Electra 5.2 on an Oppo BDP-83

[jimtranr]

Short and non-saccharine sweet summary for those allergic to drawn-out reviews: Blacker background, airier ambience, silkier top, lusher mids, better defined bottom, more delineation of upper harmonic content, scary they're-here presence with the best recordings. More than I expected.

Having already ingested the sonic delights of the Electra 5.2 power cord feeding my c-j Premier 17LS, I ordered a second two-meter Electra from Ivan to nourish my stock Oppo BDP-83 SACD/CD/DAD player (video is a secondary function). Given my initial exposure to and satisfaction with the first one, I expected at most a modest performance bump on digital playback with the second. After about 45 hours of active burn-in, however, I've tossed the "modest".

Note that I don't consider the configuration here as "pure" as I'd like. Because we occasionally get some nasty power surges, an original-version Shunyata Hydra is interposed between the wall and the component power cords to take whatever off-the-wall hit may come the system's way (and we get some nasties from time to time). My preference would be to feed the components via the WW Matrix cord extender I have, with the Matrix connected by an Electra 5.2 to an at-the-wall, non-conditioning, non-peformance-degrading surge protector. If I can find one to fill that bill, the Hydra will go. (Ivan's given me a suggestion, and I'm waiting for David Salz to reply with his thoughts to an e-mail on the subject.) 'Til then, I have to live with it.

That compromise notwithstanding, and as indicated elsewhere on this forum, the Electra-to-17LS effected a huge sonic improvement. And now the Electra-to-Oppo has upped the ante, infusing digital playback with a bump in musicality that I'd expect from a significant DAC upgrade.

If you've seen my earlier WW threads, you already know the usual test suspects, including: the Fiedler/Wild Gershwin (RCA), the Oue Rachmaninoff, Copland, and Ports of Call (Reference), Brubeck's Time Out (Columbia), Sarah Vaughan/Michael Tilson Thomas (CBS), Borodin's Prince Igor (Sony). All the descriptors listed in the first sentence of this post apply to all of these recordings, so I won't belabor the point except to say that the magnitude of improvement in each of the listed sonic parameters exceeded my expectations. Considerably.

Even with that, the real surprise occurred when I put on mid-to-late '80's Chandos CD's of Neeme Jarvi traversing the Prokofiev and Shostakovich cycles with the Scottish National Orchestra. In general I like the performances, but the sonics have always struck me as over-echoey (a characteristic of the SNO's Glasgow Center?) and the images a tad too cardboard-cutout. There was three-dimensionality present, but of the View Master sharp-edged variety, and those edges found their way into the music as well. Then last night I put on the Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet Suite #2 for the heck of it and...had I somehow put some other conductor's Romeo in the wrong jewel case? Fleshed-out instruments positioned naturally in space that remained reverberant but not overpowering or otherwise detrimental, tonality that matched the naturalness of instrumental positioning, top end extension that pushed the limits of the Nyquist theorem but with ring, shimmer, and overall liquidity that didn't attack the ear with razor blades, an overall sense of harmonic richness. Out came the Prokofiev and on went the Shostakovich Ninth. Da shto vi govoryitye!

There was no loss of detail. Quite the contrary. There's a lot more openness. These '80's-vintage Chandoses are still not of the sonic caliber of my usual-suspect Reference Recording or best SACD releases, but my longtime reservations about them no longer linger.

Happy camper, aye.

[Masterlu]

Jim... I love selling products that exceed expectations!

[jimtranr]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

Jim... I love selling products that exceed expectations!

At around 60+ hours, this 5.2 is replicating my experience with the first one, enhancing to a not insignificant degree what I thought the latter had already brought to the table, namely the sense of you-are-there "presence," particularly with well-recorded/mastered CD's and SACD's. That's in large part a consequence of a greater illusion of venue space, not just in size but in the almost uncannily corporeal feel to the air within it.

The lateral soundstage has widened a foot or two on each side, with sharper resolution evident front-to-back along the left and right boundaries all the way to soundstage rear. While the rearmost instruments and/or voices on symphonic/massed choral-in-large-hall recordings appear to be the same (already impressive) distance in back of the front plane, they're even less "cardboard" than before, infused with more substantial shape and dimensionality and appear to work considerably more "air" onstage.

On Jane Monheit's "Come Dream with Me" CD (NCoded Music NC 4219-2), the soloist's piano and bass accompaniment are now clearly behind her and more three-dimensional than on the pre-5.2'd Oppo. But it's the tonal nuance of those instruments and Monheit's voice that has really caught my ear. Thanks to a power cord? Really?

[Lunchy]

Thanks for taking the time to write your impressions. I can't wait to get my power cords this week!

[jimtranr]

A quickie follow-up after about 250 hours of active burn-in on the Oppo's Electra 5.2: Even more transparent, liquid, and three-dimensional than before. So liquid, in fact, that my vinyl-preferring wife is suddenly listening to and enjoying a lot more CD's. Well-mastered SACD's (including a number of analog-sourced Mercury Living Presence, Everest, and RCA Living Stereo reissues) breathe with "touch me" tangibility. And that's on a stock, "older model" player.

Very worthwhile upgrade.

[JJinID]

Great to hear Jim! I recently decided to put a WW Silver Electra PC on my Modwright Oppo BDP-83 - plan to get to some critical listening this weekend!