Bad Habits

Click pics to enlarge. No, can't pull the Wilson Grand Slamm's further in. Yes, better sound if the piano lid is down.

HiFi Basics (XVII): Mentors, Gluttony, Overreach, Connectivity and Cost-Effectiveness
Letter from NYC (23-7): A Day in the Country

Yesterday, some of us got together again at our friend R's mansion on Long Island. For me, this was the first time in 3 years! Understandably, there had been limited activity due to the pandemic. Since I have gotten back, I have met with our group leader Andy quite often. Kevin too since he had come back from Atlanta. Despite their arriving very late, I was happy to see Simon again, especially since he brought a new friend Sam, a vintage aficionado too (Tannoy GRF, Philips Full Range etc; I'm sure you shall hear more of him). I am glad I met up with subwoofer fanatic Richard and his wife. It's so funny, the first welcome-back SMS I received when I landed back in NYC was from Richard, who knew from the blog that I was back! Most amazingly I met Alex again (last time I saw him was probably in the late 80's, at Princeton Record Exchange no less). Years ago, Alex was president of the NY Audio Club and knew everyone. I have always admired him greatly for his tireless effort to try to get the many Chinatown audiophiles (through whom I met him) to listen to good classical music, a tough task indeed. We talked a lot about concert halls, the NYC and HK concert experience (like where is the best seat), anything but audio, as he is totally toned down now in terms of equipment - contented with being a music lover but not an audiophile. This is such a colorful assembly of characters from various trade that, if I were a composer of Elgar's caliber, I'd compose my version of the Enigma Variations, for, despite my knowing them, they remain enigmas to me. It was also a rare occasion because R's wife M could join us. As usual, R made a sumptuous lunch for us which was held on the patio (a first). The special wood smoked BBQ chicken was excellent (we would demand no less of R) and the two salads (cucumber and apple) were just perfect for summer. For my taste, the wines on this occasion were a particular fit for me. I loved most the 2012 South African Cabernet Franc. The fruitier Austrian wine was also interesting. The Costiere de Nimes was a little too subtle for me. And then there is Richard's Long Island wine from his friend's brewery, which I didn't taste. I was told it is young but promising (sounds like our youth, which didn't always pan out). I Thank R for hosting us.

Before and after lunch of course we listened to the audio in both the spacious LR and the smaller horn room. I only did the LR, where I spent most of my time talking to Richard and wife, and M. After 3 years, it seems there are quite a bit more gear here! But sound was regrettably no better from what I remembered, so it got me thinking hard. I think all the new stuff brought too many new variables that the system as a whole got sidetracked, even neglected. As this is a common audiophile issue, I'll take this opportunity to dissect some of the audiophile's habits. I use R as an example but aspects can also be applied to almost everyone present, including myself.

Gluttony

First question: Should we take on everything we have our eyes on? Not if you can't do it justice. This goes for people as much as audio - you need time and sensitivity to truly appreciate strengths and weaknesses, to learn that perceived deficiencies and strengths are sometimes just two sides of the same coin, and to build up stable relationships. This is NOT a question just of desire and drive, nor money - rather, of time and patience. Just like people we neglect or don't do well by, our systems tell us in no uncertain terms that things are not right (if we are truly good listeners). Today we start with examining the Gluttony of which we are all guilty. Incidentally, one reason why this blog covers some visits is because of the excess, photos of which are eye candy for many readers. What they may not realize is the detrimental effect excess has on achieving the best sound, which should be everyone's goal. The cruel reality is, in the quest for better sound (or for different experience) by acquiring more equipment, we frequently make things worse - a regression. This is not the same as loving different kinds of food. One can enjoy Chinese on Monday, Thai on Tuesday, Arabic on Wednesday etc, but one cannot quite do that with one's audio systems - one will almost inevitably end up with fusion, and the worst kind. There is only so much "breakthrough" one can achieve in audio, and there is plenty more ground to lose. Oh yes, there are audio buddies who tell you their system is XX% better every time you talk to them (and who tirelessly urge you to go listen), and there are magazines that tell you constantly about "progress". Don't you believe them! One of the biggest lies in audio is the Wilson Watt/Puppy, an unfortunate, incoherent amalgamation that persisted through 8 generations, each proclaimed to be a breakthrough by the press. A big grain of salt is in order when the reality is, with the exception of certain areas, there has not been much progress in audio, especially in terms of "absolute" sound; and the sonic up's and down's of the systems of most audiophiles is no smoother than the stock market at its most volatile.

Believe me, I know of Gluttony, as I used to be guilty of it, not just in terms of audio equipment (including tubes) but also in terms of LPs and CDs. Not so much now, though I still suffer from the aftermath. I actually regret my past. Too much stuff, too many hassles. many in our circle are gluttons.

The evolving systems of R actually comprise the longest running thread of this blog. As I reflected on its evolution, I was aided by all the articles I had written - one benefit of the blog is to set down things for later (if sometimes just for myself), as memory is so often unreliable (even if I remember equipment better than most people). It took quite an effort to tally up all the scattered articles - including this one there are 10! Amazing!

Chronology of Previous Home Visits to R

2016 here; early on in my acquaintanceship. Wilson Grand Slamm in smaller entertainment room. Equipment evaluated included Jadis JPS2, Lamm LP2. Rockport Sirius II, Versa Dynamics 2.0/Jan Allaerts MC2, Walker Proscenium/Kondo IO-J

2017 here Wilson moved into large LR; here, Tom Tutay, CJ P3

2018 here, Arrival of Altec A5, evaluation of Jadis JPS2/JA80, Marantz 8B McIntosh Verdin P153, Harmon Kardon Citation I; here, SMSL challenge, CJ P2 vs P3, Cary CAD-211, arrival of ARC Ref 2; here, re-positioning of horns, Bell 2122;

2019 here Bell 2122; here, Nottingham Space 294, Decca Super Gold; also here.

Mentors

I. As you can see, I have known R for quite some time, but Andy predated me by quite a long while. I hope my history of R is correct here. The previous mentor of R is A, a veteran of the industry who had retired to Florida a few years ago. Much of the oldest gear that R owns and still uses, and those of modern brands: the Wilson, the hopelessly gargantuan Tube Research stuff, Tom Tutay, and newer Jadis, Lamm, Jan Allaerts, Kondo, etc, likely all stem from that network.

II. The next period of R saw the growing influence of Andy as Mentor. Andy probably doesn't think of it this way, but to us he is. Vintage equipment proliferated. When I first met R he already owned several iconic, but notoriously finicky gear that without encouragement could not have come from his own imagination. The massive Rockport Sirius TT and Versa Dynamics were surely Andy's influence (Andy has them still). That influence only grew stronger during the time span I outlined above.

Consulting often with a mentor or friend with trusted ears is a good and natural thing, but to populate one's shopping list in wholesale fashion with only their recommendation is a big mistake. Since this happens very often and everywhere, in Hong Kong and even within our NYC circle I have consistently observed that most of the people who do this more often than not fail to achieve the next step up. It's not hard to duplicate and make the same equipment choice; what's much harder to duplicate, even truly understand, is what's behind the choice, which concerns listening sensitivity and perhaps a bit of the Midas' touch or even "wisdom", if anything in audio deserves that lofty term.

One interesting aspect of the relationship between R and Andy is that most of the exchanges happen over the phone. R professes himself to be just a music lover (a gross denial) and perhaps regard many audiophile activities as unnecessary, but broadening one's horizon is a must when growing up. I learned a lot by visiting other people's systems in my early years in HK. R would often call up Andy, asks what's he been up to, and Andy would tell him about his newest adventures, and R would follow suit on quite a few. Most recently, this is how R also got the Douk E6 into his system (not from reading my Blog), but it's my opinion that he has really misunderstood and misused the thing. R would likely benefit more from visiting others than having people visit him.

Let's proceed to look at what equipment are linked to Andy (and are also at Andy's home right now):

Before the pandemic: at least, Rockport Sirius and Versa Dynamics TTs, Nottingham Space 294 TT, Decca Super Gold, Bell 2122, Harmon Kardon Citation I, Conrad Johnson Premier 2(3), ARC Reference 2, Altec A5.

Since the pandemic: I was shocked by some of these latest additions. Not one but TWO Thorens TD-124 (one in each room; both with Decca arms), Decca cartridge (in horn room), Goldmund Studio TT, Sun Valley EQ1616D, DS Audio E1 optical cartridge system, many Douk E6s (both rooms), many cheap new cables from China (including "Cardas", note that Andy and Kevin have a variety of these). Yet another Citation I is in the works.

That's a HELL of a lot! As importantly, aside from one item (EAR G88, from A), I didn't see anything that has nothing to do with Andy. Below, in the section that analyses the sound of the day, I will say more on some of these.

The Mentor's "Duty" As with any relationship, feedback is important. In audio terms, that means the mentor better listens to how the stuff he recommends is doing in his charge's system and "grade" him. If it's not working, say "you screwed up!". But you will be surprised how many don't do that, as we are not really teachers and students, and "friendship" often obscures "truth" and gag candidness. I belong to those who shoot straight, even with friends, and though likely in the minority I'm not alone. Yes, perhaps I too have "mentored" a few, but I would always tell them in no uncertain terms whether things were working or not. Chinese saying "养不教，父之过，教不严，师之过" ("To bring up without educating, the father's fault; to fail to instill discipline while educating, the teacher's fault"). The last few days the real world here saw consecutive shootings during youth parties, and the saying came to me while watching the news. Maybe it is a bit true too in audiophilia, though I am positive not everyone shall agree with me.

Connectivity

From my perspective, aside from gluttony, another aspect of R's audio practice makes me tear my hair out even just to watch, and that is Connectivity. In his case, there are several aspects to this. When I first knew him, he had few extra cables and helping him re-configure things was quite exasperating. R is a very strong man, who can lift up or move very heavy items. But somehow he cannot really kneel down and poke around. This makes him really reluctant to change connections in the LR. As you can see in the top pic, all of the source and control equipment are hidden from sight (low down in the dress table behind the sofa. I can totally understand and sympathize with physical limitations, house rules and aesthetics, but then why squeeze 4 TTs, 3 SUTs, 2 Phonoamps (one bigger than 2 amps) and a Preamp, with their many associated cables into hard-to-reach hidden space? Why not just simplify?  Mind you, his many newly acquired cables had enabled him to make more connections, but that too exacts a cost (below).

Mind you, R is not at all the only one who has connectivity issues. Here in NYC, some of Andy's cables are nearly impossible to access and swap out too. But the problem is by far much more prevalent in space-strapped HK where for many the allowable space for audio is miserably small.

To be a Glutton one has to improve Connectivity. To accommodate the many extra cables is not that hard, but to use the cables wisely is the much bigger problem, especially if they are of various makes, from various sources and from different eras. R may now have the cables he needs in numbers, but it is unlikely that he knows the character of each at all.  I looked at his China clone Cardas and I had no idea what to expect - I surely hope he does. For me it's easier, as my cable stash comprise mostly of professional cables of few types and brands, all of which I know very well and have used for years on end. More often than not, my whole system is strapped with Gotham.

Audiophiles should make it easier on themselves. For those with a lot of gear, especially with a mix of vintage gear, there is no place for short cables, stiff cables, fat cables, big connectors etc. An example is the Citation I, which like many vintage gear has tightly cramped RCA terminals. The most suitable cables would be terminated with Switchcraft; my Cheap REANS will also do, but barely. R has one, which he has someone modify by adding a cable terminal strip.  Of course, the best would be to cut down on gear and cable tangles.

Overreach

Personally I'd prefer not to own gear that would need constant servicing. Case in point, TTs with vacuum hold downs, especially vintage ones. Long before I even met Andy I had heard many of them. I knew even then pumps are not for me. Design merits are always overblown, and none of those I heard convinced me that that is the only way to go. Even in Andy's place. If vacuum hold-down is the ne plus ultra of TT design, nobody would know better than Andy, and Andy would not be so into other TTs also (especially the idler wheels in recent years). But Andy's case is different, as he has the know-how to trouble shoot and fix most of his problems himself. And he is a good friend of Simon, who happens to be a Dental Equipment service technician (yes, a lot of pumps there). With R it's different: aside from having a basement to hide the pumps, he completely lacks the know how and on multiple occasions had to call in Andy and Simon (Mark too) for help. It would help my understanding if the vacuum TTs (Versa and Goldmund and Walker make 3) sound superior to the others, but they don't (more later).

Horns is another aspect. I worship Altec but know how hard it is to get them to work really well. There is perhaps no perfection. There is no way I'd constantly try to improve the crossover. There will always be problems and temptations to modify. R's A5 is one of the best ones as it came with crossover done by our friend Paul. He's lucky. Here in NYC I have my treasured YL horns, and no room for more. In HK I know many people with all kinds of horns and components strewn all over the place. Even if sound is not always commensurate with the investment, they make my mouth water. But at least these days I follow my own advice below and have no desire to own them:

Know your own limitations and try not to rely on others too much. There is always a limit on how many favors one can ask of others. There is no free lunch either, one way or another we end up paying.

Cost Effectiveness

One factor that fuels buying vintage gear is perceived Cost Effectiveness. Andy and friends are vintage aficionados, and so am I (mostly). If you look at the Andy/R gear, many will only go up in price. Cash depreciates fast. The right gear holds the value, even appreciates. In hogging things and buying duplicates of things R is nothing compared to a lot of people I know in HK (also some in the NYC circle).

But when it comes to electrical things, particularly vintage gear, such perceived value is often a delusion. Things break down, caps need to be changed, and leaving things idle for a long time is the best way to ruin them (believe me, I know). So, one has to go through the trouble of repairs. A fraction of the extreme collectors can do at least some rudimentary restoration themselves but the rest will have to pay for service or cull favors from friends.

And what about selling them? The problem is, selling things is a big effort. Here, Andy, Kevin and I don't sell things just because it's so much trouble. We are not used to it. In HK, it's much easier (and I bought and sold for years due to space limitation), as everyone is within reach and things are bought and sold after inspection. Not here in the US.

In practical terms, Cost Effectiveness when it comes to vintage gear is often as much delusion as reality. It comes with hidden trappings.

Sound in the LR I only did some listening in the LR. Before lunch we didn't pay much attention due to insufficient warm up. Some brief notes:

• The Heart of the System hasn't changed since my last pre-pandemic visit, but the sound took an obvious turn for the worse: ARC Reference 2 Preamp driving monster tube amps remain the same. What I think is too many new gear took things down the wrong path. IMHO things happened too quickly for R's own good. In fact, even the last time was not the best I have heard in his LR. Before he got really crazy with new acquisitions, things were better with the more limited stuff at hand. I am not a fan of CJ or Jadis, but in his earlier system these were better at delivering the musical message. For me, in his system the ARC Ref 2 took it a notch down. This is ironic, as it sounds good in Andy's upstairs main system (and I've heard it many times in HK to good effect), and in my own system I'd likely choose ARC over CJ and Jadis (currently I don't own anything of the latter two). I hope that means I hold on to some objectivity, as opposed to subjectivity. I'm not about to re-read all my wordy posts and give you the exact timeline, but some past moments in R's system were memorable: Ansermet's Espana; Handel's Messiah (which he played on this occasion but it was not good). These all occurred years ago. In fact, one of our best experience was with his old 1-bit Altis flagship digitals: it was subtractive but musical, with none of the problems of his current analog rigs (Andy can corroborate this). As for the analog rigs, all four failed to inspire.
  

• Thorens TD-124/Decca arm/Kondo IO-J. They make kinda odd bedfellows, as one would usually more likely see the low compliance Kondo on a high mass 12" arm. It goes into the Kondo SUT, which is its mate (no matching issue there) and then into the monster Tube Research phonoamp. Sound on this TT was perhaps the better of the bunch, but with things as they were, it was hard to say with certainty. 
  

• Nottingham Spacedeck 294/DS Audio E1 with own "equalizer". Seemed a little paler than the above rig.
  

• Goldmund Studio/T3F/Benz Micro LPS goes into an old Ortofon SUT; and Rockport Sirius II/Jan Allaerts MC2 into a smaller Kondo SUT. Both into Sun Valley EQ1616D. The Rockport sounded way way off, heavily rolled off at both ends. The Sun Valley is tubed exactly as Andy's, which was what I reviewed (except for the psvane 274B). I think of the Sun Valley as a very vivid device and was quite flabbergasted by what I heard. Since the Jan Allaerts likely has a Denon DL-103 heart, I wondered how good a match the Kondo SUT is. In HK when I owned the Kondo SUT it wasn't impressive at all with the high impedance Denon. As for the Goldmund TT I heard too little to make a comment. Benz cartridges are usually high impedance too and I don't know what exact Ortofon SUT R has but vintage ones are usually for low impedance cartridges. With the Rockport I actually tried out bypassing the SUT and used Sun Valley's own FET headamp section (even if it's loaded low) - to me that sounded significantly better, but R was not interested.
  

• Douk E6 I only use the E6 as Preamp whereas some in our circle use it between source and preamp, but R had the Douk between the Preamp and amp. In brief A/B comparisons, the use of E6 did bring forth a bit more solidity and air but at the tremendous cost of noise, which was just too much. Not sure what's the rationale using the Preamp's Pre-Out instead of Tape Out. Andy reminded us that the Ref 2 has a Defeat switch which would bypass the Gain. Using these would make the Ref 2 just a switch box and volume can be adjusted on the Douk.
  

Thoughts

• More most often means LESS, Less can be More All audiophiles are susceptible to the upgrade bug. It can be upgrade within the same ecosystem (exploited by the manufacturers and inevitably underwhelming), or a bold attempt to move to something different (like from Wilson to Altec that R did, at least in the horn room - the best thing he had done). All that is healthy if taken gradually. But if too many things are happening at the same time, and the time devoted to each acquisition is not enough, regression is often the case. Of course, we all hear things differently. Tell you something about myself. About a year after I just returned to HK in the early 90's, I had a modest system of Spendor 11 ohm LS3/5A, DIY Marantz 7 and Dynaco ST70. It inspired many, including a lady friend of mine who is an accomplished pianist. She has heard some of my subsequent (and much bigger) endeavors and yet she insists, to this day and to my chagrin, that the oldest one is the best. Of course there may have been extraneous circumstances that had influenced the perception (I'm not about to chronicle), but I respect that actually. She knew and knows what she likes. Much cannot be said about audiophiles. A large number of audiophiles take things to the extreme, and the rest is noise. Whether one tackles a smaller or larger system, one should try to get the best out of it, enjoy it, know it inside out. Since I have come back to NYC, in my LR I have listened to my LS3/5A mainly (another report coming) but I tried things to get the system to sound its best. I'm enjoying the music so much that I have yet to fire up the big system! In passing, I should also note that in my long experience in Hong Kong, many people, even if they have the proper space, fail to transition to a larger system. It's relatively easy to do well by the LS3/5A, which is one reason why they remain popular, but the larger the loudspeaker the more the problems with setup - frequency anomalies, room interaction (many simply do not have the freedom to place them properly), etc. But I think one main problem is actually a narrow musical taste, which simply cannot do a bigger system well. One can probably get away with setting up the LS3/5A using only vocals or jazz, but with larger loudspeakers that approach will likely fail to deliver the proper balance. Most audiophiles try to advance at too quick a pace, and many just vacillated in the same place despite much equipment turnover.
  

• Attention to Details One should take time to know everything in the arsenal. E.g., the character of each cable matters, and it takes time to know. TT users are at even greater peril.  By this I mean one should have at least a modicum knowledge of the technical aspects of things. With many cartridges, due to impedance issues, especially high-end ones, just using the nearest SUT and cable would not bring about the best (and some, like the Jan Allaerts, are likely dismissable, at least from what we have heard at R's over the years). While one can possibly arrive at an empirical solution, it's best to have the technical aspect in mind. When it comes to me, a good example would be the Denon DL-103. I use it extensively on medium mass arms (sometimes with added weights) but I know well the objections to this although to me cables can ameliorate some of the said deficiencies. I know very well I'd prefer a DL-103 to, say, a more even tempered Hana any day, and that's good for me to ignore the naysayers. One has to develop one's own views, by which I mean long term ones. Let it not be misunderstood, by these I don't mean technical aspects mean everything - not at all! In audio it's not unoften that empiricism trumps "science" but it pays to study the fundamentals. I'm NOT a big SUT fan for a reason - matching them to cartridges is a cumbersome task. As I mentioned above, on the Rockport/Allaerts when I dropped the Kondo SUT for the built in FET section, I got improved sound (God forbid, many would say). To me, a mismatch is definitely possible. I told R he has to work on his TTs one by one, throw everything at them, swap SUTs and cables and phonoamps and evaluate carefully. Hard work, but necessary.
  

• Analog Woes In my experience, alarmingly, many people take the analog experience too far. Although an analog fan, I'm also a constant digital listener and gauge the proper sound by both digital and analog. They should sound broadly similar and the analog should have the edge in aspects of reproduction. But with many analog users this becomes quite crooked. In chasing too zealously after the tactile factors (like force and touch, as often used) that analog delivers in spades, many throw the baby out with the water, achieving what is more appropriately described as noise and cacophony. Yes, today, what is often heard in "high-end" analog is worse than digital - the tweakability and adjustability have turned into liability for far too many. IMHO, many of the current analog users now would be better off with a good digital setup, at at least have one on the side (for diagnostics of analog woes and even wake-up call). Our "honorary correspondent" icefox in HK has taken his highly secretive super BT device and E6 around and he reports that they have put many expensive "super" Analog Rigs to shame. The Altis digital setup of R is too heavy and big to move into the LR for a casual A/B (before he got all these extra, and extraneous, TTs it used to reside there) but if it were to happen as of this moment I have full confidence I'd prefer it over the 4 TTs he has in there. Then there is the story below.  
  

• Detours/Affairs I never tire of relating one story: In HK, one day we visited our friend W, who is very experienced with analog, and heard several of his nice TTs. To me, while all of them sounded pretty good everyone was a bit off. He said this was to exploit the different virtues of each. Finally I summoned up the courage and had him play CDs through his Studer A730. Guess what? Everything sounded normal and to me better! But there is a clear difference between R and W - from what I heard on the day R has a long road to travel to get his analog rigs to be just even-tempered; whereas our friend W just needs to tone down his tendency to exploit characteristic traits (or eccentricities). This is to say while I totally understand the allure of playing with things of very different designs, and bringing out the specific characters of each, with each and every new toy, especially analog rigs, one has to get a handle on it. It's too easy to be totally wowed by what the new toy brings, but inevitably downsides will show up and one cannot ignore them. It cannot be TT-A is for Jazz, TT-B for Rock, and TT-C for Classicals; rather, maybe this, all TTs will play everything well, but A perhaps a little better in jazz, B a little better in Rock and C a little better in Classicals. Many analog fanatics take "analog" where it should not go. Andy, despite all his rigs, is one of the few who does not. If I may say so, I don't either, but then perhaps my much more humble rigs with many limitations don't allow me to either, and that may be a blessing in disguise! Meanwhile there are many lost souls on the highway, just driving with nowhere to go. My advice is, while we may enjoy Shrews sometimes, Tame them to be Ladies, or Wives, for the long term! Is this politically correct?
  

OK, now. This may be one of the less coherent pieces I have delivered, but I reckon it contains much heartfelt sentiment, and frustration. Lest you think my standards are too high, I should tell you that I'd be very happy to listen to the Technics SL-1200 with a good MM cartridge (even the AT-VM95C) into the NAD 3020 driving the LS3/5A. The Denon DL-103 with the NAD 3020B version would be even better of course for the MC capability. Yes, it frustrates me when I hear potentials not realized, or things veering way off. It really has not been easy writing this article.

As a parting message, I quote Master Engineer Bob Ludwig: "A lot of audiophiles say you have to really live with (a piece of equipment) for a while before you can discern the differences, then it becomes rather obvious. That is true in my opinion. It's just amazing how the brain goes."

From the piano to foreground: Thorens, Goldmund, Rockport.
Far right, Nottingham

Top, Goldmund and Thorens;

Bottom: Sun Valley and ARC

The small room, too many things to cover

Fabulous Lunch

Th Legendary EAR G88