Accession phono stage review

Very tempting review. Can you share any notes/observation on how the Accession compares to the Reflex? I am most definitely set on acquiring the Accession/Elevator combo...but hearing good things about that choice warms the heart 

The source file mixing/mastering/encoding quality and the end choice of transducer, either speaker or headphone, have always been the two most important things for me. As long as those two things are really great, I am happy to do without the rest.  If either of these are crap, I could put any amount of GS products in the signal chain and it would still sound crap, in my personal opinion.

Well Graham, you say you screwed up which I think is a pretty big overstatement. The only subtle difference I have noticed after John made this minor mod is to the bass frequencies. I originally focused on the beautiful shimmering treble (which persists), but the 'correction' has done something rather nice at the bottom end - I would say that bass timing is noticeably more 'snappy' than I recall with either the Era Gold or Reflex M, or during my first couple of weeks with the Accession.

At present I am enjoying listening to well known and forgotten albums as I have not heard them before.... it's all good !

To confound those who skip to the end of a review for the conclusion, I’m starting back to front:

The Accession is a worthy flagship product, and while the Reflex M remains a superb product at it’s price point, Graham has managed to raise the bar yet again in the phono preamp sound quality stakes whilst adding useful features for the dedicated vinyl enthusiast such as different EQ settings, loading options and an additional and variable output. It deserves to sell faster than they can be made.

Now I’ve got that out of the way – what does the thing sound like? Many moons ago, when I moved from the phono stage of an integrated amp to an Era Gold V, the first album I played then was a Quincy Jones big band Mercury disc called ‘The Birth Of A Band’. Then it set my foot tapping and put a big grin on my face. With the Accession history repeated itself. You’re just closer to the music. Rhythmic and timbral definition go up another notch from the Reflex.

Eurythmics’ ‘Sweet Dreams’ album revelled in the Accession’s ability to delve into the mix – not in a forensic way, but in an unforced and natural manner that gets you deeper into the music almost without realising what’s happening. Bass definition and control is outstanding, and I found Green Day’s ‘American Idiot’, and a recent Ultravox issue (‘Monument-The Soundtrack’) both benefitting from this, and the rhythmic drive that the Accession conveys so well.

I play a lot of orchestral music. Turning to a favourite – Moussorgsky’s ‘Pictures At An Exhibition’ (Fritz Reiner’s Chicago version on a Classic Records reissue of the RCA Living Stereo album), the depth, detail and impact of this 1958 recording is very impressive. I think it was forum member AussieMick who coined the phrase (about the Majestic) “not enough o’s in smooth”; well the Accession sounds smooooth to the nth degree while giving you natural tonality with both rhythmic and spatial detail. You could say the Accession is to phono stages what the Majestic is to DACs . . .

More polite Baroque music fares equally well. The English Concert’s ‘period’ woodwind have their character conveyed with perfect integrity and string sound is smooth and detailed.

I’ve mentioned big band jazz; well small group jazz benefits enormously from the clarity and definition – at all frequencies – that the Accession bestows. Sonny Rollins’ sax on ‘Way Out West’ only has bass and drums for accompaniment, and all the instruments’ characters are laid out before you with detail in spades. With a Blue Note mono issue (Kenny Dorham’s ‘Round Midnight At The Café Bohemia’), switching the Accession to mono with the stereo cartridge brought a solidity to the sound easily equal to using a proper mono cartridge.

I could go on mentioning album after album, but the bottom line is that the Accession gets you closer to whatever music you play.

I’ve yet to try a MM cartridge with it (having used a Zyx R100 MC with the Elevator so far), and will report more when I’ve done so.

Meanwhile if your appetite is whetted and you’d like to hear an audio clip or two, just drop me a PM with your email address . . .