Linto vs Prefix hicap
Posted by: RICHYH on 07 January 2002
[This message was edited by RICHYH on MONDAY 07 January 2002 at 16:27.]
quote:
Things I want from the sound are 1. rythem. 2. sound stage 3. deep bass and a warm 3 dimensional sound.
Try and listen to a Tom Evans Microgroove Plus (£700), it is a stunning phono stage, though I would describe it as neutral rather than warm.
I've got the basic Microgroove (£400) and it really is a good bit of kit and excellent value for money. When you dem make sure the Microgroove is warmed up and burnt in, from new / cold they sound thin, forward, and brittle, though this completely goes (after about a month). If cost no object I believe the full Groove is a contender for current state of the art, though have not heard one myself.
Tony.
Are there seperate Microgroove's for different cartridges, or is there an on-board adjustment. I would like eventually to add a seperate phono stage to my LP12, but consider the Naim route too expensive, especially since I could then use any other Hicap I come by to add to my 82. The reason being that if I get my old Troika rebuilt will it work with any Microgroove.
I don't want to go mad, just get a reasonable improvement on internal boards, with the sonic benefits of not having them in the pre-amp.
Cheers
Ade
Ade - Cartridge matching - I understand they're tailored to your cartridge when they're built but this can be changed later (by sending back to Tom Evans).
I've got a Microgroove Plus at home on dem at the moment - it's sounding stunning, really coming on song after 2 days warm up. Before this it was certainly more detailed but didn't put the music together properly. Now it's doing everything so much better and is sounding beautiful and extremely musical at the same time. It's fast, sharp, full range, kicking and so 'positive'. The 102 boards sound 'spongy' and kind of vague in comparison. The external stage sorts out problems with my system which I was sure were either rough edges in either cartridge or speaker departments.
Tony - what interconnects are you using?
Ian
Linto works best in an Ekos/Arkiv/Lingo set-up and Prefix works best in an Aro/Armageddon set-up (choice of cartridges)
Linn system delivers better bass, Naim system better detail (marginal)
Its a good idea to listen to both systems, both in the ULTIMATE combination that you aspire to, and the intial form that you would anticipate buying now!
Now, its my experience that the average dealer is going to need a bit of persuasion to dem all 4 combinations. You might need to dem the Linn at one dealer and the Naim at another anyway, depending on their franchising.
Me? i bought the Ekos/Arkiv/Lingo/Linto because overall I prefered the better delivery of bass. Others will no doubt express contrary views and, as always, you will HAVE to have a dem.
Hope this helps
Cheers
Don
If you think the Microgroove+ is good, you should hear a full-blown Groove. It's a massive upgrade from the Microgroove+, arguably more so than the Microgroove/+ upgrade!
I've got one of the first Grooves. It took three months to burn in completely but it still amazes me whenever I play it. Awesome. I could be tempted to move it on for another one as it's 18 months old now. Tempted?
On the Naim system we used Chord Anthem with a (heresy!) hardwired 2phono-DIN adapter until recently when we've started using that crazily priced new Chord Signature which is absolutely fabulous. The anthem is still very good indeed (and not cheap either come to think of it).
Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.
enjoy
ken
Andy (Prefix man).