Yes the strategically placed empty boxes, hifi mags and small tweaks. Got em all I am afraid.
It really is not a music room without some mess right
I checked out your system - very nice. You are obviously more than handy with a CNC machine and engineering skills. The speakers look great and the alien HRX looks mean as. How does it sound?
Hi Peter - thanks guess i should check my system more often!
Yes as with any hobby, a few dead ends, after trying to find SS that I liked I gave up. Subjectively I believe the cj teflon upgrade is worth it. US$ 2k per chassis - not cheap but a whole lot cheaper than a new set of LP275's. I prefer the look of the prem8a's anyway.
IMO you get better resolution with quieter backgrounds. Upper frquencies are more extended without going lean. Bass and speed in the bass is about the same. There is an overall ease to the presentation - still sounds like a prem 8a thou - which is what you want right.
let us know if you end up getting the upgrade as I would be interested in what they do to a prem XS.
Howdy, seeing that you have some good experience with the VPI HRX and Raven, I'd really appreciate it if you could describe the subjective difference between the HRX setup and say a Raven (am looking at the One) with Graham Phantom.
I see that you have sold your HRX. I am split between the two, but have only had the chance to hear the Raven setup.
I love your picture of the back of the room shot of your LPs and will show it to my wife. I especially like the shoes, mags everywhere and probably empty gear boxes stashed behind the couch. Sue thinks I'm the only one that keeps the music room in disarray until one my audio buddies comes over. After all, it only takes a minute or two to get it back in shape!:-)
Hi Downunder , a beautiful system . The end result of many years of both fun & stress by the sounds of it ! I have a pair of CJ 8 XS' and was wondering re; the price of the amp upgrade & most importantly , whether it was worth it ? Cheers, Peter
Will be demoing a few, but the Ortofon Vienna might be an idea. Or a ZYX 4D Gold. An acquaintance is about to buy one. Should be very good as the 4D is very good & gold is the icing on the cake.
I have to believe the teflon caps are broken in by now. To be honest the new pre amp is actually doing less (if that makes sense), making the sounds of the turntables, arms and cartridge combinations easier to hear and enjoy the differences.
No chance of getting anymore tables as my rack only holds 3. If a P3 comes up at a reasonable price somewhere, I will grab it thou :-)
Just gotta find a new main cartridge for the Phantom. Some smooth, organic, dynamic, liquid and musical. the dyna XV-1 gets most of the way there but it is almost worn out. Don't wanna go crazy stupid on price thou.
Congratulations on the new acquisition. Beautiful turntable in looks and design. You still have a long way to go to catch up to our German analogue collectors, (which is not what you are looking for). You new front end must be adding to the sound more than a slight bit. Are those Teflon caps fully broken in?
System edited: Just picked up a vintage Exclusive P10 turntable with EA-10 tonearm. Comes with a straight arm wand and S arm wand. I put my Koetsu Rosewood onto the Straight armwand. WOW, A very BIG dynamic sound that eminates from the bass. Bass impact and bass action is first class. Mids are nice and treble just a little forward and probably not as relaxed or liquid as the Raven or LP12. Still very listenable thou and clearly a different presentation of the music, which is what I was looking for. Very fast and dynamic leading from the bass foundations (if bass exists). Personally I think the engineers behind CD must have been deaf considering the great sound of some vintage turntables that are popular at the moment.
The following basic changes were made in the prem 8A according to cj.
" The upgrade consisted of replacing the eight coupling capacitors (inverter to output tubes) with .15 uF Teflon capacitors and replacing 6 more capacitors (four in the regulated supplies, two in the unregulated main supply) with .15 uF Teflon. Filament diodes were replaced with "beefier" diodes (probably not of sonic importance, mainly to increase the safety margin - already substantial - on this part) "
both the preamp and amps are sounding better every day - so all is good at this point in time.
You have now a dream amplification for Stradivari - I listened to the ART series 2 and 8A system years ago and they were really good. Do you know which capacitors (power supply / coupling?) were changed in the premier8a?
System edited: bought cj premier 8a monoblocks and had cj do the factory Teflon cap upgrade. Bought a cj ART series3 preamp - probably the last new in the box series 3 available. Running both amps in, as the teflon caps require 3-400 hours run in time. Sounding sweet out of the box
Use Aquafina water as a final rinse. Cheap and really helps. I usually do 2 rinses a side after a cleaning. Les noise. Same as teh $20 a bottle water from the cleaning fluid companys. Fremer says how good it is so my cousin tests it and finds it tests completely pure. It is reverse osmosis filtered but doesn't taste as good as Desani which has minerals added for taste. So don't drink it but use it. Got to love this Audiofool world we live in.
At this level all the turntables are extremely good, gets down to purely personal decision. I like the TW due to its flexibility with arms. I am sure you Monaco is brilliant as well. I use either the Nitty Gritty 2 or the Hannl fuild that came with the RCM. I may try the Disc doctor when the Hannl runs out - as I like a nice warmer sound :-)
Hi, I just want to congratulate you on a very nice system !! When I was recently upgrading my SME 20/2 I was really torn between your TW Acustic and my (new) Grand Prix. Ultimately I wish I could have both :).
What fluid do you use with your record cleaner? I've used Disc Doctor in the past, recently been using a regime of Premier, then Record Research Wash followed by their rinse. Over the weekend, my dealer cleaned about a dozen new LP's of mine on his new Keith Monks using his Discovery and Break the mold cleaner. Wow. Not sure how much is the fluid vs the Monks machine-or both in combo.
The Disc Doctor and the Monks fluid seems to have a warmer sound. The Record Research just down the middle...system dependent/personal taste type of thing...
Adding a 3rd arm is easy. Adding 4 is a pain. I had to move all 3 arms into new positions to get the 4th to fit. Basically imagine setting up 4 tonearms & 4 cartridges. Thank G-d I bought a Wallytractor. That helps a lot & really speeds things up.
Rinse/wash twice - what a pain in the ass. Lucky you have taught your housekeeper to clean your LP's, me not so lucky. I get stuck with it.
Your comments re the Phantom/colibri make very good sense especially when we use the TW phono. The addional last bit of dynamic slam that the phantom gives would be welcome. That is about the only weakness of the TW phono. TW phono actually does low bass pretty well, it is the mid to upper bass that dynamically I find a little lacking as it is not as forward or full like a lot of phono stages.
You should never have sold the Koetsu Jade. My plain old jane Rosewood sounds very good on the Ortofon, so much my SPU can't get a play. I can only imgaine how much more refined the Jade would have been. How easy is it to add a third arm??
I know what you mean about lack of funds - buying the TW was not on the radar, but you know what it is about shopping and percieved bargins if the timing is right. I have to make some decisions soon on whether I want to sell my VPI HRX or not as affording all of my shit is getting harder, especially if I make any more upgrades, amp or upgrade to cj ART 3 are the only two options, then I am done - famous last words.
Nothing wrong with SS phono if it is surrounded by some tubes as they are easier to keep quiet with plenty of gain. I would assume from your comments that over time you may want some bit of tubes in your system and pre amp is generally the easiest way to get some of that magic/coloration.
The PH7 was more similar to the Xono than the TW. Bass was not as punchy as Xono and high end not as pure as TW. 57db of gain was the no go decision for me as it just was not enough for my LOMC cartridges.
I should have asked you where the Audio Research PH-7 ranked between the Xono and TW Acustic phono stages. One would imagine that it would be somewhere between the two in terms of bass slam, mid and top end texture, quietness, etc.
Thanks for the feedback on the TW Acustics phono stage. I have an RCM running in my system now and the extra gain over the little ZYX Artisan is a godsend. The fact that is more affordable is helpful at a time when the hi-fi piggy bank is seriously damaged.
I did hear that you found the RCM to be similar to the Xono and that is what steered me in that direction. I know that all SS usually does not provide the "magic" of tubes (a pleasing colouration perhaps?) which is why my next move will be to investigate active valve preamps with balanced outputs. Could be a costly endeavour but I want to get it right.
It certainly sounds like you have hit upon a nice combination between the TW Acustic, CJ Art and big Mac power amps.
I have been using Disc Doctor now known as Mobile Fidelity fluids. I rinse twice & it works great but the one step Hannl was less work. It is staticy. I have the new Mofi Enzy$atic Cleaner waiting to be used soon. We will see. Or L'Art du Son. As per other updates the Colibri is back on the Phantom. It shines dynamically over my SQ in every way but it is slightly less natural & narower stage. I prefer it in the Phantom. Hard to imagine. I am currently lusting a Koetsu Coral stone but no funds these days. If I sell my SPU & phono I $ight do it depending on the deal. The Phantom Colibri combination is not dark at all. All about synergies I guess.
yea it is early and it is sounding better all the time, only had the TW since just before Xmas - like your speakers a Xmas present.
I guess in two words - liquid and continous (HP speak).
The TW does not really have a sound as it is not as forward as some phono stages - it sounded quite ordinary with my Mac c2300 pre amp, but wonderful with the cj ART - go figure.
The TW is slightly soft in the bass (this may change somewhat after many hours, but it will never have SS slam), but from the mid's up it is very natural, transparent and has a wide soundstage. It is in another world compared to any SS phono stage I have heard from the mid up.
BTW I heard the RCM a few mnths back and it is more similar to the Xono than different and sounded excellent. Not what I was looking for - interestingly the Xono was quieter, but RCM easier to change loading due to adjustments on the back plate
Given this is 65db or so of pure tube gain (no SUT or fet stage), the low noise level is exceptional. Not as quiet as the Xono or MC stage in the mac, but quiet enough that you don't hear it unless you go up to the speakers at hifgh volumes with no music playing. Sensitive to placement and cable placement where noise can become an issue, but was easily fixed with careful cable placement. Frankly I don't know how he has done it with only tube gain.
This has been the closest sound to the big Aesthetix IO but without the noise. Io has better slam in the bass/mid bass, however TW is superior in its mid and treble purity and transparency.
Having 3 phono inputs exactly the same for me is a godsend. It is pig ugly thou, but it's 1950's Forbidden Planet art deco style is growing on me :-)
The Xono is a great sounding SS phono unit and it stands firmly against most other phono stages out there. For me thou the TW is the overall best sounding phono stage I have heard and the 3 inputs are fantastic for me. Not perfect but nothing is.
cheers, have fun with your new speakers. I am still finding new things about and growing into my Strad's after over 12 mnths now
How would you describe the performance of the TW phono stage compared to your Pass Labs Xono? Maybe it is too early to call it until you get more hours on the former?
I first used the standard Hannl that came with the machine - works OK, but records still have a little static on them. At the moment I am using Nitty Gritty 2 which I like better. After both of these bottle run out, not sure??
What have you used??
BTW, TW phono still fleshing out and sounding better each day - does take about half an hour to warm up thou.
