An hour with a Tucana II

[JoelSim]

A bit early to be writing a full review.

But.

Initial thoughts.

Chose 2 CDs I'm very familiar with ie I've listened to them loads of times, and especially recently.

Here goes.

1) Very pleased

2) Not chalk and cheese with my Maestro Settanta

3) A little more detail, including more rasping in voices, a touch more natural, a bit more sense of space

4) Looks better on my rack.

5) Not the hard-nosed amp I was expecting, it's playing a very laid-back game with the choice of CDs so far. As it should

6) I think I'm going to like this a lot.

7) But as I said, the AA Maestro is a lovely amp too, the Leema justifies its price premium, but when you get to this level it really is a little bit here and there

8) It's a good match with the CDP

9) Different music will be tried over the forthcoming days, I'm not in the mood to listen to anything upbeat at this current moment, enjoying the laid-back stuff too much.

If I could summarise, it sounds like I'm in a slightly bigger, slightly more echoey room, and a bit closer to the real performance

 

[Anonymous]

Excellent.

 

[JoelSim]

igglebert:Excellent.

Yes. I think it will be here for some time. Job done.

(For the moment).

 

[Anonymous]

So, speakers then room next, or room then speakers?

 

[JoelSim]

House move next. I'm loathe to change the speakers as they are understated and gorgeous. And far from being positioned optimally currently. They need to be given some space and that is a factor in choosing a new house (don't tell the missus).

And of course, they sound divine for my tastes in music. Very natural, detail but no bright edges.

 

[JoelSim]

10) A touch longer decay on notes such as piano

 

[Anonymous]

My only house requirement was good placement for the HiFi. I got it

 

[crusaderlord]

I am pleased your initial impressions are working well. It looks the part for sure, i was a bit worried it would be brighter than your previous amps including the Maestro and Arcams but it sounds like its fine.

I think its good of you to note on the level of improvement once you get over the mid range product level but then for the price you paid it was a great find.

 

[Craig M.]

pleased for you Joel, sounds like it was a good move.

didn't you move quite recently?

 

[chebby]

JoelSim:10) A touch longer decay on notes such as piano

I don't understand.

In the example you gave (piano) I thought this would be as a result of the sustain pedal rather than anything further down the recording/replay chain like your amp.

 

[JoelSim]

crusaderlord:I am pleased your initial impressions are working well. It looks the part for sure, i was a bit worried it would be brighter than your previous amps including the Maestro and Arcams but it sounds like its fine. I think its good of you to note on the level of improvement once you get over the mid range product level but then for the price you paid it was a great find.

Law of diminishing returns. I was wondering how much better it could actually get as I loved the sound before. This has probably added 5% to the realism which to me is a good result.

 

[JoelSim]

chebby:
JoelSim:10) A touch longer decay on notes such as piano

I don't understand.

In the example you gave (piano) I thought this would be as a result of the sustain pedal rather than anything further down the recording/replay chain like your amp.

Trust me Chebby.

 

[chebby]

JoelSim:This has probably added 5% to the realism which to me is a good result.

How do you even start to quantify 'realism'?

 

[JoelSim]

chebby:
JoelSim:This has probably added 5% to the realism which to me is a good result.

How do you even start to quantify 'realism'?

If you don't understand it, it's pointless me trying to explain. You're just being argumentative again which is getting boring.

 

[chebby]

I just want to know how your amp can lengthen notes made by a piano when the recorded length is not a variable.

And I want to know how you can so precisely quantify 'realism' to an accuracy of 5 percent.

 

[chebby]

JoelSim:If you don't understand it, it's pointless me trying to explain

And do not patronise me.

Coming from a person who described a previous upgrade with descriptive 'devices' like genies and 'velvet lined mouse ears' that is a bit rich.

 

[JoelSim]

chebby:
JoelSim:If you don't understand it, it's pointless me trying to explain

And do not patronise me.

Coming from a person who described a previous upgrade with descriptive 'devices' like genies and 'velvet lined mouse ears' that is a bit rich.

Possibly look back at JD's comments and you'll realise that I was playing up to it just a tad, Chubby.

 

[chebby]

JoelSim:...Chubby.

Nice.

 

[matthewpiano]

JoelSim:chebby:
JoelSim:10) A touch longer decay on notes such as piano

I don't understand.

In the example you gave (piano) I thought this would be as a result of the sustain pedal rather than anything further down the recording/replay chain like your amp.

Trust me Chebby.

It is possible that the Leema is preserving more low-level detail than the AA and so bringing out more of the final decay of the note. This would be a very subtle thing indeed. What hi-fi can't do (obviously) is add length to a note that wasn't there in the performance or, indeed, that wasn't captured by the recording process.

As for the decay of notes on a piano in the original performance all sorts of things come into play including: the relationship between hammer, damper and string (and believe me this gets VERY involved); the acoustic of the performance space itself; and (obviously) the input of the performer (which would include use of the sustain pedal where appropriate).

 

[JoelSim]

matthewpiano:JoelSim:chebby:
JoelSim:10) A touch longer decay on notes such as piano

I don't understand.

In the example you gave (piano) I thought this would be as a result of the sustain pedal rather than anything further down the recording/replay chain like your amp.

Trust me Chebby.

It is possible that the Leema is preserving more low-level detail than the AA and so bringing out more of the final decay of the note. This would be a very subtle thing indeed. What hi-fi can't do (obviously) is add length to a note that wasn't there in the performance or, indeed, that wasn't captured by the recording process.As for the decay of notes on a piano in the original performance all sorts of things come into play including: the relationship between hammer, damper and string (and believe me this gets VERY involved); the acoustic of the performance space itself; and (obviously) the input of the performer (which would include use of the sustain pedal where appropriate).

Quite right, just put on Roberta Flack to test this. The first time...

 

[chebby]

matthewpiano:

It is possible that the Leema is preserving more low-level detail than the AA and so bringing out more of the final decay of the note. This would be a very subtle thing indeed. What hi-fi can't do (obviously) is add length to a note that wasn't there in the performance or, indeed, that wasn't captured by the recording process.

As for the decay of notes on a piano in the original performance all sorts of things come into play including: the relationship between hammer, damper and string (and believe me this gets VERY involved); the acoustic of the performance space itself; and (obviously) the input of the performer (which would include use of the sustain pedal where appropriate).

Thanks. Good explanation.

Still leaves doubt as to which amp (out of any given two) is the more realistic if one replays the note slightly longer than another, how do we know which is the more correct?

And how can we know which amp has 5 percent more realism?

 

[Anonymous]

Chebby, I think Joel is just trying to give us a flavour of the new amp.

 

[bemaniac]

This seems subjective but it's nice to get the general idea about unveiling otherwise faded sections of tracks. Interesting reading.

 

[JoelSim]

You're very welcome to a glass of wine and a listen if you are in London Chebby.

I've got a small olive tree in the back garden, so I shall offer one of the branches.

 

[JoelSim]

bemaniac:This seems subjective but it's nice to get the general idea about unveiling otherwise faded sections of tracks. Interesting reading.

I think matthew put it very well. Quiet background, longer periods of detail/music = longer decay.