Post by snewt on May 12, 2022 17:29:37 GMT 12
I see the Benz Ebony is back in da house. Is that now your preferred cartridge with the Siggwan?
The Spare Bedroom
Post by Citroen on May 12, 2022 19:06:27 GMT 12 
Cliff
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Post by Citroen on May 12, 2022 19:07:46 GMT 12 One thing I love about the Wand is the clever design. 15 mins and I can have a cart dialled in and playing
Cliff
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Post by Gryffles on May 12, 2022 20:27:54 GMT 12
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Post by Gryffles on May 12, 2022 20:30:02 GMT 12
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Post by Citroen on May 13, 2022 19:28:23 GMT 12One thing I love about the Wand is the clever design. 15 mins and I can have a cart dialled in and playing Fine adjustments are easy with the screw on weight. But if a plate has to be changed I've always thought it a pain to have to work out which one, how many to add or subtract. And then having to screw on the correct ones. And position them for azimuth adjustment? Thankfully, the sound quality justifies the extra effort required!
Cliff
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Post by Gryffles on May 13, 2022 21:05:20 GMT 12Fine adjustments are easy with the screw on weight. But if a plate has to be changed I've always thought it a pain to have to work out which one, how many to add or subtract. And then having to screw on the correct ones. And position them for azimuth adjustment? Thankfully, the sound quality justifies the extra effort required! It's the trying to adjust azimuth while maintaining VTF thats tricky about the rotating counter weights that only have a grub screw to hold them. Depends how fussy one wants to be with each setting I guess.
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Pundit
 Post by Gryffles on May 15, 2022 23:15:52 GMT 12
Swapped my older flush strobe 401 into the new plinth today. Easy to see the difference between the older die cast chassis that are significantly thicker and more sturdy than the later ones with the raised strobe.
Also wanted to keep my motor as the bushes were replaced at CTC in the UK last year. With freight it cost a fair bit! Had a crack at mounting the Wand but couldn't do it without making a mess. Need a bigger drill bit!
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Post by Citroen on May 16, 2022 16:19:11 GMT 12Fine adjustments are easy with the screw on weight. But if a plate has to be changed I've always thought it a pain to have to work out which one, how many to add or subtract. And then having to screw on the correct ones. And position them for azimuth adjustment? Thankfully, the sound quality justifies the extra effort required! It's the trying to adjust azimuth while maintaining VTF thats tricky about the rotating counter weights that only have a grub screw to hold them. Depends how fussy one wants to be with each setting I guess. Ok, should've said "bolt" on.
Cliff
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Post by Gryffles on Sept 4, 2022 15:21:33 GMT 12
Couple of changes and a bit of diy upgrading has been going on here.
The Air Tight ATE-2005 has a new home and in it's place os a Herron VTPH-2 phono stage. I purchased the Herron before selling the Air Tight and listened to both. In the end it was the flexibility of the Herron that won the day. The Air Tight had fixed gain and fixed loading for Air Tight carts of course! I think the Air Tight had the edge on super high quality albums and was also a bit cooler sounding than the Herron. Also have an Inakustik AC-3500P Power Station that I picked up used. I see there was some outrage at the cost when people saw the little pcb inside the huge box.I was keen on it due to the good price and also that fact that it's described as a parallel filter rather than all the AC going through it. It has Schuko outlet sockets and I wasn't keen on spending $$ on power cables so decided to build some DIY Helix Image AC Cables. A bit tricky to construct and the first effort worked ok but it damn ugly! Second effort is a winner....So far I've been using it on the Herron phono only and I was surprised at the effect however I have no idea how much is due to the power cable or the power station. The opportunity presented itself to buy a quad of KR 300B XLS for the KR amps so jumped at the chance when funds allowed. Very pleased with these valves and I'd say they sound a bit more like a traditional 300B than the EML 320B XLS that I was using previously. A touch more mellow with a richer mid range. I also started to upgrade the KR VT850 MK amps and started by upgrading the cathode bypass resistors and coupling caps to Riedon UALN and Audyn True Copper. Great improvement and next will be the cathode bypass caps which I'll change to film types. The amps were recapped a few years ago and unfortunately they are full of Jamicon caps. In the future I will remove all of these however it aint cheap as everything is big on these amps so slowly does it. Next thing is the diy music server I purchased used started to make noise over the music signal. I have no interest in diy PC audio so sold it for cheap with the Uptone JS2 lpsu and now have a used Innuos Zenith MkII on the way. Its just had a new mobo and full check up done by Innuos so good to go. Should arrive in the next couple of days. I went for Innuos again as I really liked the sound of the Zen Mini I owned previously. Prerequisite was it had to be one box and already contain a high quality LPSU as I don't want any more boxes or cables for digital. Last but not least I have a Sculpture A Mini Nano SUT on trial/loan. I know bugger all about SUT's however people that do say this one is a cracker and uses toroidal nano crytalline cores. I really like it so far but have to swap back to the Herron's jfet stage to be sure
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Pundit
Post by Gryffles on Sept 9, 2022 14:37:35 GMT 12
Haven't felt the urge to listen to the TT with the new SPH copper mat since the Innuos Zenith has landed but it looks pretty good!
 Pic of the Zenith temporarily sitting on top of the poor Herron phono. First attempt of DIY usb cable sitting on top as I wasn't completely convinced. It used UPOCC solid core copper wire in teflon tubing for the data +/- and 18awg silver plated copper teflon for the - This morning its raining here so wrok is postponed so I got to making another USB cable. This is uses solid cire silver which threaded into cotton sleeving for the data +/- and mil spec 16awg silver plated copper for the - Success! This cable is really great and for approx $100 in parts. I think it's better than an AQ Diamond I had here for a while. Bpth USB's were made using the Helix Image design from the www.image99.net/blog/files/category-002a002ahelix-image-usb.html site  
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Post by Gryffles on Sept 11, 2022 1:21:08 GMT 12
The Zenith is really starting to show what it can do after a few hours use and I'm impressed. It was bright initially and still is a little but the improvement is clear.
I just ordered a Supra Cat8 ethernet cable as its suppposed to be a bargain product that works well with a smooth sound. I have no idea about ethernet cables but for $85 Im keen to give it a go.
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Post by Gryffles on Jul 29, 2023 16:34:15 GMT 12
Crikey, its been that long since I updated! Well, well of course I have changed things
Firstly, I am using a Supratek Cabernet 300b pre amp and Supratek Matera LCR phono stage. The horn speakers have departed and have been replaced by a pair of Fyne F502SP in walnut veneer. If you havent heard any Fyne speakers then I'd heartily recommend that you do. The SP series are the start of the product line manufactured in the UK. The lesser models are produced in China. An unfortunate consequence of owning the Fyne's has been the fact that my super good F6 mono clones just don't have the balls to get the last bit of dynamic performance from the speakers. Currently I'm trying to decide which amp to buy...... - Parasound JC5 - PS Audio BHK 250 - Luxman M700U ANy comments re amp choice?
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Global Moderator
The Spare Bedroom Jul 29, 2023 17:27:31 GMT 12
via mobile
Gryffles likes this
Post by Citroen on Jul 29, 2023 17:27:31 GMT 12
Luxman, only because of the meters 😁
Cliff
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Post by michaelw on Jul 29, 2023 18:11:10 GMT 12
That's as good a reason as any...
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Post by snewt on Jul 29, 2023 21:26:20 GMT 12
Have you considered Pass Labs? I've been lusting after an XA 25 for the Tannoys. You might want one of their higher power offerings though.
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Post by michaelw on Jul 29, 2023 22:08:10 GMT 12
Pass have a big meter too !
As do Accuphase. 
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Post by Gryffles on Jul 30, 2023 0:41:08 GMT 12Totally agree re the Luxmans looks. It’s a stunner.
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Post by Gryffles on Jul 30, 2023 0:43:25 GMT 12I have indeed however the price of the higher power offerings is prohibitive for me. Really gone crazy You might be interested in my 25w F6 amps which I’ll likely be selling when the replacement amp is purchased.
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Post by Gryffles on Aug 4, 2023 17:18:19 GMT 12
Well something exciting is on the way to me very soon. Not even close to a SS amp.
A pair of McIntosh MC75 mkiii mono amps should be here mid next week. Looking forward to these!
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Post by Citroen on Aug 4, 2023 17:20:38 GMT 12
Great choice, but they don't have any VU meters! 🤣
Cliff
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Post by RdM on Aug 4, 2023 19:59:41 GMT 12A pair of McIntosh MC75 mkiii mono amps should be here mid next week. Looking forward to these! It's always interesting to have cause to look up not immediately known gear. This person seems to like their MC75 MkIII mono tube power amplifiers!
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Post by Gryffles on Aug 4, 2023 21:06:01 GMT 12The big boppers with VU meters are outta my league!
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Post by Gryffles on Aug 4, 2023 21:09:29 GMT 12A pair of McIntosh MC75 mkiii mono amps should be here mid next week. Looking forward to these! It's always interesting to have cause to look up not immediately known gear. This person seems to like their MC75 MkIII mono tube power amplifiers! Agreed, it is interesting. What’s also interesting is these amps can drive a 2ohm load and have 0.5 ohm output impedance. The above points are what swayed me from a SS purchase.
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