Member
Post by andychampionsound on May 28, 2020 11:07:12 GMT 12
Was an audioenz'er way back when, and have only just become aware this group rose from the ashes!
My system has gone through a bunch of changes over the years, and I'm pretty much in a happy place now, although currently planning to finish the system off with new speakers in the coming months.
Still vinyl centric, running a modified 1200mkII into audio research's sp9mkII preamp (beauty of a phono stage) and vs55 tube amp.
Currently with image 414s but looking to replace them after 12 or so years of service with various setups.
Anyway, glad to join and look forward to more hi fi discussions!
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Post by Owen Y on May 28, 2020 11:26:30 GMT 12
Greetings andychampionsound - welcome. We have an SL-1210Mk2 at home here ourselves (that we've recently done an arm-base refurb on) & I have some familiarity with the ARC SP9, but not the newer power amps like your VS55 - although I once had a D70MkII, also with 6550s. Pics please, are always welcome 
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Member
Post by andychampionsound on May 28, 2020 11:50:00 GMT 12
yep, still trying to figure out to attach images!
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Post by michaelw on May 28, 2020 12:02:40 GMT 12
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Post by cartridgeguyonline on May 28, 2020 12:19:38 GMT 12
Welcome along, another ex SP9 and D7011 owner here.
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Post by Citroen on May 28, 2020 17:10:47 GMT 12
AH, now that's an AudioEnz name I remember! Welcome and although I don't think I've ever heard an SP9 (only briefly an SP14) their reputation precedes them. If you liked the 414's how about the Image Revelations (if they're still available)? michaelw may be able to commment on them.
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Post by michaelw on May 28, 2020 18:07:01 GMT 12
revelation 2 and petite performa 2 with the morel rohacell mid/bass and supreme tweeter are head and shoulders above regular image models. alas the pp2 is no more but the rev 2 is still being made. sp9/II does indeed have a beauty of a phono after the mk1 debacle sp14 is something else again 
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Post by Citroen on May 28, 2020 18:23:46 GMT 12
What was the mark 1 debacle?
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Post by michaelw on May 29, 2020 10:41:16 GMT 12
Some earlier reviewers (TAS) said the preamp was "transcendental" in performance, others like Stereophile were more circumspect. www.stereophile.com/content/audio-research-sp9-preamplifier-page-2meanwhile many private listeners complained of a bright, forward sound. turns out there was a fault in some units that caused the phono stage to oscillate when coupled with some cartridges. from the 1987 TAS review
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Member
Post by andychampionsound on May 29, 2020 11:01:24 GMT 12
Thanks Michael, I had for years planned to move to the revelation 2s, but now that I'm at the point of replacing the 414s, I've been looking further afield, and am going to audition the monitor audio gold 300s. I know the rev2s were Chris' design and should effectively be the same as they always we're, but I'm a bit hesitant to go down that path with the new company. revelation 2 and petite performa 2 with the morel rohacell mid/bass and supreme tweeter are head and shoulders above regular image models. alas the pp2 is no more but the rev 2 is still being made. sp9/II does indeed have a beauty of a phono after the mk1 debacle sp14 is something else again
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Pundit
Post by SL1210 on Jun 2, 2020 13:12:32 GMT 12
Greets from Orcs Bay. I have three SL1210 beasties - they are a lot of fun, and so danged easy to use.
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Member
Post by andychampionsound on Jun 4, 2020 14:11:15 GMT 12
Hi 1210, I gravitated back to the Technics as I just love them for the industrial design and how utterly functional they are. They were the center of the world when I was a younger more foolisher DJ and i've always had one or two on hand for the last 25 years (and there's still four out there in NZ that were stolen from me at various times. In CHCH in the late 90s and in AKL in the early 2000s). I had a lot of fun rewiring this one and getting it sounding just how I wanted it. Nothing crazy at the pointy end, a Denon DL110 which has been a fantastic match with the AR pre-amp and really eclipsed where I was previously (back in 2M blue-land) and the current set-up makes me very happy! The missing piece is the speakers, and while i've loved my Image 414s, they don't quite go the distance that the system asks of them, and they're about to be replaced. This current setup was born out of the Technics decision. I replaced a perfectly nice pro-ject table with the Technics, the 2M blue was a bit meh, but I couldn't get the phono stage (also pro-ject at the time) to really gel, and it gave me some noise grief, then just died. so I was fishing for a tube pre-amp, the SP9mkII came out of left-field, having heard my friend's AR pre-amp I was intrigued and it cost less thanthe tube phono stage I was planning to buy from China, so I took a punt. loved it, but was in a half-way state running a full pre-amp into a integrated amp, and then said friend suggested I try the VS55 he had sitting in a cupboard due to acquiring the VS110 and I basically refused to give it back. And now i love the pared-back simplicity of the system. There's an Apple Airplay device hidden in the cabinet for lazy listening, but lets not talk about that. BTW I'm still on the look out for a mint pair of 1200 or 1210 mkII if anyone happens to see any around. The only later version I'd be keen on would be the 1200 mk6, otherwise pretty set on mkIIs. and finally, a picture... 
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Post by colinf on Jun 4, 2020 23:02:50 GMT 12
Welcome, Andy. I have a passion for ARC gear, having serviced them way back when. The SP-9 was a classic from their hybrid period, capable of good sound. The lone 6dj8 valve on each section (phono and line stage) inside was easy to change to different brands, and influences the sound subtly but fundamentally. It was built with Roederstien metal film resistors and MIT multicaps for coupling capacitors. These influence the sound significantly, and there are even better ones made these days. The Alps RK27 volume pot can be improved upon. It was used in most ARC preamps from that era and helped give them their ‘house’ sound. My fave ARCs of that time are the D-250 Servo poweramp and SP-11 preamp. That was one of the only poweramps to make Martin Logan CLS electrostatics sound...normal!
AMR-iFi R&D
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Post by cartridgeguyonline on Jun 5, 2020 7:42:06 GMT 12
My CLS's were driven quite happily by my D7011, however I always thought they had limitations until I heard then driven by a pair of Accuphase 300w Monos. Limitations gone !
BTW: Dont discount the Ortofon 2M range until you get a chance to hear the 2M Black. Its fantastic and a huge step up from the other carts in the range imo.
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Member
Post by andychampionsound on Jun 5, 2020 7:42:52 GMT 12
Thanks Colin, i've mentally toyed with the idea of 'tube rolling' but haven't explored it yet. There has been some form of modification to the SP9 in that the front pot for switching between modes has been bypassed. which I suspect was considered an improvement. All in all, just dipping my toes into AR with these boxes has been a resounding success. I mean, there are a thousand views and ideas and opinions as to whats best and better and newer and flasher and so on, but I have found this set-up to be a stunning leap from where I was, and I'm starting to drink the kool-aid on older concepts and designs and equipment. this pre-amp is 27 years old, and the power amp is is 17, and they blitz the newer stuff they replaced! Although i'm going very new with speakers, so there's always a caveat!
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Post by Owen Y on Jun 5, 2020 9:22:35 GMT 12
I expect that colinf would agree that one of the nice things about the ARC (preamps esp) is their serviceability - the top & bottom plates of the case are completely removable, affording full access to both sides of the PCB. Some of my best improvements fiddling with ARC (preamps) came in the PSU, which is usually quite complex - rectifier diodes, PSU resistors.
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Post by michaelw on Jun 5, 2020 11:00:56 GMT 12
That was one of the only poweramps to make Martin Logan CLS electrostatics sound...normal! isn't that a fail ?
ml cls were possessed of supernatural sound (when fed sp8 mk2, quicksilver monos)
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Post by cartridgeguyonline on Jun 5, 2020 12:22:19 GMT 12
I would also recommend a spot of tube rolling in your SP9. I cant remember what I ended up with in mine, probably Gold Aero chinese at that time. Lots of good options about now though, im particularly liking the gold pin JJ and I know colinf is a huge fan of the RAM 7308s.
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Member
Post by andychampionsound on Jun 5, 2020 13:49:27 GMT 12
yeah, there are newer gold lions that are meant to be pretty good performance for $$$, the JJs and then some fairly exotic/NOS telefunkens if I want to just through it all to the wind and spend $400US on a tube. Although I have read a few old tube recommendations who felt the sovteks from AR were pretty much the best option for the SP specifically.
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Post by cartridgeguyonline on Jun 5, 2020 17:36:15 GMT 12
I have a couple of spare Sovteks from my old AR on TM atm.
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Post by colinf on Jun 5, 2020 19:53:12 GMT 12
That was one of the only poweramps to make Martin Logan CLS electrostatics sound...normal! isn't that a fail ?
ml cls were possessed of supernatural sound (when fed sp8 mk2, quicksilver monos)
You’d think so but I mean, well let’s face it, the CLS wasn’t really your average speaker. It’s ethereal transparency was breathtaking. But after listening for a while you noticed the dynamics lacking. The more powerful amps like the big 250 watt ARC gave them the proverbial rocket up the (speaker terminals) they needed to sound stunning! I agree with Owen about the convenience of removable top and bottom plates, but replacing parts on the thick circuit boards could be difficult. They bent over and crimped the ends of all the components so that if you try and force them out of the plated through-hole you might rip the plating right out and damage the board. We used to replace lots of cathode and screen resistors on the D70 and D115 (and others), and measuring the cathode current was difficult. I remember one of our regular customers bringing in his D70 with a great big hole in one of the tracks connected to the output valves. Looking a little sheepish he began on the story. He went to bias his D70 himself. As he struggled to hold the multimeter probes in place awkwardly around the hot output valves and adjust the bias at the same time with a screwdriver, he thought it would be more convenient to use his mouth to hold the meter probes in place over the fiercely hot valves. While adjusting the bias with the plastic screwdriver next to them he failed to notice he had dribbled. It went down the meter probe onto the 430v track below. The dribble shorted out the 430v track straight to the cathode resistors and blew the pcb track up right in his face!!
AMR-iFi R&D
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Post by Owen Y on Jun 5, 2020 21:53:12 GMT 12
Haha (but not funny), I had a similar thing happen when I left the top plate off a D70Mk2 (during a period when was adjusting bias) & a screwdriver rolled off a shelf above & dropped onto a 400v track.... shorting to Gnd, Fortunately (!) the track pretty much instantly vapourised & prevented any further damage!
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Post by colinf on Jun 6, 2020 19:04:13 GMT 12
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Post by colinf on Jun 6, 2020 19:41:37 GMT 12
Andy, enjoy the SP9 and VS55, they will sound good together. The more efficient the speaker you choose the better. I’m currently listening to an Ortofon 2M Black cartridge, it’s very good! I agree with cartridgeguyonline, that it is a big step up from the others in the 2M range. The Bronze is also meant to be good but haven’t heard it. I do like RAM 7308s for critical 6dj8 applications. They allow things to sound more real. The ordinary gold pin JJs are a decent valve though. Not heard the Gold Lions yet but I know some prefer their sound for a new production valve.
AMR-iFi R&D
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Post by cartridgeguyonline on Jun 7, 2020 8:02:12 GMT 12
I'd missed the Photo Andy. Its a smart looking set up, very tidy, all the grey and black bits match and contrast nicely with the wood. I'd be very happy with that.
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Pundit
Post by SL1210 on Jun 12, 2020 23:21:39 GMT 12
isn't that a fail ?
ml cls were possessed of supernatural sound (when fed sp8 mk2, quicksilver monos)
The dribble shorted out the 430v track straight to the cathode resistors and blew the pcb track up right in his face!! A stunning amplifier!
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Post by Owen Y on Jun 13, 2020 12:09:58 GMT 12
I've always liked the ARC 'cam-ground' style knobs on their preamps.
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