So how is it sounding?
I know Kevin really likes the nude versions of the SPU range (and nothing else from Ortofon).
Well I’m the same, I like SPUs but am less than keen on the modern ortofon range.
So far I like it, but it gives up a lot compared to my ART-1000z
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Intredasting - nearly bought one to try more than once, as the tech intrigues - but hype-tax said “no”.
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Searching for what’s best can boil down to parallax tastes, ‘what flavor do I want right now’. Sometimes I want italian, sometimes a Curry, often Pate quite different things but all a pleasure in their own right(s). Is one Best? My ears say ‘it depends on what I fancy’.
Its early days as I didn’t get much chance to spin a range of LPs through the new cart. What I have so far worked out is that the Royal N definitely sounds more at home in the Nelson Hold headshell, whereas the ART is more at home in the swing head.
So far at least I don’t think the two carts are too far away in terms of sonic character, its not like we’re comparing a modern Ortofon with a Koetsu for example.
They largely present in similar ways with the ART bringing more dynamic immediacy, a live feel which is definitely the overall goal for the system as a whole, without being in your face and fatiguing. I always describe the ART like listening to a good reel tape with that effortless dynamic sound.
I think, but need to spin a few more records, that the Royal N also has less deep bass control/ texture, but again its still early days in terms of adjusting the SPU to hear it at its best.
I should get my Pioneer H-Z1 mc head amp back from being serviced in the next day or two and that has easy loading adjustment so I can play with that (at the moment both carts have been tried through my Fidelity Research SUT and MM, and through the MC input of the Dartzeel, which I can’t confirm but suspect its set at either 60 or 100 ohm).
None of the SPU range could be called ‘nimble’ in any sense - They are full bodied, often flowingly warm and do their business mostly in the mid range. I’ve not tried the silver coil wood bodies here but I’ve heard a few, they offer more top & bottom but still have that signature sound akin to: ‘A roast dinner in front of the fire’.
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Yes that’s what I’m expecting - I suspect I haven’t got the alignment and loading to a place yet where the Royal N will show its best characteristics to their fullest extent.
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Tweaked the set up to be 1mm tail down and things appear to have become quite a bit more coherent, and now there’s a fair more weight to the sound.
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This is what SPU’s sound like.
Are those the tubes with circuit boards inside?
Yep it’s a gan fet in the tube marketed as an easy upgrade should the mk4 come out
First impressions?
Quite different presentation to the Hiraga Le Monstre amps and my Thoress 300B’s first time I’ve had class d on the horns ,initially thought another internet hyped amp but they’re starting to settle in and grow on me .
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Yes I saw you were letting your Thoress amps go. What were they like compared to the Hiraga?
At the moment the Thoress amps are sounding better than the Hiraga monos ,had Dan upgrade the boards with AN Niobium resistors and MKP caps etc so super pimped but they need a few hours on them to settle in something like 300 hrs quoted 
Might be a similar experience. The Tokin stereo SIT I’ve got had the AN Niobium treatment and as a result it’s a phenomenal amplifier. But overall the Sony SITs you made are the winners in the main system - it’s subtle, but the Sony monos are just a slightly smoother listen with the horns. The Tokin with the Niobium’s matches better with my second system with a DHT preamp.
Well the AGD’s are back in their box just a sideways step from my Thoress 300B’s and the Hirage monos reckon they’ll be a good solution to @Jim dilemma
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Had a couple of 303 power amps that both had issues.
Got this 1969 one serviced and minor faults sorted by quad so I can sell other stuff off.
To my ears it sounds excellent.
Car possibly might need replacing,so the big sell off of all my CDs plus 100 or so records will be up this week if I get time
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Bring them to Lopwell if you don’t have time
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