carefully built system on a budget. it has very good synergy. the addition of the cary on 9-4-09 has really taken it up a notch. prior to that, i was biamping with an arcam p-80 companion amp to the a-80 that i am now using as my preamp. the nottingham ace space turntable and tonearm have been a great addition. i have added the modwright recently as an upgrade to promitheus c-core passives that i was using with the dali helicon 800s. the andras are something special and thanks to my friend, tim, they are on loan to me for a while. the dalis will return following this loan.
120 watt ultralinear or 60 watt triode. updated with audionote caps
Doge Doge 8
8 tubes. using nos tubes in line stage and phono section. an unsung hero, the search is over.
arcam cd73t and r/dac and jitterbox
nice analog sounding system. a few years old now, but sounding good. the addition of the r/dac has given it new life. the old audio alchemy jitterbox still gives a good improvement.
Nottingham Ace Spacedeck with heavy platter
29 lbs. platter. deep silence. excellent uni-pivot. sitting on 30 lbs. of maple and 3 nordost sort kones.
vpi sds
this was amazing when added to the turntable. also works with cd. anyone with a table with a/c motor should try this or something like it. you can see the alchemy jitter box on top.
beyer dynamic step up transformer
on generous loan from a friend. works with the moving magnet stage of the preamp to allow lomc cartridges.
Wilson/Benesch carbon
basically a benz ruby in a carbon body. great benz tone with speed.
Zu Denon 103 modified
an incredible sleeper cartridge. huge body and tone.
Dali Helicon 800
lovely to look at, lovely to listen to.
Morrow Audio SP6
Excellent - very clean and clear
morrow audio mp 6 and ph6
great cables from a local guy and quite the bargain for the quality.
Tom the new Nottingham arm has made a shocking difference in every recording we listened to last night.(great cigars and scotch!) It seems to have great simitry with the Benz and of course the table. The sound is very sorted out with what seems like complete control over all frequencies.Very revealing indeed.
Hey Scot, I got some rocks to put on your cables that really provide focus and clarity like never before.I also have some special cigar boxes to run your power cables through that add a huge amount of aroma to the sound,especially when listening to classical guitar and flamenco.
Helped Tom fetch and carry the new speakers in. After some quick tweeks by Mike Morrow we sat back and listened. Initial impression is very good.Lots of body and a high end definition that was breath taking.Listened to "Blue Raincoat" and I have never heard J. Warnes vocals sound so sweet.
Listened with Tom with his newest piece in his quest for sonic nirvana; a Benz "L" and a Lukaschek phono section. After many adjustments to VTA and VTF we seemed to find the sweet spot.I was given the opportunity to listen to some of my favorite music;"Elgar Coronation Ode". I literally was brought to tears. Sorry Tom,very embarrassing.
