Moving from cone speakers to a set of Apogee Duetta Signature speakers has shown me that there is value to be found in old equipment, for sure. There is certainly more than one way to skin this cat ... I went for the high power SS route with lots of tubes in front of it.
System strengths: natural timbre, musical, transparent with amazing soundstaging, dynamic, good PRAT, no fatigue from CD or vinyl. This is as good as I've heard in many rooms.
System edited: Just got a McCormack DNA 500 amp to replace my DNA .5 Rev A. Still has the McCormack house sound but with much better soundstaging. The speakers disappear alltogether. Tons of slam and hreadroom for those dynamic passages, but still with finesse and analogue smoothness. Just an amazing amp that takes things to another level. However, I still need a bunch more time to get th full measure of this upgrade. I got the amp on friday and was listening all afternoon and night. But the storm that ransacked the east coast dropped a tree down the block from us and took out the power lines. So I've been powerless for 3 days now with 2-3 more to go beore they can get to us, I'm told. Can you imagine just getting this kind of an upgrade to your system and not being able to listen to it? It's killing me, but at least there was no damage done to my home or family. It is cold in the house though without heat. Warm weather needs to be here NOW!
System edited: Added a few new pictures: - Transfiguration Temper cartridge - Ayre CX7e-MP CD player (just back from the MP upgrade) - Peter Millet Mini Max headphone amp - Hagerman Piccolo MC step up - new overall system picture
Dave - You know I'll never leave anything alone. It will at least get some vibration dampening and maybe some EMI/RFI shielding on the inside. I will definitely have an upgraded power cord on it and am going to experiment with different footer materials (rollerblocks, myrtle wood, etc.).
Maybe those are really just "tweaks" but at this price point I am not tempted to play with the soldering iron at all. If it were $300 that would be a different story.
System edited: Just purchased an Ayre CX7e to replace my transport and DAC setup. Still evaluating, but so far this seems like a nice step upward in performance from the DIY modded inexpensive Chinese DAC's (even though they do sond very good after the mods).
Just obtained a little used new old stock Dynavector XX1 high output MC cartridge to replace my 20X-H. Heavy sucker at 12g with a funny switch on the front to turn on/off the flux damper (sounds like a "Back to the Future" trick).
Apparently nobody liked it turned off so they have incorporated it permanently in all of their XX series carts going forward (and reduced the weight thereby).
It's got a very nice liquid sound to it with much improved subtlety over the 20X-H. There may be a little less dynamic punch, but that could be a break in or setup thing that I haven't quite conquored yet.
Hi again Bob, I have done some minor diy mods myself, such as making up resistor plugs to nail down the resistive loading on my cart, (Dynavector XX2MKII). I just haven't done complex electronics assembly, though I did install my own dedicated circuit for my audio system. Getting my Scout Sig. to sound as it does was a challenge, lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth, but I stuck with it, and I love the way it sounds. Without these forums, though, I'd still be at square one. I do admire seeing the well-concieved, and executed, ideas of my fellow members.
Yes, I built the Mark Kelly speed controller. It wasn't too bad putting it together, but with so many parts and a layout and directions that were not disaster proofed there was bound to be a mistake or two (or 3 in my case). So troubleshooting it was a bit of a pain and took quite a bit of time. i think that's why Mark gave up on it, everyone had one problem or another and his time was being sought after far too much.
The arm on the TT mounts through the plinth. I actually routed out the top of the plinth where it mounts so it sits down a bit, giving me needed VTA adjustability.
Don't give up on your own DIY. I started small and learned as I went. I'm no engineer but I do have a bit of practical experience now and a lot of curiosity. Nothing like real world experience building your own and playing with different things. you just have to be honest with yourself if something is not working. Sometiumes backing out a mod shows you more than putting it in.
Hi PTM, I really admire your hands-on approach to your system. I would do the same thing, if I had the know-how. Most of my components are modded too, by the way, great price barrier- busters to good sound. The plinth you've made is a great idea, the leg supports very novel, but available at most any well-supplied hardware store! Well done! Does the arm mount by a threaded column through the plinth? I'm sure you get a great deal of enjoyment from this system, hands-on makes for much more enjoyment. By the way, did you build the Mark Kelly device? I thought about it, but it seemed a little beyond me.
System edited: Just finished building Mark Kelly's speed controller for the turntable. A very challenging project but a good end result. Thanks for designing this kit Mark, and for your patience walking me through the debugging.
System edited: Just updated pictures of the new room and my new DIY seismic sink audio racks. 50 lbs of sand used in each shelf/box. I also found the addition of room treatments (GIK Panels) to bring a major improvement to the sound. There was a big bass hump in this new basement room. But I have it mostly tamed right now. However I have little need for the Rel sub anymore - my speakers seem to go down to the low 20's without it in this room. Enjoy, Bob
Yes - I ment building a machine from scratch. I have designed virtually everything exept the motor. The local engineer must do all the milling and-so-forth. See my system for the BALSA-Tone arm that I made.
"You just have to take a peek inside the equipment to get to know it and then adjust it to your liking..."
System edited: Just upgraded the turntable with a Moerch DP6 tonearm (but didn't change the picture yet). I know things would improve over the old Audioquest PT6 arm, but I never thought that a tonearm would make such a big difference. I might have to start rethinking all of the claims about speed controls, like the VPI SRS. Enjoy, Bob
System edited: Tried out the EA modded Sony DVP-S7700 player as a transport with my ART DI/O DAC. Got it on loan from a friend and wound up buying it. Wow! Transports definitely make a difference. The modded Toshiba 4960 is now relegated to SACD and DVD-A playback only. Actually, the 7700 & DI/O combo on the Redbook CD layer of hybrid SACD disks usually beats out the SACD layer on the modded Toshiba. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, after all. Enjoy, Bob
System edited: Recent additions/changes: Modded Toshiba SD4960 universal player to replace the Cal Labs DX2 (as transport) and ART DI/O DAC. Yes, it's that good, and I get to play SACD and DVD-A's now too. Recently purcheased a John Wiesner built Hagerman Coronet (ver 2). Nice and clear, with great soundstaging, and so quiet I can't tell that it's on unless I drop the needle. Not even a hint of tube rush. But I still couldn't help upgrading the coupling caps in the circuit to Sonicaps. OK, but the listening (living) room is screwed until after the holidays with the tree and furniture rearrangement. Time to break out the Sennheiser 600's! Enjoy, Bob
Hi Bob, Nice set up. Ever used any noise quieting filters from Bybee...they work great as replacements for stock ones! Im also from LI...I know Square Deal in Patchogue has been gone for some time...used to deal with Steve K...What ever happened to them ( or where is he now , if you may know?)--Ken
Nice system. Musicality and Prat are everything to me. One question though-how do you like the dx-2/art-dio combo. I have a dx-1 lying around that needs to be fixed. I wanted to use it as a transport with a dac.My sony 555es sacd although nice, is lacking on redbook. Phizzer
The 89259/89248 twisted pair is used most everywhere, between components.
I've "enhanced" this interconnect from the DAC to the preamp by adding a 30 guage silver wire for each leg (+ and -). This is wrapped around the twist in the same diirection, creating a copper/silver hybrid - it lets the best of both through. Unfortunately I found this works really well for the DAC but nowhere else; the copper alone is better.
The 1506A is the digital cable from the DX2 transport to the DI/O DAC.
The 89259 cross connect is the speaker wire. This was the best I've found for the length I need (25 feet for each speaker). The design minimizes inductance, which is critical for long runs and not easily found in any speaker cable. Anyway, it works best for me.
Thanks for the interest and if you're ever on Long Island, NY you are definitely welcome to stop by for a listen.
