my new Audio Technica at33-ptg/ii

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

well i recieved said new cartridge a few days ago and have had a good few hours listening.First of all the packaging is superb and you really feel you have a premium product in the palm of your hand.Fitting was a bit finnicky but i got there after 30 minutes or so..Great care has to be taken,the stylus is so delicate looking and a breakage seems only one slip of the tonearm away.First up i give FKA twigs lp1 a spin and it sounds amazing,production is good and the at33 has offered up some extra detail,the soundsatage has widened and instruments are placed well within it ,the at is also digging deep and giving some nice tuneful bass.,but not at the expense of overall speed and agility from my wee pmc's.The pause between insruments and the silence is very impressive.Next i put on one of my favourite vinyl albums..The the's Mind Bomb.this album has a lot of rythms and sounds in the back ground which the cartridge brings out really well,this is more enjoyable than the cd players replay of it,i've really got a big smile on my face at this point.next up, i give jeff buckley a whirl with you and i from his my sweetheart the drunk 180gm triple album.this song is very atmospheric with little to no instruments and just jeff singing with lots of silence.I rekon you need a pretty decent set up to get the most from this song on a bit of vinyl.the noise floor is low with nothing heard apart from jeffs delicate voice,i'm not able to hear any noise from turntable,or both amps,I think my new trichord dino also must have a good hand in this,even the naim xs behaved it's self and didn't give me it's sporadic hum for this album.On another note with the cart beinglow output moving coil i thought i'd have to crank the volume knob up for some decent volume ,but not so,the gain is as good if not better than my cd player.lovely i'm in vinyl heaven.

 

[Al ears]

well i recieved said new cartridge a few days ago and have had a good few hours listening.First of all the packaging is superb and you really feel you have a premium product in the palm of your hand.Fitting was a bit finnicky but i got there after 30 minutes or so..Great care has to be taken,the stylus is so delicate looking and a breakage seems only one slip of the tonearm away.First up i give FKA twigs lp1 a spin and it sounds amazing,production is good and the at33 has offered up some extra detail,the soundsatage has widened and instruments are placed well within it ,the at is also digging deep and giving some nice tuneful bass.,but not at the expense of overall speed and agility from my wee pmc's.The pause between insruments and the silence is very impressive.Next i put on one of my favourite vinyl albums..The the's Mind Bomb.this album has a lot of rythms and sounds in the back ground which the cartridge brings out really well,this is more enjoyable than the cd players replay of it,i've really got a big smile on my face at this point.next up, i give jeff buckley a whirl with you and i from his my sweetheart the drunk 180gm triple album.this song is very atmospheric with little to no instruments and just jeff singing with lots of silence.I rekon you need a pretty decent set up to get the most from this song on a bit of vinyl.the noise floor is low with nothing heard apart from jeffs delicate voice,i'm not able to hear any noise from turntable,or both amps,I think my new trichord dino also must have a good hand in this,even the naim xs behaved it's self and didn't give me it's sporadic hum for this album.lovely i'm in vinyl heaven.

Excellent. Nice write up. Hope you have plenty more hours of enjoyment out of it. P.S., told you they were good.

 

[splasher]

I was following the cartridge compliance thread with interest because I'd decided to upgrade my TT to a 2-Xperience SB and was looking for an MC cartridge to go with it. In the end the timing didn't work out and I had to commit before you got a chance to feedback your views on the AT so I went for a Quintet Blue because it's a bit stiffer and a bit heavier and puts the resonance down to 10Hz while getting very good reviews.

I did audition it as well but, to be fair, I didn't compare it to anything else other than my Debut Carbon with 2M Blue but I did use my Phono Stage to check the MC setting worked as expected with no nasties.

Anyway, I've no idea who bought the better sounding cartridge, but you certainly bought the better looking one. Let us know what happens as it breaks in - I'll be looking for a new cartridge in around 750 albums time.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

yeah,the at is a handsome fellow.lol.I like the ortofons also,but i thought the quintet might have been a little stiff for the 9cc,the AT's seemed to be quite compliant carts so thought i'd give it a go,I wouldn't expect to be alot in it regards sound quality,different presentation maybe,I did think the at33 ptg could be a bit bright,due to reviews of other audiotechnica carts but not a hint of it.give us your thoughts of the quintet blue when you feel it's sounding it's best.

 

[splasher]

give us your thoughts of the quintet blue when you feel it's sounding it's best.

Will do - although I've got to be honest, I'm not sure my taste is any recommendation. I heard music played from a £58k system recently and disliked it to the point of wanting to leave the room!

 

[Al ears]

give us your thoughts of the quintet blue when you feel it's sounding it's best.

Will do - although I've got to be honest, I'm not sure my taste is any recommendation. I heard music played from a £58k system recently and disliked it to the point of wanting to leave the room!

That wasn't at Bristol by any chance was it? Sometimes putting an expensive system in a cr#p room leaves it sounding rubbish.

Would also like to hear your opinion of the Blue, I've only heard the Bronze.

 

[stevebrock]

intersting write up Mark ?

Just comtemplating if its possible to get into MC at which is quite a cheap way ??

How have you got the loading set up on your Dino ?

I just wonder how the Dino MK3 & NC PSU comapres to a Rega Aria ??

£800-900 will get me in to MC Territory with an AT & Dino, with the option to upgrade the Dino further with the PSU

Botton Line is will it better my current Cartridge / Elicit phono stage ??

 

[stevebrock]

PS good shout on the Mindbomb album - lots going on

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

Hay Steve.I couldn't say whether the dino with a nc psu would be better than the aria,I'm sure it'd be a close run thing,the dino plus nc psu will be over £900.it should be amazing . I'll get it at some point this year (no rush).it's sounds excellent on it's own though and the mc loading was easy enough and the dino takes it all in it's stride.I keep meaning to test it against my old project phono box se but I've boxed and taped it up ready for sale.

 

[splasher]

That wasn't at Bristol by any chance was it? Sometimes putting an expensive system in a cr#p room leaves it sounding rubbish.

it wasn't, it was in a high-end dealer's demo room. I'm sure most people would have thought it was fantastic but it grated with me so I'm probably not the person to recommend a cartridge given how subjective they are.

 

[Al ears]

Hay Steve.I couldn't say whether the dino with a nc psu would be better than the aria,I'm sure it'd be a close run thing,the dino plus nc psu will be over £900.it should be amazing . I'll get it at some point this year (no rush).it's sounds excellent on it's own though and the mc loading was easy enough and the dino takes it all in it's stride.I keep meaning to test it against my old project phono box se but I've boxed and taped it up ready for sale.

If you're seriously thinking about spending £900 on a phono stage I would forget the Dino and look at a Tom Evans Microgroove plus, or are you just thinking of adding the nc psu? My mistake, you are.

 

[Al ears]

intersting write up Mark ?

Just comtemplating if its possible to get into MC at which is quite a cheap way ??

How have you got the loading set up on your Dino ?

I just wonder how the Dino MK3 & NC PSU comapres to a Rega Aria ??

£800-900 will get me in to MC Territory with an AT & Dino, with the option to upgrade the Dino further with the PSU

Botton Line is will it better my current Cartridge / Elicit phono stage ??

I wouldn't get rid of your Elicit R just to get into MC cartridges.

You would not need the Dino as you already have a phono stage, you'd just need a step-up transformer / amplifier of some description.

The Lounge Audio Copla step-up amp or the Rothwell MC1 spring to mind.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

As you know Al,I've already got the dino,remember the seller didn't have the microgroove at the time.so it'd be just the nc power supply I'd need to get although the power +is also an option at £100 less.But I'm not sure about psu's as money well spent for Sq improvements.Speakers,amps,carts and sources is where it's at in my humble opinion.

 

[Al ears]

As you know Al,I've already got the dino,remember the seller didn't have the microgroove at the time.so it'd be just the nc power supply I'd need to get although the power +is also an option at £100 less.But I'm not sure about psu's as money well spent for Sq improvements.Speakers,amps,carts and sources is where it's at in my humble opinion.

You are quite right, I had the Dino once but couldn't justify the jump to the nc power supply. I simply upgraded my cartridge instead spending less than the nc would have cost me.

Just pointing out to others that rather than the cost of Dino plus the nc there are better options for the money.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

Yep.if I was spending that amount in one go,I'd be looking at the microgroove plus x or the diablo.But it's an option being able to upgrade your current box in stages I suppose.A flatcap xs would be another option for myself,but it's another big box I don't really want clogging up my rack.lol.think I'll just be happy with what I've got for the minute and give myself some peace.

 

[Al ears]

Yep.if I was spending that amount in one go,I'd be looking at the microgroove plus x or the diablo.But it's an option being able to upgrade your current box in stages I suppose.A flatcap xs would be another option for myself,but it's another big box I don't really want clogging up my rack.lol.think I'll just be happy with what I've got for the minute and give myself some peace.

Yes indeed..... buy more vinyl!

Cartridge replacement when necessary is about all I am considering now. Quite content with the old system as she stands. Got as far as a Groove 20th Anniversary edition on the phono stage front and decided enough was enough.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

I think I'll call a halt after the nc psu as I've already got the dino.I don't really want my system getting to anylitacal,I believe the enjoyment of the music can start to get lost in the endless upgrade path.....buy more vinyl?...can't seem to stop myself at the moment,it's become a bit of an addiction.aghhhh!

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

Hi Steve forgot to answer about the dino set up . it's set for low output mc.it has settings for high,medium,low and very low output mc's with only one general setting for mm carts...so it is very much geared more towards mc output.I like having the option to change the cart settings also.I believe there's some that have to be returned to dealers for cart setting changes,which is a bit inconvenient.

 

[Al ears]

Hi Steve forgot to answer about the dino set up . it's set for low output mc.it has settings for high,medium,low and very low output mc's with only one general setting for mm carts...so it is very much geared more towards mc output.I like having the option to change the cart settings also.I believe there's some that have to be returned to dealers for cart setting changes,which is a bit inconvenient.

If I recall correctly it only has two settings for capacitance loading 100pf and 1000, the first being preferred.

EDIT: ignore last, I have just remembered it has five settings. Also 100 ohms is preferable.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

Well that's me added the never connected psu and got it out the way.lol . it's digging deeper into the music with a tad of extra detail and on some music instruments come forward a bit more with some vocals moving more to the rear of the soundstage...that's new..yes it sounds better,but I wouldn't say it's a night and day thing like some would have you believe.But it's still early days and have only listened to a few albums so far as been busy at work but now I know the dino is working at it's best and am in possession of a fine phono stage that can handle a couple of more cartridge or even a turntable upgrade in the future.oh and it has better presence on the kit rack now.should I get the high performance cable?I don't think it'll change anything as I'm sceptical of these types of upgrades but I know it's there and it'll become an itch and all that.I think I've now bettered my cdp and can now justify spending sh£% loads of cash on vinyl.lol.God I could've bought that cd5xs I was lusting after a year ago if the vinyl bug hadn't struck again.

 

[Al ears]

Well that's me added the never connected psu and got it out the way.lol . it's digging deeper into the music with a tad of extra detail and on some music instruments come forward a bit more with some vocals moving more to the rear of the soundstage...that's new..yes it sounds better,but I wouldn't say it's a night and day thing like some would have you believe.But it's still early days and have only listened to a few albums so far as been busy at work but now I know the dino is working at it's best and am in possession of a fine phono stage that can handle a couple of more cartridge or even a turntable upgrade in the future.oh and it has better presence on the kit rack now.should I get the high performance cable?I don't think it'll change anything as I'm sceptical of these types of upgrades but I know it's there and it'll become an itch and all that.I think I've now bettered my cdp and can now justify spending sh£% loads of cash on vinyl.lol.God I could've bought that cd5xs I was lusting after a year ago if the vinyl bug hadn't struck again.

Having got the NC power supply you simply have to get that cable. ;-)

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

Al.....don't do that........that's the price of a good few shiny black discs.Seriously though I wouldn't mind paying 50 quid for it but 140 is taking the pi## a bit . it's a cable with a few more copper strands than the one I got with the psu,But let's not start another cable debate.lol.

 

[Al ears]

Al.....don't do that........that's the price of a good few shiny black discs.Seriously though I wouldn't mind paying 50 quid for it but 140 is taking the pi## a bit . it's a cable with a few more copper strands than the one I got with the psu,But let's not start another cable debate.lol.

Best not eh? Buy more vinyl.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

or towards new cartridge,but not yet,i've just got one,.need to start getting used to the sound of what i've got.....All the turntable related gear is all new, so it's time to take a step back for a few months,what are you looking at yourself re cartridges Al,i'm assuming your tonearm is a medium mass unit.It seems quite difficult to find cartridges(that arn't of the budget variety)for low mass arms like the 9cc i have on the expierince2.Is it possible to change the arm on the turntable for a medium mass one,or is it more bother than it's worth and just look at changing the whole unit.Not yet obviously but for future reference.

 

[Al ears]

or towards new cartridge,but not yet,i've just got one,.need to start getting used to the sound of what i've got.....All the turntable related gear is all new, so it's time to take a step back for a few months,what are you looking at yourself re cartridges Al,i'm assuming your tonearm is a medium mass unit.It seems quite difficult to find cartridges(that arn't of the budget variety)for low mass arms like the 9cc i have on the expierince2.Is it possible to change the arm on the turntable for a medium mass one,or is it more bother than it's worth and just look at changing the whole unit.Not yet obviously but for future reference.

At some point in the future I would be looking at a Benz Micro Glider SL possibly.

I have no experience of changing tonearms on a Project turntable but would think you would be better off economically by selling it as a complete unit.