A "value-for-money"System. Borderline vintage(!)Class B IMO. A Music rather than Hi-Fi system. Bottom Line: I listen to the Music far more than the System. clincher: I get compliments from non-audio people who are(almost!)convinced! No longer play Audio Reviewer either!
Manual 33/45rpm, Belt driven, Top suspended sprung turntable. Glass Platter w/felt mat. Rega/Profile Armboard. Bought 24 years ago used-didn't know the shop had swapped the original RB300 for a profile Arm until I decided to upgrade. Still, got what I paid for it on ebay! The original giant killer IMO, having owned an LP12 for 6 years and no longer have an urge to go back: in fact I enjoy the 'dek more than I did the Sondek. Less pretentious and more honest and perfect for upgrading. The dealer who sold me the HEED TPS reckoned at today's prices we're looking at a $2000 'table, never mind the arm, cartridge....
Rega RB-300
Std Arm has a wiring upgrade(Unknown) and arm tube damping; standard weight plus dual pillar nuts for VTA adjustment. Now CARDAS re-wired by the good folks @ Brit Audio and I've fitted a Pete Riggle Brass counterweight. At least as good as my old ITTOK now IMHO. Update: unfortunately dismounting the arm to change cartridges and my cack-handedness has loosened a wire so one channel only unless my soldering can fix it..otherwise...
Rega Super Elys
Bargain on ebay. Slightly better inner-detail wise than the Elys2 but otherwise very similar.
B&K Components CS-115
Line Preamp, w/optional passive output,Headphone jack Balance but no tone controls. RCA Inputs(5)/outputs(2). Very good little preamp on std inputs; FABULOUS on the Passive/
B&K Components ST-140
The 1st 105w version. Love this Amp.
Magnepan Magneplanar MG 1.4
Bottom level full range Maggie: superseded by the 1.5 & 1.6 QR with extended FR. which in turn have now been superseded by the 1.7! I'm now a registered Maggie addict! Eyes Open!
knukonceptz mKs & Krystal RCA cables
Bought their silver plater speaker cables(CHEAP too!)as a hedge against rising Monster Cable prices-turned out better performing. These new mKs silver-plated copper(silver soldered too!) are magic and isolate excellently. The Krystals are very good too-Monster Cable 400 inferior...but the mKs(BOTC#2!)...KK's relegated to
knukonceptz Kasa Kable
12g silver-plated 99.9999% copper. Blows Monster Cable out of the water!
Extreme Phono none-felt mat
neoprene like material - placed between Glass Platter & the Supermat. Improves noise floor. Kill's glass/acrylic brightness. Slight loss of Dynamics on it's own: but noticeable.
SOTA Supermat
drop-on Acrylic mat, sits above Extreme Phono mat. Looking at the price for replacement Acrylic platters this price NOW seems reasonable, but back in '87, over half the price of my 'dek (had money back then!)
HEED Orbit TT PSU
T/T power supply: "Valhallas" my 'DEK! Prise it from my cold-dead hands why doncha!
ART DJ Pre II
Picked this up as a spare after a nasty with my Bellari VP129 which I loved. This floored me. It was a LOT quieter (-90dB spec) is cart' loadable, AND you can adjust the level. ran the DL-160 with no difficulty. I ran a faves check and while the Tube warmth wasn't there,in terms of detail this was was actually better, as was the frequency balance. After a month of careful listening I decided to sell the Bellari and keep this: at the $35 I paid for it...WOW. If Mikey gave a VP129 a B rating,then this...
Denon DVD-1930CI
Picked this up on ebay for $60odd bucks. Up and running in 2 minutes: manual not needed! I'm impressed so far. The difference between PCM conversion and direct SACD into stereo outputs VERY marked! Bye Bye, faithful little OPPO: off to ebay!
K.A.B The Pig
how I lost my Reflex clamp I'll never know, but this modest little tweak does the job on good to fair records, but unlike the reflex won't flatten warped ones.that's okay, the RB300 doesn't "fly" like an Ittok for example!
Spin-clean Record Washer System
fancy forgetting this! Had it for 18 months from Garage-a-Records and while my older records haven't QUITE lost their
System edited: Knukonceptz mKs Silver-plated interconnects added for sources and to pre-pwr. Cable DO make a difference! Denon 1930CI replaces Oppo DV-970HD, adding PROPER SACD.Sony TC-KA1ESA replaces the TC-KE500S - actual just the ES model of the latter. Order of magnitude improvement in Sound Quality using Passive mode on the CS115. Note: Class B rating based on Mikey Fremer's initial assessment of the Bellari VP129: lets hope Rolls didn't bribe Mikey!
System edited: Looking forward to getting stereo back! Plus the Cassette deck; although I've been running my Sony Walkman thru my system to play existing tapes - it's a FX-290W with an EXCELLENT op amp and surprisingly good sound balance, so I'm going to continue plugging it in and out just for playing tapes and saving my vinyl - not to mention styli! Added photos and the "new" Cassette recorder to list plus the phono pre-amp I'm using - happily!
System edited: A few hiccups. TC-KE500 imploded; found ES version to replace. Effed tonearm wire conn's when changing from Denon to Super Elys : hopefully my soldering guy can...or it's a re-wire...prfeviously changed out the Klarity cables for silver plated copper "Mks"; SUPERIOR detail for turntable but less so on Digidisc player. Hopefully my reserve ELYS2 will cover cost if sold...
Bit the bullet & swapped out the Elys 2 for the DL-160, which had palled somewhat with the old phono box. Wooooof! A match made in heaven - 'til I get bored of course...more of everything and a particularly amazing soundstage. But the Tube Box has introduced a sweetness lacking before with the 160 so it at least equals the Elys 2 in subtlety now. $106 bucks "saved": EXCELLENT! With my "live" recordings, they really sound it! Or so my poor neighbors have informed me!
System edited: Actually found a local bargain in this Tube Box! If the Bellari VP129 is considered to be Class B by "Mikey", then this qualifies as Class A in my book. Superior in every respect(even more tubey!); AND it does Moving Coils too. I particularly like the strong 3D stereo imaging, crystal instrument specificity and separation; plus realistic (live)bass output, sweet violin and piano tone, and it is plenty loud. This is for MM cartridges so far. Expensive at original price tho'.
Ah! I see you have the SMG's! It was hearing those @ Stereo Unlimited back when you could FIND an audio emporium that made me decide to get a pair: I do not regret it! I must confess to concurring on the Samsung UNTIL I heard the Oppo. I consider it an order of magnitude better SQ wise on CD particularly SACD. It encouraged me to buy a DVD-A disc and I think that format is cloeset to decent vinyl without the Rice Krispies! The Oppo has suceeded in turning this Vinyl curmudgeon into(almost) a digiphile! You can pick 'em up on ebay for less than a hundred: got mine for $65!
System edited: Right! Well, major arm disaster, so had the RB300 rewired with Cardas @ Brit Audio for a good price and excellent service. Recommend these chaps! I got and mounted the Pete Riggle REGA Brass counterweight which articulated the RB300's output by an order of magnitude and a digital stylus gauge which helped with slight mistracking! I found the Maggies on Craigslist for $400 and they provided yet another transformation which even my anti-audiophile girlfriend was impressed with! Plus, annoyed with seeing X-10D's being bid thru the roof, I cobbled together my own dual-mono alternate using ART Tube MP Studio Microphone preamplifiers with a 1/4" TRS to RCA inteconnect, swapped out the stock Chinese tubes for ElectroHarmonix 12ax7EH's I had spare from my VP129 and discovered this pkg can be used upstream of the phono preamp, the OPPO UDP and the B&K pre to Pwr amp. Warmth in spades and only $68: at least half price! Pete Riggle VTA next.
upgrade adds:9/97-1/08 Oppo DV-970HD UDP: much better than the Samsung which is now a spare DVD player. $75 on ebay. Magneplanar 1.4 speakers: $400 on Craigslist. LUV 'EM! ART MP Studio Pro Audio Tube Mic mono preamps(pair)$68 inc TRS/RCA interconnect:Use these as a buffer in the manner of the MF X-10D, but using 12ax7 tubes. Electro-H EH($19 pair) replaced Chinese originals. This means I can either tube the input to the ST-140, or tube a source individually. Very pleased so far.
I couldn't agree more!!!! I understand the 20 is a VERY good cartridge, but I'm setting myself limits moneywise. As to the arm, it takes work to get the best out of it. For example, it works best being slightly loose with the finger nut being hand tightened only(Origin-Live). Albeit mainly for stereo imaging; sometimes I DO wish I knew what I was doing! Actually I'm selling the Bellari, because although it does sound great and is a class B bargain like the RB300(if only!) the cheapo pro-audio preamp I got while it was away being repaired(F.O.C by Rolls including shipping!Out of Warranty too. Great people.)sounds better in too many categories and is easier to use( you have to isolate EVERYTHING with the Bellari to avoid hum). I bought my SOTA clamp exactly 20 years ago and my 'DEK likes it too. I was going to buy an HD841 but heard about reliability problems so went for the 941 instead which is considedrably better than my old Sony NS500V: 1/2 the price too! I'm back on the 'ol record trail.
