Accession - sometimes too much of a good thing?
Printed From: Graham Slee Hifi System Components
Category: Turntable Audio
Forum Name: Write A Review
Forum Description: Satisfied with your Graham Slee phono preamp? - share your experiences here
URL: https://www.hifisystemcomponents.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4634
Printed Date: 20 Apr 2024 at 4:40pm
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Topic: Accession - sometimes too much of a good thing?
Posted By: Bags
Subject: Accession - sometimes too much of a good thing?
Date Posted: 05 Jan 2019 at 10:05pm
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Having borrowed both the accession and the ref lex via the learner programme, I now find myself in a quandary... To my ears the Accession is, as expected, better than the reflex on most recordings. Live recordings of classical and jazz sound fantastic. The problem is its so good it can be too unforgiving. The example that sticks in my mind most is ABC's Lexicon of Love Album. With the reflex, it is awesome. You know there's a lot of 'production' on that album but you can't hear it. You just get 'perfect pop.' With the Accession you can hear how it's been put together and the amount of overdubbing distracts from the music. You hear too much and the result is less satisfying. Graham, perhaps the Accession mk11 could have a less revealing 'pop' setting that leaves all those production illusions intact! Have others had similar experiences with the Accession? |
Replies:
Posted By: Richardl60
Date Posted: 05 Jan 2019 at 10:36pm
| No similar concerns noted at all, my accession was superior on all material. Could the Accession be showing other weaknesses in say arm or cartridge? Also have you tried the loading switches? |
Posted By: Graham Slee
Date Posted: 06 Jan 2019 at 1:41am
Simple: Go for the Reflex!  You simply have to go with the best match you can, which might not reflect what others are saying, but we all made different system choices, and some combinations coalesce, and some disjoin. But knowing this happens we set up the loaner program so you can find the most suitable part. ------------- That none should be able to buy or sell without a smartphone and the knowledge in how to use apps |
Posted By: Bags
Date Posted: 06 Jan 2019 at 8:14am
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I think I need to clarify here. I'm saying that I find the Accession too revealing on some pop which has been 'highly produced'. It is so good at revealing the 'construction' details that sometimes its too much of a good thing, and those 'details' detract from the overall effect. On live recordings (most classical and jazz) the extra details add to the enjoyment, but on music that is stitched together, the stitching gets revealed too! It had crossed my mind that getting the reflex too would give me the best of both worlds but my bank balance won't stretch to that.  Perhaps using the incorrect impedance settings might have the desired effect of 'photo shopping out' the 'stitching.' |
Posted By: Graham Slee
Date Posted: 06 Jan 2019 at 1:07pm
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The point I was trying to make is that one combination of electronic circuitry (products in other words) will make the sound stitched together and another seamless. It could have been my doing or it could have been the designer of another part of your system's doing. I just know that I spend more time than would ever make commercial sense technically tweaking the sound to make it do the best job I can with the widest possible range of music (a good cross section of my record collection) as well as the best audio analyser I could afford. I can be here at 3 or 4 in the morning coaxing the last gram out of a design because I live on the premises and wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't take it to the furthest limits. I don't have the record you're having problems with but I bet I've got plenty worse that I listened to. Some things go together, some don't. Sorry, it's the best explanation I can give.
------------- That none should be able to buy or sell without a smartphone and the knowledge in how to use apps |
Posted By: Richardl60
Date Posted: 06 Jan 2019 at 5:53pm
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I have looked at my Lexcicon of love many times recently and really must spin it. Heavily produced material can be taxing often on tightly mixed vocals but I have found that performance on multi-layered vocals is a good test or hardware which when properly separated and layered can prove a revelation. Thinking here of say Bee Gees, ABBA and such like can be a good test and found the Accession performed admirably here and isn’t perhaps an area which can always be reflected by classical. Unless I missed it earlier what kit are you partnering your phono stage with?
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Posted By: Bags
Date Posted: 06 Jan 2019 at 6:56pm
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My vinyl front end is Gyrodec/OL modded RB250/Dv10x5. It's a pretty good combination, and with the loaner programme Accession, it certainly dug plenty more out of the grooves than I had heard before. I'm looking forward to a number of happy years with an Accession, but I think I will be hanging onto my existing phono stage for those recordings where the extra detail results in a less satisfying experience.
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Posted By: Bags
Date Posted: 06 Jan 2019 at 7:00pm
| Note to Graham - its not a critism of the Accession that it digs up that level of detail - far from it. It's simply demonstrating that some of the recordings that are intimately known old friends are not quite as good as I had thought. |
Posted By: Richardl60
Date Posted: 06 Jan 2019 at 7:02pm
| Good front end as you say. If you keep both you can have the best of both worlds |
Posted By: Graham Slee
Date Posted: 06 Jan 2019 at 8:12pm
I can well understand that feeling. I have some like that ------------- That none should be able to buy or sell without a smartphone and the knowledge in how to use apps |
Bags wrote:Posted By: ServerBaboon
Date Posted: 06 Jan 2019 at 10:12pm
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Sometimes albums you love are not the golden sonnets you remember from your youth, maybe those are the ones you listen to while talking with friends or doing some work and save the good stuff for the the headphones or 'listening' sessions. I have found a lot of my 80's stuff is not what I remembered. .... although I have just been enjoying my birthday present a Yazoo boxset, but perhaps that should be in another thread. ------------- Steve ------------- Various bits of GSP Kit ..well two so far, unless you count the cables that is. |
Posted By: Richardl60
Date Posted: 24 Jan 2019 at 8:31pm
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I have spun my Lexicon of Love this evening and pretty much as I remember it, tight, crisp and punchy bass with a projected/forward mid/vocal area which can be a little OTT at times. With my recent experiences of the Accession MC I quite suspect this may bring out the best in this as I found it actually more forgiving and less forward (maybe that is the point Graham has made about his former views of MCs) though ‘the look of love’ has never sounded better in my system.
I must route out my Yazoo 12” singles and album too.. I think it is a valid point to say a lot of 80s mixes were quite similar but (to my ears) preferable to the few newly recorded albums I have bought over the last 5 years.
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