Copied most of Jean Nantais' super Lenco Home Depot ideas. 100 lb. 10-layered birch plywood and both 3/4" & 1/2" MDF plinth, Mirko stainless steel bearing, Artisan Fidelity 2-piece steel chassis, and the AF copper platter--increases flywheel effect.  The pure copper platter now resting on top of the Lenco platter has eliminated the ringing of the Lenco platter while still preserving the life.  Much more information and dynamics are the result.  Also, cleaning and lubing the motor assembly, teflon wrapping the idler arm, and replacing the idler wheel with the Simon Lucchetti idler.  Also did the JTN string/weight mod to replace the idler spring--big improvement in sound.  Wrapped maple veneer on all sides/ top of the plinth and added black painted decorative trim to the top and bottom of all 4 sides.  Looks pretty darn good for a rookie--although I do some woodworking just for fun for people.  Sounds incredible with awesome dynamics, pace and drive--beautiful clarity also.  Added an on/off switch on the front side.  Added a Furutech IEC outlet so I now have a WyWires Juice II power cord that made a nice difference in sound for the better.  The plinth/TT sits on the top of the Sistrum rack about 2 ft. off the floor.  Has Live-Vibe inverted couplers recessed 1/4" into plinth and covering the Audio Points.  TT is very quiet.   I just want to enjoy my records for now.  They sound so good.

Has Mullard 5AR4 rectifier tube, Bybees on the rails, Star Sound trans mod with .2AP.7 Audio Points in the power supply.  2 Synergistic Research Purple fuses in the player and a Purple fuse in the power supply.  Very close to analog sounding with detail, dynamics and beauty.  PPT E-Mat+ are under the power supply. This is a half mat.  I have a pair of Sophia Electric Blue 6SN7 tubes for the MW player.  Noticeable improvement in sound in all ways. The Audio Magic Illusion umbilical connects the player to the power supply which has slightly better detail and transparency than the MW Truth.  The player has a RCA box going through it.  Added a holostage on top of the player and one on the power supply.  Much more realistic in all ways with the additions.  Have a KT CD mat to cover the playing disc--better SQ, clarity and more deep bass.  Just got a Verastarr Grand Illusion Statement power cord to go from the player to to SR power strip.  After settling in for several hours, the sound became much more potent dynamically with even more details and transparency throughout.  The bass is also stronger with more texture.  Just added Q45T contact enhancer to both ends.  It should be exciting to hear the progression in SQ over the next weeks and even months.

This power cable is run from the Modwright CD power supply to the Synergistic Research QLS-6 power strip. Very clear, open and dynamic with great tone.

These racks made the sound much more like live music.   Everything that sits on it has more definition, air, dynamics with no drawbacks.   The 36" rods were cut in two And retooled like new so I have 2 shorter and more solid racks at 15" & 21" including the 2" Audio Points under them.  With the components on the racks, the height of both racks are close to the same.  This made a considerable improvement in the soundstage as the racks sit behind and between the speakers and lower is better.  It also made the racks more stable--a plus, also.   The sound is even more involving since getting the rods cut.  The soundstage is deep and precise.  The clarity of the system since getting 2 racks is amazing.

 Very detailed phono pre that is easily adjustable to both LOMCs and MM cartridge to get their loading correct.  Remove one screw, and rotate the thin cover flap on the bottom rear of the unit and you have access to the sets of dip switches.   I have a Synergistic Research Purple fuse installed.  The sound is very transparent and works well with the DUDE--very detailed, dynamic, with potent bass, and dead quiet.  Gain is set at 60 db and the load at 100 ohms.  There is a double layer PPT E-Mat+ on the side with the transformers.  This is now easily the best phono preamp I've heard in my system.  It is quiet yet so dynamic at all frequencies.   30 PRO SE is all new and beefed up from the original.    The sound is very good since the upgrade.  It is going through breakin and it has been stunning.  It may take several weeks to get to its best sound.  Place one holostage on the IEC side and one on the other side and the SQ steps up in all areas.  I just switched the Purple fuse from SR to the opposite direction--sound became much more balanced with deeper more solid bass lines.  I'm using the double Teo GC II ICs.  The addition of the TJN Reference Lenco MkII should make for a stimulating listening session with each record.  The grounding post on the back of the MkII should make all traces of hum disappear with a second ground wire running from the bottom of the arm post to the ground post.

Three outlets make the sound dead silent, have secure connections, and improve the sound in all ways.  It's not night and day, but very nice.  Took a small hum out the system after installing along with blacker backgrounds.

This 75 lb. beast was a significant improvement over my previous Audible Illusions 3A preamp.  It has Dueland caps. Tremendous dynamics, powerful, potent bass, and beautiful, clear mids and highs.  Has Star Sound trans mod with Audio Points.   Solidified the chassis by adding a strong L-bracket to both the bottom front and bottom rear of chassis at the middle and attaching to both places with strong screws.  The DUDE made the speakers sound much more powerful in the bass and dynamics while offering even better open window to the sound at all frequencies.  This DUDE rocks!  Have a PPT E-Mat+ under it.  Replaced all the tubes over a year ago--added RCA Hytron 6SN7, RCA 6080, RCA OD3 tubes in the power section.  The switch to these NOS tubes was a tremendous upgrade in the live dynamics and clarity of the DUDE.  Also have 4 of Krissy's RCA boxes installed one to each open RCA making the unit much more quiet and lifelike in SQ.  The dynamics are getting very close to live and the detail is remarkable.

175 watts/ channel with outstanding definition, tight bass, and very dynamic.  Just got the TDSS Level 3 upgrades about 2 years ago.   Bob Smith at TDSS said it makes the Ref 9's the finest amps he has ever heard with much more power, dynamic attack, and even better micro dynamics.  Bob says they now play more like 250 watt/ channel amps because of the larger power supplies.  Also, it will make them MUCH MORE reliable as the power supply is vastly improved over stock.  I agree whole heartedly with both statements.  I have Synergistic Research Purple fuses installed.  My RM40's are loving the upgraded amps.  I tried these TDSS infused Ref 9s with 5 different speakers and systems at friend's houses and each time, the sound was easily the best they had heard from their speakers. PPT E-Mat+'s are under each amp.  Actually, a half mat each so they fit.  The amps just got an upgraded 500 watt per channel power supply up from the early level.  Bob Smith removed the bank of multiple caps, adding a Smith Cell, and added copper bus bars to connect the amp module to the power supplies.  The sound is a major improvement in dynamic impact, bass power and definition, with much more information in the mids and highs, along with incredible soundstage info coming though.  Dynamics are now among the best I've ever heard and the background is dead silent.  These amps are now even more fun to listen to.  Every album sounds more like live music, and good to great recordings are just off the chart in sound.  Just added a pair of female RCA jacks.  These are the Klei Perfect Harmony and made a noticeable difference in the sound for the better and a more solid connection.  Added 2 of Krissy's XLR boxes with Furutech connectors, 1 to each amp.  These made already great sound more powerful and dense with even more detail.

A great sounding 6 outlet strip that has each outlet well separated from each other--very easy to use large connectors on the PCs.  About 3" between outlets.  The QLS is quantum tunneled.  Used to hold all my front end components and connects to the Core Power Technologies Equi=Core 150.  Have one black wall-wort in the strip and another in the same duplex outlet where the strip plugs into the wall.  Much more body and organic sounds after doing this.  There are also 3 more wall-worts, one for each duplex additional in the room.  These took a little longer to affect the sound, but do the same as the others in a compounded way.  Each addition has been a noticeable improvement in all ways to the overall sound.

The little PHT sits on top of either the tonearm or the cartridge and is held in place with a small piece of blue tack.  It is smaller in size than the eraser on a pencil but similar in shape except with a concave top.  The addition of this little puck makes the sound instantly like you spent 50% more on your cartridge.   The Red one sounds more detailed and dynamic.

Got to hear the demo at Axpona with them in and out of the system.  Big difference for the better with them in.  I have 9 panels and 10 dots.  Makes the room come closer to disappearing.  Images are more solid and there is increased clarity along with being much more immersed in the sound.  Soundstage expands in all directions.   Sound is better at all frequencies.  This is one SURE way of doing your room treatment and knowing you did something positive for the overall sound.  Just added one more panel to the middle of the front wall about 5.5 ft. off the floor.  Causes much better clarity and information and solidifies the soundstage along with the lead singer.  With this last panel in the front middle, whatever height you hang it is exactly where the lead singer's voice will be.  Moving one dot 3 inches closer to the listening seat and you will hear many sounds closer than before.  Very fun to mess around with!

These double ICs simply made the entire system come together.  They infused a seriously organic sound and more dynamics with no loss of detail from my previous set of Amadi Maddie Signature silver wired ICs that were already outstanding.  The double GC II's sounded even better than the single Teo Ultras.  I tried 2 sets of Teo's and it was just a little too smooth sounding.  I use one set from the MW CD to the preamp and the other from the Whest to the preamp so there's only one of them in actual use while the music is running.  In my book, it makes the sound just right.  Have used a friend's Teo double Ultra ICs from both spots and unfortunately the sound is just better in all ways.  May have to get a couple sets for these two areas.  That's the problem with the very good, is when you hear the truly excellent for a couple months, it's hard to unhear it.

Basement room with cement walls on the lower part of front wall and all of the back wall.  On the front and rear walls they are now framed with a layer of 2" closed-cell foam followed by a layer of cellulose filling out each cavity.  Drywall side walls are angled like many theaters so the rear wall is wider than the front.  Ceiling is angled slightly and is 7'3" H in front going to 7'7" H in the rear.  Ceiling is a drop ceiling with Armstrong high articulation tiles on most of it with the exception of the tiles next to the wall surfaces.  On those areas there is 1/4" luaun mahogany showing with Armstrong Glacier tiles above them for extra weight and a little damping.  There is 2 Glacier tiles at the mid point between the listener and the speakers to make a cloud.  Glacier tiles are also showing at all 4 corner locations to help with corner reflections.  The dimensions of the room are 17.5' on the front wall, 20' on the rear wall, and 12.5' between the traps on each side wall.  The actual distance from the upper part of the front wall to the middle of the rear wall is 17'.  There is a 4' X 6' grouping of 2 GIK Alpha 1 diffusor/bass traps behind the couch near the middle of the rear wall and a couple of arched quadratic diffusor/absorbers located between the Alphas.  Also have 9 Synergistic Research UEF panels and 10 dots at suggested spots throughout the room.   Built 2 angled corners at the rear wall on each side.  They are 30" out from the back corner and extend at an angle for 5 ft. and finish with a slightly curved wall going floor to ceiling.  The straight parts finish 15" out from the rear wall and curve to end 6 ft. from the corner where they meet the back wall.  The other side is a mirror image so there is 8 ft. of straight rear wall left in the middle.  The curved part will act as additional diffusers.  The straight part of each angled corner has 4 ft.W X 7 ft.H media storage shelves built into it for records, CDs, and some cassettes.  There is a small board at the back of each shelf for the album to bump into that allows air and sound to travel behind the shelf.  The back panel of each shelf is smooth pegboard with a 4" layer of 8 lb. density Roxul boards behind it so the back corner acts like a giant bass trap.   There is a second layer of 4" Roxul boards with a 1" air gap between the 2 layers.  The sound is even better than before adding the sets of shelves to those angled corner build outs.  It looks really cool and provides me with considerable space to add more music to my collection in the future.  The lower part of the front corners have custom built angled bass traps in them.  There are two 4" thick 8 lb. density Roxul boards with a 2" air gap between them.  The floors are porcelain tile with a large area rug between the speakers and the couch.   I added 2 quadratic diffusors side by side between the speakers on the front wall with the middle just below tweeter height of the RM40's.  The room is pretty symmetrical with very few parallel surfaces.  There is no slap echo yet maintains a live sound.  It came out better than I could have ever hoped, both in looks and sound.  It is funky looking rather than classy.  I like that.  I doubt that most wives would be in love with it--but a great idea from my wife on doing a basement room.

Clamping devices to securely hold down each component to the shelf.  There is a 1/2" thick X 1 1/2" wide steel bar that goes on the top of the component that is 2" wider than the component as is a corresponding bar under the shelf (platform).  The component sits on two 1 1/4" solid aluminum pucks--one near the front in the middle and one near the rear also in the middle.  The bottom bar has a threaded 3/8" hole in which a 3/8" threaded rod is inserted until it stops--hole does not go all the way through that bar.  There is a corresponding smooth hole that extends completely through the top bar.  A threaded knob goes on from the top of the upper bar on each side of the component and is tightened down equally on both sides.   Using a torpedo level, when the knobs are tightened down snugly and level, you're all done.

I have all my front end equipment plugged into a Synergistic Research QLS-6 strip and that goes directly to the CPT-150.  Made a very nice difference for better in all sound parameters.  Added more dynamics, clarity and is dead quiet.  I keep all the unused stuff off so I know there will be plenty of headroom for what I do have running.  That made a difference in sound too.  It also has the Star Sound trans mod with Audio Points.  2 PPT E-Card+'s are inside the 150.  A second Core Power 150 is the power cord from the TRL DUDE to the Furutech wall outlet.  It made a significant difference in SQ also.

I've had this since 1995.  Although I seldom play cassettes, I have many performance tracks I can sing at church that are on cassette, so I need one to practice on it.  I have about 80 cassettes of music also.   It is still one of the better sounding cassette players ever made.   Not many knew about it's SQ.  I use a 2" thick maple butcher block platform under it.  I have 4 Herbie's Tenderfeet under the platform.  It does a good job of isolating the player and cutting board.  Now using double JW Reference ICs from the HK player to the preamp.  Greatly increased all areas of SQ over a single pair.

Use one on each of the mono amps.  These cables infused the sound with deeper, more punchy and defined bass along with more detailed and live sound.  Even lesser sounding recordings sound more engaging.  Allows you to hear everything on the recording.  Sounds less like hifi and more like real musicians in your room.  Like the other tweaks made to the system, it added no artificial or bright sounds so it is also musical at all times.

Phenomenal sound in all ways.  Instruments just sound so real, dynamic, and there is more to hear because of the detail, but it comes with NO listener fatigue.  The soundstage has instruments and vocalists perfectly positioned front to back and side to side.   Melissa made me jumpers that are 14" versions of the Clarity Organic cables with bananas.   They were transformed into much more rich and full sound--that all other cables will sound thin in comparison.  These will be my last speaker cables!  I've hung the cables from the drop ceiling with heavy duty mono fishline so they are not touching anything from the speaker connections to the amp connections.  They  sound much better afterwards--much more information.  Thanks Krissy for that tip--very cheap but effective.

Extremely heavy duty cable with Bob Smith's Vortex Filter in the middle of it.  Currently using one on the phono preamp to the SR power strip.   Makes the sound very lucid, transparent, dynamic, with potent bass.  Same power cord did not work as well on the Modwright CD/SACD or its power supply compared to the 2 PCs I'm using.

This outlet is on a dedicated 20 amp line and has my TRL DUDE going into the Core Power 150 and into the Furutech.  Dead quiet and makes for no unpleasant sounds.  Very secure connection.  The Gold version is slightly sweeter than the Rhodium.

I finished adding the Q45T contact enhancer to all contacts including RCA pins, AC plugs, tube pins, cartridge pins, spades, and bananas plus all the contacts coming from several black boxes.  I've used the PPT and 1260 contact enhancers with great results and this is even better sounding.  Just received my smaller bottle a couple weeks ago.  Now it's time to sit back and enjoy the improvements for a couple months.  Pretty spectacular sound by the end on first listen.  Much better clarity, details, super wide soundstage, and the bass has some serious growl to it on some recordings.  This could be near the end add to the system, right KT?  System sounds fantastic and the best it has ever sounded on 6-6-2022.   Should be something if this trend continues for awhile!!!  A very nice change has occurred lately.  The tone is now extremely accurate and like real instruments along with beautiful, but distinctive vocals.  There is more musical information from about 4 ft. outside of one speaker all the way to 4 ft. outside the other.  If this stuff continues to improve in SQ over the next 6 weeks like the other enhancers did, it will really become awesome and much closer to the real thing.

Double Duelund 27" wires with Absolute Harmony connectors utilizing the Schroeder Method without using splitters.  It connects the preamp to the amps. Really increases the sound of live instruments.  Very organic with great texture.  Combines with the double Teo GC II's with sonics that can make you drool at times.  Excellent clarity, and transparency.

 Removing the original shell and replacing it with ebony wood improved all aspects of the sound.  Very dynamic with serious grunt down low.  This cartridge is replacing 2 different ones that cost about $3000 each.  The combination with the modified Lenco 78, and Origin Live Illustrious Mk3 arm now has surpassed the Maplenoll Ariadne I had for many years in all ways.  The sound is so jumping live and detailed, with no nasties to have to contend with.   The bass is very dynamic and punchy.  Percussion sounds are similar to live music.  Ridiculously good sounding cartridge at a reasonable price.  This is now my backup cartridge.  There is a slight amount of sibilance with certain female voices.  Hopefully this leaves as the cartridge breaks in.

I've had these speakers on and off for over 10 years.  Had several very highly rated speakers such as Green Mountain Continuum HX/3's, Selah Tempesta's, Vapor Audio Joule Black's, SP Technology Revelation Mk V's; for over a year each in the system and did many improvements to each.  Bottom line is, no matter how good the other speakers evolved in SQ, the return back to the RM40's was shocking how good and much better sounding the RM's were in comparison.  The RM40's I have are equipped with all the best upgrades except the OXO.  The stunning transparency, detail, dynamics, bass potency, and soundstage information stood out from any previous experience I'd ever had.  With the changes mentioned above with multiple additions of Krissy's boxes, these speakers are truly my keepers and my search is over.  VMPS speakers were the first I heard that were much better sounding to my ears and I've owned several of their speakers before this pair including the 626R's, 215 VSS sub, RM30's, RM40's.  The addition of Krissy's holostages on the top middle of each speaker pretty much eliminated the loss of highs when standing up--they are now more like a line source.  The addition of those boxes plus the PPT E-Mats one each under the passive radiator made the bass more potent and eliminated the bass from bottoming out on loud and deep bass transients.  Those were the two areas I felt the speakers could improve.  Now,  these are very close to a perfect speaker in my system IMO.  As an interesting side, just after getting my upgraded phono preamp back, I can suddenly play music much louder if I want and it's been at least 8 years since I could only play with the volume control going to 11 o'clock.  The two things happening are just a coincidence.  Those days are over.  They are now marvelously live sounding with impact to boot and even more dynamic and can play at much higher volume.   The joy these speakers have given me over the years just took another leap in performance.  It is great fun listening anytime.

Makes the sound more quiet and thus, more details are revealed.  Also helps reduce  hum in the system, especially from TT's and cartridges.  Just received a quadplex that allows all of my outlets to have these covering them--meaning 2 duplexes and the one quadplex.  Helped clean up the sound of the entire system.  Now all the equipment is plugged into audiophile outlets with the SR cover plates.  The rubbery material behind the cover plates help secure the PCs when plugged in.

I have 2 pairs of them used in the Schroeder Method with a good set of splitters between my cassette player and preamp.  The sound is very detailed with one set of cables--everything is just more so in SQ with the double ICs running the connection.  Makes the sound of a good cassette player really fine.

Just received this silver foil power cord and when I initially put it in my system from the Modwright 5400 CD player to the Synergistic Research Quantum-6 power strip, the digital sound was a bit underwhelming.  After about 4 hours of partial playing and just having each component turned on, I was absolutely floored at how much had changed in that time.  I had a good friend over that has the Statements also.  He was very impressed as was I with the sound now that it had settled in.  The bass which started out loud and rather fat along with the upper end sounds were not that audible, now was absolutely like live music with textural, impactful bass with lot of punch.  The vocals were extremely distinctive from different singers, and just beautiful to listen to.  All the music had much more dynamics and it was tough to sit still and not want to move to it.  Mike Powell has a super cable in the Statement Series.  I already had a very good sounding system, so this was a big deal.  This is the latest thing I have done to my system.  Trying to stop listening to one album after the next is getting very difficult.  Everything is much more real.  I just painted the contacts with Q45T contact enhancer.  I know what to expect, but it will be fun listening to the changes after I finish.  Just keeps on improving over the course of many weeks and even months.  May get this 56" cable cut into 2 shorter ones down the road to use on both the CD player and the phono preamp.

This simple to use and setup arm is way more than I hoped it would be sound wise.  Everything in the sound has stepped up with much more dynamics, clarity, transparency, deep bass, and just plain more like real live music.  I had to buy the heavy counterweight from OL to use the Denon 103R w/ Ebony body potted in beeswax.  My search for a tonearm is OVER.  After using a couple near $3000 cartridges, it is remarkable to have one that was under $700 sound much better.  The arm has made a considerable difference to the sound.  I love its ease of use.  This arm together with the modded Lenco and modded Denon cartridge is finally the combo that beats my former Maplenoll Ariadne in all ways.  The bass, dynamics, and clarity are something else.  This made the sound of voices even better with no drawbacks.  Here this, with the addition of the TJN Lenco Reference MkII TT and Lenco grease bearing added, the sound is gonna be glorious in all ways.  Upon receiving my newly upgraded Charisma cartridge, the sound is even better than with the Denon, although the Denon has very punchy bass and superior dynamics.  The Charisma Reference 2 is still in the break in mode and will be for several weeks.  It may outdo the Denon in all ways soon.

I am having a used TJN Reference Lenco Mk II turntable refurbished and it maybe my TT till the end of time.  It is the TT Arthur Salvatore uses as his reference and has been for some time.  I reached about the best I could do with the Lenco Heaven rebuild of a Lenco 78 that I've been improving for about 10 years.  Having tried many TT/arm combos since selling my Maplenoll Ariadne back about 2009, none has let me replace the SQ in all ways.  Jean Nantais will be finishing the cosmetic refurb very soon.  I'm pretty sure the Mk II edition will be way more than I could have dreamed in SQ.  It will be absolute joy cueing up my first record on this magnificent machine.  It will be interesting to hear just how much of a difference a spectacular turntable can make in the playing of a record.  I've seen the finished product and looks wise it is spectacular.  As you can see, I'm stoked.  With the other parts of my analog system also getting an upgrade, it should be grand indeed.  It will be an upgrade in all ways from the Home Depot thread Lenco I've had for many years.  It will look fine and sound even better sitting on the Sistrum rack taking the place of my DIY Lenco 78.  Jean says the used MkII version will sound better than the MkIII because of the selection of tone woods used in the II will have been broken in vs a MkIII being brand new that will take a while to sound its best because of the slow, steady break in process.  It will be nice to have an easy to change from 45 to 33 player that is already set up perfectly.  My player looks pretty good for my first go at the plinth, but Jean's is gorgeous.  I will get to enjoy it for as long as I'm on this earth.  Latest news, Jean added the new Lenco grease bearing which he says makes the SQ better in all ways--in fact Jean says it virtually doubled the SQ. Jean also installed a grounding post in the rear of the TT to further ground the arm and TT.  It will be interesting to hear how a full blown Lenco with almost all of the best upgrades and mods Jean has investigated over many years compares to my upgraded Home Depot Lenco rebuild.  Jean says it will likely be no contest.  Jean says with the addition of the upgraded grease bearing, the Reference MkII will sound better than the TJN Lenco Ultimate.  Adding the HRS ADL weight to the table.  It's a nice improvement over the TT by itself.  Jean will also be adding Arthur Salvatore's Goldmund platter and mat from his Lenco Reference MkII to my TT which he says will be a noticeable sound improvement.  Should be received the completed and broken in TT soon.  The deeper bass and overall greater definition should open up new listening experience for me.