A silly, stupid bargain

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Gordon Gray

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Hi all,

Just received my CDP back from Ron Hedrick / Marigo Audio. 360.835.9239. For the record, I have no relationship with Ron or his company. However, I must admit that I am a big fan of Marigo.

Ron installed four Bybee filters, a new IEC jack, and numerous vibration control devices in my Cary. More on that to follow once I do some more listening. He also included the newest incarnation of his optical disc mat. It's called the Evolution Signature mat.

Cost $200. Can be used on CD, SACD, DVD, and Blue Ray discs. It's also extremely thin and should pose no mechanical issues with the transport. My Cary has very little clearance. No operational problems.

Don't know about the science behind this product. I do know this is his third or fourth iteration.

So what do you get?

A silly, stupid bargain and an absolute no brainer.

I've done ten or so A / B's so far on a vast variety of music. The difference is clearly audible on all CD / SACD discs I've tried although the difference in red book playback, to my ears, seems more dramatic.

Deeper, denser, saturated presentation. Music is fleshed out from a much darker background. Significant decrease in the feeling you are listening to digital versus high quality analogue. It's interesting that you don't know you have system "noise", even at a very low level, until it's gone. That's exactly what this does and alot more.

I'm generally not one to gush but this, IMO, is a must have accessory. Don't know if Ron has a money back option (you can always ask) but I cannot imagine anyone using this in a credible system and wanting to return it.

Two really big ears up.

GG

PS: I think you can also purchase through Music Direct, which should provide the money back option. Make sure you ask for the specific model mentioned above. It's a relatively new product in Marigo's line. They may still have / sell the previous version, which is thicker (called the Signature 3-D Stabilizer Version 2) and has 9 "triangular cutouts" in the mat. The current model has only two.
 
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Gordon, is the $200 for the entire upgrade or just the mat?

IIRC Bybee filters are very expensive.

Does the deal include dots ?:)
 
I knew you'd bring that up Bernard. I'll never live that one down.

Price is for the mat. CDP upgrade cost quite a bit more given the Bybee purifier hardware and other work performed.

If interested in the mat, give Ron a call. Be advised he's very soft spoken and unpretentious.

Happy New Year my friend.

Gordon
 
Same to you Todd and all MLC members.

There are still some "old timers" who use this dated technology. :cool:

GG
 
I tried one of these, (the newest Evolution Sig) and found that it sucked all the "air" out from around the instruments/vocals. It did tighten up the bass, increased the focus and definition and did reduce some noise, but just took the "life and soul" of the music away. I returned it. This, of course, was on my system, in my room. I know Gordon has excellent ears and I really trust his judgement and opinions. You'll need to try it yourself.
 
Fox,

Thanks for your input and kind words. I found the exact opposite to be true. As you indicated, YMMV but for me and in my system, the benefits are clearly audible.

Thanks Speed for your very articulate, respectful, insightful observation.

GG
 
Happy New Year to you too, Gordon. Yes, you will not live down the dots discussion (heh-heh), but remember that I'm not one of the people who pooh-poohed your observations; after all, I'm not a member of the "we can measure it all" brigade.

If Adam is against modifying anything, he will be horrified at the state of my (better-sounding) ARC SP9 - stepped attenuator instead of the cheap ALPS pot, and fast recovery diodes. Wish I could get my hands on Adam's Copland preamp; I have not taken apart anything in a long time :) I have modded lots of stuff over the years, usually with good results.
 
Hello Gordon,

It is always nice to read about devices like these. Does the way this work perhaps have something to do with absorbing scattered laser light within the plastic of the cd? How domyou use it? Do you simply put it on the top of the cd you are about to play?

And by the way, wouldn't it be a great idea to make a list on the forum with tweaks/accessories etc., where we can all put the things we like, and describe the effect? And the price... That would be a great resource, especially because the list would be written by people who actually use the things they write about.

Happy New Year!

Arlen
 
Happy New Year to you too, Gordon. Yes, you will not live down the dots discussion (heh-heh), but remember that I'm not one of the people who pooh-poohed your observations; after all, I'm not a member of the "we can measure it all" brigade.

If Adam is against modifying anything, he will be horrified at the state of my (better-sounding) ARC SP9 - stepped attenuator instead of the cheap ALPS pot, and fast recovery diodes. Wish I could get my hands on Adam's Copland preamp; I have not taken apart anything in a long time :) I have modded lots of stuff over the years, usually with good results.

Oh no - what would you do to my Copland preamp? I did put new valves in it the other day (just before leaving for Christmas holidays). Does that count as "modding"?

As for your SP9 - I do recall you have made those modifications to it. Can't say I would do the same, but as long as you're happy. I believe ARC know more about what should be going into their preamps than anyone else.

For the record - I'm not a member of the "we can measure it all" brigade either! But I am a member of the return-on-investment / ultimate value brigade (like, I guess, we all are).
 
Oh no - what would you do to my Copland preamp? I did put new valves in it the other day (just before leaving for Christmas holidays). Does that count as "modding"?
No, new valves do not count as modding; it counts as tweaking.

As for your SP9 - I do recall you have made those modifications to it. Can't say I would do the same, but as long as you're happy. I believe ARC know more about what should be going into their preamps than anyone else.
You have to remember that all manufacturers build to a price point. The stepped attenuator (which I would put into your Copland if it only has a cheap pot) is a huge improvement over a pot, but it cost me $200. Assuming ARC got it for $100, it would probably translate into several hundred dollars added to the price. The same goes for the fast recovery diodes; they are relatively cheaper than the attenuator, but still a lot more expensive than the ones that ARC uses.
 
And by the way, wouldn't it be a great idea to make a list on the forum with tweaks/accessories etc., where we can all put the things we like, and describe the effect? And the price... That would be a great resource, especially because the list would be written by people who actually use the things they write about.
Sounds like a great idea. How would you tie it in with the existing section on tweaks?
 
The main difference would be that there is a list, sorted from A to Z or so, with a lemma for each tweak. Each member who really uses that tweak, would be adding his or her observations about it. It wouldn't be a place to criticize, only to put observations. Something like a wiki for tweaks.
I think that really would be a great resource... But I don't know how we could organise such a list within this forum, html/php/sql-wise...
 
Hi Nutshell,

Yes, simply place on top of the CD, solid green side up. Ron also feels (with this iteration) orientation is important. Haven't verified that yet.

As Foxmulder stated, these types of accessories may or may not present value for all. As with all things in audio, everything matters and auditioning in your own system is paramount before buying.

I did try one of Ron's previous mats and found the impact to be similar to what Fox described. Having said that, this newest version really provides consistent sonic benefits in my current system. No reduction in air, ambiance, dimensionality, etc. An apt analogy would be sitting on a beach on a sunny day, looking at the ocean waves with and without sunglasses. Some may see that as a darkening of the visual experience. Others may not.

I agree that a dedicated accessory section (absent mods to ML's) could be beneficial for purposes of focusing on these types of after market accessory items. One can also argue that this current forum works for that intended purpose. I'll leave that to Tom, Dave, and Mitt to contemplate.

Bernard, thanks as always for your observations. Modifications can be well worthwhile depending on what is changed. Your ARC preamp hardware revision is certainly one valid example. All manufacturers (except for the uber expensive components, one hopes) make decisions on final price and requisite sound quality that relate directly to the parts installed and the cost thereof. The two Bybee AC purifiers, installed in my Cary mod, cost (retail) about $300 per each.

GG

PS: Absent any objective / scientific criteria regarding the mat, why should this device affect the sound the way it does? The laser, presumably, is reading the same ones and zeros. Perhaps more accurately. The DAC is converting to an analogue signal. The preamp and amp are responding to the signal that is sent and relaying onto the speakers.

I do find this experience somewhat similar to auditioning vibration attenuation control devices, which can have a huge impact on system musicallity.
 
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You have to remember that all manufacturers build to a price point.

Yes, understood.

BUT

You they make these decisions based on return on investment.

They no doubt tried all these things, and at the price point they were attacking (let's not forget, that is the price point with which met with your budget), they decided that the cheap ALPS pot delivered the best ROI (and balance in the overall package).

Changing it will no doubt yield improvements.

So I'm not denouncing modding in any way.

But what about spending that money on another complete package (LS25, LS26 perhaps)?
 
But what about spending that money on another complete package (LS25, LS26 perhaps)?
That $200 is not enough money to enable me to consider one of the LS packages, but it is enough for a substantial upgrade to my SP9. Believe me, the improvement is so great that had you heard the before and after, you would have been on a plane to Canada, Copland under your arm, begging me to do the mod :)

Seriously though, my SP9 is really long in the tooth; I wish I could afford to upgrade to one of the Reference preamps and a Phono stage.
 
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