Whew. I just got back from setting up Val's braso de Kamagong, a jolly good get-together at Jack's and a wedding anniversary (14th) dinner with my wife. Before my memory dims, I'd like to write my impressions about Val's system when we had set up the kamagong arm.
1. The soundstage, as far as the orchestra and audience are concerned is among the best I have ever heard. Very resolving (even chair creaks were very audible on the Belafonte at Carnegie Hall track of Day-O). I NEVER heard them before in my system. Detailed but not harsh.
HIGH RES WITHOUT STRESS!2. I found Belafonte to be a bit forward and the voice could be a bit more holographic. This resulted in a "disconnect" between the singer and the orchestra, as if they were recorded separately. I would want to figure this out because this seems to be the only nitpicking (based on my personal preferences) I could muster. It is not that the vocal presentation is bad, it's simply that the orchestral imagery is so good, so very very good!
3. My real head-shaker was when we compared the sounds between the Braso with a P4,000 Shure MM and his regular tonearm with a P140,000 ZYX MC cart. The differences were in the realm of the MAYBE. Heck, for a price difference of P136,000 I'd say the difference better be a lot more definite than maybe! Is Val's system not good enough to bring out the differences? Maybe, but I honestly don't think so. I found his system to be on par with the best systems I've had the good fortune to enjoy. They are pleasant and addictive and challenging! Now, if I can only tweak my system so I can hear those infernal chair creaks...
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Is it the Kamagong arm then? Do I write this because I made the arm? Valid questions that I can't or rather not answer. There will always be cynics and believers, I will leave it at that.