Well, Jonathan brought up the competed Permali plinth Salvation. And very smart it looks indeed, will get photos posted soon.
Due to my injured back (care of a long week gardening) and injured thumb (care of my car door), it took all day to reinstall things. Complexity added to by me putting in my new tonearm cable as well. I have to say, I ****never**** want to do this again!
I had some genuine fears ahead of this change...changing a whole plinth seems like major surgery...would I like some of the change, but not the rest...would it give a whole new character unfamiliar from 9 years of ownership and listening. I mean I like my Salvation, I don't want a Clearaudio lol (no disrespect to Clearaudio owners).
So, a bit of a punt, to say the least.
However, I visited Jonathan last week to drop the TT off and got to hear his Permali'd example, and was mighty impressed (as I was w his whole system, incl a vintage Denon 103, Decca London Ref, Panzerholz'd Lenco idler, Mischo Wooden amps, and nifty Altec/TAD combo horns.
Anyhow a whole day of me screaming at my back, the TT, and this custom tonearm wire (Zavfino Litz/Bocchino RCAs) kindly fabricated for me by Audiophile Bill, and an hour ago, it all came together, just a little fine tuning left to do.
Initial impressions are that this is not a slam dunk change (no Clearaudio!). The family sound of Salvation direct rim drive TT and Terminator air LT arm is maintained.
What is perceivable is a substantial reduction in cloudiness and smear, a certain grey coloration absent.
This is evident as more neutrality, less coloration and greater transparency.
But not at the expense of density, no the sound is at once more see thru, but maintains the heft of the stock slate plinth.
This is allowing classical music to express more color, nuance and subtle cues, aiding a more immersive experience. Askenazy/Solti, Bartok Piano Concertos is very expressive, a far cry from my crushed and grey playback of classical music back in London.
So, my big thanks to Jonathan for facilitating this project, despite my substantial doubts, the move is immediately apparent as positive, aiding further opening up of my appreciation of classical and jazz. And a pat on the back to Bill for his help on the wire.