LP12 and Clearaudio Master Reference

[AnotherJohnson]

The next setup should go faster as you're a pro now! Will be interesting to hear the new comparison.

Before the Jubilee MC V2 arrives, I am doing the arm to arm comparison. More on this later.

Both the Universal12 and TT2 are outstanding arms. This is a rare chance to compare them in identical circumstances.

Same platter/motor/controller. Same cartridge (two of same model). Same phono preamp (channel 1 vs channel 2, but both set to same configuration). Same system. Same room. Wish I had three Lyra Etna Lambdas .

[Big Dog RJ]

Careful what you wish for

Sometimes when the wish/s are granted by the genie... it turns out too overwhelming. Then we wish that we didn't wish for it in the first place! Ah! In which case then why make that wish... and life goes on.

The tunes are fine matey!
Woofty woof'n, RJ

[AnotherJohnson]

Careful what you wish for

Sometimes when the wish/s are granted by the genie... it turns out too overwhelming. Then we wish that we didn't wish for it in the first place! Ah! In which case then why make that wish... and life goes on.

The tunes are fine matey!
Woofty woof'n, RJ

If I had three Etna Lambdas, it would create the problem of how to get out of them without losing a lot of “tuition.” So you’re right … wishes granted can lead to new problems.

I spent some time last night listening to the two arms. The Universal 12 benefits from having the record clamp in place. It makes a difference. I have Clearaudio's Twister clamp. It obstructs the TT2, so you have to get one of the “low” clamps if want one for the TT2.

I listened to several sides of assorted Nora Jones albums because they have piano, orchestral instruments, vocals, etc… and there are both studio and live versions for some.

The TT2 was smoother, with tighter bass, better spatial presentation, and it just sounded like an overall upgrade. At $14k vs $7k it ought to. Any of this kit would pass muster standing alone. It is comparison that breeds dissatisfaction.

The Jubilee MC will get set up over the weekend I think.
I am still ambivalent, perhaps melancholy, about what follows this experiment. It’s clearly unnecessary for musical enjoyment. It’s just a mechanical engineer getting to the point where the mechanical experiments have run past their logical course. Sigh…

[AnotherJohnson]

The Jubilee MC arrived today. It was packed in a large box, with the cartridge packaging surrounded by crumpled brown packing paper.

The cartridge box outer box was factory sealed cardboard Inside the actual cartridge and accessories were packed in a very nice, large wooden cabinet. Inside the cartridge was packed in a plexiglass pyramid, safely secured by custom closed cell foam. It included extensive paperwork, including a large set of performance graphs. I’ve bought high end cartridges before, and this one is exceptionally well protected and presented.

The pyramid was also factory sealed.

The cartridge looks beautiful. I am excited about mounting it. I have not owned a Clearaudio from their upper range since I owned and was a dealer for the Veritas literally 40 years ago.

Well, you don’t listen with your eyes … but this is looking like it will be fun, at the least.

[AnotherJohnson]

I have heard the Jubilee MC in demos on the full blown Statement at Paragon running on the TT1 arm.

I did not know what it was, but I asked about it because it sounded like good competition for my Lyra Etna (not the Lambda at the time).

If this one is close to that one, I will be a happy camper.

Of course it will need to have some hours on it to know what it’s really like. Probably two weeks away from that.

[admin]

As you say, "you don't listen with your eyes." However, one of the things I love about high end audio is the the packaging and presentation of items. It's nice to get a premium feel for things even though it does not influence the sound.

Sounds like you are going to have some fun in the next few days.

[AnotherJohnson]

That Statement kit is something else. $275k. Giant pendulum underneath. The TT1 is supported at both ends, like a gantry crane. Maybe you could use a cactus needle on it and it would sound great.

In any event, Robert Suchy (second generation Suchy to run Clearaudio) prefers a linear arm. I remember when I first saw Lou Souther’s TriQuartz … linear tracking, just like a cutting lathe. No skating force. Inner groove distortion an angry memory. Sigh …

Peter (Robert’s Dad) and Lou collaborated. The IP on the TriQuartz passed to Peter. Peter picked up the ball and ran. The TT1 and TT2 make the TriQuartz look like a toy.

Peter was a Czech who was able to move to Germany after the Prague Spring and start a new life in the West. Interesting to me is that Ivor Tiefenbrun’s family were refugees from the Holocaust. Moved to Britain, Israel, and back to Britain if I remember the story right. Gilaed (sp) is Ivor’s second generation. Linn is now 50. Clearaudio is 45. In the TT game, these ages aren’t unheard of … but keeping the businesses in the same families, and developing dominant positions with large facilities, staffs, and sales volumes is quite an accomplishment.

The Linn is sprung. The Clearaudio is solid. The Linn flagship arm is gimballed. The Clearaudio flagship arms are linear. The two are different on many levels, but compete for the same deep pocket customers.

These two, and my Dual 1009 which runs 16, 33, 45 and 78 rpm, are the three legs that support my vinyl nostalgia.

[AnotherJohnson]

They even include the angle measured for this stylus on this cartridge.

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[Joe Appierto]

If this much thought and effort went into the packaging one can only imagine the precious cargo.

Happy trails!

[admin]

Looks amazing... nothing more to say. Congrats.

[AnotherJohnson]

Well, as I said, you don’t listen to packaging and presentation. But it does make you think they’ve got their QC in high gear.

Cartridges are the last bastion of hand made micro level precision in the audio industry. I suppose they were also the first. But the packaging costs them so it costs you too. Lyra puts far less into packaging, and I don’t remember getting specific graphs or photos (I’ve owned four Lyra’s). But they give a lot of discussion about cartridge loading. Clearaudio just says load it at 50 ohms.

[AnotherJohnson]

The Jubilee MC is definitely a league above the Charisma V2.1. But at three times the MSRP, this should come as no surprise.

I’m still breaking it in. But it’s definitely strong competition for the Linn/Lyra. Very sophisticated, polished presentation. Like the Charisma, there is depth and detail, great soundstage, balanced spectrum.

If I had to use one descriptor to separate these cartridges, it would be grain. This great MM just doesn’t seem to be as smooth as these great MCs. I think it takes a connoisseur level of evaluation to like one over the other, but that’s true for most of this high end audio.

[AnotherJohnson]

This combination (Clearaudio Master Reference with magnetic bearing upgrade, TT2 arm, and Jubilee MC V2) is the first set up I’ve auditioned that has a silence as black as the Linn LP12, Radikal, Keel, Karousel, Ekos SE, Lyra Etna Lambda. It is eery just how deep the silence is. The Charisma V2.1 was very good, but the Jubilee MC V2 takes it to the equivalent of the Linn/Lyra.

[admin]

Sounds like an amazing setup. Now of course you a left with a big decision. Keep the LP12, Clearaudio, or both?

[AnotherJohnson]

Sounds like an amazing setup. Now of course you a left with a big decision. Keep the LP12, Clearaudio, or both?

No decision. I’ve always planned on keeping both if the good cartridge performed well on one of the arms. If it were mediocre with a known credible MC cartridge, I’d have minimal incentive to keep it. I am heavily invested emotionally in both. I built the LP12 virtually from scratch. It has my original 1978 serial number, but no parts remain from the original. I’ve restored the Master Reference. I was a Clearaudio dealer when all they made were cartridges and Lou Souther’s linear tracking arms were their delight.

The question is whether or not I want to keep the Universal 12” tonearm. I’m leaning towards keeping it and installing a mono cartridge for the records that I have from the mono era. Or maybe just leave the Charisma on it for a change of pace on music that “is not subtle or sophisticated.”

[AnotherJohnson]

I’ve put the Charisma V2 back on the TT2.

It really is quite nice. I wanted more practice with set up.
It’s actually not difficult. You have to pay attention to two things. You’re trying to drop the stylus into the supplied linear gauge, and at the time you want to get the gauge to be parallel to the line of the track. If you loosen the arm board set screw, you can do this in a coordinated way … it’s intuitive once you’ve figured it out. To get the azimuth set, you put a tiny bubble level on the headshell, loosen the set screw in the carriage, and rotate the arm to get the bubble oriented left to right. Tighten the screw, and cue the arm to the platter to check the bubble for fore/aft centering. Clearaudio provide a tiny circular bubble level. But it tends to fall off while you’re working. So I bought a six pack of tiny circular bubble levels with adhesive backing, and I am using one of those. The Clearaudio supplied level is smaller and lighter. The Amazon sourced six pack I bought is just a bit bigger and just a bit heavier, but it has worked great.

This is a very clever arm. Lou Souther would be proud of how well the Suchy family have advanced his ideas.

I will have more on this story in a week or so.

I do wish I had two Lyra Etna Lambdas or perhaps two Jubilee MCs to make a definitive arm comparison. I don’t really know if the TT2 is a better cartridge platform than the Ekos SE. But I do know that they’re both really good. I think with the Charisma V2.1, all three arms are great, but the TT2 does beat the Universal 12 at double the cost.

I just love the TT2’s very solid cuing, and its complete and utter independence of any anti-skating hanky panky. The Ekos SE is easy to set up for anti-skate … in my experience it is the best gimbal style arm extant.

The Universal 12 has easy antiskate adjustment… but it’s not as clear just where to set it compared to the Ekos SE.

[admin]

So many choices. Do you find that certain TT/phono cartridge combinations are better for certain types of music or is it just generally "all equally good but different?"

[AnotherJohnson]

So many choices. Do you find that certain TT/phono cartridge combinations are better for certain types of music or is it just generally "all equally good but different?"

The style of music does matter … a lesser cartridge can sound good on simple programs.

My experience is that a great cartridge will not disappoint on a wide range of programs. A modest cartridge will have a smaller range where it is satisfying. The more complex and dynamic the program is, the fewer cartridges will play it well.

The arm and phono stage have a big impact too.

There are the listener expectations and experiences too. The best you’ve heard is your reference. In comparisons, the winners are not necessarily the best of the whole population of cartridges… the winners are the best of what was available for testing.

[roberto]

AJ,
Those toys of yours belongs to another galaxy. I must say, they look beautiful. and my feeling that you do have a gorgeous quality sound. I (gasp) am in the process of buying another cartridge. I do like Ana cartridges and they are not too expensive. I think that my Syrinx PU-3 tonearm will be happy to have the Ana Umami Blue. I have a friend who owns it, and his TT drives fantastic this Ana Umami. He has the same speakers as I do and also Conrad Johnson gear.

Getting back to your fabulous cartridge, I just only wish to you a superb happy listening!

[AnotherJohnson]

AJ,
Those toys of yours belongs to another galaxy. I must say, they look beautiful. and my feeling that you do have a gorgeous quality sound.

We have a saying - “The difference between men and boys is the cost of their toys.” In the case of this audiophile stuff, it does seem to be in another galaxy sometimes.

There are many excellent cartridge choices. I do think that honesty in comparing would often lead to the assessment that the performance differences don’t rationally justify the cost differences. Nevertheless, it is nice to have choices.

I had a disaster with the Jubilee MC, but Music Direct (the dealer) and Musical Surroundings (the importer/distributor) stepped up and turned it into an endearing event with a very happy ending.

The Jubilee MC arrived with a stylus protector that was too narrow to fit on the cartridge (without what I considered excessive force). Music Direct and Musical Surroundings actually sent me two new ones and made a special video to show me how much force would be ok.

But … before the replacements arrived, through my own clumsiness and/or carelessness, the cantilever was snapped off. I found it and saved it. Steve Leung of VAS thought he could fix it. I reported the sad event to Music Direct, with a photo. They consulted with Musical Surroundings, and I sent it to Steve (I’ve seen him repair a Lyra Atlas).

And then, out of the blue, Musical Surroundings decided to treat it as a warranty event. I did not ask for this. They were generous on their own, facilitated by Music Direct.

They sent me a brand new Jubilee MC with all new case candy. They sent me a shipping label to return the broken one. I requested FedEx to recall the shipment to Steve, and they did.

So … within one week of breaking the cantilever, I have a new one at no cost, and I’ve returned the broken one at their expense.

In my opinion, this is the highest possible level of dealer and distributor support. Contrast this with my Linn Krystal in 2016. The cantilevers failed on several samples not long after they were installed, including mine. It corroded at the base and collapsed. Linn blamed users using liquid cleaners on the diamond that had wicked up the hollow cantilever. They had never warned against this up to that time, and I had not used any. Linn would not even support the dealers who went to bat for customers. No discounts. No replacements. No nuthin’. That is why I abandoned Linn for a year while I tried other high end options. In the end, I kept the LP12, but switched to Lyra for cartridges.

Right now Clearaudio has moved up a couple of notches.

Music Direct was GREAT! Musical Surroundings were WITHOUT PEER. I was, and am, extremely pleased.

Regarding Steve Leung, he is an outstanding member of our hobby too. His prices are very fair. He is very skilled. And his turnaround times are very reasonable. I have used him on other repairs and retips and been very pleased. I got his name from Harry Weisfeld. VPI and VAS are located in the same industrial park in Cliffwood, NJ.