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Accession MC Review

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Pike on the fly View Drop Down
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    Posted: 11 May 2020 at 3:05pm
Well it’s been nearly a week now since the postie arrived with a little box, I’ve penned a few notes here & there, so thought it was probably time to share my feelings.


The Accession MC complete with Enigma power supply & a pair of Lactus cables was inserted into the following system.


Origin live Resolution TT

Origin live Encounter tonearm.

Clearaudio Essence MC cartridge.

Arcam A39 integrated amp

Spendor A6R speakers with Terrillium Q Black cables.


I was baking when the kit arrived, so I took some time out to go set everything up, powered up & went back to the kitchen. 

About 90 mins later, with a beer & a slice of newly baked cake, I went & sat myself down for a ‘little’ listening session.


I could hear a faint hiss through the speakers with the system ‘passive’, but far fainter & a lower frequency than what I was accustomed to. This was never audible when listening.


1st album to go on the deck was Easy All Stars, ‘Dub Side of the Moon’. Now the 1st time I ever heard this album was about 20 years ago, whilst in Amsterdam with some friends, we were putting the world to rights in what was then the ‘Pink Floyd’ Coffee Shop. This album had come on in the background, & it wasn’t until it finished, that we realised that we had all gone quiet for the last half hour as we had just been sucked into the music. It’s one of those moments in life that has such special individual memories, one of the moments we take to our grave.

Well when the needle hit the vinyl, I was dragged so quickly back to that moment that the tingle that went up my spine made me shiver. Isn’t that just what music is about, stimulating emotions & oh boy instant success.

It starts with someone inhaling through a bong, & then exhaling. Always been a great start as it moves from speaker to speaker, however that never happened. It didn’t go from speaker to speaker, it went from somewhere in the room, to somewhere else in the room. The instant change in soundstage was breathtaking, I felt I could ‘see’ the air bubbles going through that bong, well there were sat next to me!!

Two other things that struck me hard through that 1st track was firstly, instrument decay, you didn’t just hear the note, you heard it all the way till it effectively died, the echos seemed to go on forever, secondly, absolutely zero high end harshness. It was just wonderful to listen to, so engaging.


Ohhhh this was a good start.

Moved onto Linkin Park next..... but I have no notes, I must have forget..... realised this when the 1st side finished, as was my beer that I couldn’t remember drinking, I’d just been so totally absorbed by what I was listening to, it appears I’d found a good place 😎

What I can say, is that one thing that quite literally ‘appeared’ over the course of many albums, was backing singers. Many tracks I found that backing singers un-merged  themselves from accompanying instruments & clearly found their own place in the soundstage, in some tracks I hadn’t even known they were there, now they had a space all of their own! Wonderful.


Roger Waters next, breath taking dynamics at the worst of times..... & his ability to move music, his closing set at Glastonbury was so memorable for it. No disappointment here then, even when things were at their upmost, the detail to the delicate instruments was incredible, that delicate percussion in the background would still decay with what seemed perfection. The Coach & Horses that ran through the living room travelled twice as far as normal & I think half the village think a bomb exploded last Tuesday!


Moved on to Joe Bonamassa live and acoustic at the Carnegie Hall next. This is probably my fav Bonamassa album, (I have most!) has such an eclectic mixture of instruments, all of which are played with stunning ability, some of the strings I have never even heard of! .... Could have been there, sat in the middle of the stage. Same could be said for Eddie Vedder ‘Into the Wild’, front row seat me, or was he in my living room? Ditto Biffy Clyro unplugged, & I’ve seen them all & really couldn’t tell the difference from being there.


& so I could go on, I’d still be writing this time tmro mind you, as I can’t believe how much music I have got through this past week. I think you may have gathered by now, I rather like the Accession....


One or two things I have to mention, the gentle thunder in the back of ‘Telegraph Road’, I swear was coming from outside... James Bay live album, always felt it was a poor recording, seen him live & the album didn’t do him justice, it does now, wow, what is this little magic box! Talking Heads, always knew there was lots going on, but not that much & it’s all just so clear & has its space, & so dam musical. Billy Joel greatest hits just left me speechless, such a wonderful soundstage.


What else got thrown at it, Mumford & Sons, Waterboys, Clapton, Dylan, Tom petty, Bowie, Doors, Beth Hart, Tom Waites, Mule, Clash, Roy Orbison, Elton John, ELO, Floyd, Green Day, Frank Turner, Paul Carrick, Dream Theatre, Pearl Jam, Bob Marley...... etc think you probably get the general music tastes. Everything just rocked.


So that was me, very content.  What about the missus? who as she puts it, isn’t so anal about their music. Made her actually ‘sit‘ for three albums, Crowded House ‘woodface’, Maroon 5 ‘V’ & Peter Gabriel ‘So’, music she loves.

At the conclusion, she looked at me & said ‘you know I might just be starting to get it, when I closed my eyes, the speakers ceased to exist, the music just came at me from everywhere, some even sounded behind me & it was all just so clear, so much going on, I felt like it had wrapped arms round me & I was in the middle of it’


Now that’s probably more praise than I’ve been able to manage.... & the only downside so far, she may start to interfere with my music!! 


So to summarise.

Pro’s.

No treble harshness whatsoever.

Incredible sound staging.

Note decay.

Appearance of things you didn’t know where there..

Attention to detail even through the most challenging passages.

Will allow your system to show its true abilities (this may be a con in some cases..)

It’s ability to let your HiFi system vanish & let the music flood out of everywhere.


Con’s, 

errr none that I could discover.

Except maybe lack of sleep due to late nights playing ‘just one more’ record.


Oh & lastly, forgot to say. The loan kit arrived Tuesday PM, by half 9 Wednesday morning, my order was in. Says it all...


Happy listening

Matthew

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lfc jon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 May 2020 at 4:14pm
HI Matthew
Glad to hear you were happy with the loan of Accession mc
I bet you can't wait for your order to arrive 
My 1st Graham Slee phono amp was 2nd hand I am now on my 3rd, got the last 2 new plus i have added the PSU1 to the mix
I also have the Solo headphone amp with PSU1 and I'm VARY happy with both
I have turned 2 of my mates onto GS now after hearing what I have and now they happy listeners 

Reflex M, Solo (both with PSU-1) CuSat50, Lautus, Spatia & Spatia links cables. Ortofon Bronze.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Pike on the fly Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 May 2020 at 1:56pm
hi Jon
Indeed I will be a happy person when things are all setup. I still have the luxury of the loan for a day or 2 more, so still wading through many albums.
I’m enjoying lots of things that I used to feel I could take or leave, everything I put on is just so engaging. Didn’t mention much about the low end in the review, it’s just so tight now, no smothering out of anything else.
Bank balance warning though, bought 14 new albums in the last 10 days!!

& as for any Future thoughts.... I’m trying hard not to... but a small niggling voice in my head keeps saying, a majestic & a couple of Proprius mono blocks on loan in the future when everything has settled down, must be worth a listen 😁

Matthew
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lfc jon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 May 2020 at 4:09pm
Hi Matthew
On the album front 
I thought not being able to go to the Pub ( because of Lockdown) I would save a lot of £££s but I to have been spending on new vinyl got 4 albums in the last 4 weeks and 4 more on the way and I'm looking at buying more, 2nd hand this time one of which is Joe Jackson  live 1980/86. a live recording of his world tour. Came out in 1988 (Don't know if it came out on vinyl yet) so I'm going to look it up on the internet.
Still we are keeping the Record shops going in these hard times. 
Reflex M, Solo (both with PSU-1) CuSat50, Lautus, Spatia & Spatia links cables. Ortofon Bronze.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lfc jon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 May 2020 at 4:17pm
I have just found out it did
now going see if I can get a copy
Reflex M, Solo (both with PSU-1) CuSat50, Lautus, Spatia & Spatia links cables. Ortofon Bronze.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Pike on the fly Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 May 2020 at 5:13pm
Jon
Same thoughts here, been scouring the internet for all sorts of vinyl.
Been looking for vinyl version of CD’s that I have always really enjoyed. Probably because my TT just sounds so good now, not sure I’m going to be playing to many CD’s..! 

Last two finds, were ‘Head & the Heart’ & ‘Edward sharpe & the magnetic zeros’, their delivery is awaited.
(Edward Sharpe was in the film ‘big easy express’ with munford & sons, & old crow medicine show, a good watch)
I’m amazed at the price of some 2nd hand. Been cataloguing my collection to kill some time & as an example, my 2017 Eddie Vedder album, ‘Into the wild’ £125 2nd hand & up to nearly £500 for a sealed copy... Seems a bit mental (into the wild, another great film)

Hey maybe we should have a thread for good music films to watch in the lockdown..

Matthew



Edited by Pike on the fly - 15 May 2020 at 5:15pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lfc jon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 May 2020 at 12:36am
Matthew
Not into films like that but I do like Blade Runner and I did buy the sound track years later. i think it was on tape  i got rid of all my tapes when I started collecting CDs (and my vinyl) regret it now ie my vinyl. But you know when you are young you get what's new and you think that's the way forward.
I found a copy of Joe Jackson's live 1980/86 on vinyl the seller said it's like new plus 2 other live albums by JJ so that's 7 albums i have on order. this lockdown is costing me a fortune. your right about the cost 2nd hand a mate of mind got a copy of a album 2nd hand and found out it was cheaper reissue new he was not happy (can't think the album) it was a few years ago 
Jonathan
   
Reflex M, Solo (both with PSU-1) CuSat50, Lautus, Spatia & Spatia links cables. Ortofon Bronze.
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