jp11801
-
Posts
4,521 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
9
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Posts posted by jp11801
-
-
had a chance to hear the 780's and have to say not too bad, they were apuresound rewired and had a decent range a bit heavy on the bass end and tonally all wrong but it would not qualify as an enhanced interrogation technique
-
Wow another great mini at Craig's house, I wanted to come down to hear Joe's (Dreamcomposer) balanced Zana and A/B with the HD-2 that I own. Well I got to do that and a whole lot more.
Rounding out the amp line up was
Eddie Current HD2
Eddie Current Balanced Zana Duex
Eddie Current balancing act (prototype)
We also had a singled ended Zana and a EC proto amp with C41 power tubes that sounded great.
David (909) was nice enough to bring his amazing source the Reimyo 777 CDP, if you get the chance this is one great sounding source. We also had the pleasure of going back to the future and hearing to well regarded linear tracking turntables from the late 70/80s the Sony ps x 800 and the Harman Kardon st-7.
For me the HD2 and the balanced Zana were tops at the meet it was hard for me to say which I prefered as they each did different things better. The HD2 wqas faster and more dynamic while the balanced Zana has a huge soundstage (best I have heard) with a more lush sound. The Zana balanced favored classical music and the HD2 favored rock and jazz. although I would thing the the balanced Zana would also be great with classic era jazz.
Craig as usual had a few tricks up this sleeve and had a new proto of the balancing act amp. This amp is a tube rollers dream come true with a 6sl7 up front with the option to run either 300b or 45 tubes in the power section. The 45 or 300b is switchable by the user with a knob upfront in the proto it is a switch on the top of the amp. We tried the amp with graphite plate tubes from China and we also had AVVT 300bs as well the AVVTs sounded great. This amp will be a winner, if it comes out... Also in the design stage is a proto of a scaled back version of the HD2 amp. The amp that sounds best will in all likelihood go into production.
The linear tracking turntables were a real treat the Sony is so advanced it is amazing. The arm constantly checks to ensure it is aligned properly with sensors and tracking force is knob adjustable as the table can measure the weight and adjust accordingly. The Harman Kardon was far simpler with a Rabco arm and stainless/aluminum chassis it looked really cool. The HK sounded a bit better but I really felt it was more of a case of being better dialed in with a cart that matched the arm better. I am looking forward to hearing this deck again with a better cart match. I like the HK so much I found one on line today and bought it.
We took some pics so hopefully they will go up soon. I am leaving out a bunch but more to come.
Oh and for the surprise of the day Foome was in town also and stopped by with his Zana, it is always great to see a him.
-
good to hear that they repaired t#357 as I was the original owner, I just thought they sounded off in tonal accuracy. Sad to hear that there may be a batch of these with iffy sounding drivers. I recently heard Voltron's pair and they sounded really nice but I am still not sure I'd take them over the 650s or rs1s.
-
update on the gem dandy, I do not recommend this unit unless you own a wet suit or have been to a Gallagher comdedy show and enjoy sitting in the front row. It cleans the lps just fine but even doing this outside produced a mess. I am going to stick with steam cleaning for now.
For those that worry about the steam cleaning a record damage I have cleaned over a dozen lps and played them all without a trace of damage just clean pure music and amazingly clean records.
-
Nice one I may have to use it. BTW the GEM Dandy cleans the shit out of a record but is incredibly messy water goes everywhere but the record is very clean and free of any leftover record cleaning fluids. For me this is outdoor only and I'd have to clean 10 or more at a time to make the mess and hassle worth it. Steam OTOH is easy to use and can be ready in minutes and makes no mess. I have listened to records that have been previously cleaned with disc doctor fluid on a vpi 16.5 then steam cleaned them and to my ears they had more top end detail and greater soundstage. I am open to the fact that it may be placebo or some other mind fuck but I'd be willing to have a local check it out with me to see if they hear it.
-
Do you have a RCM as well? If you have a RCM with a vacuum then just lay the lp on it and start the turntable then steam for about 15 seconds a side. I then vacuum off the water then repeat. You may want to experiment with record cleaning solutions as well to lossen up the grime.
-
not at all it is a call out on cost
-
many mapleshade items are overpriced but the racks are not bad as are the maple blocks. I have a timber nation flame maple block 18 by 24 that I use for my TT stand nice work but probably made of 9 pieces or wood the mapleshade are 3 large piece. Both are nice and make great stands. His cds are great sounding as well minimal miking some of the best I own and he offers an exchange if you think the music on them sucks. Put me down for the trash can sonata by Dusty.
-
ok I am throwing the gauntlet down on the steam cleaning. Mike and Al will be around Sunday in San Francisco and I will bring the steam cleaner and demo the before and after. At the minimum it is as good or better than expensive solutions, one bottle of cleaner costs as much as a 'perfection' steam cleaner available at walgreens $29.99.
I would estimate that groove noise it cut in half on a record that I previously cleaned with cleaning solution and vinyl zyme on a vpi 16.5.
The mapleshade steamer is the perfection model sold with an ungodly markup and some solution that I would not let enter a steam cleaner. DO NOT put anything other than water in a steam cleaner.
-
to prevent label damage place a cup over the label
-
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1192142257&openfrom&1&4#1
really good stuff once you get though the BS about distilled water...
I have never heard vinyl this clean before, essentially this is the sound of no shit in the bottom of the groove. I have an old blue label london copy of beggars banquet from the Stones that always sounded good but the detail ad complete lack of grunge is remarkable. Again do not get a large steam cleaner get the small hand held they recommend in the thread. This is clearly a step up from vacuum machines and for those on a budget this can be accomplished without a record cleaning machine and will cost you a total of $40-50 bucks that is equal to or greater than the $400-$1500 machines out there.
-
Another HUGE discovery was the Steam Cleaning thread on record cleaning on Audiogon. Ok I bought too powerful a steam cleaner and it fucked up the first one but if I hold it 6 inches away WOW I have never heard an LP this clean.
Do not buy a powerful model get a small handheld and read the thread on audiogon in the analog section.
-
at first I thought the price was high for something that a competent diyer could probably cobble together at home depot but I suck at that kind of thing so I am willing to pay the $120 for $30-40 worth of parts, a $10 cleaning solution and groove lubricant worth about $20.
-
I really like the suckitalo.com line of cables
-
he recommends pad dry with gerber baby towel, I'll probably do this and get a dish rack as well. There is a pretty big thread over a the hoffman site that discussed various manual cleaning methods and the air dry after a pat down seems effective providing all contaminates are off the record.
-
This looks promising for those that are into LPs. This is a new somewhat diyish style cleaner for lps that uses a system like a power washer but for lps. You spread on a cleaner that loosens up the dirt and muck on an lp then with a hose that attaches to your sink you spray off the cleaner. The advantage to this system is no residue from the cleaner gets stuck in the groove and should provide for a cleaner quieter lps. The drawback is it is messy and I would probably do this outside or in a garage. The other thing that immediately struck me was the use of tap water that has several contaminates that distilled does not. George Merrill is the maker and seller of this unit and he has a stellar rep in the industry and he states that most tap water is fine unless you have unusually hard water and then a charcoal filter should do the trick.
Here is a link to the 6moons review http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/gem/dandy.html.
I am going to pick one up this week in the hopes of cleaning some records that the VPI just will not get quiet.
what say the peanut gallery
-
I am going to test the duet soon with needle drops, previously I used an alesis masterlink but now I think the duet with audacity and a declicker may be the ticket
-
Ken bought my Grado HP2s from me and sent the cash so fast my head spun. Great guy and I would work with Ken again either as a buyer or seller. Another positive experience with Ken
-
I've been thinking about the anvil/calzone type case with removable foam for my amp. It's costly but a great and secure travel solution. I had a mini scare after hitting the brakes hard during a trip with my amp to a local stereo store.
-
Mike I'll bring the cart and my set gear to CanJam if you want and we can do a comparison on your table if you like, unfortunately after you hear it you might end spending some cash
-
sorry it is the R100 yatra ok
Mike just buy one already
-
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f43/fs-vpi-scout-304777/
Nikongod's selling his Scout with JMW9 with a tach for $1000.
well he just bought a teres motor, bearing and platter from me and is building his own deck, not sure of what the plinth will be yet.
-
I was minutes too late on the dac
digital is so last year anywayIf this cart gets better I'll be in heaven as it is better than my shelter already
-
I wanted to go low output but he offered such a good deal on the .48 with the silver base that I could not refuse.
Does the cart take a dump and then come back or just steadily improve? So far right out of the box it is great, bass is just a touch prominent and if it opens in the mids and highs it would be perfect!! For now I am enjoying another layer of the sonic window removed this is one killer brand of carts. I almost went bloom but without the SB weight I would have to have used some sort of weight with my origin live encounter arm.
Next up is the wallet killing Galibier Serac turntable, thankfully it takes months to get and it's a 50% deposit.
Mini meet at Eddie Current 4/13/08
in Meet Impressions
Posted
There is more than one way to balance an amp, Craig uses transformers in his balanced circuit, if you google 'audio transformer balanced' you will see a few white papers and general articles on the concept and its use in pro audio for decades. I do not pretend to understand the ins and outs of balanced audio but if you have a moment read some of the articles.
Why not run 300b tubes, one thing that I have learned with this hobby is, yes you can power a headphone by providing enough power to satisfy the minimum/basic requirements but when headphones are hit with more power they generally respond positively to it. As an example if a 300b supplied 10 watts of power at the balanced jack (it would provide less in this case) and another amp supplies 1 watt the 10 watt amp would deliver roughly double the volume of the 1 watt amp providing they both were at the same ohm rating. Again I am not a really tech guy I just know enough to get myself into trouble.