respect to the Grado vs. the ADC.
Don't take this as a slam but as an objective observation wholly based upon the CD you sent me.
Close to the Edge, down by the river....
-Ray
It uses the shaded pole RCA motor and the voltage fluxuations in a 480 unit apartment complex just drags it around. This is my only table currently set up to play the Unitrac arm. It stands out in stark contrast to the excellent speed accuracy of the Technics DD which is equal to Elison's Millenium Sota specifications.I have been spending my money on tables, plinths and cartridges as of late. I should probably break down and buy some parts to build a transformer based line conditioner for the turntables. I would enjoy that emensely.
Even with the attrocious noise floor from the vibration in my apartment complex and the slight idler drive noise you can still clearly hear all the differences I am pointing out. The TRX-2 at this phase of break in is almost exactly in the middle between the two cartridges in terms of detail retrieval, dynamic range, and background clarity.
I am hoping the N-33H will allow me to accomplish both a quieter noise floor and more stable speed accuracy. Getting my Thorens project table up and running was an eye openner as to how quiet a noisefloor I was missing. The Thorens was equal to the Sota Saphire table I heard at Tom Pogues home and this surprised me that my mods were that effective. The Saphire is no slouch when it comes to quiet backgrounds.
I just received my N-33H and I plan to modify it this week for the Unitrac arm. I spun it last night for a side and was impressed even with the ADC QN 38 MI cartridge I bought. I just wanted to see how the QN series sounds. It is more than decent for the 50 bucks I paid.
I should have Mark Kelly outline the schematics for a good transformer based voltage isolator so I can buy some parts to construct one. I had a Triplite model in the past and it was killer for preamps and tables. I could not find it or my Win cartridge and box on my recent trip to Portland. I am completely bummed out about having lost these items due to a divorce.... I told everyone I wanted these items to be returned to me, but obviously they felt otherwise.
Also, I failed to mention that aside from the channel imbalance on the Grado, the channels are also switched.It's always good to review your work before pubishing!
Close to the Edge, down by the river....
-Ray
disengaged the idler, and just spun it by hand ... sounds like you couldn't have done much worst!
No Grado can come within 50% of that cartridge. If it does, Tubes has something wrong. Period. Before I get attacked by Grado people, be aware that I have at least ten different Grado models.
There probably isn't anyone else that can boast having the entire Siggy line! Sheesh, what a reference library!However, I did sell Grado way back in the salad days and I also had a woodie in my system several years ago. So I'm definitely familiar with the Grado "house sound". That very thing is what makes them lesser cartridges than the TRX's. They impart a character to the music instead of remaining neutral.
Close to the Edge, down by the river....
-Ray
Grado house sound.... hummmThe Grado adds nothing to the albums, and its errors are in omission vs commission. The sibilance comes from their stylus mounting process which is also why the sound is so clear as a bell. The cantelever and stylus weight is extremely light on the Grado and probably impacts why it sounds so clear.
The ultra pure copper wire is probably where it picks up the better air and extension on top. They had good wire back in the day the TRX-2 was built, but not as highly purified as they have today.
Both are great and I wish people would not imply that a high end Grado would sound only as good as a low end woodie. This is clearly stated in every review I have read on the Reference, Master and Statement series cartridges from 800 dollars up to 2500 dollars.
This Ref Master is simply superb. I think that CDR I shot you of the DL103R and GRM will point the clarity and its micro detail. Just the bass quality and the vocals should point out what I am hinting at.
There is an unmistakable Grado house sound. It is present all the way from the entry-level Black to the finest Signature model that Joseph Grado ever built. It is also present in both of the woodies that I have owned. Don't get me wrong because I like Grados. In fact, I like them a lot. However, they do have a certain characteristic that is distinctly Grado. What they do, they do with pizazz, but they do miss fine details that are exhibited by precision cartridges. That makes them great Rock 'n Roll cartridges, as Ray once put it, but references they most certainly are not.
You paid more than others, but remember, it is the last one. I truly believe that you will not see an NOS one again. I have been watching eBay for years, and I have never seen the cartridge in any shape, form, nor fashion offered before this seller found this small stash. It is one of the finest moving iron/moving magnet types ever made. A cartridge that compares favorably to $2000 moving coils is a steal at the price you paid.
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