Here's a follow-up on the little $355 phono stage now that it's got between 150 and 200-hours:
My first impression still holds, it's very transparent, revealing and sweet. The quietness is incredible, no different than the line-stage with the universal player.
Perhaps a not-so-great recording made it most clear how deep that I can look into the music. On the advice of a friend here on A'gon, I bought Decca's Solti/CSO performance of Beethoven's 9th. The performance is indeed amazing, with Solti milking the great orchestra for all it's worth. Unfortunately, the balance is very unnatural, with the chorus dominating the orchestra and the strings dominating the brass. In the real world this doesn't happen. I much prefer the RCA CSO recordings, mostly with Reiner. They've got a concert-like balance.
With my Pro-ject Tube Box SE phono-stage the Solti performance just seemed homogenized and I couldn't really make out the brass with any clarity. With the Rowland I can "listen through" and hear everything in detail. Yeah, Bud Herseth was present blowing his brains out on first trumpet. Farkus was there on horn and Arnold was there on tuba. Of course the balance was still not right, but I could hear every detail through this very dense recording.
Listening to Ella and Joe Pass on the fantastic reissue of the Pablo's "Take Love Easy". The pressings are incredibly quiet 45 rpm. Ella's late-career voice is rich and details. The details of Joe's playing on acoustic guitar (he alternates between acoustic and electric)are incredible, including his fingers on the strings, the air around the strings and the woodyness of the guitar body.
On Eva Cassady's "Songbird" album, the reverb is more etherial. This is a great album, with very mixed production values. Much of it was originally recorded in Eva's home studio (her bedroom, I understand) and then production was layered on after her untimely death. You hear the piezo pickups of her guitar into her prosumer recording deck, then you hear pro-studio effects added on, with strings here, electric guitar there, etc. I heard this stuff with the Pro-ject, but it's now crystal clear, like I'm listening to the master.
Maybe you're worried that something so revealing may be TOO etched and detailed. Well somehow the Continuum's phono-stage stays sweet. The highs are accurate and detailed, but not overly emphasized.
BTW, so you don't have to look up my system, I'm using a Pro-ject RPM10 TT with the Speed Box II and a Sumiko Blackbird high output MC cartridge. This rig is at the point I consider to be entry level high-end, equivalent to say the VPI Scoutmaster.
Dave
