Contrapuntal Celestial Stereo-K (Yeo)

by ykk on Done For Now

Description

Contrapuntal Celestial Stereo-K

Celestial sound? Yes, to a mortal, this is a dream to reach the star! Doesn't matter if I will not reach it, for the journey has been rewarding. After all, music is from heaven, audio gears are human made––contrapuntal. Yet, the union between celestial sound and audio equipments is a hypostatic one that only music lovers are gifted to dream of. I began my dream of putting together a system like this one since 1996. By February 2005 the system is almost complete with perpetual tweaking to be done. I like to share with you for your comments. After months of testing, I am very satisfied.
My living room is about 15 x 20 x 14 feet, enclosed in a double-layer brick wall outside and one-inch thick chalkboard inside. My first priority is to build a modest audio system within budget (below $7500) top priority is to build an analog system using SET (single-ended triode) amp. The system is to play the following software with a mix of vocal and instrumental music: Western and Chinese classical music in LP (70% usage), then CD/SACD for Chinese classical and pop that I collected over the years (10% usage) where LPs are not available. I was given a tube tuner McIntosh MR 71 and do enjoy listening to news and classical music from local radio stations (10%).
Except for the analog components, many audio equipments in this system are bought used to save cost. Audiogon is a great place to learn and shop, and one need to have patience. Cables are DIY stuff. Rewards: many years of high fidelity music without breaking pocket book, arm and leg, or marriage.
I offer this system here with two DIY instructions for those who like to own pieces that may excel commercial products (assuming same amount of money is spent). Reciprocally, any suggestions or tips for tweaking are welcome, thanks! Among the audiogoners who have helped me along the way, Tom Lyons and Doug Deacon are two names I want to mention with gratitude. Tom is a friend in audio gears and music listening. We have not (yet) seen each other, yet I feel like knowing Tom from kindergarten.
If you ask me what is the most challenging part of this journey, I would have to say training my ears to appreciate celestial sound. Now I have a good system, it is time for me to focus on music appreciation in the remaining years of my life. Music nurtures our souls, just like food our bodies. Our taste might be different, the truth remains that, our souls are constantly touched by goodness and beauty of celestial sound. It is God’s gift to us! Enjoy the music!

an Audiogoner,
K.K. Yeo
Oct 7, 2005
[May 23, 2022, still enjoying the music!]
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Components Toggle details

    • Teres 150 Battery-powered
    Birchwood lead-filled base, tainted and polished to red-wood color. Acrylic base and armboard. Sitting on mid-density board on top of a cabinet with Audiopoints. A beauty!
    • Turntable Dust Cover DIY KK-style
    DIY Acrylic Dust cover for Teres Turntable or Any Audio Equipment I have not seen Do-It-Yourself Dust cover on the Internet, so I post it here simply for your interest, if you decide to make one. My Teres turntable does not come with dust cover, and I have seen professionally custom-made dust cover costs about $300.00. I also like the idea of owning a unique dust cover. This dust cover will not add to the musicality of your system, but it protects and ornaments your expensive gear well. All you need are: (1) Five pieces of “plastic glass” (acrylic material from home supply stores, and some would even cut the glass for you with minimal fees paid) that make up the top and the four sides of the dust cover. I use clear type and relatively thin one. (2) A tube of kitchen & bath adhesive caulk to glue the glasses (make sure you get “CLEAR” color to get the transparency, glass-like effect). (3) Various length of small (less than half inch) wood trim (you can pick the designs and finishes from home supply store) not just for ornamentation but also for enforcement on the corners where the glasses are glued. I also made a smaller dust cover for my pre-amp without wood support and the dust cover holds up well. All these cost me less than US$30.00 I spent about 3 hours in all to finish the project and waited about 12 hours for the glue to dry before using the dust cover. First, I cut the plastic glass myself using a sharp utility knife (knife with diamond tip is best; be very careful with the cutting!). I sand the edges with different grades of sandpaper, 800, 1200, 1500 grit (sandpapers are available from automobile supply store; these sandpapers are leftover from my Teres polishing project). Then, I prepare the wood trims, sanding them and staining them to match my Teres base. After that, I paper tape the glasses together on the outside to the shape you want (the dust cover should stand pretty firmly), and then glue the wood trims to the inside corners where the five glasses join. I also place similar trims on top to decorate the dust cover a little and to serve as handles when I remove and put on the dust cover. That’s about it, and it will serve you well for many years to come. If you need picture to see how my dust cover looks like, send me an email. Simply let your imagination guide you in this kind of project, and Have Fun!
    • Origin Live Silver MKII
    Rega 250 base, but OL Silver MKII has modified it and given it quality wiring.
    • Hi-Fi Mod TWL and DougDeacon
    $25.00 mod that gives great improvement to this OL Silver (Rega base) arm. This silver arm can do magic to analog music.
    This Hi-Fi Mod is made by Tom and mine has his signatures. Doug Deacon has also suggested to me his mod. (see picture).
    • Shelter 501 MKII
    A great moving coil cartridge, best for the money.
    • Bent Audio MU (TX 103 transformers)
    A great step up for my moving coil cartridge. Load resistance is 25-40.
    • MFA Magus C (Mod.)
    This preamp is chosen mainly because of its phono stage. Tubes used are all Telefunken. Not yet upgraded and modified, but I am satisfied already.
    • Sun Audio SV-2A3
    3.5 W per channel single-ended triode superb amp. NOS RCA 2a3 and 5u4g; NOS Sylvania 6sn7.
    • McIntosh MR-71
    Mod. Very receptive and clear and sweet sounding tuner. I use Fanfare FM-2G antenna.
    • Benchmark Media Systems DAC 1 Pre
    for Oppo Blue-ray player only
    • Fanfare FM-2G omnidirectional antenna
    FM-2G for general use on entire 88 - 108MHz Band.
    • Alpha Core Goertz MicroPurl Silver/Copper
    Copper for amp, and silver with sources.
    • Voigt Pipe (TWL Mod.) w/ Lowther PM6A
    DIY. Tom Lyons and I have written the step-by-step instruction, if you need the PDF document, download it from http://www.lowther-america.com/Voigt%20Pipe.pdf
    • ACI Titan II LE
    Nice looking and powerful sub that matches my main speakers well. Essential for organ music listening, and ground-shaking for special effects in movie playing. I use high pass filter of 65 Hz.
    • Alpha Core Goertz MI(2) Copper
    single run copper. I tried bi-wire, but did not notice the difference.
    • Monster Reference Power Center HTS 2500
    has all sorts of filters, good stabilizer.

Comments 2

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Owner
TX103 is out of the world piece, superb! Silver version.

ykk

How do you find your TX 103 ? Do you have the Silver or Copper version ?

rickmak

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