Hi Banquo,
I'm loving seeing all the developments in your 'Systems Page'....😎
One thing I beg you to try....your Shure ML-140HE cartridge where you state that you prefer the sound with the damping brush 'UP'......😢
Please try it again with the brush DOWN and the VTF @ 1.5 Gm as per Shure's recommendation....👍
In my system, it was a revelation......😘

Regards

halcro October 07, 2014 13:34

System edited: ET-2 is alive. Still working through some issues as can be seen from the disarray in the system pic. After a few days using the arm, I am sure of one thing: on the inner grooves, it is signifiaantly better than the technics arm. I spent the first few hours playing 'torture tracks' that the technics failed with to one degree or another. With only crude estimates for vtf and vta (I am using a new cart on the et2), the et2 flew right through those tracks with no compression and no strange distortions in tone or ssoundstage. Very impressive. It remains to be seen whether the et2 can be dialed in in the way that the technics can. The Technics' vta system is unbeatable and its vtf system is highly sensitive and easy to use. This is not true of the et2, at least for a novice like me. At any rate, time will tell.

banquo363 October 07, 2014 00:15

System edited: On a much brighter note, I recently acquired a pneumatic isolation platform, Fabreeka ISO 24A. Had never heard of them before, but they've been around since 1936. In addition to their main focus on industrial applications, they do cater to the audiophile community (at least according to a catalog I read). I had been using a sandbox to good effect, but the sound was getting slower and slower, so much so that I started worrying about my turntable. To test, I took out the sandbox and rested the victor on the audio technica 616 isolators. In return for a loss in transparency and higher sound floor, I was rewarded with a quicker more rhythmic presentation to the music. I could probably live with that trade off, but I was also getting distortion during certain passages. Can't live with that. Evidently, the 616's were not fully isolating the tt from structure borne vibration. In comes the Fabreeka, which I happened onto while looking for a new rack. First of all, it's a pain in the neck to set up--especially when one doesn't have an operation's manual, and one buys from an owner who doesn't seem to have a clue. After days of frustration, I did eventually manage to get the manual directly from Fabreeka; nice people and very responsive. At any rate, all that endured pain is rewarded with a difference in sound that can be only described as staggering. No single change in my system has altered the sound as much as the addition of this platform. This is testament to the qualities of the Fabreeka but also, and perhaps more so, to the poverty of my rack, which is by far the weakest part of my set up. The Fabreeka discloses how much signal I was losing to the ill effects of errant vibration. The sound floor plummeted and most of all the bass coming from the 801’s shows how much more they were capable of offering, both in power and quickness. I’m still playing around with the unit—maintaining level is not trivial. It’s so sensitive that resting my record clamp on one corner is enough to alter level. Moreover, and perhaps connected to that point, the max load is over 300 lbs and I have nowhere near that right now. I wonder if I load it near capacity I’ll achieve even greater heights? And whether it'll be less sensitive to minor load changes?

banquo363 September 24, 2014 18:54

Well, USPS has claimed another audiophile dream. My just completely restored sony ta e88 arrived at my home with a dented faceplate and a smashed in volume control knob. I don't have the heart to look inside to witness the carnage, but I did fire the thing up.:) The good news is that I can run the thing through my passive volume control (thank you, 'rec out'); the bad news is that the attenuator is definitely toast. What a waste.

So far I've only tried playing a CD. If the phono section is undamaged and sounds good, then I'll thank my good fortune--but at the same time, I'll continue to rain down curses on USPS, audiophilia's mortal enemy.

banquo363 September 16, 2014 16:39

That pic I linked to on the et2 thread was a joke: the seller didn't seem to know which way was up and which down. I've now received it; the arm is more or less fine. I need a pump and I'll be good to go. True, it may take a year (or 2) to optimize it, but I'll get it to play music. My date with divinity is still on schedule.

My wife is going to let me set up the living room the way I think will sound best...

It's only morally right for pain to be rewarded with pleasure. Lucky for you morality will meet reality right there in your new living room!

banquo363 August 23, 2014 20:36

It will be more painful to carry them.;) 40 small Uhaul boxes. It will be fine once we get moved. My wife is going to let me set up the living room the way I think will sound best, so it should be great in the long run.

Any progress on the arm? It looks like you have the right people to help you get that figured out, but still looks like it may take a while. Good luck with that project!

acman3 August 23, 2014 03:05

good luck with your move, acman3. I speculate that you have a lot of vinyl; must have been painful to pack all those up.

banquo363 August 22, 2014 16:57

Look forward to your thoughts when you get your system together.

My turntable is packed for a move in September and my amp is in the shop for repair. All my records and most CDs are packed also. Looking forward to getting past this move.

acman3 August 19, 2014 02:19

It'll be at least a couple of weeks before I can say, Acman3. I had it shipped directly to my tech so he can give it the once over. It's a 100v Japan unit and I want him to see if he can, among other things, rewire for US power.

In the meanwhile, after years of encouragement from Ct0517, I finally pulled the trigger on an ET-2 tonearm. Between that, the Sony pre and the Astatic styli you so generously sent my way, I'm fully expecting the Divine to visit my listening space in about a month.

banquo363 August 18, 2014 16:43

How is that Sony phono amp working out Banquo363?

acman3 August 18, 2014 12:38

thanks, acman3! pm sent.

banquo363 July 25, 2014 03:03

Banquo363,
I would be more than happy to release an Astatic MF300 stylus from my stash for you. It is worth the listen. Send a PM with your address if you want to give it a try.

acman3 July 24, 2014 19:09

I love the astatic moving flux type cartridges. Tonight I learned definitively that the feeling is not mutual.

A few months back my astatic mf 200 started developing suspension issues. I looked in vain for a replacement stylus. I switched over to the victor x1/2. In the interim I managed to find a NOS astatic mf 2501. Not the Raul raved mf 2500, but beggars can't be choosers. Came complete with headshell and leads. It's been sitting on my shelf for a month because I was in the middle of evaluating my new amp and speakers and did not want to change cartridges. Tonight I decided to play around with it. The headshell and leads were replaced with 'better' stuff and...wow...most transparent mm cart yet. The victor is no slouch in that department but this astatic had it soundly beat. I was marveling at the music this thing could generate when...thonk...the suspension completely collapsed.

No more dalliances with astatic cartridges for me. This last one spanned all of an hour--oh, but what an hour!

banquo363 July 24, 2014 07:10

The rm9 came with those ubiquitous rubber footers, 2 in front and 3 in back. I recently bought some Kryna footers for the phono stage and that freed up the cones I had been using. Since cones are meant to be used, I thought I'd see what they would do under the amp. When I owned the rm10, I experimented with a lot of different footers and I always ended up back with the stock rubber ones. In reality, none of the ones I tried made a great difference with that amp. With the rm9? Holy moly. Sound floor got lowered to a significant degree. I can just plain hear more music. And tone has improved. The cymbal work on the new Music Matters release of Blue Train is now as it should be: incredibly realistic.

Now, there's nothing special about these cones; they're just solid steel ones I bought off a guy here on audiogon way back when. But I read somewhere recently that tube amps should be spiked down to a board (which is what I've done). Maybe that guy is on to something?

banquo363 July 11, 2014 17:25

With change comes struggle. Spent the last few weeks trying to diagnose boomy bass and not nearly good enough top end. This happened sometime after putting in the kt88's. Vinyl playback involves a lot of moving parts, and testing each is an exercise requiring patience. After 7-8 days of testing and not finding the fault, I almost resigned myself to the sound. In one final fit of desperation, I decided to re-do my cartridge set-up as if I had just got it new. Turns out my vtf was .2 grams too high. Doesn't sound like much, but everything snapped into place after the change. Since I had never run the cartridge that low before, I conjecture that something had changed regarding its compliance.

I knew that my previous set up did not do justice to rock and roll, but I didn't know what that exactly meant until I heard Nirvana's Nevermind with the rm9/801 pairing. As I told my audio blood brother, it nearly blew me right out of the room.

banquo363 June 10, 2014 20:51

Lots of changes afoot. Got my hands on a Music Reference rm-9 mki amplifier (directly from the manufacturer--even though they are not currently made). Got the mk2 choke and cap mods installed. Received a glimpse of what it can offer last night: big, big sound; opens up the 801's like its little brother the rm-10 could not.

Brechtian theater famously breaks through the 'fourth wall'. Applied to audio reproduction, I could never get the rm10's center image to come at me, beyond the plane or even even with the plane of the speakers. The rm-9 did this. I'm unclear whether that's a good or bad thing (or what it says about the respective quality of the two amps), but it sure made for an interesting listening session. I'm still acclimating to the tone that the siemens el-34 tubes are offering. Not sure I prefer it over the el-84. Dynamics and detail retrieval are excellent, although I have it on good authority that the kt-88's will disclose what the amp can really do. Looking forward to that moment, but for now I'll stick with the stock tubes.

banquo363 May 23, 2014 20:27

System edited: Finally got my hands on a NOS Victor pigskin platter mat. The first one I found 5 months ago was lost by the post office en route from Japan. Luckily, another magically appeared for purchase--and the post office managed to deliver it without issue. The skin was allegedly sourced by Victor Co. in Mexico. It's very well finished, e.g. of even thickness throughout and perfectly centered. Let's hope it sounds as nice as it looks.

banquo363 May 05, 2014 22:22

Banquo you are forgetting your other speaker blood brother on your thread ...
Vegasears also owns 801 (who I still feel has the best moniker on audiogon)

I am now living with 'the tombstones' as my wife derisively calls the B&w 801's.

Well I have never heard them called that before. thats a new one :^)
I guess as long as she's not thinking of your tombstone; when she calls them that - you're ok and have nothing to worry about ?
Bit of a coincidence as I have told my my wife to just make one coffin out of both 801 many times when the time comes.
All females that see them seem to think that they represent evil and no good anyway - thats been my experience.
there is no sugar coating this thing.

I can't really imagine moving the tombstones once spiked.

You will score points with your wife if you keep them on castors, and when not in use place them up against the wall.
This will help with the transition. 801 Tip # 8
Cheers

ct0517 May 01, 2014 13:38

System edited: After nearly 4 wonderful years with the vandy 2ce sigs, I decided, with much help from my audio blood brother ct0517, to move on. I am now living with 'the tombstones' as my wife derisively calls the B&w 801's. I would never contradict my wife, but I think they're pretty cool looking, especially with the grills off. As with the vandies, placement requires a lot of patience. After a week of moving them around (mercifully they're currently on castors) I found an acceptable location, although not ideal, both in terms of sonics and room aesthetics (they're 6 feet out from front wall). Due to their transparency, I'm learning much about my front end. Every wobble and warp of records is registered. This is disconcerting to the neurotic audiophile; on the other hand, it serves as a tool for pinpointing areas requiring improvement. To wit: I need a record cleaner real bad. The Spin Clean system I've been using won't cut it. Unfortunately, my great Music Reference rm10 has to be sold in exchange for something beefier (hopefully for its big brother the rm9--anyone got one they want to sell?). I have a Maughan baf coming my way. I'm pretty excited about that if only because it holds the promise of eradicating the woofer pumping I get on certain records. I also have made a deal for the sound anchor stands; that should help to firm up the bass. Hopefully I will have found the ideal placement by then since I can't really imagine moving the tombstones once spiked.

banquo363 April 29, 2014 18:36

I learned the hard way that the vandies are very sensitive to the angle at which they are tilted back.

For some stupid reason I decided to move my speakers, and during that process, amongst other things, I adjusted them so that they were perfectly vertically level.

I didn't notice at first but I got an unusual boomy bass on certain records and smearing or echoing during certain passages. Obviously this is intolerable, so the adjustments arms race began. I fiddled with every parameter of my set up: vta, vtf, compliance, geometry, footers on every shelf were shuffled around; equipment and wires were shuffled around; and, speakers were moved to every possible position in the room (in quarter inch increments!). After a week of this I thought I had it licked, but last night when I put on one of my reference records, lo and behold there was that boominess and smearing!

Then I remembered the tilt back that I eliminated. I returned it to where it was--instant fix. Good grief.

banquo363 April 08, 2014 23:38

Nice job on the Discovery wire Banquo. I just saw the pic.

The exposed tonearm wire alongside the exposed guts of the victor make my system look like a spawn of the great George Pompidou Center in Paris.

You made me have to google the GP Center in Paris

:^) ..... hah !

ct0517 March 12, 2014 23:11

Capacitors replaced, tt bearing lubed and new Discovery tonearm wire (following ct0517's idea) put in. The exposed tonearm wire alongside the exposed guts of the victor make my system look like a spawn of the great George Pompidou Center in Paris.

My great fear with using unshielded tonearm wire was hum. Sure enough after installation a hum straight out of hell blazed through the speakers. Ct0517 wisely suggested that I ground my tt chassis. Sure enough hum completely gone! I've had hum (to a lesser degree) in my system since the beginning and I once spent weeks trying to track it down (including grounding my tt)--all to no avail. So, needless to say, I'm very surprised and happy with this recent development.

banquo363 March 12, 2014 17:26

One condition is that they must be small in diameter (in order to fit inside the pod) yet large enough to work with analysis plus cables. Anyone have any ideas?

Banquo - there is an alternative but you need to think outside the box (armpod) on this one.
My recommendation is to bypass your beautiful armpod and go from the clips direct into the phono stage.

Otherwise with audiophilia you may end up with 10 pairs of interconnects hanging somewhere.

The approach I am recommending means one set of wires, You can experiment between copper and silver and port them from one tonearm to another when the need arises.
What is in this
picture

including the WBT nextgens was $250 in total.

How strong is the RF in your room? Does your cell phone work really well. If so you can go with a partly sheilded cable.

Just a thought...

Cheers

ct0517 February 24, 2014 17:27

Capacitors can be really funny things.
Some observations.
When my Studer lost power the tech thought it was the 4 large power supply capacitors for sure that needed replacing.
He had new ones set aside when I arrived.
When he checked them they were in perfect shape - the right voltage - made in West Germany.
it turned out to be another transistor part that went down and needed replacing.
Finding the problem is where his experience with the machine was invaluable.

Another example is my first real amp which is an Onkyo 5060r and I bought it new way back. A dual mono design.
It was recently checked and it came out fine as well.

In talking with another tech he had a bunch of flat screens in for repair.
Turns out that an Achilles heel with these TV's are the capacitors - they have only been lasting four years.

One more example. My Classe CA300 which I recently sold.
In talking with Classe they only purchase 25 capacitors from their source at a time used for repairs and restores.
This is because they have a shelf life.
Their amps I was told by the tech should not be left on 24/7, as it causes shortened life for the capacitors.

ct0517 February 24, 2014 15:03

Continuing on the same theme, I heard some distortion on one channel last week. Opened up the rm10 amp to witness a general mess: a cap had leaked. It's only 4 years old, so...? Got a lemon cap, I suppose. On the bright side, I look forward to hearing what the amp will do at 'full capacity'.

One disadvantage of my pod system is the inability to easily access the rca jacks for the epa 100 tonearm. This makes auditioning phono cables a nightmare. Moreover, the analysis plus cables I want to try have wbt locking rca's that barely fit inside the pod and, in addition, I can't fit my fingers in to turn to lock them. My compromise has been to just push them in as far as I can and hope for the best. The solo crystals I tried as a phono cable sound bad, but since they sound great as regular IC's I suspect it's the poor connection inside the pod that's to blame.

What to do? I plan on reterminating one end of either the solo crystals or the silver oval in's I have. I haven't decided what rca to use yet but obviously they can't be the locking kind. What about the xhadows or vampire? One condition is that they must be small in diameter (in order to fit inside the pod) yet large enough to work with analysis plus cables. Anyone have any ideas?

banquo363 February 24, 2014 01:09