Would Like To Hear From Strain Gauge Owners

Raul, why does it always sound like you are justifying/defending your own marketing brochure? And, you use no disclaimers? ;-)

Raul, I know and appreciate that you are offering your honest and knowledgeable opinion.

However, this whole .1 dB is your interpretation of what is necessary. This subject has been discussed here several times. Your opinions on this as well as the valuable opinions of other phonostage designers on this issue can be found in the archives with a quick search. I think most of us who have even the slightest knowledge of Paul's strain guage know about the RIAA thing.

When you get on this RIAA kick I think it would be more ethical of you to add that you are a designer/manufacturer of a commercial preamp that has a built-in phonostage that competes against Paul's SG.

Ooops! Sorry, that's Pete's SG, of course.

Raul, my point is that you have shared your opinions rather strongly about your business competitors product in a public forum that is read by people all around the world without once even mentioning that fact. Peter clearly identified himself, why don't you do him the same courtesy?

I have not disputed, nor do I disagree with, much of what you have to say regarding the RIAA curve and the strain gauge implementation.

I completely agree with you. I am not qualified to debate the merits of strict adherence to the RIAA curve, which you constantly tout as one of the major features of your own product. Nope, I won't do it. But I will offer up this link to a thread for those who really want to know other opinions besides just yours.

What Makes a Good RIAA or Line Stage?

That's it, I'm done. For me to continue in this thread will only offer Raul more excuses to hijack this thread even more.

DISCLAIMER: Rauliruegas is co-designer and co-manufacture of the Essential 3160 Solid State Preamp with built-in phonostage.

Raul's first defense is to try make himself the victim.

Raul's second defense is denial.

That's why I have to repeat and repeat: I'm not a competitor, the SG can't compete with MC/MM cartridges: can you understand it after " repetitive " 15 posts?.

I think anyone reading this thread can see how truly self-serving and arrogant many of Raul's actions on Audiogon are. And he doesn't even have the courage to identify himself properly. He CANNOT get away with that on any other audio forum but here on Audiogon because the moderators of those forums would force him to register and identify himself as a manufacturer or leave.

Raul, stick to the threads where people love the kool aid you are serving.

Great job, Raul! You've turned the discussion to all about you!

According to Raul there is only one right way to do anything in this hobby. We are all either too stupid, not intelligent, have tin ears, not enough common sense, etc, to get how correct Raul. Ok, I think I have that part memorized now.

But forget this "bench racing" type argument here in the forums. How does this stuff sound?

Some of us have heard what Raul's implementation sounds like in side-by-side comparison to some of his competitor's products. This is where Raul's on paper arguments have trouble in the real world. They just don't live up to the hype Raul is constantly spreading. Yes, his work sounds pretty good. There are some good and some not so good sounds coming from Raul's implementation of his ideas. Some sounds coming from Raul's Essential could be cleaned up and made better with some cable swaps.

Umm, that pretty much sums up every phonostage/preamp combination around. So it doesn't appear that Raul's work has started any audio revolution. The Essential is just another product out there for us to choose from.

The concept Raul cannot get, and probably never will, through his pointy little head is that all of the theory and math doesn't mean crap when you hook things up and turn it on. It is just talk points. How does it sound?!? That is all that matters in the end.

As Peter, Teres, and others have pointed out, each additional component that is added to implement that perfect curve is adding coloration to the sound, or it is squashing something else. Either dynamics or detail. Anyone who has played around with crossovers to any extent knows this very well. Sometimes you can get a very pretty curve from the simulations and even in actual implementation but it still doesn't sound right.

Raul can never allow this kind of thinking to go unchallenged because it flies in the face of almost every argument he makes in his marketing campaign.

Raul, I think they are trying to say is "so what, it sounds just as good or maybe better with the deviation".

I do feel qualified to speak on this point. I am both an engineer and audiophool. Being in 100% agreement with a mathematical model does not necessarily translate into better sound. I know you don't believe that, but everyone is entitled to form their own opinions on what sounds good to them. And no matter which way go with speakers, cables, tubes, whatever. There is ALWAYS a trade-off and we will ALWAYS find people who do not ALWAYS agree with what any of us think sounds correct.

So, yes, I agree. Your marketing bullet is still intact. Your credibility has perhaps taken a hit, but I'll bet that happens to you every now and then.

Hi Lewm,

Again, I don't build phonostage or preamps so I don't claim to be an expert on RIAA. There are many others who have posted on this issue on this thread and other threads, like the one I linked before, that are far more qualified to speak on the subject than I am.

As I understand it, the issue is not if RIAA correction should be done because it should. The question is during reproduction how faithful to the curve does this correction need to be to sound good? Some phonostage and preamp designers argue for strict adherence. Many more argue that the extra components need to conform to strict adherence add more bad things than they help. I think anyone who has experienced changes do to cap and resistor swapping can appreciate this concept.

IMO, Raul has always argued for strict adherence to the mathematical models that define the RIAA curve. Ok, that's his opinion and he's entitled to it. But I have never heard any other phonostage/preamp designer insist on this rigorous interpretation. Raul and Jose have built a very fine product. However, there are other products out there that do compete very well against their box. So why doesn't one sound clearly superior to another? I don't know, but this .1 dB adherence does/did not translate into any sonic revelations when I heard it. Unless something else in the implementation is holding it back.

As to the Soundsmith SG, it seems to me that Peter has posted that the SG does do RIAA correction. Perhaps, and this is my interpretation of what I'm reading here, not in the more conventional way because of the natural response of the cartridge used which is also not your conventional cartridge.

In the end it all comes down to how does one wish to select a product. By arguing numbers? Or by listening?

It was a rhetorical question, Bob, but your opinion is certainly valid.