Keith what color if any will the DL printing be on the black front panel? Thinking about updating my MP-7 order now that I know there isn’t an upcharge.
The black front panels are currently completely blank. It is a very nicely anodized black aluminum finish. Unless you turn the entire unit over and read the model number and serial number on the bottom, or realize what it is, it looks somewhat mysterious. But sounds amazing. Down the road, we contemplate using white printing for the corporate logo on the black front panel. Here is why a White Logo, Black Front Panel is in the future: We have these front panels Pad-Printed (most people would call it Silk Screened, similar concept) by a local subcontractor with high-end Italian machinery. It's an Italian-designed logo.... Their process is very good, but there is also a very high fixed charge for a run; we can do 150 panels for the price of one. That one pad-print run is not cheap; this is due to fixed setup, teardown, and chemical mixing and cleanup processes that are required even for one panel. This local outfit is treating us very well and our work for them is probably more a relationship-building thing than it is a profit center for them. We're not getting 10,000 golf balls printed every month (for example). Remember that our front panels bolt-on from the outside, and you, the client, can do it yourself in most cases. So if you buy a Black Front (blank) unit now, and later you really want a White Corporate logo'd Black Front Panel, we can do that swap down the road. Or you want to swap your Silver front panel (w/black logo) for the black panel (w/white logo), that's also possible. We're waiting until we consistently have inventory in all of our models sitting on the shelf and are meeting many orders from stock. This hopefully will be in a month or two. Careful readers of our main FAQ page know that we're successfully stocking completed PCB boards for the lower end models at this time. Even while our sales are WAY up, we're still making active progress at meeting those incoming orders as well as building that inventory, which is gratifying. Thanks to those clients who have supported us in the past and continue to support us today.
Patiently waiting on the MP-7 I ordered about three weeks ago. Looking forward to comparing it to a Monolithic Audio PS1 that I’ve had forever...
Shipping next Monday. Will be interested in your assessment; the Monolithic Sound PS-1 and PS-2 have not yet crossed our paths and they seem to have kept a low-profile.
I am really enjoying the 701. I don't tell that to the 1229Q, which is sitting unplugged in the basement. A few weeks ago I bought a 510 in need of a tune up and possibly a belt. The reason I bought it; so I have an idler, direct drive, and a belt drive, from the same family. I need professional help. The MP-7 has a lot to do with enjoying the 701. There is no doubt about that. The Nagaoka MP 200 deserves some credit as well. Meh, might as well not leave out the Bel Canto c6i and the Triangle Celius 202's. One would think that synergy and the chain end to end is the key to sonic bliss. Honourable mention to room treatments, without which none of this would be possible. Don't we have the most fulfilling hobby on the planet?
You can put me down for this option, (SU-7 too). It may sound a bit campy, but I'm rather proud of my Darlington Labs logos. Oddly enough, the only other person around who could possibly be impressed by them is my wife. Safe to say she could give two hoots, but loves the sound...so she gets a pass.
Already started writing you an email about the black front panel but then realized that it would be better to wait and then get one of these with the logo
They do have a website, ya know? 30 day Money-Back Guarantee. 60 day/2 month 100% credit trade-in option towards higher model. 180 day/6 month 80% trade-up option. 1 year Limited Warranty. “Best Efforts” out-of-warranty support.
Once we get solid inventory, enhancements to the website photography and potentially other changes to Navigation are high on our list. Squarespace is our website platform, we like it very much, and it has excellent security (being delivered as a SAAS - Software As a Service to us) but, as we knew when we originally picked it as the best alternative available, it does have some restrictions and rigidity on layout.
Just a few tips from a designer and happy customer, most site optimization can actually be done on paper. There’s only so much a layout tweak can do, organizing the content thematically by hand can get you pretty far. Squarespace is pretty flexible if you get into custom code but that can be a pain. Of course it’s probably wise for you to keep those long blocks at least somewhere in the sure for SEO purposes . Either way as a pro I don’t sweat web design too much, I’ve worked on putting lipstick in more than a few “pig” products haha. I think you’re already doing well by not leaning too far into the cheesy hifi aesthetic, and most importantly by making a quality product for a fair price.
In my opinion, "it ain't broke". I was floored by the site and its all-encompassing, knowledgeable and well-written content when I first visited. Well at the top of its league in this space.
Two questions. Does anyone have any thoughts about what I might get if I get the MM-6 vs MM-5? second questions. Do these match fine with the AT 95 cartridges. I have the microline. Cheers.
Can’t compare the two as I never tried the MM-5, but my MM-6 is a great match for my VM-95ML, and my preferred phono stage of the 5-ish I’ve tried with it over the years. Objectively the VM95ML and MM-6 should measure pretty flat, and should sound “neutral” to most ears. The standard 100pf input is fine with these 95 series cartridges, you can reduce capacitance to tune the response a little bit with the interconnects between your Technics and the Darlington. Mono switch works great and is very fairly priced. Subjectively I find the combination makes for a smooth sound, with low groove noise and good instrument detail. I find myself enjoying records that previously irritated with noise or poor tonal balance. Take these with a grain of salt as they’re recorded using an old MacBook as an ADC but here are a few samples of the combination with some different genres / pressing qualities / masterings. (ATVM95-ML>Technics 1210GR>3ft Run BJ LC1>MM-6>2012 MacBookPro) Judee Sill AAA Kevin Gray cut on Intervention FKA Twigs LP1 on XL cut by John Davis Yumi Zouma Willowbank on Cascine cut in house at GZ
My MP-7 arrived last Thursday, well packed and intact. Solid, functional looks and feel. No trees sacrificed for an owners manual. For comparison I’m currently using the Monolithic Sound PS-1 and HC -1 power supply. I’ve had several phono stages over the years; Graham Slee, Lounge, Musical Fidelity, Cambridge , Bellari, but my favorite was the one built into my 1970’s SAE 2100L preamplifier. So how does the Darlington Labs compare? Exceedingly well. Drop the needle and I was greeted with blackness until the plaintive wail of the harmonica begins “School” from Supertramps “ Crime of the Century”. The sound stage is wide and deep with excellent instrument placement, very three dimensional. Loads of detail and a balanced tonality. Excellent dynamics, the quiet parts seem quieter while the fortes stay pleasurable. The music has an ease and just flows. I’m thoroughly pleased with the purchase and would highly recommend.
Speaking of serial numbers, after reading thru this thread I noticed that a few upgrades were made to the MM-5 MM-6 around April or May of 2021? Can you share what the serial numbers start with that have these upgrades? Anything you can provide is appreciated! Thanks in advance.
We've made a number of sequential minor revisions to all models since introduction. It is unfortunately impractical to provide a serial number list on all units and especially to correlate these to any overall sonic changes. Trade-ins are available for units "next higher" in the lineup and the "unit higher up" would be a 'most-current production' unit. We feel that, in general, the changes within the same lineup (5 to 5, 6 to 6, 7 to 7)--are quite subtle. We can discuss with clients on an individual basis. In general, we have learned that if you are happy with the performance of your current unit, we recommend that you take no action. Your ear normally will acclimate to the individual sonic characteristics of your model. Some of the changes were made to deal with supply shortages and some leveraged learnings and technology from other models which are now in our lineup.
I don’t think I have seen this posted yet, but if you have a pending order or just want to know inventory updates, scroll to the bottom of their FAQ page and this section gets updated frequently: Update 5/24/22: Orders range from one days old to 23 days old. Over the remainder of this week and throughout the Memorial Day weekend, we will be finishing and mailing the 12 units we currently have chassis for, and continuing to build PCB stock ahead for future orders. My MP-7 is on day 14 so should be arriving by end of next week.
Thanks for the prompt reply Keith! The one change I was specifically speaking of was the power supply upgrade you mentioned early in this thread, as it seemed to have a decent affect on the sound. “The MM-5 and MM-6 both received power supply tech FROM the MP-7 in early April 2021. They are not "fully equal" to the MP-7, due to some tighter cost and labor constraints on those, but the bass has certainly been "tightened" and is more punchy on the 5 and the 6.” If it’s not possible to provide a serial number when that was started, no worries and I understand. I can send you my serial number when I am able to in hopes you can tell me when it was produced. Thanks again!
The original MM-5 and MM-6 *that we launched to the public* had a single, all-discrete power supply regulator, from memory, MM-5 to about 200140 and the MM-6 to about 200170. The MP-7 launched with one pre-regulation stage and the final discrete regulator (two total). Rather quickly we deployed the low-noise, cleverly-implemented monolithic pre-regulator into the MM-5 and MM-6 circa May 2021. If you send us a picture of the inside of your unit (power the unit down, wait a few minutes, and then carefully remove the top cover) we can provide private comment to you, and discuss options after learning about your tastes and system.
Thanks again Keith. Similar to Ernest earlier in this thread, I was not ready to purchase another piece of equipment at this time but saw one on the secondary market and the price was too good to pass up especially since how few used ones show up. I emailed you a few weeks ago asking for advice on what would work best for my system. I will email you a photo when I can. Appreciate all your help.
So I've finally received the MP-7, and I must say I love it, the sound is big, spacious yet detailed. The layering and instruments separation is fantastic, even out of the box. Didn't have much time for listening, though, have only run several tracks from Morphine and Depeche Mode and immediately noticed the changes.
I'm currently not using a TT but I have been following Darlington for a little while. Nice to see a company with local roots building something like they do. I have been thinking about buying a table, I kept some records so I would be off to a good start. I would definitely Tryon of their preamps in my sys
