Rega Apollo & Saturn Transport Fix. (initializing, reading and playing CD's)

This post is for owners of Rega Digital players (Apollo and Saturn). If your transport mechanism works, but your player is having trouble initializing and reading discs maybe this fix will work for you.

My Saturn (XX years?) which I still use in one of my systems went down on me over the summer. It intermittently stopped reading discs. When it did read them it would start having problems during play. You could hear the mechanism working hard as it cycled eventually stopping and showing an Error message on the display. It seemed I had the option of sending it to Rega Support Plurism in Montreal, or maybe try something DIY - do it yourself. Here is what I did.

First I took a Q-tip - dipped in Isopropyl 99.9% - waiting till it was not dripping and just moist. Then using a magnifying glass gave the laser lens one light swipe.
This resulted in lightning fast initial cd reads. But it still had problems playing the CD. You could hear the mechanism working till finally stopping and registering that Error display.

I then took some Lithium Grease Lube. Sprayed some on a piece of plastic. took a flat tooth pick and dabbed it into it. I then manually, carefully pushed the transport mechanism to see and access the full railing that it rides on. With the toothpick I applied dots of grease in an even path along the railing of the transport. I then put in a cd. there were 15 tracks on this one. Let it load. Then I cycled with the remote between track one and track 15. 15 and one....repeatedly. This forced the transport mechanism back and forth allowing it to lubricate itself with the applied grease.

At least 200 plays later it is still working better than it every did in the XX years I have owned it. (fingers crossed) I would post pics of how I greased the railing but have not had access to the virtual system here for a long time. What's up AudioGon ?

fwiw
People that have owned these players know how good they are from both from a DAC and Player/Transport perspective. Extremely musical, analog, vinyl like.
I had taken my Saturn to dealer showrooms over the years and plugged it into their systems with my CD's. The Saturn held its own quite well, as both an all around good CD player; but I discovered that its transport is the real gem comparing against others. For me personally, it took an expensive DAC - the DAC8 in my case to replace the Saturn's DAC. But its transport I still rank way up there.

Cheers

ct0517 October 26, 2015 12:59

Rega Apollo & Saturn Transport Fix. (initializing, reading and playing CD's)

This post is for owners of Rega Digital players (Apollo and Saturn). If your transport mechanism works, but your player is having trouble initializing and reading discs maybe this fix will work for you.

My Saturn (XX years?) which I still use in one of my systems went down on me over the summer. It intermittently stopped reading discs. When it did read them it would start having problems during play. You could hear the mechanism working hard as it cycled eventually stopping and showing an Error message on the display. It seemed I had the option of sending it to Rega Support Plurism in Montreal, or maybe try something DIY - do it yourself. Here is what I did.

First I took a Q-tip - dipped in Isopropyl 99.9% - waiting till it was not dripping and just moist. Then using a magnifying glass gave the laser lens one light swipe.
This resulted in lightning fast initial cd reads. But it still had problems playing the CD. You could hear the mechanism working till finally stopping and registering that Error display.

I then took some Lithium Grease Lube. Sprayed some on a piece of plastic. took a flat tooth pick and dabbed it into it. I then manually, carefully pushed the transport mechanism to see and access the full railing that it rides on. With the toothpick I applied dots of grease in an even path along the railing of the transport. I then put in a cd. there were 15 tracks on this one. Let it load. Then I cycled with the remote between track one and track 15. 15 and one....repeatedly. This forced the transport mechanism back and forth allowing it to lubricate itself with the applied grease.

At least 200 plays later it is still working better than it every did in the XX years I have owned it. (fingers crossed) I would post pics of how I greased the railing but have not had access to the virtual system here for a long time. What's up AudioGon ?

fwiw
People that have owned these players know how good they are from both from a DAC and Player/Transport perspective. Extremely musical, analog, vinyl like.
I had taken my Saturn to dealer showrooms over the years and plugged it into their systems with my CD's. The Saturn held its own quite well, as both an all around good CD player; but I discovered that its transport is the real gem comparing against others. For me personally, it took an expensive DAC - the DAC8 in my case to replace the Saturn's DAC. But its transport I still rank way up there.

Cheers

ct0517 October 26, 2015 12:59

Rega Apollo & Saturn Transport Fix. (initializing, reading and playing CD's)

This post is for owners of Rega Digital players (Apollo and Saturn). If your transport mechanism works, but your player is having trouble initializing and reading discs maybe this fix will work for you.

My Saturn (XX years?) which I still use in one of my systems went down on me over the summer. It intermittently stopped reading discs. When it did read them it would start having problems during play. You could hear the mechanism working hard as it cycled eventually stopping and showing an Error message on the display. It seemed I had the option of sending it to Rega Support Plurism in Montreal, or maybe try something DIY - do it yourself. Here is what I did.

First I took a Q-tip - dipped in Isopropyl 99.9% - waiting till it was not dripping and just moist. Then using a magnifying glass gave the laser lens one light swipe.
This resulted in lightning fast initial cd reads. But it still had problems playing the CD. You could hear the mechanism working till finally stopping and registering that Error display.

I then took some Lithium Grease Lube. Sprayed some on a piece of plastic. took a flat tooth pick and dabbed it into it. I then manually, carefully pushed the transport mechanism to see and access the full railing that it rides on. With the toothpick I applied dots of grease in an even path along the railing of the transport. I then put in a cd. there were 15 tracks on this one. Let it load. Then I cycled with the remote between track one and track 15. 15 and one....repeatedly. This forced the transport mechanism back and forth allowing it to lubricate itself with the applied grease.

At least 200 plays later it is still working better than it every did in the XX years I have owned it. (fingers crossed) I would post pics of how I greased the railing but have not had access to the virtual system here for a long time. What's up AudioGon ?

fwiw
People that have owned these players know how good they are from both from a DAC and Player/Transport perspective. Extremely musical, analog, vinyl like.
I had taken my Saturn to dealer showrooms over the years and plugged it into their systems with my CD's. The Saturn held its own quite well, as both an all around good CD player; but I discovered that its transport is the real gem comparing against others. For me personally, it took an expensive DAC - the DAC8 in my case to replace the Saturn's DAC. But its transport I still rank way up there.

Cheers

ct0517 October 26, 2015 12:59

Rega Apollo & Saturn Transport Fix. (initializing, reading and playing CD's)

This post is for owners of Rega Digital players (Apollo and Saturn). If your transport mechanism works, but your player is having trouble initializing and reading discs maybe this fix will work for you.

My Saturn (XX years?) which I still use in one of my systems went down on me over the summer. It intermittently stopped reading discs. When it did read them it would start having problems during play. You could hear the mechanism working hard as it cycled eventually stopping and showing an Error message on the display. It seemed I had the option of sending it to Rega Support Plurism in Montreal, or maybe try something DIY - do it yourself. Here is what I did.

First I took a Q-tip - dipped in Isopropyl 99.9% - waiting till it was not dripping and just moist. Then using a magnifying glass gave the laser lens one light swipe.
This resulted in lightning fast initial cd reads. But it still had problems playing the CD. You could hear the mechanism working till finally stopping and registering that Error display.

I then took some Lithium Grease Lube. Sprayed some on a piece of plastic. took a flat tooth pick and dabbed it into it. I then manually, carefully pushed the transport mechanism to see and access the full railing that it rides on. With the toothpick I applied dots of grease in an even path along the railing of the transport. I then put in a cd. there were 15 tracks on this one. Let it load. Then I cycled with the remote between track one and track 15. 15 and one....repeatedly. This forced the transport mechanism back and forth allowing it to lubricate itself with the applied grease.

At least 200 plays later it is still working better than it every did in the XX years I have owned it. (fingers crossed) I would post pics of how I greased the railing but have not had access to the virtual system here for a long time. What's up AudioGon ?

fwiw
People that have owned these players know how good they are from both from a DAC and Player/Transport perspective. Extremely musical, analog, vinyl like.
I had taken my Saturn to dealer showrooms over the years and plugged it into their systems with my CD's. The Saturn held its own quite well, as both an all around good CD player; but I discovered that its transport is the real gem comparing against others. For me personally, it took an expensive DAC - the DAC8 in my case to replace the Saturn's DAC. But its transport I still rank way up there.

Cheers

ct0517 October 26, 2015 12:59

Rega Apollo & Saturn Transport Fix. (initializing, reading and playing CD's)

This post is for owners of Rega Digital players (Apollo and Saturn). If your transport mechanism works, but your player is having trouble initializing and reading discs maybe this fix will work for you.

My Saturn (XX years?) which I still use in one of my systems went down on me over the summer. It intermittently stopped reading discs. When it did read them it would start having problems during play. You could hear the mechanism working hard as it cycled eventually stopping and showing an Error message on the display. It seemed I had the option of sending it to Rega Support Plurism in Montreal, or maybe try something DIY - do it yourself. Here is what I did.

First I took a Q-tip - dipped in Isopropyl 99.9% - waiting till it was not dripping and just moist. Then using a magnifying glass gave the laser lens one light swipe.
This resulted in lightning fast initial cd reads. But it still had problems playing the CD. You could hear the mechanism working till finally stopping and registering that Error display.

I then took some Lithium Grease Lube. Sprayed some on a piece of plastic. took a flat tooth pick and dabbed it into it. I then manually, carefully pushed the transport mechanism to see and access the full railing that it rides on. With the toothpick I applied dots of grease in an even path along the railing of the transport. I then put in a cd. there were 15 tracks on this one. Let it load. Then I cycled with the remote between track one and track 15. 15 and one....repeatedly. This forced the transport mechanism back and forth allowing it to lubricate itself with the applied grease.

At least 200 plays later it is still working better than it every did in the XX years I have owned it. (fingers crossed) I would post pics of how I greased the railing but have not had access to the virtual system here for a long time. What's up AudioGon ?

fwiw
People that have owned these players know how good they are from both from a DAC and Player/Transport perspective. Extremely musical, analog, vinyl like.
I had taken my Saturn to dealer showrooms over the years and plugged it into their systems with my CD's. The Saturn held its own quite well, as both an all around good CD player; but I discovered that its transport is the real gem comparing against others. For me personally, it took an expensive DAC - the DAC8 in my case to replace the Saturn's DAC. But its transport I still rank way up there.

Cheers

ct0517 October 26, 2015 12:59

Rega Apollo & Saturn Transport Fix. (initializing, reading and playing CD's)

This post is for owners of Rega Digital players (Apollo and Saturn). If your transport mechanism works, but your player is having trouble initializing and reading discs maybe this fix will work for you.

My Saturn (XX years?) which I still use in one of my systems went down on me over the summer. It intermittently stopped reading discs. When it did read them it would start having problems during play. You could hear the mechanism working hard as it cycled eventually stopping and showing an Error message on the display. It seemed I had the option of sending it to Rega Support Plurism in Montreal, or maybe try something DIY - do it yourself. Here is what I did.

First I took a Q-tip - dipped in Isopropyl 99.9% - waiting till it was not dripping and just moist. Then using a magnifying glass gave the laser lens one light swipe.
This resulted in lightning fast initial cd reads. But it still had problems playing the CD. You could hear the mechanism working till finally stopping and registering that Error display.

I then took some Lithium Grease Lube. Sprayed some on a piece of plastic. took a flat tooth pick and dabbed it into it. I then manually, carefully pushed the transport mechanism to see and access the full railing that it rides on. With the toothpick I applied dots of grease in an even path along the railing of the transport. I then put in a cd. there were 15 tracks on this one. Let it load. Then I cycled with the remote between track one and track 15. 15 and one....repeatedly. This forced the transport mechanism back and forth allowing it to lubricate itself with the applied grease.

At least 200 plays later it is still working better than it every did in the XX years I have owned it. (fingers crossed) I would post pics of how I greased the railing but have not had access to the virtual system here for a long time. What's up AudioGon ?

fwiw
People that have owned these players know how good they are from both from a DAC and Player/Transport perspective. Extremely musical, analog, vinyl like.
I had taken my Saturn to dealer showrooms over the years and plugged it into their systems with my CD's. The Saturn held its own quite well, as both an all around good CD player; but I discovered that its transport is the real gem comparing against others. For me personally, it took an expensive DAC - the DAC8 in my case to replace the Saturn's DAC. But its transport I still rank way up there.

Cheers

ct0517 October 26, 2015 12:59

Rega Apollo & Saturn Transport Fix. (initializing, reading and playing CD's)

This post is for owners of Rega Digital players (Apollo and Saturn). If your transport mechanism works, but your player is having trouble initializing and reading discs maybe this fix will work for you.

My Saturn (XX years?) which I still use in one of my systems went down on me over the summer. It intermittently stopped reading discs. When it did read them it would start having problems during play. You could hear the mechanism working hard as it cycled eventually stopping and showing an Error message on the display. It seemed I had the option of sending it to Rega Support Plurism in Montreal, or maybe try something DIY - do it yourself. Here is what I did.

First I took a Q-tip - dipped in Isopropyl 99.9% - waiting till it was not dripping and just moist. Then using a magnifying glass gave the laser lens one light swipe.
This resulted in lightning fast initial cd reads. But it still had problems playing the CD. You could hear the mechanism working till finally stopping and registering that Error display.

I then took some Lithium Grease Lube. Sprayed some on a piece of plastic. took a flat tooth pick and dabbed it into it. I then manually, carefully pushed the transport mechanism to see and access the full railing that it rides on. With the toothpick I applied dots of grease in an even path along the railing of the transport. I then put in a cd. there were 15 tracks on this one. Let it load. Then I cycled with the remote between track one and track 15. 15 and one....repeatedly. This forced the transport mechanism back and forth allowing it to lubricate itself with the applied grease.

At least 200 plays later it is still working better than it every did in the XX years I have owned it. (fingers crossed) I would post pics of how I greased the railing but have not had access to the virtual system here for a long time. What's up AudioGon ?

fwiw
People that have owned these players know how good they are from both from a DAC and Player/Transport perspective. Extremely musical, analog, vinyl like.
I had taken my Saturn to dealer showrooms over the years and plugged it into their systems with my CD's. The Saturn held its own quite well, as both an all around good CD player; but I discovered that its transport is the real gem comparing against others. For me personally, it took an expensive DAC - the DAC8 in my case to replace the Saturn's DAC. But its transport I still rank way up there.

Cheers

ct0517 October 26, 2015 12:59

Rega Apollo & Saturn Transport Fix. (initializing, reading and playing CD's)

This post is for owners of Rega Digital players (Apollo and Saturn). If your transport mechanism works, but your player is having trouble initializing and reading discs maybe this fix will work for you.

My Saturn (XX years?) which I still use in one of my systems went down on me over the summer. It intermittently stopped reading discs. When it did read them it would start having problems during play. You could hear the mechanism working hard as it cycled eventually stopping and showing an Error message on the display. It seemed I had the option of sending it to Rega Support Plurism in Montreal, or maybe try something DIY - do it yourself. Here is what I did.

First I took a Q-tip - dipped in Isopropyl 99.9% - waiting till it was not dripping and just moist. Then using a magnifying glass gave the laser lens one light swipe.
This resulted in lightning fast initial cd reads. But it still had problems playing the CD. You could hear the mechanism working till finally stopping and registering that Error display.

I then took some Lithium Grease Lube. Sprayed some on a piece of plastic. took a flat tooth pick and dabbed it into it. I then manually, carefully pushed the transport mechanism to see and access the full railing that it rides on. With the toothpick I applied dots of grease in an even path along the railing of the transport. I then put in a cd. there were 15 tracks on this one. Let it load. Then I cycled with the remote between track one and track 15. 15 and one....repeatedly. This forced the transport mechanism back and forth allowing it to lubricate itself with the applied grease.

At least 200 plays later it is still working better than it every did in the XX years I have owned it. (fingers crossed) I would post pics of how I greased the railing but have not had access to the virtual system here for a long time. What's up AudioGon ?

fwiw
People that have owned these players know how good they are from both from a DAC and Player/Transport perspective. Extremely musical, analog, vinyl like.
I had taken my Saturn to dealer showrooms over the years and plugged it into their systems with my CD's. The Saturn held its own quite well, as both an all around good CD player; but I discovered that its transport is the real gem comparing against others. For me personally, it took an expensive DAC - the DAC8 in my case to replace the Saturn's DAC. But its transport I still rank way up there.

Cheers

ct0517 October 26, 2015 12:59

Rega Apollo & Saturn Transport Fix. (initializing, reading and playing CD's)

This post is for owners of Rega Digital players (Apollo and Saturn). If your transport mechanism works, but your player is having trouble initializing and reading discs maybe this fix will work for you.

My Saturn (XX years?) which I still use in one of my systems went down on me over the summer. It intermittently stopped reading discs. When it did read them it would start having problems during play. You could hear the mechanism working hard as it cycled eventually stopping and showing an Error message on the display. It seemed I had the option of sending it to Rega Support Plurism in Montreal, or maybe try something DIY - do it yourself. Here is what I did.

First I took a Q-tip - dipped in Isopropyl 99.9% - waiting till it was not dripping and just moist. Then using a magnifying glass gave the laser lens one light swipe.
This resulted in lightning fast initial cd reads. But it still had problems playing the CD. You could hear the mechanism working till finally stopping and registering that Error display.

I then took some Lithium Grease Lube. Sprayed some on a piece of plastic. took a flat tooth pick and dabbed it into it. I then manually, carefully pushed the transport mechanism to see and access the full railing that it rides on. With the toothpick I applied dots of grease in an even path along the railing of the transport. I then put in a cd. there were 15 tracks on this one. Let it load. Then I cycled with the remote between track one and track 15. 15 and one....repeatedly. This forced the transport mechanism back and forth allowing it to lubricate itself with the applied grease.

At least 200 plays later it is still working better than it every did in the XX years I have owned it. (fingers crossed) I would post pics of how I greased the railing but have not had access to the virtual system here for a long time. What's up AudioGon ?

fwiw
People that have owned these players know how good they are from both from a DAC and Player/Transport perspective. Extremely musical, analog, vinyl like.
I had taken my Saturn to dealer showrooms over the years and plugged it into their systems with my CD's. The Saturn held its own quite well, as both an all around good CD player; but I discovered that its transport is the real gem comparing against others. For me personally, it took an expensive DAC - the DAC8 in my case to replace the Saturn's DAC. But its transport I still rank way up there.

Cheers

ct0517 October 26, 2015 12:59

Hi Henry - glad you liked my Horn Woofer Speaker Selfie. Yes it was a Selfie. I came out bad so I cropped myself out of it !
You know...this is happening more and more with me in pictures these days.....cropping myself out. Can't figure it out :^(

Hi Dan,

Koaltar needs a pat on the head (if you can get to it), and a good scratch behind the ears

The hardest part was keeping a labrador retriever out of the water for 10 days. Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep a lab retriever out of water ?

Will need more input on just how great the improvements are on the push-pull amp

The truth for me is that amps are really kind of boring. The really good amps just disappear so you don't think about them. Unless they are loaded with tubes to stare at. But then you are afraid to leave the room for an extended period of time for fear of fire. think OTL.
Now Speakers and turntables - those are interesting.
When they (amps) disappear and provide reliable satisfying service year after year you got yourself a good amp.
But this RM9 is not just a regular push-pull amp.
This is a very unique amp to me. Owned it many years. It has been in the ball park with every amp I have ever owned.
It even competed with the former OTL's and; the only way BTW I got to hear the OTL's in trial at my house before buying them, was that the OTL manufacturer respected Roger; and needed to hear his amps with the RM9 in the same room. So he brought a trial pair over for me.
Can it compete with the big Krell - don't know yet. Been travelling and I haven't turned on the Krell yet since getting the RM9 back.
For now I will say the Matrix 800's are honest full range speakers 20hz - 20khz, and the RM9 is handling them nicely in my room.

The current version of the RM9 amp is called RM200 and to get one that Roger Modjeski himself has wound the transformers on costs an extra $1000. Makes me wonder where they are getting the regular transformers from, and if this part of the amp is being outsourced from the same place as maybe ARC or other companies ? Sign of the times.
Does anybody know the answer to this question ?

As information (a copy and paste from the Music Reference website)
Music Reference Price List from their website in US dollars.
Not affiliated....just a fan; I also own an RM10 that I use with my Quad 57's.

Amplifiers
EM7 All Triode Stereo 2.5 watt/channel SE power amp KIT $750
EM7 All Triode Stereo 2.5 watt/channel SE power amp $1250
EM7 All Triode Stereo 5 watt/channel SE power amp $1500
EM7 All Triode 10 Watt Push-Pull Monobloc w/ Balanced Input(each) $1250
45 or PX4 based Deluxe Stereo 4 watt/channel (Email)
245.1 45 based Stereo 4 watt/channel less output tubes (Email)
RM-10 MK II 25 watt/channel High Bias EL-84/6BQ5 w/ Self Adjusting Bias & Tube Current Indicators $2,450
RM-10 MK II 35 watt/channel Push-pull EL-84/6BQ5 $2,950
RM-200 MK II 100 watt/channel Push-pull KT-88 $5,400
RM-200 MK II-T As above with transformers wound by Roger $6,400
RM-300 MK II 300 watt Monobloc Push-pull (each) $9,000
RM-6 OTL (Output Transformerless) Direct Coupled, Servo 100 watt Monobloc (each) $4,500

So to replace this RM9 with a new RM200 is $6400. Can't imagine what two RM-300 300 wpc mono's at $9k each would sound like....
(if I was only living in California where Music Reference is)

A comment from the the technician that stuck with me; This is when he was testing the reborn RM9 out. "this amp just does not give up"
& "nice transformers"

So....

How do you know when you have a special audio piece ?

Answer

IMO.....when the repair/tech wants to buy it off you.

This also happened with my ARC SP11MK2 some years ago.

So been enjoying the renewed born again RM9, but up north much of the time now. Will put in the big Krell in later this summer.... .. no rush. I am after-all a full time music lover; and only part time audiophile.
I have grown out of the - play my favorite 10-20 music albums all over again whenever I introduced a change - phase. :^)

ct0517 June 05, 2015 01:13

Hi Chris,

Koaltar needs a pat oh the head (if you can get to it), and a good scratch behind the ears (See above).

Will need more input on just how great the improvements are on the push-pull amp (did it get any stitches too?)

Enjoy, and regards,
Dan

islandmandan May 28, 2015 17:27

Horn woofer.....😹
Hahaha.....excellent Chris...

halcro May 28, 2015 05:53

Well, If my spot the amp difference game was a TV show, it would have been cancelled the first week due to lack of responses :^(
I therefore declare Banquo the winner. You will need to come to Canada to collect the prize Banquo.
Still listening to this Born Again Music Reference RM9.
Lovely tunes coming out of it. Using the 4 ohm, low gain setting on the 93db matrix 800.

on another note:
Here is a pic of my new Horn Woofer Speaker

Also known as the Natural Woofer. It doesn't get any purer for this for sound does it ?
When he is hungry the sound from the speaker is at 1000 hz - more like a whine.
If something annoys him it gets into the 100 -200 hz range.

Sorry..... could not resist. Reminded me too much of a vintage Masters Voice turntable I own.
My wife likes this turntable as she is into antiques. She lets me display it upstairs if you can believe it.
Koaltar had the nasty performed on him this week. Hurts me as much as him.
Should be a real fun week here. 80 lb Lab and Elizabethan collar to keep him from licking the stitches for 10 days. :^(

Some recent listens
Sarah Brightman - Classics
Neil Young - Decade
Natalie Merchant - I have played this one so much I could be a backup singer for her at her next gig.
My girlfriend Sarah Mclachlan's latest - Shine on.
Blue Rodeo - 5 days in July
Supertramp - Famous Last Words...
Various Jazz and Classical
Dug out an old favorite from my very young days - Electric Light Orchestra - Turned to stone. Used to use The side containing Concert for a Rainy Day to pump myself up for Sports I played. This album therefore still pumps me up.

Something about myself.
In my room I am definitely not a streaming type of guy - I play whole Albums (CD's and LP's).
I like to get to know the artists and their music.
I don't jump from song to song. I get to know each song on the album.
If I am just working around the house and looking for tunes I usually just grab them off the Bell Expressvu Satellite - Theme stations in the other room.
Depending on the mood.

Happy Listening.

ct0517 May 27, 2015 23:05

Banquo - very good.
You hit on some changes and made some good guesses.
You scored points and are in the lead. The fact that you are the only player so far...is irrelevant :^)

Some background
I just received back this amp early this week. It was given to a famous local tech here back in December, and I told him to take his time, check it out, rehab it and make it better. Better ? What did I mean by that ?

This amp Push Pull already trumped my previous OTL's monoblocks in the bass department and with less wpc. As you know bass is very important to me.
Remember this for thread readers - OTL versus Push Pull

It was fairly equal/very close in the midrange. But what the OTL's had over push pull was their immediacy and response, and a litter bigger sound. Like the sound was coming from a bigger pipe. The Push Pull sounded a little congested in comparison is what I wrote earlier. So I instructed him to, along with a complete rehab with new solder connections everywhere; to make the changes he felt were needed to make it sound more open, less congested.

Here are some more hints.

the same two pics have been updated

Banquo363 - And those 2 large gauge looking wires that appear to be going to the rca inputs? Noise reduction mod? No idea.

Looking at the top pic you can see I have added two red arrows pointing to two beige colored wires. Difficult to see as they are the same color as the board. If you blow the pic up and follow those wires you will see that these wires have disappeared in the bottom picture. They have in fact been replaced by the two large gauge wires in the bottom pic. FURTHER HINT - These two larger gauge wires are also Silver wire.

Also if you look at the bottom of the revised pic you see a red circle around an additional ground cable that has been added, This one attaches to the bottom cover bolt where the bottom cover metal shield attaches. So this will help with further noise reduction that you mention. Now the previous version top pic was already a modded version and it came with a very nice hard wired 3 prong power cord. In its current state the amp is very quiet and cannot be heard at idle even with your ears up to the drivers.

ct0517 April 25, 2015 13:32

Easy for me to identify, since I own this amp. Regarding the reasons behind the mods, I can only guess. Beefed up power supply caps. The orginal maufacturer didn't do this, since I don't see the chokes that he typically puts in as part of his mod for the power supply. Caps for input stage changed out, perhaps so you can use a different type of driver tube? And those 2 large gauage looking wires that appear to be going to the rca inputs? Noise reduction mod? No idea.

banquo363 April 24, 2015 23:05

..
Can you spot the differences ....

Between the Top and Bottom pics ?

guesses and comments welcome from ......

Amplifier manufacturers, engineers, audiophiles, music lovers, politicians (?) .....
DIY tinker'ers that just can't keep their pinkies out of their gear.
Those addicted to the smell of solder smoke.
Those that like to play "Spot The Difference Games".

Extra points to those that can identify the reason behind the changes.
The previous version is on top. The newly modded overhauled version below.
Sound like fun?

The mystery amp and the story behind it to be revealed here soon with more listening time.
I'll say for now that this venerable tube amp and its magical transformers, sounds wonderful, and is doing one hell of a nice job driving the 93 db Matrix 800's and their double woofers.

Desert Island Album Candidate

Alison Krauss - A hundred Miles or More - A Collection.
.
.

ct0517 April 24, 2015 22:36

I recently lost a bet to my wife based on the AXPONA show ad (which features a dancing girl), and an Audiogon thread.

for more info click here

My wife decided for winning the the bet it would probably be good for me to spend time away from Audiogon. I told her no problem, this is the only audio forum I am part of and only spend part of my morning coffee time here usually. She insisted. Today she lifted the ban. :^)

Hi Slaw.

Slaw - I recently purchased a three pack of Shunyata DF-SS risers to go under my interconnects leading from my preamp to my amp. I placed these on pieces of pavers I had left over from my sidewalk project. I felt the increase in height would help, along with additional isolation.

interesting comment Slaw about the Shunyata/pavers and isolation.

I have had a love/hate relationship with these things.

The bad - they are very good at tripping me. My speakers are 6-7 ft from the front wall in the room. I have to walk by my amp/speakers to get to the front wall. Behind the curtains there are shelves and drawers holding stuff - Audiophile junk. You name it...it is there. Tools, screws/bolts, cartridges, p - magazines, wires, manuals, tubes, oils...,? For some reason all this small stuff has a way of piling up into an organized mess in different areas of my house not just here. I call it my organized mess. My wife calls it something else. I am pretty sure my wife is too afraid to cross the amp and speaker wires threshold to find out what is in the stash here though. If you want to mess with me.....move something in one of my organized messes. :^(

Sorry to digress .

The good - when cable risers are used where two cables need to cross at 90 degrees they allow for a bridge to help keep them from touching.

The good - they are also good to hold the weight of some heavy power and speaker cables coming out of the component so it does not stress the cable. .

But... imo I feel if the cable is of good construction it should not matter if it is on the ground or elevated; especially if the music room is situated on a concrete floor.

So Slaw your comment regarding the use of the pavers is an interesting one. Curious if your room is on a suspended wood floor by chance.

Cool cable risers can also be bought direct from the Hydro company or Ebay.

Example

Another Example

ct0517 April 05, 2015 13:18

Banquo: Regarding cable "risers". I've used Cable Towers with a rubber band stretched across the opening for additional isolation for years. Yes, I thought all of these type of things served a purpose. I recently purchased a three pack of Shunyata DF-SS risers to go under my interconnects leading from my preamp to my amp. I placed these on pieces of pavers I had left over from my sidewalk project. I felt the increase in height would help, along with additional isolation. (This link I thought, may be the most critical to pursue). Wow! The increase in bass info was very perceivable. I'm hearing/listening in a different more positive/transparent way now. The Shunyatas work in my system!

slaw April 03, 2015 17:11

Banquo - I don't have a cd player hooked up to my system (there are not enough hours in the day for both vinyl and cd)

Hi Banquo - The floor of my main room has become a landmine of LP's and CD's everywhere. I haven't been filing anything away since Nov Dec.
They are at easy reach I tell myself. Good thing its my space or my wife would have a fit.

The Holly Cole Girl Talk album is an example of a seriously well done album, I am not just talking about "Oh I Love the Jazz Music on it" type of well done although I do enjoy the music. I am talking about how well the music was captured at the source and engineered afterward. No loudness factor/compression. With the Holly Cole CD I can turn the gain dial (separate from the volume) on my preamp all the way just like with most vinyl. The result of this full gain setting on my preamp provides for the most "they are there in the room" with me. In contrast to this most of my Pop Rock CD's need to be kept at about the 10 -12 O'clock gain setting. This makes them listenable to enjoy, but not as much in your room foolery. Another example of really well done music for me are the Ultra Analogue Recordings of which CD's are available of the music.

Here are sample tracks


The album you linked is $125 US dollars. Can you believe that is now $157 Canadian. Throw in the shipping, taxes, customs if applicable and it turns into a forget-about-it scenario.

Two options.

CD

or

Download the HD tracks which are 24bit/88hz

Both will give you the in room experience with the musicians with this album.

Also - I got curious about something late fall last year. Why do some of my vinyl records of new albums Digitally Mastered; sound better in my room than their store bought CDs. So I called Roger Ginsley Studer Canada rep about it and he put me in touch one of his clients.

Lacquer Channel

They are Canada's longest running dedicated audio mastering studio

I spoke with Maegan Ritchat

What is it about females in this audio hobby/business that is just so sexy. No.....I didn't tell her that.
We had some very interesting discussion. One of the things she confirmed is that when cutting the vinyl; If possible and available the Hi Rez source file is the one that is used, unlike having to do the CD at (2 channels of LPCM audio, each signed 16-bit values sampled at 44100 Hz) Some Cd's I own have higher bit counts.

This is just one reason to explain why the vinyl can sound better than the CD.

But she also did say it would need to be confirmed on a studio to studio, album to album basis.

Also - your Music Reference RM9 amp as you are aware has a toggle for 3 gain settings low, medium, high, If for example you listen with vinyl at the medium gain setting, Digital may sound very good if you use the lower gain setting, due to digital's inherent loudness factor with most "average" digital recordings. Have you tried it with the streaming ? Thanks for the grooveshark reference.

Cheers

ct0517 February 13, 2015 14:22

I don't have a cd player hooked up to my system (there are not enough hours in the day for both vinyl and cd). When I want to hear music to see whether I should buy the vinyl, I stream it via grooveshark.

banquo363 February 12, 2015 07:36

uh...could you pass this note along to your wife:

There is a guy in S. Cal. who will pay handsomely for the Holly Cole Trio's Girl Talk on vinyl. Please do 'search' and contact me once found.

LOL

banquo - do you have a cd of the Holly Cole - Girl Talk Album ?

ct0517 February 11, 2015 21:11

addendum: must be in better condition than this one--which I'm sure it will be.

banquo363 February 10, 2015 07:31

I may need more love and some special protection from someone soon what with my wife's new found interest in my records.

uh...could you pass this note along to your wife:

There is a guy in S. Cal. who will pay handsomely for the Holly Cole Trio's Girl Talk on vinyl. Please do 'search' and contact me once found.

thanks,

banquo :)

banquo363 February 10, 2015 07:21

Dan ...what can I say. Love u too man .....in an audiophile sort of way :^)

Banquo - u too...and I am also loving the battery operated brush. thx. Boy all this love.

It's a vinyl bargain hunter's paradise: I once found wagner's entire ring cycle (16 records) for $4.

I may need more love and some special protection from someone soon what with my
wife's new found interest in my records. Will definitely hide the fact that 3 weeks ago, I purchased an album by my
Audio Girlfriend
A 45 rpm double LP of Afterglow. Of significance to me - Its price shown, is about the same as the total for all the records mentioned in the previous post.

Oh the shame.
Here I am boasting about my musical finds for a nominal amount of money, then I spend the equivalent sum on two pieces of plastic a few weeks earlier. Well I do get to look at a 12 x 12 inch of Sarah with the record album, versus the 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 cd.

So I may need more help, someone to look over me a bit more; in case my wife finds out about this one.....and maybe a few others..
As it is, unfortunately I have learned I can't expect any such protection from Koaltar
Picture taken by company last night. He's become a real pushover with my wife.

Banquo363 Evidently many people only pretend to like opera because virtually every one I have bought has looked unplayed.
I didn't know you liked opera?!

Either did I ....
But I remember the exact moment of realization vividly. Couple of years ago and I am waiting for my wife in the parking lot and it is getting late. I am growing more impatient by the minute. By accident I put it on CBC radio and Opera was playing. Instead of growing more impatient, I relaxed.
Hmmm.......
But lets face it , I am not going to do my daily run on the treadmill to Opera, nor Classical for that matter or Jazz., Classic Rock all the way for me on treadmill. When I run outdoors I listen to the outdoors only. Hopefully this year with Koaltar beside me.

I'd put the Mahler and the Beethoven piano sonatas first on the clean cue.

Thanks...- their next :^)

Listened to the first album on the previous post list. The box set of Beethoven Overtures - Minnesota Orchestra
First production run 1980. Really impressed with the 3 records (condition) but really the performance of that Minnesota Orchestra.
They have quite the story when I googled it. Good lord - the box set is 35 years old ....

ct0517 February 08, 2015 23:25

I'm of no use with the particular recrods you list, but if it were me, I'd put the Mahler and the Beethoven piano sonatas first on the clean cue. ...I didn't know you liked opera?! It's a vinyl bargain hunter's paradise: I once found wagner's entire ring cycle (16 records) for $4. Evidently many people only pretend to like opera because virtually every one I have bought has looked unplayed.

It's good to hear that Koaltar is growing up quite nicely.

Hope all's well with you, Ct0517.

banquo363 February 08, 2015 20:05