Highly recommended outlet which brought a HUGE difference in my system when compared to the standard switched wall outlet. When combined with Acrolink cords it is heaven.
Sorry for the late response. Currently I have a mixture of Acrolink/Wireworld /Furutech mains power cable and Wireworld interconnect. The key to good sound is mix and match and I'm surely getting there.
The Acrolink mains power cables have a warm and full sound signature and sound great. I feel that mains power cable is not Wireworld's strength. In the case of the Silver Elektra 7, it is good but not great. As for Wireworld's interconnects (Silver Eclipse 8 XLR), this one is good.
Thanks! I need to find time to update the system as the Harbeth speakers have been replaced by Grahams, and the addition of several Acrolink and Wireworld cables about 2 years ago.
Hi Ryder - They arrived last Friday. They sound fantastic right out of the box on the modded rega P5. I am so glad I went back to the maestro wood. Digging into my vinyl collection ...so many tonal colors to explore!
Thanks for the reply. I went and ordered a replacement for my Clearaudio maestro. The ortofon black is good but I am sorely missing the sound of the Maestro. It will be the new v2 with newer ebony wood body. Looking forward to it!
Hi Rohitdev, good that you have an almost same system in the SHL5/Naim. Great music.
As for the cartridge for the P5, unfortunately I have not decided on a better cart for it. Still on the Ortofon, decent but not great. I'm still thinking if I should go back to the AT33PTG or get something else instead. The AT33PTG is a really good cart with excellent transparency and high-end extension. Highly recommended. As for the Clearaudio Maestro Wood, my friend decided not to sell it so I'll just have to keep an eye for something else.
Similarly I broke the stylus of the Audio Technica AT33PTG on one fateful day that is played for less than 200 hours or so. The stupidest thing I've ever done. That was when I understood how fragile these things can be.
The performance of your P5 is at a higher level than mine since my P5 is all stock. I believe the Ortofon cart can be improved with higher levels of detail, transparency and dynamics(I know since I'm currently on an Ortofon and it doesn't come up close to the AT33PTG). The P5 is quite a capable deck that can sound quite sublime with high quality cartridges.
Hi Ryder - You have a great looking setup! Did you ever try matching the Rega P5 w/ the clearaudio maestro? I rememeber reading a thread in which you were asking opinions re: the maestro and AT33 on your P5.
I have an SHL5 pair with Naim XS 2 and love the sound. My TT is also a Rega P5 but has the delrin platter, subplatter and counter weight by groovetracer. I am currently using the ortofon black.
My previous analog rig before the Rega P5 was a humble Music Hall MMF 5 and an even humbler cambridge audio CA640P. But the cart on it was the maestro wood! Boy I loved the sound it made! Lush but nor overly so. Just right! It was short lived because I broke the stylus one fateful night :<. Thinking of going for it again but was wondering if you tried it on your Rega P5???
Believe it or not the Harbeths have been moved more than 100 times in the room. The speakers are now placed wider apart and not close together. The presentation is definitely different between the two placement. With close placement the imaging is more pin-point and accurate, vocals more dense and palpable. Basically everything is more focused and defined. With wide placement the imaging is wider and sound more 3-dimensional and life-like. The room definitely plays a part as the diffusers on the side wall helped create that 3-D illusion when the speakers are placed close to it, as in wide placement.
Personally I prefer wide placement as I listen to a lot of dynamic music and favor a big 3-dimensional life-like sort of presentation.
Thanks Gadmanrdh and Daveyf. The Harbeth does sound great with the Naim to my ears and listening preference. I am sure your Guarneri Homage would sound equally awesome or even better.
No no - not complicated at all: I just made it sound that way. Basically you stick a barley inflated inner tube from a child's trike under the 5's. If you have an open frame obviously you need something to sit the tube on eg a bread board or in my case a plastic chopping board. BTW I tried Herbies Big Feet and they aren't as good as the inner tubes with my open frames.
BTW I admire AS's design skills but feel is completely mistaken about the importance of amplifiers/cables/stands etc. It's hard to make Harbeths sound bad but equally hard to make them sound outstanding. At least IMHE.
Hi Andrew, Thanks for the tip. This tweak sounds interesting but appears to be little complicated. I am glad you heard an appreciable difference. You are corect that the bass performance of the Harbeth is somewhat compromised with the open frame stands. Nonetheless I can still live with it, as for now.
Hi Ryder I recently was put onto decoupling my 5's as a cheap and worthwhile tweak. I, like you, have open frame stands and didn't like the bass I was getting. A fellow 5 owner in Australia suggested decoupling the speaker from its stand. He hit upon the idea after similar issues. Solution? a $5 wheelbarrow inner tube only just inflated directly underneath the speakers. Because I have open frame stands I use a chopping board underneath the inner tube. The 5's initially wobble a little then find their equilibrium. You need to experiment with the air volume - too much and the sound stage collapses and the 5's are unstable, too little and you don't get the benefit. I report a very positive improvement. Kind Regards Andrew
