cmiller
Joined: 28 Mar 2008
Posts: 4
|
 Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 2:02 pm Post subject: P-307 Review - or how I learned to love cymbals again |
 |
|
P-307 Review
A few nights ago I was listening to a Japanese vinyl reissue of Cream’s Disraeli Gears. I’m not sure it is possible to do a great job with this recording, apparently the source tapes are not that good but still, this is one of the better takes on the album. At least on this recording Baker’s drums sound like drums and not practice pads. Partway through the album I realized I was also listening to Baker’s cymbals and enjoying their sound. Now this may seem like a weird comment but I’ve long been disappointed with the recorded mediums ability to reproduce a reasonable facsimile of cymbals, at least that was the case on my previous NAD solid state system. Although vinyl did a superior job to CD’s, I often found the high-hat and ride cymbals barely tolerable and the crash cymbal usually seemed far too bright and strident, no luster, no shimmer. I trained my ear to ignore the sound of most cymbals but now, low and behold, I was hearing the tone and glow of the cymbal, something I had been missing all these years; more like the real thing - very cool.
I also heard much more of the sonic nature of Clapton’s guitar(s); I even heard a short overlaid guitar track that I’d not previously noticed. It stood out because I was hearing more of the tone and texture of the guitars as well as that of the other instruments and voices. Quality manufactures put enormous effort into voicing their instruments and musicians spend a lifetime perfecting their technique and tone to create that unique sonic signature that is recognizable as theirs and theirs alone. For me this is where a large part of the musical message resides. It is so clear and palpable in a live setting but it seems very difficult to capture and reproduce in the recorded medium. The notes are there, often in stark and vivid detail but the sole and character of the note was often missing.
I listened to a number of other recordings including Keith Jarrett’s ‘The Köln Concert’. I could sense the concert hall along with the texture and resonance of the piano and although I’m not familiar enough with the character of different concert grand’s, I expect with more experience and the help the P-307, I could discerned whether it was a Steinway or Bosendorfer (it was a Steinway, I believe). As Jarrett himself would say, I could hear the musicians’ intention.
Which brings me to my assessment of the P-307. As I mention in an earlier review, I thought the A-348 integrated amp got me closer to the music; however this was in combination with my Rega P3, Benz Ace cartridge and the P-307. To find out just how much of this ability to resolve the music into such a pleasing and emotional experience was due to the P-307, I inserted my previous phono preamp back into the system - a Music Fidelity X-LPS V3. This is a well regarded solid state phono preamp and is in a similar price range to the P-307. The differences were not slight, some of that hard edge was back with the cymbals and the very subtle guitar textures were missing. Voices had lost a little of their depth and overall the recordings were less engaging; they seemed robbed of that thrilling immediacy I’d previously heard. Just to check, I put the P-307 back into the system, and yes, the magic was back.
This is a great tube phono amp with two outputs, a .7V and .25V, along with a gain control to match pretty much any cartridge and it also includes a CD input so your CD collection can benefit from the P-307 magic. Combined with the A-348, it has made high fidelity audio affordable for me. |
|
Search
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
