The KillerDAC Audio forum
General HIFI => Vinyl => Topic started by: flemo on April 08, 2014, 06:57:52 PM
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All this talk of digital is making me violently ill!!
We need some real hi-fi porn - TURNTABLES !! :P
Here's something I picked up a little while ago that I forgot about, quite a rare set up in Australia. Its very nice actually.
The SOTA Sapphire TT with uber rare ZITA tonearm and Talismans MC cartridge.
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Nice, The last turntable I owned was a black Sota Cosmos vacuum, a Graham arm, and lyra cartridge, it was so nice sounding. I loved going to the second hand record fairs, often paying a few bucks for a vintage USA RCA Living stereo shaded dog S1 pressing, or a Mercury Classical, Back then they where often bringing $1000 for the best copys.
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Looks cool!
No denying turntable setups can look and sound amazing. Thing is that there are so many different combos and factors involved in every setup, I found it pretty hard to get any useful discussion with anyone else on online forums, as I guess just too many variables that can all greatly affect the sound at play.
Then again, same with most things hifi really.
Showcase/photo threads always good though! :D
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I was lamenting the other day what a bottomless pit of money, vinyl rigs can amount to. And as you say T, there seams like there is an infinite amount of variables in play, and setup plays a big role too. It's not straight forward.
The stuff that has cost me money (and over multiple upgrades, yada yada);
Cartridge (raw 103r cart plus mod (wooden body))
Tonearm (including tonearm wiring or cabling)
Deck
Isolation platform
MC->MM Step Up
MM Phono Stage
A cool pic I like,,,,,,
(http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1370915/Audio/Gear/kingwood_103r.jpg)
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Nice one oz.
Pic of when I had a Lenco PTP. Sweet plinth made by flemo audio ;D
(http://i49.tinypic.com/23uok5f.jpg)
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Nice !
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thanks!
Best cart I had tried was the Lyra Delos MC cartridge. Very big, open, dynamic and balanced sounding. Not cheap though. $1500 or so from PureMusicGroup!
(http://i46.tinypic.com/2vty0k2.jpg)
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Very nice Pete . The Sota's are supposed to be very good and the Zeta's were excellent arms ( though they did have quality control problems when we were selling them ).
Really must get round to getting my Lp12 running again ;D
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All this talk of digital is making me violently ill!!
We need some real hi-fi porn - TURNTABLES !! :P
Here's something I picked up a little while ago that I forgot about, quite a rare set up in Australia. Its very nice actually.
The SOTA Sapphire TT with uber rare ZITA tonearm and Talismans MC cartridge.
You dont like accurate if you use tt's
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Thought you guys might enjoy this ;D
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Some things I'd like to play with...Fidelity Research FR-64s and 66s. I use the FR-54 and love it! Ikeda- San knew what he was doing...old school goodness, not modern Hifi junk 8)
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Shindo TT...I really need to hear this!
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EMT 997 banana
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Maybe one day, but given how much they go for these days..... :(
EMT 927...arguably the best turntable ever made
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the only way is up on EMT prices :(
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Unfortunately so...I keep the slim hope I'll find one for $20 at a gararge sale ::)
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Though not for me...I love the look of the SOTA turntables...
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Fark.... after 8 months in the paint shop, and threatening to torch the premises, it is alive.....
Excuse the pic's they were done in haste. ???
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Very nice 8)
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Flemo, you've got a real talent for taking vintage gear and breathing fresh new life into them, turning classic items into genuine audiophile erotica. ;)
Well done on this latest installment of flemo hifi love.
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That looks so nice Pete.
Actually making me sort of tempted.... damn you!
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Fark.... after 8 months in the paint shop, and threatening to torch the premises, it is alive.....
Excuse the pic's they were done in haste. ???
Hey Flemo,
How is it sounding?
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Thanks Oz,
I have another one so I have to decide.....
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Hey Flemo,
How is it sounding?
Haven't got that far yet. I have located a modest arm for the rear or left side, which I'm having rewired. I need to purchase a decent main arm, which I haven't decided until I work out how much to spend! Maybe a Jelco 12" ? I have 2 x LOMC's ready to go so it close mate, after nearly 18 months! :(
Then one day soon I hope to start the Thorens TD124II project. :P
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30.000 records, A vinyl lovers dream, and they are in perth.
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Lordy!!! :o
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I wonder if they have the "best record in the world"???
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(http://i60.tinypic.com/5a48x.jpg)
30.000 records, A vinyl lovers dream, and they are in perth.
thanks for the picture... I felt free to prolong your share over to Stefano's site...
...and Stefano happens to put this picture right before, quote: "It"s me!":
(http://i62.tinypic.com/iyn89l.jpg)
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I wonder if they have the "best record in the world"???
Nah not a chance ;D
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what record is that?
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Yes, I must know, what record is that.
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Dropped the farken needle last night !!! [Grrrrrrrr] :-[
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ouch, too many reds?
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Bummer! That sucks man. My last stylus lasted four days until my todler got to it ???
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One reason I went for MM this time, replaceable stylus ;D
The other was the sound. I love the sound of the Garrott P77i...it was just what I was looking for. And sure beats the snot out of my last cart, the Ortofon Kontrapunkt B, in the things that matter to me. 8)
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TT setups can be frustrating at times. I bumped the arm and it fell onto the metal platter, [bang]. Boooo.
I received my custom Goldpoint SA2 yesterday, and spent a few hours with it last night. Sounds awesome with the Killerdac.
But I lost bottom end "drive" when running the phono into it (I guess it's a similar situation to what you had with Stevens pot Andy).
As it stands, to leave the Goldpoint in over the AN M3, I'd be making gains on the digital side, but losing on the vinyl side.
I have an idea though (no it's not to keep both), will keep you posted.
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That was my experience Oz. Good luck, I hope you find a way of getting it to work with both. I am going down the autotransformer path until I can afford a great active linestage. The AVC seems to maintain both resolution and drive when using either source.
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what record is that?
Living Stereo LSC-2150 Prokofieff - Lieutenant Kije, Stravinsky - Song of the Nightingale
Clarity Records 200g SV-PII.
It's not the best record in the world (that's silly) But it is the best bloody record I own. ;D
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I received my custom Goldpoint SA2 yesterday, and spent a few hours with it last night. Sounds awesome with the Killerdac.
But I lost bottom end "drive" when running the phono into it (I guess it's a similar situation to what you had with Stevens pot Andy).
There were 2 things running through my mind.
Firstly, I need to run in the pot (the Dale-Vishay resistors need running in).
Secondly, I have a couple of different buffers sitting around, if the lack of drive is due to impedance matching, that's what buffers are intended to fix. Now you can say, what's the point, that's half the reason why an active preamp is a better approach. Lets come back to that thought, as I'm working through a process of elimination.
I put the pot onto my run-in system and let it go for over 24 hours. This morning I went ruffling through my storage room looking for the buffers.
I've been messing around for a couple of hours now, experimenting. I started with my Burson buffer, as that is the most transparent. Indeed the bottom end drive was there. I then put the Audio Fidelity buffer on, and let it warm up. The drive was there, but the music was far too polite. I put the Burson back, and it had more life. Then I took the buffers out, and ran the phono direct. Fark, the bottom end is still there, but everything is better, realism, transparency. I should have baselined my testing with no buffer first, I jumped straight to the buffer approach, figuring that was the solution.
So I pull out 1 of my vinyl rips, run it on the dac, sounding nice, weighty, clear, all the good stuff we know the Killer can do. Then I put the same record on and played it from the TT rig, took a bit of fiddling to volume match, the weight and drive was all very similar to the Dac (maybe just a tad behind in midbass), but there was a bit more top end transparency.
Running in the pot appears to have made a dramatic difference.
Also wondering if my output tubes in the Dac are starting to show signs of age. I'll have to take them up to Stevens and check.
Audio Note is coming out.
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Since I compromised my cart, it has forced a change.
Soundsmith upgraded 103R with Ruby OC/CL cantilever.
Currently sitting in customs, because I got stung. Grrr
Hope its a step forward?
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Soundsmith has arrived, and here it is (nuded) compared to the stock nude 103r. SS on left (with pretty ruby cantilever),,,,,
(http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1370915/Audio/Gear/103r_sidebyside.jpg)
And fitted to Duc's Kingwood body.
(http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1370915/Audio/Gear/103r_inwood.jpg)
Now running in.
PS: In removing the stock cart from the wooden body, I got to have a really close look at it, and yes, the suspension had been compromised in dropping it. So, the change was certainly necessary.
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Well, it's been running all afternoon and evening, and I have to say it's noticbly different.
The most obvious is the treble, it's got more extension, but is smooth and natural.
I thought the stock cartridge was fine, before I heard this, but now I think it was bordering on being a little edgy.
Mids and bass seem the same so far. Bigger sound stage, tighter imaging. But that top end is quite intoxicating now with the Ruby OC/CL upgrade.
Trawling through the recently cleaned records tonight. Very nice. Should be good to start recording again in a week or so. 8)
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So, after a bit of running in, it was time to go through the process of fine tuning the cart installation.
This one was more challenging than most, because the ruby cantilever was not perfectly aligned to the cart body. If you look at the pic above, it is slightly off to 1 side. So rather than align the cart body to the protractor, I had to squint and line up the cantilever to protractor by eye.
I then adjusted azimuth, which again needed a bit more tweaking than I am used to due to the cantilever angle, but I have got it pretty close to optimum. It's a slow process, as the little-est of change can tilt you off the optimum point.
Then I did VTA, which is really fiddly with my arm. But I have got it pretty close to the sweet spot, after fiddling. Came back and checked/tweaked azimuth. Every adjustment inter-relates, in a way.
I'll now put another 100 odd hours on the cart, and check it all again.
Long story short, with this new cart, and after the fine tuning, my TT now sounds better than the Kdac (and by a significant margin). :o
I now have to come back and revisit the dac. It has never really been properly dialled in to this Tannoy system, So, Time to tackle it again.
Peeling back the onion. 8)
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Hi Ozmillsy
Nice looking cartridge ... have at times been tempted to get something similar myself.
Was wondering which phono stage you're using and if you use step up transformers with it.
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Hey Klackto, I use an EAR 834P (MM) phono, and a transformer based stepup by GoldenAge Audio (Duc).
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Nice combo.
Is that a PU3 I spotted in one of your photos?
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Nice combo.
Is that a PU3 I spotted in one of your photos?
It is sounding nice, especially after loading the phono with nice tubes.
Yep, PU3 rewired with cardas direct to RCA bullets wiring loom. Azimuth is a breeze on the PU3, VTA fiddly. The PU3 is a nice arm, although it is light, I measured resonance at 9hz on the weekend. :)
TT is an old Luxman PD-310.
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I have a PU3 sitting in the cupboard. I'm holding onto it for my next TT project and plan to rewire it as well (have so many projects in the back of my head it's a wonder I have any brain cells left for anything else :D).
Did you rewire the arm yourself? Also, where did you source the Cardas? .... i was thinking of getting a Rega rewiring kit like the Incognito and adapting that?
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Nah, I believe the former owner sent it off for re-wiring. I bought it that way.
I have no complaints, but I do have to be super super careful with the wiring and bullets. I have had to fix it once.
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Duc (Golden Age Audio) in Melbourne can rewire your tonearm and he does great work. He is a tonearm specialist. He has several options re wiring. Check out his website.
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Thanks Springcreek ....... will keep that in mind.
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So, after a bit of running in, it was time to go through the process of fine tuning the cart installation.
This one was more challenging than most, because the ruby cantilever was not perfectly aligned to the cart body. If you look at the pic above, it is slightly off to 1 side. So rather than align the cart body to the protractor, I had to squint and line up the cantilever to protractor by eye.
I then adjusted azimuth, which again needed a bit more tweaking than I am used to due to the cantilever angle, but I have got it pretty close to optimum. It's a slow process, as the little-est of change can tilt you off the optimum point.
Then I did VTA, which is really fiddly with my arm. But I have got it pretty close to the sweet spot, after fiddling. Came back and checked/tweaked azimuth. Every adjustment inter-relates, in a way.
I'll now put another 100 odd hours on the cart, and check it all again.
Long story short, with this new cart, and after the fine tuning, my TT now sounds better than the Kdac (and by a significant margin). :o
I now have to come back and revisit the dac. It has never really been properly dialled in to this Tannoy system, So, Time to tackle it again.
Peeling back the onion. 8)
Nice one Oz! Enjoy the new cart mate, glad to hear it is singing.
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Soundsmith has arrived, and here it is (nuded) compared to the stock nude 103r. SS on left (with pretty ruby cantilever),,,,,
(http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1370915/Audio/Gear/103r_sidebyside.jpg)
Was in the mood for some Sunday morning LP spinning.
Went to lower the arm, and my cantilever was missing. WTF !!
Had visitors last night with a bunch of kids, playing around all over the house with our kids. [sighs]
Soundsmith is dead. That really stings. :-[ :'(
Young kids and TT's just dont mix. >:(
Might have to pull up stumps on the TT until I am in the next place, which will have dedicated room, well away from other living areas.
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That hurts, I once caught my sleeve on the lifter of my graham arm, it moved up and down hitting the record, upon inspection to my horror, no cantilever. It was a new Lyra clavis $1800, $900 to fix the tip.
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Steven, 1 of my el34 metal base tubes popped yesterday morning (I was tube rolling).
Looks like I've been hexed !!! :o :-\ :-X
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That hurts, I once caught my sleeve on the lifter of my graham arm, it moved up and down hitting the record, upon inspection to my horror, no cantilever. It was a new Lyra clavis $1800, $900 to fix the tip.
So easily done. I did it a few years ago to a Sumiko Blue Point Special that came with a Sota Star I once had. ... bumped the arm and for some reason the cueing lever was down and the cantilever snagged the vacuum lip on the platter.
Have to confess I had mixed emotions when it happened .... never found it a very pleasant cartridge to listen to, so I was kind of happy to have an excuse to get something else.
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Have to confess I had mixed emotions when it happened .... never found it a very pleasant cartridge to listen to, so I was kind of happy to have an excuse to get something else.
:) Yeah, I know that feeling. In this case, I was pretty bummed.
But, following the shock factor of a broken 1k cart, I realise that I just cant do without my TT. So I buckled and bought a standard 103r, fitted it to my wooden body, and have been running it in since the weekend.
I wouldnt say the standard 103r is bad, not at all, especially in the wooden body it has a lovely weight to it. The issue with it, is the very top end. It's not like it is bad, or harsh. But the Soundsmith upgraded ruby cantilever had a silky clean top end, amazingly transparent and extended. Sometimes bordering on too extended, I was still running it in though. Also, it sounded like the Soundsmith cart was gliding smoother over the surface. Stock 103r sounds like it is literally dragging over the surface, well it is, but I can hear it in silent passages between tracks, the Soundsmith would be near silent (all subjective, and as per my failing memory :-[ ).
Rather than go to the expense of Soundsmith again (with wild kiddies running around), I am going to explore getting my broken 103r retipped by Expert Stylus in the UK, they seem to have a good rep and are abit more economical.
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Oz,
Much better solution is to mount your TT where the kids can't possibly reach? I feel your pain, have broken a couple of cantilevers
and had a couple of diamond tips disappear, all a part of LP playback unfortunately.