Accession - Stereo Mode

My audio route remains the same - P******t Extension turntable to Elevator to Accession to my digital recorder which consumes lossless audio and stores in DSD 512 format.

The variable aspect of the setup now is the experience between the various Stereo cartridges. My primary carts are the Palo Santos Presentation and the Kansui. Currently I have the Kansui all settled in to its best possible.

The first impression I get from this setup (when compared to playing mono records) is that the Accession takes an almost neutral stance in the entire setup. And by that I mean the pre-amp allows me to focus on the subtle aspects that is very specific to the cartridge.

There is a certain level of performance, a bag of sound quality goodies that I have come to expect from the Accession/Elevator setup. And these include clarity, detail, reduction of noise, extracting the most from what the cartridge is reading/processing.

With that baseline, it becomes very easy to distinguish between two cartridges. The difference is audible to my untrained ears.

I am listening to many recordings/vinyls that I had heard on the Presentation cartridge. And this week when I hear the same vinyls using the Kansui, there are many distinct differences.

The Kansui sound is more detailed, louder in comparison to the Presentation. And the soundscape is more focused around the center. For Stereo recordings it gives the feel of intimacy and allows one to easily hone into the sound of a specific instrument. The Accession makes it easy to follow an instrument from its start to end in the role it plays in a composition. 

The Kansui is partial to surface noise - the pops and clicks generated by a beaten up vinyl. And thus the end result is very sweet and melodious. 

I have a reasonably well played vinyl of the Lethal Weapon soundtrack - composed by Eric Clapton and Michael Kamen. There are quite a few musical scores that are quieter and involves the subtle sounds of the guitar, the keyboards. The Kansui playback provided a more intimate and detailed experience when compared to the Presentation. However the lush and wide soundscape that I heard on the Presentation is missing. 

Interestingly the soundtrack sounds appropriate or just right in each setup. So I guess I will have to make 2 copies and playback the version based on the listening venue/equipment.

So it has been over 3 months with the Accession and life is oh so perfect knowing this is the best sound I can get for the vinyls I listen to. No more tweaks and upgrades. Perhaps it is time for me to focus on the playback route - amplifiers and speakers...the next set of investment. I heard there is some amp named Proprius