The second movement of Albéniz-Frühbeck de Burgos' Suite Española is a musical and sonic delight when heard through Etna, Thiele TA01 and the R-580: The orchestra performs on a large stage, the brass entries are right on the mark with the necessary attack, and the timpani are easy to differentiate in their diversity. Even throughout the fortissimo passages the claves can be very well distinguished. Resolution, dynamics and definition are on an extremely high level. This is not much different with Einstein's The Turntable's Choice, which briefly replaces the R-580: It fascinates with even a tad more impetus in the lower octaves, but doesn't quite reach the excellent transparency and openness of the Aavik R-580. Instead of carrying forward the comparison with other records, I'd rather try a few other cartridges on the R-580. The Transrotor JR Tamino, which is manufactured by My Sonic Lab, is already waiting to be used in in the twelve-inch version of Einstein's The Tonearm. Since the Tamino comes up with a very low internal resistance despite its output voltage of 0.5 millivolts, I opt for  the lowest load impedance available on the R-580: 50 ohms. And the Tamino feels audibly comfortable with the selected value. Although I must have heard "God Bless The Child" a thousand times from record - and as a 192 kilohertz file for years, too - this title captivates me from the very first notes: Timbres, ambience and intensity are a touch more fascinating than with the digital variant - and that, although the record might be slightly worn and not free of crackles. The space, openness, and rich detail offered by the R-580 are truly something special. I have never heard - if memory serves - this standard with the Tamino so finely depicted and yet emotional. So I'll switch briefly to The Turntable's Choice to verify this impression: No, I don't need to withdraw my statement at all. However, the Einstein performs rhythmically with a touch more excitement. Maybe setting the R-580 to a higher terminating impedance will prompt the Tamino to more groove. And yes, at 100 ohms, the enthusiasm intensifies a lot, but without reducing the pressure of the bass drum.

In the following I facilitate myself the installation of new cartridges by mounting the Transrotor TRA 9, which has recently been presented a Statement-in-High-Fidelity Award, on the LaGrange's nine-inch tonearm position instead of the Thiele TA01. Meanwhile, the 3D-printed bridge to indicate the TRA 9's tonearm pivot point has arrived, making overhang adjustment much more convenient in conjunction with all the gauges that need to be aligned to that point. This way it's easy to find the right position for the Allaerts MC Finish Gold using the Dennesen adjustment protractor. By the way, this is the cartridge with the lowest output voltage in my small collection - even if the manufacturer's specifications say something different. Although it sounds excellent, I haven't used it for a long time, because even with the balanced Einstein phono stage, its noise level lies only minimally below the groove noise of the needle and is a bit annoying in play breaks at the appropriate volume still. By the way, Jan Allaerts is quite strict in specifying the load impedance: It should be exactly 845 ohms. Since the R-580 only offers 800 or 900 ohms, I start with the minimal closer value and let the Finish Gold after its long inactivity find relief over four record sides. This already shows the potential of the Allaerts: it spoils with a very good spatial imaging, an enormously powerful and well contoured low frequency range and inspiring dynamics, while in the empty grooves there is no disturbing noise to be heard at all: The Finish Gold harmonizes excellently with the R-580!

Since I had listened to Steve Tibbet's Safe Journey quite loudly, it happened that when changing the record there was very slight hiss audible at the listening position with the tonearm raised, which I didn't find in no way annoying. Since I really enjoyed listening to the Allaerts through the Aavik, I didn't start with "Malinye" right away, but listened to the first side of Codana 2 in its entirety: The timbres were in parts exotic, the dynamics abundant, the sound fresh and of good transparency. Don Cherry's trumpet attacks with vigour but without the slightest trace of sharpness, added by the imaginary three-dimensional stage designed by Martin Wieland, where you can also sense the height of the room: What a delight! If the R-580 were a consistent member of my system, I would put the Allaerts much more often to use. I came to like the combination so much that I simply refrained from experimenting with a terminating impedance of 900 ohms.