FEATURE
Going for Gold Channa Vithana pushes the humble Michell TecnoDec turntable to its very limits in this bespoke high end vinyl system...
Michell TecnoDec - suitably tweaked, it really is good enough to feed a £7,000 system!
B
ack in March 2006, Michell’s humble £575 TecnoDec won our turntable group test, thanks to its sophisticated sound. Properly fettled and set-up with a £124 Rega RB250, it is an engaging, rhythmically astute and musical LP source. But better still, it responds more to clever tweaking than many of its rivals - you can really 'supersize' this turntable's sound by adding vinyl go-faster goodies. I opted for the £67.99 Michell TecnoWeight and £18.50 VTA arm adjuster, and a £53.95 Funk Firm Achromat turntable platter mat (made from lightweight aerated vinyl), and the results were great, so in this month’s system feature I decided to wring the very last ounce of performance out of it, matching it up to a range of excellent ancillaries. First of all, a serious cartridge is needed, and here I can thoroughly recommend the £300 Ortofon Rondo Red MC cartridge. All of us here at Hi-Fi World love the Rondo series, and the Red proves a neutrally unflappable ally for the TecnoDec/
RB250 (and completes the system that won the turntable group test back in the March 2006 issue, p18). But as this month’s system is for those feeling a little flush, I decided to push the Michell ‘to the max’ with the £995 Transfiguration Spirit III MC cartridge, made in Japan by Immutable Music Inc. I found the Transfiguration exceptionally musical. Comparing it to the formidable Linn Akiva (using a £995 Linn Linto phonostage), almost twice the price at £1,800, the Spirit proved superior to my ears. For example, using a £10,000 high-end Origin Live/Densen/ Spendor reference system, the Transfiguration had a comparatively cleaner, more revealing sound with higher resolution and more spatiality. Instrumental and vocal phrasing was where the Transfiguration pulled ahead. While the Linn Akiva had slightly deeper bass, the Transfiguration revealed a more naturally tuneful bass delivery. In the finest Japanese tradition, the Transfiguration is exquisitely built, where the cartridge body
is ‘resonance controlled’ by its aluminiumformed design. A boron cantilever with Ogura PA (3x30µm) diamond stylus is used, while a Permalloy square core and pure silver coils are also employed. The Transfiguration weighs 7.8gms and the recommended tracking force is 2gms. With a tuned up mid-price turntable loaded to the gunwales with goodies and a very posh pickup, some serious amplification was needed. Enter Renaissance Amplification, by Integrated Engineering
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Funk Firm Achromat platter mat can work wonders...
...and the Transfiguration Spirit III is a superb £995 moving coil. APRIL 2007 HI-FI WORLD
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