Whest ps.30r

Hi all especially Paperw8

I thought I would follow up on your last posting as to what it all sounds like now the 'dust' and excitment has settled around the Whest PS.30RDT Special Edition.

I think I listen to more vinyl NOW than ever before. The Whest PS.30RDT SE has really opened up a 'door' for me which I didn't even know was closed. It is a very magical phonostage and a lot better than my original thoughts, when comparing it to the PS.30RDT.

The PS.30RDT is a great phonostage and MUCH better and quieter than most out there. A lot of people on audio forums tend to think all phonostages have to hiss and hum - 'par of the course', not with the Whest units. The PS.30RDT was the first I heard that ticked just about every single box for me. It is extremely quiet, musical, detailed with a lovely large soundstage and is very well focused. It sounds and punches way about it's price range and deserves all the medals it has recieved. A great piece of kit and an audio bargain I think.

The PS.30RDT SE on the other hand is a very different kettle of fish. To start with it sounds like you have just spent £5000 on a cartridge and £15000 on a turntable, YES the PS.30RDT SE is far superior in every single way! The soundstage is not just bigger but more realistic with instruments so stable and focused in their positions it borders on scary. You totally forget you are listening to vinyl as each track that goes past is another great performance. The frequency range or is that 'apparent' bandwidth seems wider if that is at all possible. There seems to be lower lows, richer and silkier mids and higher highs. There is a real sense that your turntable setup is free of any compression and I mean ANY compression. Things happen quickly, jump-out, jump-in, go left to right and the speed....WOW!

The dynamic range is also quite staggering, even at low volume levels and I mean low - 1am listening levels, the PS.30RDT SE retains every minuscule detail, the soundstage does not collapse and the lower frequencies are as intact, precise and as focused as they are at higher volumes. The mid-high frequencies are 'see-through' at all volume levels.

Is there any one standout point of the PS.30RDT SE? Yes, I would say every aspect of this phonostage. It takes vinyl to another level. I am now playing and buying LPs that I would never thought I would even touch, why?? because the PS.30RDT SE makes you want to listen to more and more music.

For instance, listening to Judee Sill's first LP. I know this LP really well but through the PS.30RDT SE it sounds like she is in the room. You can hear her playing the guitar as if she were right next to you and her vocals are projected in a manner that sounds so positively 'right'.
John Coltrane on Blue Train - all the instruments have a space, dynamic, life and soul which you can 'feel'. Joe Harriott on Indo Jazz Suite - 'forget about it' in true Donny Brasko meaning. The list goes on and on.

Don't think that the PS.30RDT SE is a big PS.30RDT because it ain't. The PS.30R and PS.30RDT have more in common with each other. The PS.30RDT SE has more in common with the MC REF and you can easily hear that. I loved the PS.30RDT but this new PS.30RDT Special Edition is more than a cut above - it's about 80 cuts above. It's a wonderful piece of equipment that I feel deserves to be heard in every system because if a piece of equipment makes you want to listen to more music, then it has to be something special.

Dcarol:

Thank you for the review. As you noted, the PS.30RDT is a pretty good phono stage, so your comments are quite interesting. Just out of curiosity, what gain level are you using?

Hi

I use the standard 65dB/ 100ohms on the PS.30RDT SE but have never experimented because it really sounds amazing. One day I might do it but I'm loving every second of this phonostage.

OK...

Paperw8

So I'm about 8 weeks into the Whest PS.30RDT Special Edition.
How do you want it? It is so far ahead of the PS.30RDT it's a bloody joke - excuse my French :)

I had the chance to compare them directly at a fellow audiophiles house who has a PS.30RDT. I took my PS.30RDT Special Edition over and after re-warming my unit up we played it against a fully warmed up, never unplugged RDT.

Fellow has a SME 20/ Graham Phantom/ Orpheus. The RDT and 30RDT Special Edition were both setup for 65dB/ 100ohm.
The Orpheus sounded amazing in this setup.

First off:

Kind of Blue - a classic and much played disc. The RDT plays it with pace and energy and with fantastic vibrancy.
The soundstage is wide and deep and 'sweet' if you can apply that to a soundstage.

The 30RDT Special Edition is, well, quite a few levels up from the RDT. To start with, every instrument as well as the soundstage and air have an extra dimension. The whole bandwidth seems to have weight and this is from top to bottom. Yes it's fast but the pace and timing are staggeringly real. You 'feel' the pace the musicians are playing at and follow the small increases in timing as if they were BIG. The soundstage is rich with 'stuff' (harmonics?). Not just a big playing field but an area where musicians do their stuff in. But the most striking difference is the extra resolution. Yes the PS.30RDT SE resolves SO MUCH MORE and as it was warming up, the distance between the 2 became larger and larger.
John Coltrane was excellent. Hearing him in this system through the Special Edition was like listening to a child's first words. The Special Edition makes everything 'Special'.

Pheobe Snow - First LP. Although I only own 1 of hers I don't own this one but will very soon. The vocals are excellent, real with life and this on the SE. Again the soundstage is big and real, with all the instruments held in a rock solid, 4 dimensional space. The 3 dimensional stuff belongs to the PS.30RDT! :))

We played a lot more LPs of course but it was clear that nothing was going to phase the PS.30RDT Special Edition or able to make the PS.30RDT outperform its big brother.
They are VERY different beasts that share just a few things.

1. The case shape
2. The PS.30RDT tag
3. The company Name

And that is it.

Paperw8, having read some of your posts here I see you are a bit skeptical about peoples claims - and it is good to be, but this one is really a no brainer. Having heard just how much better it is to the PS.30RDT makes me feel I have won the lottery.

how does the PS .30RDT compare to the big MC REF V??
is it worth the extra cash for the MC REF V?