I have to put new pictures up one day .These are outdated and incomplete.My digital camera has decided to call it quits,,pics will have to wait.If its not one ting,its an udda!
Ray, I'm glad to hear you moved away from the dark side ;) Video and HQ 2 channel audio don't live together well in the same room. Same house maybe... I was at Lloyd Walker's place today. Watching the build process on my Proscenium Gold Signature turntable. Lloyd is not only an engineering genius, he is one hell of a craftsman as well. Thanks for the invite. a buddy of mine has been bugging me to go down there with him for a little salt water fly fishing. If that happens and I find myself looking for an audio fix, maybe we can hook up...
Slipknot,If you ever visit the Tampabay area your more than welcome to stop by!I think ive been very lucky in putting together this system without making too many mistakes,,thanks to Audiogon members i should say!And to think i started out wanting a great home theater system!Thank you,Ray
David,Thank you!I had no idea when i started that id soon be replacing darn near everything in my system,but im very happy now!Music is a very emotional experience for me,i think ive got a good balance ,where not so good recordings sound very good and great recordings sound ,,great!Ray
Spencer,Im sure ill have Audiopoints on everything before long,i will try the amp connection first as i have 2 pr of good speaker cables collecting dust,cant argue with Daffy!LOL,Thank you,Ray
Ray- You are really making a lot of changes! they all seem to be moving things in a positive direction. would love to get together with you to listen to some tunes on yer rig. Keep us posted...
Hi Ray. Nice system sir, quite the evolution and I'll bet it makes for a rewarding musical experience. Great to see a table in the mix. All the best... david. PS... Try to isolate the supratek power supply as far away as possible from the other gear.
Ray, Audiopoints are pretty cool, huh? Have 'em under my rack, too. The only others I've seen that are equal or better are the Walker Valid Points. Your system has come a long way fast! Don't plug the epi thru the Supratek. As Daffy Duck once said, "It's a great trick, but I can only do it once". ;-) Cheers, Spencer
System edited: Added Audiopoints under transport and Chardonnay power supply,improved clarity ,tightened bass,soundstage improved,def. worth the money!I will be adding more plus 4 for my Flexi rack,did not change the character of the sound,just cleared everything up.
Hello Mark,Still waiting for my Tax check,,,glad to hear the Sig arm is living up to expectations!My analog system sounds pretty good ,,but im looking forward to improving upon it!I think if Micks KT-88s were ready i might have ordered a pr.,,,crazy crazy hobby!!Thank you for the info,,ill be checking in with you to hear how everything is progressing.Ray
Hi Ray, I like the new Sig. arm alot. As good as the original arm is ,the new one will kick your systems sonics up a notch right out of the box.Im so glad I had the set of my new arm done by the owner of the store I bought most of my stuff at.He is meticulous to the extreme and did a far better job of it then I would of on my first attempt...The new arm is more transparent for starters and this is easily heard on music Im very familiar with. Just think were it will go when the wire starts to burn in.While its doing that ,its certainly isnt hard to take. I bet some of the guys with this up grade will go along expecting leaps in performance in a short time span and ending up thinking the new arm and wire is really no big deal.Roy Gregory of Hi-Fi + magazine writes about this very thing in issue 42. He reveiwed Nordost new interconnects,the Frey .If the wire sounds alittle bright even cool ,it needs more time.Ive heard this from some dealers about Nordost,one saying they dont like Nordost because of this.They have not heard Nordost top line wire fully burnt in,period. The same goes for anything in a system.A recent good example is LarryRosen [starting 01-20-06]? on the Supratek owners thread.Larry had given up on his Supra pre and had it up for sale. While it was up for sale one day Larry noticed something different about it. Hes keeping it now. Ray I can hear the potential in this arm right now.V.P.I. are really on to something using Valhalla in their arms...Like Slipknot wrote, your in for some pleasent surprises...I BET. Any word on your arm? Mark
Hi Ray ,My Sig. arm arrived yesterday! I have a long drive to my dealer where the arm was delivered to. Im taking tomorow off to get the arm,bearings ect. fitted and set up. Im bringing along some of my best vinyl that I am most familiar with. We are going to hook it up in one of the dealers rooms and do a direct comparison between mine and a Scout master floor model with standard arm, an A B A listen.Hopefully the store wont be too busy tomorow, so I can take my time and give them both agood listen too. I cant wait to get it home!... Fact ,there is more musical imformation on a 50 year old L.P. then any digital format...Ill let you know how things turned out... Mark
Stiltskin,Hope your arm gets to you soon!Im really enjoying Ella and other older jazz LPs ive recieved lately,funny how some of the old recordings can sound soooo good!
Hi Ray ,Thats funny...My arm is tied up in Customs Canada .I was really looking forward to it this week, oh well,it will get here. Im sure the new arm will perform just fine out of the box,though as the wire and arm settle in over time,we should be in for a nice surprise...Great find on the original Ella/Cole Porter L.P.s, I have the new reissue,waiting to spin that too...
Hello Mark,I hear your getting your arm REAL soon!Ill be looking forward to hearing all about it,,wow 200 hours,,thats a lot of LPs,i wonder if one were to put a speaker or portable radio real close to the stylus and crank it up ,would the cart. pick up the vibrations and pass a signal thru the wire cutting down on the number of LPs youd have to play for breakin to occur? Wacky thought!
Hello Uppermidfi,Thank you for the kind words,I love what the Caravelles do for my system! I havent enjoyed music on this level in so long,,hard to explain! Ill try,,,I remember when i was a teenager,,i could get so involved in the music,without worrying about audiophile things,,,as the years went by i seemed to not be able too lose myself in the music so completly anymore,,,i now find myself able to feel the music ,,,this is what i envisioned a few years ago when i started putting my system together,,now i might have some money for things like food,tires for my truck,dating,,furniture,,,and my dream ,a house in the sticks with a dedicated music room!Theres still some things id like to upgrade,but they are minor,Thanks,Ray
Hi Ray, Good to here your getting the Sig. arm! I should be taking delivery of my arm soon,... cabin fever is starting to set in, getting my turntable up and running again will cure that...It will take many hours to burn in the arm wire. Jeff Wells of Nordost tells me ,150,200 plus hours. He went on to say, along the way you may not notice much because of the very low level signal traveling the wire. I always keep notes on burning new stuff in,including n.o.s.tubes.Im using Cardas neutral reference interconnects now.They took about 250 hours and work very well in my system. At some point Im going to try out Nordost Frey and Tyr interconnects just for the Hell of it. An upgrade is always exciting!,Im looking forward to your thoughts on your new arm when you get it. Regards Mark
Nice system Ray. Thanks for the input and kind words on my system. I like yours better. :) How do you like those speakers? They are a little bigger than mine, but I bet they're a lot better. How long have you had them now?
Hello Slipknot,I do seem to be leaning toward the Sig. arm,and with what you just said about it and the 700.00 price with trade in of reg. arm its a no brainer,,when the tax check comes in my arms going to VPI.The Caravelles sound great,they let me know how good ihe rest of my system really is!Ray
Hey Ray- How is everything? The signature JMW arm is probably one of the best upgrades you can do for under 1000.00. It adds so much more texture and nueance to the music. Much more low end authority as well. If you add the weight to the headshell you'll have no trouble with the ZYX. I should have checked your thread sooner. Had I known you were interested in a 17D, I know where you could pick one up with less than 30 hours on it for a nice price ;)
No flies on the ZYX though... VPI loves that cart and many dealers package it with the JMW 9 arm.
Keep us up to date on your impressions as you break it in.
Mark,Still not decided which to go with,the sig arm would help since i have a light cart.Roberts book is a great source of info,i need to revisit certain chapters. Dlwask,my R20 is the entry level cart,and sounds quieter in the grooves and a bit more relaxed than the Clearaudio Arum Beta S that i had,,,this Cart is Very forgiving of all manner of noise thats on an LP,without losing detail,dynamics,it is a light cart,ill probably add a headshell wt. from VPI,The Bloom should be even better.Ive not heard the Karat,but it was going to be my next cart,but i got a nice deal on the ZYX ,Ray
Hi Ray, How are things going regarding your decision on the upgrades of your VPI?.. Finding just the right recipe mix for a system really does take time and effort. I would like to make a suggestion if I may. A book written by Robert Harley , The Complete Guide To High End Audio, third addition. Its a 600 page book that even seasoned audio hobbiest find extemely helpfull. It is money well spent... Regards Mark
