Schroeder vs. Triplanar VII Sonic Differences

Rick,

You're right, this is a great group of folks and hobby. I think the important thing is that in this leauge of equipment it all sounds pretty good. But then again, we're all a little fanatical and in pusuit of the "best" or "better".

I hope you make it to Colo. That should be real interesting and I'm looking forward to meet the guys and exchange views on things.

Can you tell us a little about the equipment you heard?

Rick,"wow"--thanks for the compliment,but it was truly undeserved!Of course it was a real pleasure meeting you,and you are a true "class act".That was the sentiments of ALL of us,so you will clearly be involved in more than a few of our little listening sessions.BTW--are we obsessed,or what?Does Sid have the most amazing LP collection(of virtually every lp of interest,to anyone)or were we hallucinating the "Great Walls of Vinyl".Don't kid yourself!We saw what looked to be a stolen stash of lp's,tucked under your jacket,as you got into your car!-:)

BTW--Ed is the least quiet of us all,but it was your day,to get the Royal Treatment.My tush still hurts from not being able to sit in the preferred chair,which was reserved(a week in advance)for you!Thanks,for nothing.

BTW-the Air Tangent was the more "meat on the bones sounding",with this new arm being a bit more dynamic,but slightly attenuated on the highs.Sorry!I had to get that in.
What really becomes obvious,in this hobby,is the absolute fact that there are tons of great choices,for great sound!No definitive "one or two,or five" best of anything,as you know.I'm always amazed at how good something "new to me",that another skilled,thinking, hobbyist has employed in their own system impacts what I do,in the future.That happened to me,after visiting a fellow hobbyist,in Florida.Now I'm spending a fair amount of dollars,like you Rick,after hearing something I liked,in this fellows set-up.The cycle never ends.

BTW--It was YOU who demonstrated an incredible sense of listening skills.I don't think I would have noticed the fact that Tony Bennett was in an isolated booth,while the rest of the musicians were sounding like they were coming from someplace else.Sid loved that comment.I was "clueless",as usual!

So,go for your new table/arm.

Just make sure it's a choice I can be jealous of.I don't live far from you.

Best!

Hi Andrew! The system was a highly modified Infinity RS 1-B speaker system (like mine-but much more moded and fine tuned ). I suspect I cannot reveal the TT (is that right Sirspeedy?) but the arm is a VPI 12.6. As for the mods, the Infinity electronic has a complete modification. This is the one area that I am sure has the greatest impact on the speaker. Slight changes on the bass volume effected the entire audio spectrum.
Thanks Sirspeedy for the kinds words. You, Andrew and probably the rest are all correct...our hobby leads us to the delightful quest for he absolute sound.

Rick (RWD)

Just to fill any gaps,smartly left out,by Rick,the pre was the CJ ART II,with CJ Premiere Phonostage.Cartridge was the Titan(newest).An older,and killer good,monoblock Krell was used for the bass towers.There is no problem mentioning the table.Sid OK'd this.It is the newest version of the VPI TNT,with the "very latest,and not commercial production multi layer "metal sandwitch" platter.There is still work to be done in voicing the table/arm(an air suspension under table,btw).All cabling is "really mega cheapo stuff" that is in the system because it works great,in that specific set-up.I have another pal that did not get good results with these cables,but they are incredible in Sid's set-up!!As is the room,with minimal acoustic treatment,but really cool pics of great composers/musicians.

One note,of what should really be of extreme importance(I'm sure you can confirm this,Rick),is that Sid is NOT influenced by any industry,or typical audiophile hype,or preferrences.Could care less about the latest great reviewed product.He is absolutely the most amazing person when it comes to what I can only describe as having a GREAT sense of "sensibilities".And even this is an understatement!!The guy simply knows what music should sound like,in a home environment.Sounds rudimentary,and simple,but it is "the stuff of musical life",in a canned environment.Which is what ALL audio systems are subject to.

Anyone currently lucky enough to hear his amazing "giant killer" system(not to mention his REDICULOUSLY great LP collectin)is going to be knocked off their "zen" for a while.I mean that in the best possible way.Actually I theorize that his room lies somewhere between two "black holes",and the "laws of physics" simply break down there.It is my only rationalization as to how such a wild,old and not so old,set-up can fuction that well!

The guy is a "Legend"!!

Well, I took delivery of a Triplanar VII yesterday, and while I had no plans to set it up myself, I couldn't resist. (The guy I rely on to set up is oot). It wasn't too difficult. It seems straightforward in its operation- and tracks pretty well with a brand new Titan(i). The armboard for the TT (Kuzma Reference) was precut, so even that part was a cinch. The cartridge sounds a tad bright right now, but I attribute that to its newness and its sonic characteristics, and not to the arm settings. (Fiddling with the VTA is pretty nice 'on the fly,' too- something I couldn't really do with my old Well-Tempered setup.). Biggest difference so far, apart from the 'sock' of almost lifelike dynamics is the tonality of the lower registers- the combo brings a liveliness to the lower mids and bass that had altogether escaped my ears before.