Post by cooksferry on May 8, 2019 16:03:46 GMT 12
Never being one to follow sage advice I have to admit to a degree of excitement as a new amp leaves today on it's way to a new home in my music room. Yes I know fools rush in etc but I do have good reasons for looking at an alternative or replacement for the Melody SP9R. Time will tell if the valves stay or go.
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Post by deano1974 on May 8, 2019 17:58:49 GMT 12
So exciting, I too have a new toy arriving soon and im not sleeping to well in anticipation of arrival Lol do us men ever really grow up 😋
Manager & Product specialist at Rapallo AV & HI-FI
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Pundit
Post by cartridge on May 9, 2019 17:07:32 GMT 12
So exciting, I too have a new toy arriving soon and im not sleeping to well in anticipation of arrival Lol do us men ever really grow up 😋 A new bluetooth speaker for the listening room? Maybe a UE Boom? Or a JBL Flip?
I can only guess until you tell us what's on its way... ;-)
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Post by cartridgeguyonline on May 9, 2019 17:43:44 GMT 12
Id be guessing its a Yamamoto headphone amp and a set of AT headphones ?
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Post by cooksferry on May 9, 2019 19:26:01 GMT 12
Id be guessing its a Yamamoto headphone amp and a set of AT headphones ? He's not that fortunate .
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Post by deano1974 on May 9, 2019 22:09:05 GMT 12
Ok ok so hopefully fingers crossed one of these
Manager & Product specialist at Rapallo AV & HI-FI
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Post by cooksferry on May 10, 2019 16:16:48 GMT 12
New amp arrived and setup. Bigger than the Melody and a bit of a squeeze on the stand. Fortunately not quite as heavy although only a couple of kg in it. Not passing any judgement till I have a few hours on it. Wife thought the system sounded nice. High praise. After listening via tubes for a decade or more there may be a little adjustment. Already noticed blacker background, deeper bass and picking out a few very low level details easier.
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Post by Citroen on May 10, 2019 16:51:30 GMT 12
Ok ok so hopefully fingers crossed one of these Dave(d) or Goliath?
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Post by cartridgeguyonline on May 10, 2019 17:24:23 GMT 12
Might I suggest a name change for this thread as we have now had 6 pages of "what change" all to prove that cooks changes his hifi gear more often than Heathen changes his underpants ?
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Post by deano1974 on May 10, 2019 17:27:01 GMT 12
Might I suggest a name change for this thread as we have now had 6 pages of "what change" all to prove that cooks changes his hifi gear more often than Heathen changes his underpants ? Agreed!
Manager & Product specialist at Rapallo AV & HI-FI
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Post by cooksferry on May 10, 2019 17:36:06 GMT 12
I blame it all on this forum.
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Post by deano1974 on May 10, 2019 18:07:42 GMT 12
Yes its your fault completely, did your new toy arrive?
Manager & Product specialist at Rapallo AV & HI-FI
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Post by cooksferry on May 10, 2019 18:27:28 GMT 12
Yes its your fault completely, did your new toy arrive? yes thank you. Appreciate your help. see post up page.
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Post by deano1974 on May 10, 2019 19:00:38 GMT 12
New amp arrived and setup. Bigger than the Melody and a bit of a squeeze on the stand. Fortunately not quite as heavy although only a couple of kg in it. Not passing any judgement till I have a few hours on it. Wife thought the system sounded nice. High praise. After listening via tubes for a decade or more there may be a little adjustment. Already noticed blacker background, deeper bass and picking out a few very low level details easier. Awesome!
Manager & Product specialist at Rapallo AV & HI-FI
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Post by michaelw on May 10, 2019 19:43:27 GMT 12
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Post by deano1974 on May 10, 2019 19:46:31 GMT 12
This beauty!
Manager & Product specialist at Rapallo AV & HI-FI
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Post by michaelw on May 10, 2019 23:26:18 GMT 12
some monster yamaha ?
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Post by Citroen on May 10, 2019 23:58:13 GMT 12
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Post by cooksferry on May 11, 2019 6:51:23 GMT 12
correct. I've been thinking for some time either getting a back up for or replacing the Melody before I cease work at the end of the year. The Melody performs well but there are a few things about a valve amp that don't always work for me so a SS version was looked at. Getting separates was off the books as I dont have the room although the Oppo HA-1 could be pressed into pre amp duty but I'd always have a nagging doubt that since it isn't a dedicated pre amp it would be a weak point. Since holding onto the Melody was on the cards I limited my budget to $3000 tops and new. I have to admit that I was seriously tempted by some 2nd hand items including a certain Luxman but in the end I decided new would probably be best bet. Didn't want anything to esoteric that didn't have NZ warranty and backup. That counted against the Schiit RAGNAROK along with stories of unresolved problems with some Schiit products on various forums. Just a straight stereo amp, not interested in digital inputs, inbuilt dacs etc. Final choices came down to Rotel or Yamaha. Reviews of the three top Yamaha A-S series have been on the whole positive and certain features like tone and balance controls now have appeal to compensate with hearing changes.Reports that the Yamaha's have a close to valve amp sound was another plus and I do have to confess to a liking for the VU meters, shallow I know. The current price reduction with the A-S1100 was also a big attraction. After a couple of hours listening I'm feeling quite positive and they have plenty of power to drive the SF Auditors . ps Yes, I know the heading for this thread is redundant. Reading my first post the Monitor Audio speakers, Dyna DV20 cart and P75 phono stage have all gone. In have come Project RS phono with Swagman LPS,Wand arm, 3 new cartridges,SF speakers, Tellerium speaker cables, Wireworld XLR phono cable .
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Post by cooksferry on Jul 8, 2019 12:34:55 GMT 12
next step in the ever changing system now underway. After about 10 years with the rack and most components hidden away in a corner I've decided to shift the rack to a more central position between the speakers and get rid of the coffee table that held the tv set. Plan is to add a 2nd shelf to the amp stand(that has tv on it for now) where the TV will go and will place the top of the screen about level with the window ledge. The Yamaha amp will go on the bottom shelf of the big rack that previously housed the Pure AV unit while the Melody amp will go under the TV. The Pure AV will be replaced by a PS Audio Dectec(when it decides to turn up) which I will make a small stand for and place between the two racks. I was hoping to have the extra shelf made the same as the current Jarrah ones but apparently that particular veneer is no longer available so I'll make up a ply item and stain to try for a reasonable match. Hopefully this will give me better access to the turntable for setting up cartridges and make swapping between amps relatively painless. Should also tidy up the room a bit and make better use of limited space.
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Post by Owen Y on Jul 8, 2019 13:08:22 GMT 12
So, you now have the SF spkrs firing across the short width dimension of the room, with seat in relative near-field distance?
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Post by cooksferry on Jul 8, 2019 14:30:49 GMT 12
So, you now have the SF spkrs firing across the short width dimension of the room, with seat in relative near-field distance? Yes, across the room Owen. Actual distance to speakers is about the same which ever direction I place them. If I have them firing down the room the left speaker has to be far enough away from the wall to allow easy access via the door which opens inward and the chair needed a little distance from the lp racks behind, so no real gain that way. The photo below shows how it was. Speaker distance apart will be slightly greater. I needed a layout that would also suit my current speaker cables and ics. Many a walk home from work has been spent going over this. The photo is a little deceptive, what looks like the chair is actually the separate foot stool. Distance speaker to speaker to chair is about equal.
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Post by Citroen on Jul 8, 2019 19:43:19 GMT 12
So, you now have the SF spkrs firing across the short width dimension of the room, with seat in relative near-field distance? Distance speaker to speaker to chair is about equal. Equilateral triangle is always a good place to start. And often finish.
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Post by cooksferry on Jul 14, 2019 11:41:01 GMT 12
Distance speaker to speaker to chair is about equal. Equilateral triangle is always a good place to start. And often finish. Very rough trial setup testing with cd playback for now. Will be a couple of weeks until I get the extra shelf built and the Dectec arrives. For now speaker tweeters 1.9 metres apart and within a couple of mm to match that at ear level on the chair so close enough to equilateral.
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Pundit
Post by beeman on Jul 14, 2019 13:33:39 GMT 12
The SF speakers & stands really are elegant units..
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Post by cooksferry on Jul 14, 2019 14:08:31 GMT 12
The SF speakers & stands really are elegant units.. Very black tie unlike their scruffy owner.
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Post by cooksferry on Jul 30, 2019 7:35:33 GMT 12
2nd ply shelf now almost finished. Glued two 12mm ply sheets together and cut to the same shape as the Soul to Sole amp stand. Probably would have been cheaper to get a joiner to do it as I ended up buying some extra tools(quick release clamp set and a cheap Forstner drill bit set )so I could counter sink the top of the legs into the shelf. Don't have a drill press at home so it's been a couple of after hours trips into work to use their press which always entails cleaning away metal shavings, grease, oil etc. Ply was just a C/D 1200x600 sheet but after a little sanding the C face has come up quite well.
I've never been the neatest wood worker so reasonably happy with the results. Just a final sand, countersink the top screw holes and try and match as close as possible the Jarrah finish with the various wood stains I have at home. Unfortunately plans for the PS Audio Dectec have fallen through, supply being an issue and after some thought have decided to stay with the Pure AV unit as a power supply. This does throw out my calculations about stand placement and it's just too wide to fit between the two stands but there's no reason that it can't sit out front. Doing that looks like I can route my power cables away from the ics better so there's a plus. I will knock up another ply stand for the Pure AV just to get it away from the floor. I have replaced all the damaged socket plates on it now so it's as new again. Last on the list is a set of cables for the Melody amp but that will wait until final placement of the stands and I can be sure of getting the right lengths.
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Post by Owen Y on Jul 30, 2019 9:44:41 GMT 12
I mostly use CD grade untreated pine ply. Recently, I got some CD ply (structural?) from Bunnings. I think it is Australian-sourced & seems to have a cleaner C-face & less edge voids (almost none) than our local stuff (sad to say).
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Post by cooksferry on Jul 30, 2019 10:15:54 GMT 12
I mostly use CD grade untreated pine ply. Recently, I got some CD ply (structural?) from Bunnings. I think it is Australian-sourced & seems to have a cleaner C-face & less edge voids (almost none) than our local stuff (sad to say). Going to be in Dn in a couple of weeks and plan is to look through Bunnings and see what they have. Options weren't great locally. Fortunately the piece I got from Mitre 10 has very good edges with just a sand down needed.
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Post by cooksferry on Aug 15, 2019 15:18:02 GMT 12
2nd rack now complete and a 2nd set of speaker cables ordered. Plan is to have both amps with their own cables connected so it's just a matter of swapping at the speaker end and selecting the correct output on the Mapletree line router. Final placement of both racks waits on the new cables so I can confirm fitment although it may be easier just to move a speaker in slightly than dismounting a rack with all that involves.
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