Two years ago, I reported about my trip to Paris where I spent 3 days at Ana Mighty Sound listening to all their turntables. This allowed me to select the CSPort TAT1 M2 as my end game analog front end.
I recently returned to Paris for a second pilgrimage to this analogue heaven.
This time, I spent 4 days with the sole goal of having fun, discovering some music (François has a vast collection) and providing constructive feedback along some comparative listening sessions.
François has recently brought in the full line of Soundsmith cartridges and I was curious to discover the brand new top of the line Hyperion MK II MR against other cartridges I am familiar with (I had the chance to listen to 10 different cartridges in my system as part of the acquisition process of my new turntable).
The first days, we fitted the Hyperion MK II MR on a suspended direct drive STST turntable mounted with a Schroeder CB-L with Silver internal wiring (I have a similar tonearm but the shorter version on one of my turntables) and on a TechDas Air Force 5 Premium mounted with a Glanz tonearm. The rest of the system was the darTZeel NHB-18 mk2 preamp and the stereo power amp NHB-108 model Two feeding a pair of Thrax Lyra SE with the additional passive bass modules Thrax Hades. All cables (interconnect and HP) were from the Hemingway Z-Core Beta and Sigma range.
The Hyperion is detailed and very natural. The STST set up was more convincing than the TechDas one as the latter was less detailed and somehow dead.
We swapped the darTZeel stereo power amp for the mono blocks NHB-468 and the soundstage which was already great became even better.
The following days were dedicated to an all-out assault confrontation between the Dohmann Helix One MK II (François is waiting for his MK III so if you are interested by a good deal on his demo MK II, just reach out to him) and the CSPort LFT1 M2 with its linear tracking arm. The Helix One was fitted with both the SAT LM-09 and the Schroeder Referenz SQ tonearms.
We also brought into the mix a Thrax Yatrus direct drive turntable mounted with a Schroeder CB fitted with the Soundsmith Sussurro MK II but it was under par against the two heavy weights.
The phono stage was the six box Phasemation EA-2000. We swapped the darTZeel preamp for the Thrax Libra connected to the NHB-468.
We listened to the Hyperion mounted to the SAT and the CSPort linear tracking arm and compared it against the My Sonic Lab Signature Platinum, the Phasemation PP 5000 and the darTZeel prototype with the diamond cantilever. We started with Hyperion on the SAT/Helix One combo and the darTZeel cart on the LFT1. The Hyperion with the Helix One was impressive but was even better when mounted on the LFT1. I wonder how the Linear Tracking version of the Soundsmith Hyperion mk2 MR could sound even better. The MSL/Schroeder combo was the least convincing (everything being relative) whereas the darTZeel and PP-5000 carts gave me the exact same feeling I had when I listened to them in my system.
With all the cartridges, the LFT1 had a slight edge over the Helix One as it sounded more natural and authoritative.
We finally swapped the NHB-468 for a bi-amp combo comprising a pair of Thrax Spartacus 300 B driving the Lyra SE and a pair of Thrax Heros mk II driving the Hades bass modules. This was definitely my favorite set up but you will need to bear the heat of four giant pure class A power amps.
I am convinced that we could even get better by converting the LFT1 into a TAT1 fitted with both the CSPort linear tracking arm and a SAT LM-12 (my combo). The Hyperion would do some serious magic on the SAT LM-12.
I definitely enjoyed my stay in Paris and I came back with a shopping list of vinyl which have been ordered.
Extract from the classical music playlist:
- Bach, Cello Suites BWV 1007-1012, Recomposed by Peter Gregson
- Bach, Goldberg Variations, Michel Kiener
- Beethoven, Diabelli-Variationen op.120 für Klavier & Orchester, Uri Caine / - Concerto Köln)
- Dvorak, String Quartets Nr.12 & 13 Pavel, Haas Quartet
- Gluck, Orfeo & Euridice, Georg Solti
- Haydn, Piano Trios, Beaux Arts Trio
- Haydn, String Quartets op. 33, Weller Quartet
- Schubert, Lieder The Shepherd on The Rock, Elly Ameling
i can never get enough of my CS Port. and darTZeel too.....although no dart cart here. but was impressed by what i heard at the SoCal show in June.
