Can we now listen to everything combined together. Actually not yet, for there is another aspect of George’s design which we spent many evenings listening to before it was finalised. This was the turntable mat itself. We tried cork, felt, vinyl itself, rubber and a combination of sandwiches of these and other materials. Actually, the material that both George and I preferred the most under a variety of conditions was rubber!
Again, not just any old rubber, no, no, no, that would be too easy, for George had found a mat which was really interesting. It actually came from a long discontinued Sony turntable, containing raised rubber cups, I certainly had not seen a mat like that before. In fact, to find another one, I had to go on ebay and spend weeks searching for a suitable turntable which used the same mat. If you happen to find one, you should snap it up, but be careful it must look like the one in the photographs.
When I was lucky enough to find one, it was being sold by a gentleman who lived no more than one
mile away from me. I did not have the heart to tell him that I would probably be throwing away his turntable and just keeping the mat. I actually washed the mat with washing up liquid and some warm water scrubbingaway over 20 years of dirt. I do not know the weird lengths we go to.
Ok now it is time to listen.
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. I wish I could show you a beautiful picture of what this combination of equipment achieves. Over the years I have owned many different CD players. I have even recorded my own digital master tapes of a variety of orchestras and yet there seems to be something missing. Technically, digital is far superior to analogue. Signal to noise ratio, wow and flutter, distortion figures etc, are vastly superior in our digital world and yet there is something locked within those old plastic grooves, which when playing at this level, makes you want to laugh, cry, dance and sing.
I can only think of one word which sums up the entire experience – breathtaking.
No one on this planet if you believe in it can guarantee you entry into the Kingdom of Heaven, but perhaps, just perhaps, George’s reference turntable may be one of the keys which can open the golden gates.
If you wish to contact George he would be delighted to hear from you. All his contact details are on his website which is: www.prometheusaudio.co.uk. However, be prepared to perhaps go on an amazing journey, no matter what your religion, the final destination is truly amazing.
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