Slimwhit33
Well-Known Member
I think it’s stunning and I love the tonearm..
Sutherland Club House
- Thread starter AnthonyI
- Start date
Good vibrations, man, good vibrations.
Angsty
Well-Known Member
Yes, I do track hours to determine when it might be time to replace before the stylus can be worn enough to damage records.
If you are listening intently you can tell when things are off with your cartridge well before any signs of record damage might become audible. If you hear distortion from your records you have waited far too long. Again, this applies if you are really listening to the music and are intimate with your system.
TrainFan73
Frothy
Same as the rest of us.
This is difficult to describe so bear with me, but things sound "quieter" with the Insight, to the point I'm I'm pushing 5-10db more than what I was previously listening at. Gain of my previous phono was 40 db, which I'm running at here, so not entirely sure if there's an explainable reason for that. Anyone got any (pause) insight into what's going on?
For the record this isn't a complaint, just a curiosity.
For the record this isn't a complaint, just a curiosity.
kvetcha
Well-Known Member
Doesn't make too much sense to me. This stuff is mathematics. Have you tried a quick A/B to confirm the exact difference? And you're sure the other phono is 40db on the dot?
Not A/B-ing because I don't care enough but using the same SPL meters (my phone and my watch) I'm playing 65-75db where before I was 60-70db. Bass feels slightly "thinner" on some records as well.
My prior phono only had two settings for MM: 40 and 50db, and 50 could clip/distort and so it was always at 40db.
Angsty
Well-Known Member
You can always move the Insight gain up to 45 dB if you feel like you’re having to turn the volume knob too much. Possible that there could be a 3-6 dB variance in the actual gain between the two phonos.
TrainFan73
Frothy
I’m confused. You turned it up and it’s louder?
Angsty
Well-Known Member
Also, a flatter frequency response may make a phono sound quieter. It seems like the prior phono may have had a bit of bass boost in the frequency curve compared to the Insight.
kvetcha
Well-Known Member
I believe he’s saying he had to turn it up louder to reach a volume that felt equivalent, which would imply the Sutherland was under-amplifying or his previous phono was over-amplifying (or, as @Angsty mentioned, there is a difference in the equalization that gives the other phono an impression of more loudness).
displayname
Well-Known Member
This is the best advice. Sometimes you need to stop overthinking the math and just listen. It’s easy enough to try it.
This.
The "knob" that is normally at 9-ish is now at 11-ish.
I also have had an ongoing, year-long saga trying to figure out what in my system is causing channel dropouts (I have tried everything here) and suspect this is just the latest in that saga.
TrainFan73
Frothy
I hear what you are saying, but…
You’ve turned the knob up and you are measuring louder.
I have a limited amount of energy right now so I'll try to articulate my position once more:
I have to raise the volume to achieve comparable levels of "dynamics" and "bass" and the like as previously. If I was listening at 60db before, it was enjoyable. If I'm listening at 60db now, it is appreciably quieter. As I stated from the start, it's a very tricky thing to describe.
Newman stop being difficult. Higher volume generally means more noise as the amp is pushing harder. You know this NEWMAN
TrainFan73
Frothy
Gotcha.
folsom_lives
Well-Known Member
This was my experience of going from the Vincent Pho 8 to the Insight. Everything was clearer but I did feel like I had to crank the volume more to get some of the low-end back.
That said. It's so clear at louder volumes that sometimes I don't know how loud it truly is until someone tries to talk to me while I'm listening and suddenly I can't really hear them unless they shout.