Post by cooksferry on Jul 3, 2017 15:21:13 GMT 12
cooksferry - I may have put you wrong on the Impedance knob setting on the Phono Box RS, for the Hana SL (& the XX2).... The Phono Box manual gives the example of an Ortofon Quintet Black & suggests setting the variable Impedance at 7 ohms. This I can only assume is to match Coil impedance of the Quintet, which is specified at 5 ohms. IOW the Impedance knob is to match cartrdige coil/source Impedance, not the recommended load impedance for the cartridge (which is specified >20 ohms for the Quintet). But I could be wrong! The knob settings from 10 - 1200 ohms, seem to be interpreted by most other people as meaning input load impedance. If this is the case, then.... For the Hana SL (coil imped 30 ohms I believe) - recommended load Impedance is >400 ohms. For the XX2 (coil impedance 6 ohms) - recommended load impedance is >30 ohms. Anyhow, the Phono Box RS allows you to change this while listening, a nice feature. YMMV but usually, at the lower end of recommended loading range, HF becomes sweeter (taming of the ultrasonic peaking of the MC cartr), but bass becomes softer. So, you can adjust to suit your system/ear. Normally, for most low output MCs, like the XX2, start at around 100 ohms loading - then adjust up/down & listen. Let us know how it works out. Bother, your post made me go back and look at my data sheet for the Hana I was was loading it incorrectly. (Impedance 30Ω/1KHz (SL) Suggested load ) >400Ω (SL) Will have to try again down the line but at this stage will run the Dyna for a couple of months to bed it in. The Phono RS booklet states the impedance control is for load where I was looking at coil impedance. Well at least I'm starting from a better position with the XX2 which says >30 so where I'm at about 40 is in the ball park but will certainly try other settings. Not exactly hard to do. On a side note Antique Electronics supplies are having a sale so took the chance to grab some 5AR4 rectifier tubes for a play since they're not hugely expensive. Added another T.A.D , a Ruby and a Gold Lion. My current T.A.D has lasted well so another as backup made sense.
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Pundit
Post by SL1210 on Jul 17, 2017 16:23:47 GMT 12
Yes, and hide the whiskey bottle would probably help as well. I'm going to have to disagree with you there. My mother always said: 'Son, before you change cartridges always take a wee dram to steady your hand.'
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Post by Owen Y on Jul 17, 2017 16:56:50 GMT 12
I'm going to have to disagree with you there. My mother always said: 'Son, before you change cartridges always take a wee dram to steady your hand.' But as Lou Reed once said, "...you can't always trust your mother: (Apologies cooksferry for polluting your thread, but v possibly you might have this album.)
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2017 13:07:09 GMT 12
Yes, and hide the whiskey bottle would probably help as well. I'm going to have to disagree with you there. My mother always said: 'Son, before you change cartridges always take a wee dram to steady your hand.' Cherish that mother!
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Post by cooksferry on Jul 18, 2017 16:24:24 GMT 12
Why stop at one dram. As the incomparable Lonesome Bob say
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Post by michaelw on Jul 18, 2017 17:06:03 GMT 12
how about no sex ? worked for george costanza
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Post by cooksferry on Jul 31, 2017 7:27:52 GMT 12
A few changes going on at the moment. Swapped out the long term Gold Lion for Psvane KT88, and the TAD 5AR4 for a Ruby branded one. Since the Dyna XX2 is still probably settling in it's a bit early to call yea or nay on any of the above. At the moment I'd have to say that the sound is cleaner, lost a little of that fabled analogue warmth that some people harp on about. I may have a play with the Project arm and drop it down at the back a little . I think the highs are about right, even Dylan's harmonica has lost its ear bleed quality but the bass , while fast and well defined, could use more weight. If anything I'm probably getting a more accurate presentation of what's on the lp . Reading various forums the Psvane are reckoned to need quite a few hours up before showing their best so at the rate of hours I manage each week it could be the new year before I'm there. Just to complicate matters I have another couple of rectifier tubes that arrived with the Ruby that I need to get a few hours on just to make sure that they at least work.
Maybe retirement is the answer and devote myself to the stereo for a few months.
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Post by guitardude on Jul 31, 2017 14:48:18 GMT 12
Wait til you get the other arm up and running, will give you hours of opportunity for faffing about.
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Post by cooksferry on Jul 31, 2017 15:15:53 GMT 12
Wait til you get the other arm up and running, will give you hours of opportunity for faffing about. Faffing about is one thing I can still manage to a spectacular degree. My wife can confirm that.
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Post by cooksferry on Aug 19, 2017 19:00:51 GMT 12
Added a Project VCS vacuum unit today. Not too big so fits into a niche in my room and nice and quick in use. Two minutes tops for a clean and quieter than I thought it would be. I can see many more lps being cleaned now than the rigmarole using the manual KAB. A bit more than I wanted to spend but looking long term a worth while investment.
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Post by cooksferry on Aug 22, 2017 7:39:03 GMT 12
Had a wee change around on the amp over the weekend and fitted another of the rectifier tubes, 5AR4, from the trio I ordered some weeks ago. I had been using a TAD tube for some years and swapped out for a Ruby. Probably not the best idea that I also changed the KT88s around the same time and the Psvane tubes are noted to take some time before settling in. I have found the Ruby a little light weight in the mid range but that could be that I've been used to a more congested response with the TAD. Swapped out the Ruby for a Gold Lion rectifier and with only a couple of hours up already find that more to my liking. Whether that would still hold try once the Psvane are run in or if I swap back to the Gold Lion KT88s time will tell.
I really need to become more consistent with a choice of a couple of very familiar records to use during these evaluations rather than just picking some thing from the racks.
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Post by Owen Y on Aug 22, 2017 12:26:33 GMT 12
I really need to become more consistent with a choice of a couple of very familiar records to use during these evaluations rather than just picking some thing from the racks. Often useful to play different records. The danger is your system becoming 'tuned' to sound well with only a narrow portion of your collection.
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Post by cooksferry on Aug 29, 2017 12:46:27 GMT 12
New cartridge arrived today, Audio Technica AT33 mono. Unfortunately with better weather, the lure of the veg garden and a trip to Dunedin it may be a few weeks before I get it fitted.
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Post by cooksferry on Sept 4, 2017 7:44:16 GMT 12
Spent a productive(?) couple of hours on Saturday swapping cartridges around. The Dynavector XX2 is now on the Wand arm and the AT33 mono on the Project. Going by a spec sheet the AT33 looked like a good match for the Project but it turned out to be a bit of a bugger to set up. First of all the cart pins are a bit larger than any thing else I've used so I spent a good half hour with fingers crossed very gently prying apart the Project tags to get them at least half way on the AT33. Second problem was the very short and hidden cantilever. I generally line up the shaft rather than the cart body but had to revert to using the body as I couldn't even see the cantilever once it is in playback position. In the end I dug out my HiFi News test album and used the protractor in that for alignment. I can't complain about the tracking of the AT as it's easily the best I've run through the 4 resonance tracks with just a slight breakup on the final track. Only had time for a couple of lps so far and am a little undecided if a mono cartridge is adding anything that a dedicated mono switch isn't already doing.
I feel I have a little fine tuning still on the Wand/Dyna combo, mainly in VTA and Azimuth . Had the arm a little too low originally and raising it a few mm certainly helped bring vocals much more into focus. As you'd hope , even after just a couple of sides, I'm finding the XX2 a notch or two above the Hana , a bit more finesse and digging just a little deeper so you get those "wow, haven't heard that with such clarity" moments.
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Pundit
Post by SL1210 on Sept 7, 2017 14:07:14 GMT 12
Threads like this are making me come round to the view that proper setup is at least as important as the choice of components. So many planets to align: Level surface, Azimuth, VTA, Tracking weight, Cartridge and Tonearm and phono stage matching, static and dust control. I guess it is worth it.
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Post by cooksferry on Sept 8, 2017 8:54:20 GMT 12
If I had the hearing of a 20yo and my current knowledge I'd be set. Age and work environment can play havoc on our hearing so sometimes it's a waste of effort worrying about micro adjustments. Most of the time now I'm just happy to be in the ball park. Occasionally I luck into the best seats.
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Post by guitardude on Sept 8, 2017 10:55:56 GMT 12
From my own point of view, as I am unable to afford the ultimate in vinyl replay it is in my own interest to ensure that what I have is performing to the best of it's ability. That said, I dont really obsess over things such as Azimuth or SRA, IMO A level surface, properly tuned suspension/support are of the utmost importance. My preamp doesnt have adjustable loads so all that is a given. Also it's probably a generational thing: I'm quite happy to faff about with turntables whereas streaming, downloading and generally dealing with computers frustrates me something wicked. Dont even get me started on mobile phones !
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Post by Graham on Sept 8, 2017 11:08:12 GMT 12
Ha ha, yep I have to agree with you. I'm the same . I've only recently graduated to a 'smart' phone.
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Post by Graham on Sept 8, 2017 11:11:43 GMT 12
See, typical bloody computer. The quote disappeared. Couldn't possibly be my fault !!
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Post by guitardude on Sept 8, 2017 15:57:15 GMT 12
Yeah same as me, it's an ID ten T error ?
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Pundit
Post by SL1210 on Sept 8, 2017 17:14:00 GMT 12
From my own point of view, as I am unable to afford the ultimate in vinyl replay it is in my own interest to ensure that what I have is performing to the best of it's ability. That said, I dont really obsess over things such as Azimuth or SRA, IMO A level surface, properly tuned suspension/support are of the utmost importance. My preamp doesnt have adjustable loads so all that is a given. Also it's probably a generational thing: I'm quite happy to faff about with turntables whereas streaming, downloading and generally dealing with computers frustrates me something wicked. Dont even get me started on mobile phones ! Right, that's it! Friggin friggin double friggin mobile phone. Just got first phone in about 6 years. A Samsung Galaxy S7. Good grief - my own phone. That's right: MY phone - it spams me! I am perpetually bombarded with "Upgrade this, upgrade that, download this, download that, register for this, activate that, Try out this, You need that, Here's a special offer, Do you want more minutes?" No FFS I do not want more minutes - I want a machine gun! and I wanna know where you live!
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Post by Owen Y on Sept 11, 2017 10:42:22 GMT 12
If I had the hearing of a 20yo and my current knowledge I'd be set. Age and work environment can play havoc on our hearing so sometimes it's a waste of effort worrying about micro adjustments. Most of the time now I'm just happy to be in the ball park. Occasionally I luck into the best seats. cooks - my experience leads me to tend to disagree.... although my 'hearing' has degraded with age, I 'hear' music better, I think with experience. And I most of us can do so, so I don't buy into 'age' as a problem in this game.
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Post by cooksferry on Sept 11, 2017 10:55:42 GMT 12
When I was 20 Owen I didn't have constant Tititus in my left ear and what is probably Meniere's disease in my right. Fortunately the later has appeared to have all but vanished after several very disturbing episodes a few years ago. Experience can compensate for some things it cant do much about problems mentioned above. What has happened now is that I trust my own hearing less and rely on feedback from other family members for anything I consider important. If I'm honest I'm close to needing hearing aids, not so much for listening to music but any environment with back ground noise presents problems. Haven't been able to listen to the radio in the car for instance for some time(no loss) or have a conversation with my wife when travelling.And no, for any misogynists I don't count that as a bonus.
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Post by cooksferry on Nov 4, 2017 9:05:57 GMT 12
Still in speaker research mode and after looking at some You Tube videos on Martin Logans there's still a small itch there, despite one retailer telling me they wont work. One of the vids stated that MLs need to be at least 2.5 feet from the rear wall to work properly and have an even side wall to side wall. With the set up I was running, across the room, one speaker was very close to the vinyl storage while the other had a good metre and a bit to it's nearest wall. Getting the needed rear wall space would have meant getting quite close to my seating position as well. Wife working last night and at a loose end I attacked the room and swapped the speakers through 90 degrees so they're now firing down the room and are very close to equi-distant from each side wall. The rear ports on the Monitor Audios are plugged so hopefully very little interaction back on the TT although probably not wise positioning with panel speakers firing rearward. I also now have a good metre of rear space. This is how I ran the setup for a few years until I added the TV set . At the moment I'm considering mounting the TV to the wall. It's a little cramped getting into the TT but not too bad. First test today and see how it all sounds, who know's I might find enough improvement this way with my current speakers that they stay. Definitely on the list is another set of speaker cables. Cloth Ears set have served me well but their bulk makes them a bit difficult to manage at times.
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Post by foveaux on Nov 4, 2017 11:22:29 GMT 12
Ahh...Cooks the tyranny of a restless soul, yearning reconciliation with the mind and heart of a perfectionist... But...rewardingly, always enjoying the journey. Bon Voyage.
"I see music as a lifetime affair." [Rory Gallagher]
"Free - I miss that band, but when I look back, we were very young" [Paul Rodgers]
848 posts
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Post by sub on Nov 4, 2017 12:58:31 GMT 12
Sadly it does appear the audio/hifi as we know it is a pursuit of mainly middle aged plus men. Most of the audio focused younger generations are now lurking on Headfi and the like. My daughter, who fits the above demographic, has been into vinyl for years, but the big surprise just heard is that my 15 year old grandson and one of his mates from school have got the vinyl bug as well. They were disappointed to miss out on a nice copy of Pink Floyd’s The Wall - it had sold by the time they saved to buy it. The friend has bought a cheap TT, and my Grandson is on the look out for his first TT as well -anyone in Tauranga with something a beginner could use? My daughter told me, she had gone to bed early one night recently, when my grandsons friend was staying over, got up to visit the toilet, saw lounge door shut and light on, investigated and found both boys intently listening to vinyl LP with their ears pressed up to the speakers. She told them, if you want to play that music, it has to be listened to loud, and made them turn it up!
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Pundit
Post by SL1210 on Nov 19, 2017 20:16:12 GMT 12
I really need to become more consistent with a choice of a couple of very familiar records to use during these evaluations rather than just picking some thing from the racks. Often useful to play different records. The danger is your system becoming 'tuned' to sound well with only a narrow portion of your collection.That's deep!
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Post by Owen Y on Nov 20, 2017 8:14:54 GMT 12
Still in speaker research mode and after looking at some You Tube videos on Martin Logans there's still a small itch there, despite one retailer telling me they wont work. One of the vids stated that MLs need to be at least 2.5 feet from the rear wall to work properly and have an even side wall to side wall. With the set up I was running, across the room, one speaker was very close to the vinyl storage while the other had a good metre and a bit to it's nearest wall. Getting the needed rear wall space would have meant getting quite close to my seating position as well. Wife working last night and at a loose end I attacked the room and swapped the speakers through 90 degrees so they're now firing down the room and are very close to equi-distant from each side wall. The rear ports on the Monitor Audios are plugged so hopefully very little interaction back on the TT although probably not wise positioning with panel speakers firing rearward. Is that sounding any better or different?
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Post by cooksferry on Nov 20, 2017 8:26:27 GMT 12
Definitely better Owen. Bass is tighter and sound stage more 3D.
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Post by Graham on Nov 20, 2017 8:34:35 GMT 12
Hi Cooks
Do I presume my old Gold lion KT88s are doing the business and match up with your existing pair ?
Cheers Graham
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