I wanted to post some feedback on my home trial of the Accession M and Elevator. First off, a big thanks to Bruce(BAK) for his extremely accommodating assistance in getting me the equipment. What a great guy! And what a great program. Thanks Graham!

The equipment arrived yesterday and I set it up and listened for the first time this afternoon. I'm already totally wowed. I wanted to pass on something that is not all that often talked about, but was instantly so impressive to me—it's the issue of instrument location in orchestral music. As a conductor, I am keenly, acutely, aware of where sounds come from, and in my audio system I want to hear the right sounds from the right places. The accession/elevator delivered in spades! The English Horn must clearly come right of the oboe, bass clarinet left of principle clarinet, and so on, and so on. The clarity of the Accession was so satisfying in this regard. Instrument location across the spectacularly spread sound stage is wonderful, and the timbre of the instruments also so accurate. Bass trombones sound different than a tenor trombone or tuba, etc. Again, the Accession was right on the mark. Far, far better than my previous phono preamp. Worlds better. The instruments sound almost isolated, as they do when you're standing 10-15 feet away on a podium. They aren't just a wash of sound, they are individuals. This is my first impression, and I am expecting it to get better and better over the next couple weeks, but I wanted to share. Anyone else had this same impression?

I've got more thoughts but I'll wait. So far I'm enchanted and mesmerized and will pass on more as the days go by. 

I listen to a lot of orchestral music and have found that the Accession gets me more involved in the music than anything else I've tried. As you've found, image placement and instrument timbre is spot on. Given the right recording you can just hear the bows digging into the lower strings, and fruity trombones and horns can sound delicious!

Thank you Bob. I already asked Kory about trialling an Accession MC. He wants to continue using the MM and MC cartridges he has... liking the versatility of the combination of Elevator and Accession M.

 I wonder if the Enigma PSU1 could work its wonders with the Elevator EXP?

My beta testing on the Enigma PSU1 focussed on using it with the loan Accession MC, comparing this to the standard PSU1. I also tried the Enigma PSU powering my Elevator EXP going into my Accession M, and it improved the sound of the music played through each MC stage IMO.

Excellent description of the Accession M & Elevator Kory.
I don't have anything like your experience with an orchestra but I use this combo & have always thought instrument location & timbre are very strong. 

Recently I played a Mozart piano concerto LP to some visitors who are not particularly interested in 'HiFi' but do like music & they were almost transfixed by the music - 'So clear - just like being there' was one comment. Quite right.

The Accession MC takes the strengths of this combo even further I feel, but it's completely
understandable that you want to maintain MM & MC capability with the Elevator/AccMM.

Happy listening,

Mick.

At any rate, I'm still totally captivated and fascinated by the improved response and sound of the Accession and Elevator.

Thanks to the replies and on to more listening!

Mick.

The LPs are recorded with 4 different organs in 4 locations and the differences can be heard

quite clearly.
Most of the recordings are of very high quality, revealing ambience - the 3D illusion of an instrument
playing in a hall or church but others sound a little more enclosed.

The Elevator/AccMM is able to resolve all this.

Thanks.

I thought I'd post a little more feedback after having the Accession/Elevator in my system for a couple weeks. Bob(BAK) told me to expect a richer mid range and fuller bass as it acclimated and he was totally right. Everything is richer and the bass is magnificent. Tight, yet full and powerful. And the midrange. Wow. I've been listening to chamber music the last couple days. The impeccable Guarneri Quartet. Michael Tree's viola is simply stunning. So rich and powerful. I would heartily recommend listening to string quartets as a way to test equipment. The Accession does such a fantastic job of separating voices, again. And these are voices that have a lot in common. It's one thing to get a trombone to sound different than a clarinet, but to have four string players sitting there and to get individual sounds so clearly, and the timbre of a viola so different than the second violin is really impressive. I don't think I've ever heard a more engaging sound of a recorded string quartet.

When I walked away last night I had one word that came to mind and which I think captures my experience so far—tangible. The sounds are so real, so distinct, so accurate that you feel you could reach out and touch them. Simply tangible.

I'm captivated and completely won over. 

Cheers to Graham for getting it so right!

(BTW BAK=Bruce !)

and voices in a tangible acoustic space.

It a fabulous recording, but hard to find. I searched all over to find a copy, but so worth it with the Accession. It's like peeling about 5 layers off the onion and really hearing what's there.

Cheers for quartet listening with the Accession/Elevator.

The affirmation of these observations came a couple days ago when I had a colleague (a fantastic violinist and rising superstar in the early music world) over and we listened to a couple of LP's. The Ravel quartet, again, where he confirmed that he could hear the two finger pizzicati in the cello and 2nd violin, and then the Mehta/LA Phil Planets, where he burst out saying "Wow, I've never heard a system where you could hear all the different instruments in their different places in the orchestra. The horns up high in the left, the trombone and trumpets on the right, and the winds in their different places." I couldn't agree more. The Accession makes me, and my friends, say "Wow."

Thanks again, Graham. Oh, and I should say, James Taylor sounds so real it's spooky.