Description

Transparent, spacious and detailed with a solid bottom-end foundation and an ease of presentation that comes only from speakers with none or only basic crossovers.

The speakers are custom-made and consist of 12" Hokutone undoped paper woofers run full-range wired directly to the speaker terminals. 5 " Scanspeak paper Mid/Woofers with 1 small capacitor. 1" Scanspeak Revelator silk dome tweeters with 1 small capacitor. No coils, inductors or resistors used anywhere.

Imagine a pair of dynamic speakers with the speed and transparency of the finest electrostatics like the original Martin Logan CLS but a wide sound stage and even wider Ôsweet-spotÕ?

Imagine that these same speakers had the bottom end depth and realism of the Magico M5 but even deeper and more defined with a treble extension that is purer and more detailed?

Imagine that these speakers were 95dB efficient and had a near negligible crossover with no resisters or inductors in the path of the electronics?

I believe this minimum crossover design to be one of the ÔsecretsÕ in the ease, transparency and dynamics of these custom-built speakers.

Turntables.

I don't listen to digital (except in the car and in the garden via shelf-mounted monitors)....

I simply have never heard 'digital' reproduced with the ambience, detail and realism of analogue.

As I listen to vinyl for approx. 3 hours every day...the turntable/arm/cartridge combination is important.

Assuming the turntables and tonearms are 'reasonable'....the greatest determinant to the 'sound' (after the speakers) I find.....is the cartridge.

For 30 years....I used one cartridge on one tonearm on one turntable and played it till it needed replacement?

For the last 10 years of that 30 year period.....I listened exclusively to LOMC cartridges including Koetsu Urishi, VdH Grasshopper (Symphonic Line), Clearaudio Concerto, Clearaudio Insider Gold, Lyra Helikon and Titan i, Dynavector XV-1s and ZYX UNIverse.

Up until the UNIverse.....none of these expensive cartridges gave me the visceral pleasure that I recalled from my earlier MM cartridges like the Nagaoka MP11, Garrott P77 and Stanton 681EEE?

Six or seven years ago....I moved back to 'vintage' MM cartridges and have been rewarded with the most exquisite sounds able to be extracted from vinyl grooves.

Every cartridge is different...even if sometimes the differences are slight?

Often..the differences are vast but mostly, the differences relate to the 'emotional content ability' of the cartridge.

And this is hugely affected by both the cantilever and the stylus. Changing either or both can profoundly change the abilities of the cartridge.

This is easily done with MMs with removable styli assemblies....but is also now easily done for MCs by qualified re-tippers.

The cartridge is the 'generator' of the sound of vinyl IMHO...and that is why I own so many...and have tried even more....
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Room Details

Dimensions: 17’ × 12’  Medium
Ceiling: 20’


Components Toggle details

    • TW Acoustic Raven AC-3
    3 Motor unsuspended German table. Nice table with great flexibility of arm mounting.
    • Continuum Audio Labs Copperhead
    Dual Pivot CAD designed plastic-resin super arm. Good with LOMC cartridges but is simply superb with high compliance MM cartridges. A truly universal modern arm. Finicky to change cartridges and make adjustments. certainly not user-friendly but once set, you can forget.
    • Davinci Audi Labs Grandezza 12
    Cocobolo wood arm in sapphire twin gimbel bearing. Nice and relaxed sound.
    • Graham Engineering Graham Phantom II
    Unipivot with Titanium armwand and Micro-poise. Good (but not spectacular) with low compliance LOMC cartridges. A poor match for all the high compliance MM cartridges I have tried.
    • TW Acoustic Raven AC-2
    Removed one motor from the AC-3 which now gives more accurate and consistent speed as gauged by the Sutherland Timeline. It also eliminates the eccentric loading on the platter given by the third Raven motor and gives 50% more contact area of belt to platter. Sold the Phantom II and replaced it with the legendary 30+ year old FR-66S 12" tonearm
    • Fidelity Research FR-66s
    A serious tonearm.
    • TW Acoustic Raven AC-2
    The Raven with 2 FR-66S tonearms and the Continuum Copperhead. The Copperhead is now the only tonearm I possess...with a 'fixed' headshell.
    • JVC Victor TT-81
    'Nude' 30 year old DD turntable with 3 specially cast solid bronze arm-pods. Puts to shame most belt-drive turntables but separate massive arm-pods ensure superlative performance.
    • JVC/Victor TT-81
    Nakedly nude in its stainless steel cradle. Virtually the equal of the TT-101 in its sound quality....but far less complex and costly...and more reliable.
    • JVC Victor TT-101
    Top of the line professional Laboratory Series DD turntable.
    • JVC JVC Victor TT-101
    The Laboratory Series DD top-of-the-line turntable from Japan's mighty production industry. Impossible to replicate today at a realistic price?
    • JC Victor TT-101
    The 'innards'. Heaven help me if something goes wrong with this?!
    • JVC Victor TT-101
    This features a coreless DC sevo motor with quartz locked positive AND negative servo control
    • JVC Victor TT-101
    With S/N of 75dB and speed deviation of 0.002% and drift of 0.0004% one needs to hear what perfect speed control does for a turntable.
    • Custom made Victor turntable stand
    Made from 316 solid stainless steel bar and rod.
    • Custom made Victor turntable stand
    Fabricated ex. 4mm thick 316 stainless sheet and 25mm diam. solid rod all welded, ground and polished.
    • Grace G-940
    30 year old oil-damped unipivot. A cheap but honest performer with high compliance MM cartridges.
    • Graham Engineering Phantom II
    A modern unipivot with much praise in the audio press. I tried it with three LOMC cartridges as well as many MMs and was unimpressed. On high-compliance MM cartridges.....this arm was simply inadequate. I sold it after a year.
    • Fidelity Reasearch FR-64s
    The "Prince" of tonearms surpassed only by its 12" big brother the FR-66s. Despite its Japanese design by the great Ikeda San, this arm displays a 'Teutonic' sparseness in 'Form following Function'. Great bearings and a rigid heavy stainless steel arm-tube make this a vintage 'Classic'. Surprisingly good with high-compliance MM cartridges as well as low compliance LOMCs. A serious arm.
    • Microseiki MA-505s
    30 year old superb arm with VTA,VTF and Anti-Skate all 'On-the-Fly'. A Japanese arm with the detail and feel of the famous pre-war Leica rangefinder cameras. Adjustments 'on-the-fly' make 'tuning' any cartridge, a breeze.
    • Fidelity Research FR-66s
    The 'King' of Tonearms, this 30 year old 12" arm will show you things from your cartridges that you have never heard before. Modern arms cannot compete with the authority of this monster? A serious arm.
    • SAEC WE-8000/ST
    The top of the line from this once mighty manufacturer, the WE-8000 is a 12" effective length (15" overall) featuring their famous double-knife-edge bearings. Extremely rare and originally only sold in Japan....I feel privileged to own this beauty. A serious tonearm.
    • SAEC WE-8000/ST
    Super detailing and design as is typical of all their arms.
    • SAEC WE-8000/ST
    Rugged yet finessed.
    • SAEC WE-8000/ST
    An off-set ceramic headshell which is NEVER available without the arm?! I can however, twist the cartridge in some of my standard headshells to obtain the correct alignment.
    • SAEC WE-8000/ST
    The off-set ceramic headshell for this rare tonearm is beautifully conceived and executed, extremely expensive and almost impossible to find as a 'stand-alone' item without the arm. The only problem with it however...is that with most cartridges it can sound sharp, flat and slightly brittle because of the glasslike thin ceramic base material. I much preferred the wood headshells from Yamamoto or Ortofon for metal bodied cartridges and metal headshells for plastic-bodied cartridges.
    • SAEC WE-308N
    Double knife edge Japanese jewel. Sounds as fine as it looks.
    • SAEC WE-308N
    Jewel-like detailing. Simply beautiful.
    • SAEC WE-407/23
    SAEC produced a range of beautiful tonearms, all featuring double-knife-edge bearings. The WE-407 is a model up from the WE-308 but shares its beauty and superb sonic abilities.
    • SAEC WE-407/23
    Jewel-like design an construction.
    • Various Vintage
    A trio of 30 year old vintage tonearms
    • Dynavector DV-507 MkII
    Bi-Axis Inertia Controlled, Dynamic Balance tonearm
    • Dynavector DV-507 MkII
    A monster of an arm. Extremely heavy and best suited to mounting on separate heavy armpod. When properly employed, demonstrates how much colouration (distortion) other arms impart. A true revelation.....
    • Purpose made Arm-Pods
    Solid bronze cast arm-pods finished in automotive lacquer. Weighing 25lbs per pod, the solid foundation for any tone-arm find its rewards in the sounds produced.
    • ZYX Universe
    Low output .24 Copper with silver base. One of the best LOMC cartridges I have heard and one of the only ones with which I can live.
    Nuff said!
    • Dynavector XV1s
    Low output moving coil. Not as 'clean' as the Universe but its colourisations are closer to 'live music' and thus easy to live with.
    • Dynavector XV-1s(modified)
    When my original XV-1s 'exploded' due to my stupidity....Axel Schurholtz rebuilt the entire cartridge still keeping a boron cantilever and Shibata stylus...but reducing the coils so that the output has been reduced from 0.24mV to 0.15mV.
    • Garrott Brothers P77
    A tweaked version of the A&R P77 by the Garrott Bros in Australia produced a wonderful rich-sounding MM cartridge in the early '80s.
    • Ortofon Ortofon M20FL
    MM cartridge first one on the right in the Fidelity research K5 cartridge holder case. A solid if not spectacular performer.
    • Sonus S Blue
    MM cartridge still available NOS second on the left in the FR-K5 cartrdige holder case.
    • Empire 1000ZE/X
    A 30-40 year old MM cartridge made in USA. This is a glorious full-bodied 'romantic' cartridge which should help balance any 'lean' sounding system.
    • Empire 4000D/III Gold
    Superb MM cartridge continuing the 'Empire-sound' tradition of the 1000ZE/X but with more refinement and slightly more neutral balance. Still wonderfully full-bodied which approaches the Zitgeist of 'live' music.
    • Technics EPC-100Mk3
    Famous 35 year old MM cartridge from Technics with its integral headshell. The following model (EPC-100Mk4) came without headshell. This is very pure and neutral with hardly any defining characteristics of itself which makes you believe it is perhaps a 'reference' cartridge? However I find its 'detachment' a little too clinical for constant long-term listening.
    • Audio-Technica USA AT-155LC
    A wonderful MM cartridge with an line-contact stylus which sets a standard in sound IMHO, that is the basis of the great Signet cartridges to follow. Neutral enough but with a heart and soul able to 'move' you.
    • Audio-Technica USA AT-20SS Limited Edition
    A vintage MM cartridge considered by some to be the pinnacle of Audio Technica's range. In my system, this cartridge had a lean sound balance with a rising top end and several deficiencies in the mid to low bass range. A faulty specimen?.........or a 'false God'?
    • Signet TK-3/155LC
    Signets were the 'cost-no-object' MM cartridges developed by Audio Technica mainly for the US market. This is lower range TK-3Ea with an AT-155LC line-contact stylus assembly replacing the standard stylus. A gutsy and commanding performer which brings out the best in all your records.
    • Signet TK-5Ea
    Middle of the Signet MM range, this cartridge is just a little more refined than the TK-3Ea but still packs all the emotion and depth symptomatic of these cartridges.
    • Signet TK-5/155LC
    The standard TK-5Ea with the AT-155LC stylus assembly installed. A slight improvement in refinement over the standard 5Ea seen 2nd from bottom right in a rare K10 cartridge holder case made by the OEM who made the K5 cases for Fidelity Research.
    • Signet TK-7e
    The best of the class in this series IMHO, the TK-7 series could be has with the 7e, 7SU or 7LCa stylus assembly. Each one a standard setting MM cartridge which combines richness and full body across the frequency spectrum with a neutrality and effortless which startles on first listen until one realises that this emotion was caused by a distinct projection of the 'real thing'......live music itself.
    • Signet TK-7SU
    The No.3 Shibata stylus assembly replacing the No.2 of the standard 7e MM cartriidge. This is for me, in my system, the current 'King' which comes the closest to cartridge 'perfection' that I have ever heard.
    • Signet TK-10ML
    The 'top-of-the-line' for this range of Signets, this cartridge does not, IMO, share the sonic signature of the TK-3,5 or 7. Instead of a full and satisfying presentation of the sound spectrum, this cartridge seems to be attempting to emulate the sound of MCs with their upper frequency emphasis intended to persuade us of their 'detail' extraction. Thin and lack-lustre in the bass, perhaps it requires more run-in time? Life is too short.
    • Fidelity Research FR-7f
    First available in 1978, the FR-7 series of LOMC cartridges designed by Ikeda San, were perhaps sold only in the Japanese and European markets. How else to explain the fact that the Supex cartridge was the 'rave' in the British and US audiophile press whilst we never heard of the Fidelity Research? Unlike the Supex, this 30 year old version of the LOMC can compete today with the very best $10,000+ overpriced examples.
    • Fidelity Research FR-7f/Lc
    The original FR-7f had a conical stylus but one day....mine sheared in half. Sent to Axel Schurholtz who replaced the stylus with a nude Line Contact which elevated the FR-7f to UNIverse standard.
    • Fidelity Research FR-6SE
    Sold only in the Japanese market in the late 1970s, this MM cartridge with elliptical stylus has a surprisingly low compliance (10x10-6cm/Dyne) for a MM and is thus designed to be suitable for the FR-64/66 range of high-mass arms produced by Fidelity Research.
    This cartridge is a colourful performer. No 'shrinking violet', it projects the fullest of sounds from the meaty bass to the lyrical sweet highs. Not as subtle or refined as the Signet TK-7SU, it nonetheless manages to convey a great deal of the essence of the 'real thing'. Perfect for transistor amps which may display top-end brittleness and/or recessed midrange performance.
    • Fidelity Research FR-5
    A low compliance MM cartridge sold only in the Japanese market and a lower range model to its FR-6SE cousin. When I first heard this model, I thought.....whoa....this is just too much of a good thing? All the colour and charm of the FR-6SE was amplified. The bass was fuller and less detailed, the midrange plumier with less depth whilst the highs were slightly dull. I had bought this cartridge after J.Carr (designer of the Lyra range of MC cartridges) recommended the FR-5E as being more refined than the FR-6SE but I could only find an FR-5 at the time.
    • Fidelity Research FR-5E
    I finally found a NOS 5E stylus assembly and realised that this would convert my FR-5 into an FR-5E but when I came to insert the new stylus, I found that the metal cartridge body was moving about in its plastic coupling piece whereby it was screwed to the headshell. This suddenly explained the bloated and plummy sound when listening the to FR-5. After some SuperGlue rectification and the insertion of the new 5E stylus assembly I mounted the cartridge in the Yamamoto HS-1AS headshell and listened with the FR-66s 12" arm. A beautiful rich sound....not what you would call 'neutral'...but containing most of the vividness of 'real' music.
    • Signet MR5.0Lc
    The MR ('Maximum Resolution') Line Contact Series. Has a lot of the Signet 'House' sound with a refined gentleness.
    • Clearaudio Virtuoso
    The black wood version. Modern available MM cartridge which displays many of the qualities of the best vintage models. Doesn't quite reach the stellar heights.
    • Clearaudio Virtuoso
    My ebony wood Virtuoso was sent to Axel who replaced the original stylus with a nude shank Line Contact pressure-fitted into an aluminium cantilever. This raised the performance nicely but it was not until I thought to match the wood-bodied Virtuoso with the ceramic headshell of the WE-8000/ST that the performance hit the stratosphere. This combination is a revelation and may vie for the title of 'numero uno' in my collection?
    • Acutex LPM 310,312,315
    Vintage MM cartridge which is warm and friendly. Doesn't hit the heights of the very best ones.
    • Shure ML-140HE
    A surprise package. Wonderful sounding vintage MM from the great house of Shure. Competes with the 'big boys'.
    • Signet TK-7LCa
    The 'Holy Grail'. An original NOS unused TK-7LCa with original Signet line contact stylus. This one is just too hard to beat...
    • Audio-Technica USA AT150ANV
    A modern attempt by AT to match some of their classic vintage cartridges....particularly the legendary TK-7LCa. Does it succeed?.....not quite. It misses the emotional content.
    • Garrott Brothers P77/SAS
    The legendary Garrott P77 with the Jico SAS new stylus implant. With this stylus....the P77 enters the realm of the top cartridges I've heard.
    • Audio-Technica USA AT-13Ea/155Lc
    This is a 'Franken-Cartridge' cobbled together by the Professor(Timeltel) who 'grafted' an AT-155Lc stylus onto the very modest 13Ea. This cartridge competes at the very highest level.
    • Signet AM-10/155Lc
    A gift from the Professor(Timeltel)...this AM-10 has the AM-20 stylus and sounds wonderful. Substitute the 155Lc stylus assembly...and it competes with all the big boys.
    • Shure V15/Type III
    A past classic that was ubiquitous. And for a good reason...this cartridge produces the 'essence' of 'emotion' and midrange clarity. Add the Jico Sass stylus and it competes at the highest levels.
    • Glanz MFG-51L
    Better than the 31L, 71L or G5 IMHO...this Glanz 'moving flux' is interesting and involving. Does it reach the ultimate heights? Perhaps not.....?
    • Denon DL-103R
    Ubiquitous LOMC cartridge which originated 50 years ago and is still in production. This one is hand selected for identical channel outputs...and is a bargain at the price.
    • MIT MIT-1
    A LOMC which is seldom heard of....the MIT-1 sounds more like the top vintage MM cartridges in my collection. It competes at the very top level.
    • Acutex LPM420-STR
    NOS vintage MM cartridge. Better than the 300 series...but struggles to compete with the 'Big Boys'
    • Sony XL-55
    Medium compliance LOMC cartridge which can track at 1.5-2.5 Gm. Unique coreless armature coil wound like a figure-8 with beryllium, carbon-fibre and aluminium cantilever. The presentation and clarity of this cartridge is startling.
    • Kondo KSL SF-Z
    Step-up Transformer (SUT) for LOMC cartridges
    • Kondo KSL SF-Z
    Japanese hand wound SUT
    • Kondo KSL SF-Z
    SUT
    • Kondo KSL SF-Z
    Japanese SUT. Better than the active LOMC stage of the Halcro DM10. Worth a try.
    • Halcro Preamp DM10
    DM10 solid state with inbuilt MM & MC phono stage
    • Halcro Amplifiers DM-58
    Solid state Monoblocks
    • Custom made 3 way moving coil sealed box.
    12" woofers run full-range. No inductors, coils or resistors in signal path.
    • Drivers & Capacitors Scanspeak & Duelund
    Golden Section Notice the size of the Duelund VSF capacitors compared the Scanspeak 51/4" MidWoofer driver. The 44uF Duelund for the mid/woofer is as large and as heavy as the driver it feeds. The thinner Duelund is the 5.6uF for the tweeter.
    • Vandersteen 2Wq
    3x8" woofers powered by internal 300w amp with 'feed-forward' error correction and adjustable Q settings. A stereo pair positioned directly behind each main speaker.
    • Vandersteen M5 High-Pass filter
    Active high-pass for 2Wq subs
    • Audeze LCD2
    Planar magnetic headphones
    • Schiit Lyr
    Valve head amp
    • Marantz ST-17
    Black
    • Nakamichi BX-100
    Black
    • Cardas Clear
    Fully Balanced XLR connection from Halcro DM10 to fully differentially balanced Halcro DM58 Monoblocks
    • Cardas Clear
    Very pure speaker cables
    • PS Audio P3 AC Regenerator
    The PerfectWave Power Plant 3 is a state-of-the-art AC regenerator that regulates and regenerates the AC line voltage, producing clean, low distortion AC power.
    • Shindo Mr T
    Transformer-based Power Conditioner. Connected to both turntables and Preamp. Does it work?......perhaps....
    • Hannl Mera EL RCM
    Supplied by TW-Acustic, this top-of-the-line RCM from Hannl does a good job in quick time with minimum noise. I use it with my trusty Steamatey steam cleaner using distilled water and finish with a distilled water rinse...thus avoiding any chemical use on the records.
    • ZYX Universe
    Low output .24 Copper with silver base. One of the best LOMC cartridges I have heard and one of the only ones with which I can live.
    Nuff said!
    • Fidelity Research FR-6SE
    Sold only in the Japanese market in the late 1970s, this MM cartridge with elliptical stylus has a surprisingly low compliance (10x10-6cm/Dyne) for a MM and is thus designed to be suitable for the FR-64/66 range of high-mass arms produced by Fidelity Research.
    This cartridge is a colourful performer. No 'shrinking violet', it projects the fullest of sounds from the meaty bass to the lyrical sweet highs. Not as subtle or refined as the Signet TK-7SU, it nonetheless manages to convey a great deal of the essence of the 'real thing'. Perfect for transistor amps which may display top-end brittleness and/or recessed midrange performance.
    • JVC Victor
    DD turntable

Comments 131

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Halcro,
I posted a thread trying to inquire about the Victor TT 81 and 101.  I am trying to understand the differences between them in quality and sound (if any).  I noticed you have had both turntables.  Would you mind providing me some insight on the thread?

Thanks 

rgs