Accession MM & Enigma PSU
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=5171
Printed Date: 26 Mar 2026 at 10:48pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Accession MM & Enigma PSU
Posted By: Big E
Subject: Accession MM & Enigma PSU
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2021 at 7:29pm
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Had been researching reviews for a new phono stage to go with my Thorens TD 1600 w’ Ortofon 2M Black (Transparent Cable interconnects). Running it through a top of the line Onkyo AVR and PSB Stratus Silver speakers (both to be re-visited at some point). At my age (59) and at this stage in this hobby I just do not have the energy to make multiple visits to dealers; obtain test units; drive myself crazy by listening for endless hours, etc. I buy based on pro reviews and customer feedback and then just pull the trigger. Knowing of course, that if I decide it doesn’t get the job done it can be returned. Recently decided to purchase an Accession MM with the Enigma PSU as it seemed to be a great all around piece and potentially maybe the last phono stage I needed to purchase. Hooked it up yesterday and have been spinning a few of my reference discs as initial listening tests, knowing that in a week or two it may even improve? Can this be possible? As based on what I have heard so far I am blown away. Sound is warm, musical. Soundstage is wide and all enveloping. Noise floor is non existent. Instrument definition and separation are incredible. Choral voices are individual, brought together as a balanced unit. You know you have made the right choice when you are listening to music and have zero issues or complaints. If anyone reading this is on the fence about the Accession, don’t be! It is a really great piece of equipment and you will not be disappointed. Loving it! |
Replies:
Posted By: lfc jon
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2021 at 8:27pm
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Hi Believe me it will improve. I was the same as you when I got my 1st GS phono amp. JUST give it time. just keep it powered up it's designed to be on all the time. one other thing If you are thinking of any other Graham Slee products take advantage of the loan system you can then try it at home, all you have to pay for is P&P both ways and I think you 10 days before you have to send it back. I have used it my self. We on this forum are all friendly so any INFO or things need to ask don't be afraid too. HAPPY LISTENING Jonathan ------------- Reflex M, Solo (both with PSU-1) CuSat50, Lautus, Spatia & Spatia links cables. Ortofon Bronze. |
Posted By: less
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2021 at 10:48pm
Welcome! Just wait till you hook it up to a pair of Proprius amps  Graham’s products can be rather addictive, but that’s ok because the listening pleasure just goes on and on. I’m using the Revelation at the moment (through Majestic and Proprius) but have an Accession on it’s way to evaluate, together with an Enigma power supply. Odds are I’ll end up buying both! Wherever your journey ends I hope you will enjoy listening to music for a long time to come. This a friendly forum so visit often. Regards Les ------------- I don't do mediocrity! Les Sutherland |
Posted By: fluddite
Date Posted: 08 Mar 2021 at 1:02am
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Have been meaning to post on this topic for the past few weeks, but will keep it brief to avoid too much incontinent burbling... Got my Accession MM + Engima a month or so back. Massive kudos to John C. for sorting out my initial cabling issues  when getting set up - he's A Total Star!Allowed a week or so of burn-in, then started to indulge... In short: everything everybody says about AMM+E is true, only more so. The cliche about hearing things in (very familiar) records that you haven't heard before is completely borne out. Average LPs start to sound great; good LPs sound fantastic; great LPs... well, you can see where this is going. Feeding the variable output into my Solo ULDE > Sennheiser250 II (the fixed output goes to the R**a Elex-R) offers up another sort of sonic nirvana. And it continues to get better with further burn-in. Wider soundstage in stereo. Further depth and burnish in mono (how did I ever live without a mono switch?). Complete integration of instruments regardless of genre. Hours (days, weeks - presumably lifetimes) of added pleasure. Bottom line: Graham (and by extension John C.) is Some Kind Of a Genius. The fact that he's a top bloke who chooses not to charge the earth for his creations (when he certainly could) is an inestimable bonus for all us music-loving mortals. Enough burbling. Message ends. f.
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Posted By: Fatmangolf
Date Posted: 08 Mar 2021 at 8:30pm
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Well said Ian. ------------- Jon Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC. |
Posted By: Philmack
Date Posted: 08 Mar 2021 at 11:12pm
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Agree with all the above, the Accession M is special, I don't even use my pre-amp anymore the Accession M straight to my monos is better. Phil ------------- Nottingham Analogue Space 294, Wand+, Hana SH, Slee Accession M, Custom PSE 300B mono blocks, Ascension speakers, Slee Lautus ICs, Atlas Speaker cables. |
Posted By: lfc jon
Date Posted: 09 Mar 2021 at 7:41pm
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Hi Phil I see you use Atlas cables for your speakers I do too I also use them for my ICs but I am using the lautus cable from my amp to the GS headphone amp. But when I have the funds I will be going GS on all my ICs cables, I say when I have the funds that may be some time as I have a lot of new music on order and some I'm waiting to be released in the next month or two months. I am enjoying my system at the moment but I do feel that there is a improvement to be had with new cables. BUT I DO LIKE BUYING NEW MUSIC and that's what HiFi is for playing music. do you agree? ------------- Reflex M, Solo (both with PSU-1) CuSat50, Lautus, Spatia & Spatia links cables. Ortofon Bronze. |
Posted By: nemu
Date Posted: 05 Apr 2021 at 1:57am
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Hi @Big E! Congratulations, choosing the Accession MM you made a great choice. I have got my Accession some years ago and enjoy it very much. I listend to and also own a few other much more expensive phono preamps, but always come back to use the Accession. From my perspective of few a phono preamp very much underated by people, probably because of the not so fancy look. But sound is what counts! Have fun listening to your records. Regards Stephan ------------- Accession MM (PSU1), Accession MC (Enigma PSU1) |
Posted By: Deano
Date Posted: 19 Feb 2023 at 11:42pm
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G'day, Just received my Accession MM and Enigma. This was after a very helpful advice email from John Cadman who put me onto Keith O'Neil, Wyndham Audio, Melbourne. Not going to write a review as it's all been said. Powered it up and fully intended waiting a few days for burn in before an audition. Gave into temptation after a couple of hours and what a revelation. Was never unhappy with my Ortofon blue and Rega fono but now found I had a whole new collection to listen to. Even my wife who shows little interest, stopped in passing with a 'wow'. Could've listened for months with the Ortofon but a hankering to try a new cartridge is what started it all off. Wanted to try an mc but ended up with a Fideles and Accession after quite a few email conversations and advice from Keith. So thought I'd better fit it. Very nice and a good upgrade though without the immediate 'wow' factor the Accession gave. Want to give a wrap to John for his initial advice and especially to Keith for his help, advice and knowledge. If you're down under this is a man worth contacting for anything music. There's not many like these blokes still around. Cheers Deano |
Posted By: Bags
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2024 at 12:29pm
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I've had my Accession MM for a few years now. When the enigma first came out I read Graham's view on it - that he couldn't hear a difference with the Accession MM and so I thought ok that's probably not for me. I've been aware of Mr Rugby for a few years and take what he has to say with the proverbial pinch of salt given a number of reviews of products I've used where his review of items I have experience of was let's kindly say at odds with mine. However his Accession MM review got me interested in hearing the Enigma again so I borrowed one under the loan scheme. Short version is I'm now waiting for my piggy bank to get to the necessary level to order one. The longer version... From 'cold' the Enigma makes a huge difference to the Accession, but left plugged in the 'gap' narrows significantly so the psu1 clearly needs time to warm up. However, even when warm the Enigma gets more out of the Accession as if somehow it gives it more headroom. That translates into subtly better imaging, improved timing, and a richer tonality with more detail at the frequency extremes. I listen to a lot of jazz and there's more detail in acoustic bass and cymbal work. The marginal improvements in timing make a positive difference to small acoustic settings be that jazz, string quartets, folk, or choral stuff. If your diet is electronic music where that interplay between musicians is often less critical you probably won't get as much from the upgrade but the additional information may make it worthwhile. As ever the quality of your front end will dictate how much additional value you get from later stages in the information chain. Fwiw I'm using a pimped gyrodec with an audiomods tonearm and an AT MM cartridge. For my listening I used the fixed output of the Accession into the my solo ultra linear and a couple of different pairs of headphones... Unlikely Mr Rugby who used the variable outputs on the Accession - not the most scientific review then Mr R. I'd also consider cartridge/ stylus pairing when making the upgrade. I use a AT MM cartridge body and have the ML and Shibata styli. To my ears the richer tonality of the Shibata for the Enigma is a less good match than the ML stylus which digs out more detail. But has a slightly thinner sound I.e. If you are an Ortofon user go Bronze rather than Black. Hopefully that's helpful to someone considering the same upgrade. |
Posted By: Fatmangolf
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2024 at 7:49pm
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Good for you for revisiting your previous evaluation. Your experience with the Enigma sounds really promising so I will try swapping my PSU1 connections over to power my AccM with the Enigma when I can. It is a very good point about music that has a real recorded acoustic and separation between instruments. ------------- Jon Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC. |
Posted By: Mikeh
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2024 at 8:59pm
I'm a few weeks behind your experience, having used my Accession MM with PSU1 for a few years and recently grown inquisitive about the impact of an Enigma following the Rigby review. I picked up a loan Enigma from John C last week and started a few listening sessions over the intervening days. My immediate impression is that for my system, room, and aged hearing there have been noticeable, subtle changes. I get the impression of even greater clarity in treble (e.g. ringing cymbals) and more 'body' to vocals. However, this all needs further testing as the Enigma fully settles down. As you say, a piggy Bank raid looks likely.
------------- Mike Technics sl1210g with Victor U-2 or Technics EPC-205C mk4 Accession MM, Majestic + Proprius, Solo ULDE Innuos Zen mini mk3 streamer Harbeth P3ESR XD paired with 2x REL t5x |
Bags wrote:Posted By: Mikeh
Date Posted: 02 Aug 2024 at 2:45pm
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Had a word with John C today to confirm I'm sold on the benefits of the Enigma. The poor old piggy bank won't be getting fat! Picking up on James comments, I've been listening to quite a few live recordings recently and I must say the impact of the Enigma is definitely made clear. My listening is in a small room with my little Harbeth P3ESRXDs only a metre or so away, very near field. Whatever the technical reason, the impact makes it an almost immersive experience, very appealing. I don't think this is a wishful audio illusion but a positive benefit. ------------- Mike Technics sl1210g with Victor U-2 or Technics EPC-205C mk4 Accession MM, Majestic + Proprius, Solo ULDE Innuos Zen mini mk3 streamer Harbeth P3ESR XD paired with 2x REL t5x |
Posted By: alankropp
Date Posted: 11 Aug 2024 at 2:04am
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I have been the happy owner of an ERA Gold V for almost 20 years now, running it opposite a number of turntable/cartridge combos: Sota Sapphire/Sumiko Blackbird, WTL Amadeus/Zu Audio DL103, and now the latter cartridge on a vintage Sansui SR-838. With the DL103 I also acquired an Elevator EXP, and it is with this TT/cart/Elevator combo that I have recently tried out the Accession.
First off, a shout-out to Bruce Kohl @bak for being so responsive and arranging the loan of the Accession!
I have always been pleased with the sound of the ERA, as it offered a significant jump in sound quality over the built-in phono preamp for any number of mid level integrated amps I've had over the years. Starting with the Sota, I committed myself to refining my vinyl front end. Maybe a bit of OCD has crept in along the way, as these efforts have now rippled across my whole system. After reading so much about the Accession in various forums over time, I decided to finally see about trying it out in my system.
My A-B testing consisted of one track each from two very different albums: an original mono recording of Elgar’s Cello Concerto, Jacqueline Du Pre soloist/John Barbirolli and London Symphony (EMI 1965), and Dif Juz, the 4th track on the “Vibrating Air” side of “Out of the Trees” (4AD 1986). Having listened to both on many occasions, I figured they would make a good test listen. I also liked the fact I could try out the Accession’s mono mode.
For both, the difference vs the ERA was quite noticeable, particularly in the upper mids and higher frequencies. Right off, I noticed the sound floor dropped, with much less surface noise. Holding back the surface noise on the nearly 60-year old Elgar permitted much more articulation and presence, with the cello and symphony seeming more distinct. Cymbal crashes seemed to hover longer, before slowly decaying. The Dif Juz track is 80s post-new wave, with a rolling percussion/piano line and higher-register male vocal. Like the Elgar, the vocals, piano and sharp percussion all were well-separated, in a way that made it possible to appreciate each in its own right, before settling back to take in the whole. Switching to mono during the Elgar seemed to tighten up the presentation, maybe by eliminating some stereo artifacts, though the effect was subtle.
I am in no doubt that the ERA is still a stellar pre, but the Accession seems to pull more out of the groove, and with the lower noise floor lets the music truly stand out. Thanks to Graham, Bruce, and everyone associated with this work! |