They should be right at or a minute before 12:00. I fear there is something wrong. Contact your dealer soon. They will probably need to go back to Pass. I would not let the dealer touch them inside.

rockitman September 19, 2014 05:53

Hi Christian,
I have recently brought a pair of Passlabs Xs150. They replaced my ARC Reference 250, the sound is much better and I am very glad.

There is one question. The meter needle on one side is not exactly in the middle. It is sort of iin 11:45 o'clock position. The side with the needle right at 12:00 position feels slightly warmer than the other side. Does it mean the bias is off and needs adjustment by the dealer?

Thank you.

tli September 16, 2014 14:35

Peter,

I had a great time hanging and listening to a variety of music with you and David. It's nice to get opinions and learn from people with experienced ears. Cheers !

rockitman September 13, 2014 21:54

On a whim, I recently contacted Rockitman and invited myself over to hear his system. I had a trip planned in the area and have always wanted to see/hear his system.

Chris is a most gracious host, totally infected with the high end bug. HIs system and music collection are truly something to behold. We listened to the new mono pressing of the Beatles on LP, a tape of Ray Brown playing live, a few of my own LPs brought for the occasion. No digital that night.

After some background discussions about the system and the music, we sat down to listen. The immediate and first impression of the sound was that the scale and energy of the music was completely captured and reproduced. Large scale music came across with the power and visceral impact that is heard live. The system was also completely effortless. Music simply emerged from nothingness and often exploded into the room. The other truly astonishing aspect of the sound was just how silent the LP playback is. The TechDas table is a marvel of engineering. I also really appreciated hearing the massive Pass mono blocks.

Chris demonstrated how sensitive the Herzon isolation table is. Simply tapping your toes on the carpet over concrete floor produced a response from the servos in the isolation unit. The digital readout then showed that nothing passed through the top plate. Nothig gets to this table and the result is pure black backgrounds and lack of distortion induced by vibrations.

The Sheffield Drum Track and solo piano track I played were exceptionally realistic. It is clear to me that Chris is a real enthusiast and loves his music. It was a very enjoyable evening of great music very well reproduced.

Thanks Chris for a great time.

peterayer September 13, 2014 17:16

Hi KMccarty,

The UHA is still breaking in. It is hot rodded and only offers IEC playback eq with the stock record and erase heads having been disconnected. There is no way to run a burn in cd signal to it to expedite quicker break in. I maybe have 40 hrs on it. Compared to my Technics 1500 nortronics head wired to a king/cello repro pre, the sound is more transparent with better micro detail. Dynamics also excel. The bass is more extended and more importantly has better coherence through it's range...no mid bass bump. I am happy with the machine as it handles tape better and safer than the rest of my decks and no side of tape, tape shedding. Whether it is my studer, technics, otari's, they all tend to flake a little oxide off presumably from the tape sides going through the guides. No such issue with the UHA...it's path is pure and smooth. I will comment more on it's sound after I get more time with it.

rockitman September 06, 2014 03:56

Hi Dev,

I am using a recently acquired Lyra Olympos mono for the rear 12" Phantom Supreme. Mono records have never sounded so good. My other mono cart on the CA table is a Ikeda 9TT. The Lyra kills it in resolution, transparency and frequency extension. I use a Dynavector XV-1t and a Koetsu Coralstone on the Elite 10" arm in the main slot. actually the Coralstone was in the rear slot and when I went to replace it with the Lyra, I noticed I had snapped off it's cantilever. It is going in for a complete rebuild at Koetsu for a cool $4,500.00. Tough lesson, so to make a long story short, a Tiger Eye is filling in. Two very distinct sound favors. The XV-1t seems to be a bit faster and more extended in the bass region. The Koetsu is no slouch. I enjoy them both.

rockitman September 06, 2014 03:41

As I recall, you've had some very nice reel-to-reel machines in your system. Perhaps you could comment on how the sound of your UHA Phase 11S-OPS compares to your other RTR machines.

kmccarty September 05, 2014 21:03

Rockitman, nice to see that space on the right is now occupied by your long awaited Elite arm.

What cart do you have paired up with it.

Any opinions, thoughts.

dev September 02, 2014 23:40

System edited: Main system pics revised

rockitman August 31, 2014 17:01

Hi Peter,

while I feel there is good merit for cable looms, I feel IC's are the most important to keep the same. Power cords and speaker cable not so much. I will not be switching to MIT IC's. I have no provision to deal with the heavy boxes in my system and the Odin IC's are fantastic. I plan on using the MIT speaker cable for a while. If it proves to be the cable I like best, I will probably sell the Odin speaker cable.

rockitman August 30, 2014 17:15

Rockitman, congratulations on all of your changes. Will you be switching all of your cables over to MIT? Also, what do you think of the various different settings on the MA-X SHD cables? I played around with those in a Magico Q7 based system and found the different settings altered the sound quite a bit.

peterayer August 30, 2014 12:56

Thank you. You're a gentleman. I'm still a work in progress. Someday I hope to have the big Wilsons in my listening room. In the meantime and between listening sessions, I'll simply spend my time drooling all over the iPad as I stare at your X2.2s :).

thesaint519 August 30, 2014 12:44

Rockitman,

Now that the Allnic H5000 DHT circuit has been modified, KS Park approves and recommends the 5U4G.

I'm playing with several options myself but there are so many changes in my system right now I won't make a decision for weeks.

The RCA you mention is interesting. In the Allnic H3000 I always liked the NOS 50s USA Tung Sol 5U4G. May go back and try it and the RCA you mention.

albertporter August 30, 2014 06:39

It has been awhile since I updated my system info and pics. Latest purchases have been a United Home Audio Phase11S Reel to Reel machine w/outboard power supply.

I also upgraded my mono phono cart to a Lyra Olympos. I hope to have it installed on my 12" Graham Phantom supreme on the Airforce One TT tomorrow.

In other news I finally have stopped rolling rectifiers on my Allnic H5000 phono. My tube of choice is early 1950's JAN spec RCA 5U4G. These tubes have a plate current of 3 amps so the Allnic needs to be recent production or has had the PS resistors upgraded to handle the current. This tube far exceeds the performance of any tube I have used....5Y3, GZ 32, GZ 34 and GZ37. The GZ37 is my second favorite followed by the blue print JAN 5Y3 favored by Arnie and Albert on this site. I did a back and fourth comparo the other night with the 5Y3 and the 5U4G's. There was really no contest, the 5U4G's give a much more extended presentation with superior bloom and decay compared the the 5Y3's.

Finally, I switched my speaker cable from Odin to MIT MA-X SHD. The easiest way to describe the difference...Odin, sitting 10 rows back from the stage performance, MIT you are on the stage and enveloped by the music. Too very distinct presentations. The MIT really shines on bass extension and depth of soundstage.

rockitman August 30, 2014 04:42

Things are sounding very good Thesaint519. Thanks for the kind words. Looks like you have a mighty fine sounding system yourself.

rockitman August 30, 2014 04:27

Rockitman,

I must say that the "Holy Grail" never meant much to me. That is, until I saw your system, of course. Many of us only dream about owning the big Wilson's, but you've got all the world class electronics to go along with them. Tell me... Is it simply amazing?

thesaint519 August 27, 2014 16:31

Yes Albert...H5000 DHT. Don't waste your time and money on Bybee. Big disappointment in the end.

rockitman July 13, 2014 06:54

Rockitman,

Interesting comments about the Bybee, yours is the second negative I've read about them. I have never had the opportunity to hear them.

The 1953 JAN RCA, assume is this in the Allnic H5000 DHT?

albertporter July 13, 2014 06:27

My rectifier of choice for my Allnic is a 1953 JAN RCA 5U4G...3 amp plate current, DHT.

rockitman July 13, 2014 04:21

Some follow up with Bybee sound purifier bullets. The long of the short, they are inconsistent sounding and tonally shift. I first noticed the issue with my phono stage...thought it was unique to that equipment. Switched them to my tape pre...sounded good for a while then the tonal shift. They mysteriously lose bass extension and over accentuate the upper mids through treble. A most unpleasant situation. I started to wonder about the speaker bullets. Bybee says once you pull them, you will want them back. I found quite the opposite. A $3,000 tweak mistake. Live and learn.

rockitman July 13, 2014 03:47

Christian
Congrats on a truly awesome system.
Are those Stillpoints under your listening chair :-)
Cheers
Pradeep

sunnyboy1956 May 07, 2014 12:30

You have assembled a beautiful sound system; one I know I'd enjoy listening to.

hifimaniac May 05, 2014 22:37

I need to correct myself for the previous post regarding Graham.

I realized it was a bit unfair to call Graham tonerms as toys compared to Ikeda. Although I admit Ikeda is a special piece of gear, it does not make Graham underdog.

number_95 May 05, 2014 18:23

Hi Christian,

Just received my 9" Elite tonearm. Initial observations: No Elite tonearm specifications (one may assume all of its parameters including effective mass, length same as previous Phantom models perhaps?!), user manual is for B-44 still (same manual as my 7 year old B-44's), DIN pin configuration has changed from L shape to straight (I do not know if he changed that for II and Supreme) so my phono cable does not fit into Elite and I need to send the cable back to Transparent Cable to change the DIN head configuration, no paper protractor to locate the tonearm (I have Universal protractors so not a problem). In terms of labor quality, Elite even after its serious price tag does not seem to exceed my 7 year old B-44, even the interior pivot housing seems having slightly better labor for B-44 compared to Elite. And compared to my other tonearm Ikeda 407 in terms of labor quality and precision, both Grahams look like toys!
I hope it will worth its price and waiting when I have the cable to use Elite :-)

number_95 May 05, 2014 15:55

Thanks for the heads up Number 95. I hope you are right. Fingers crossed :-)

rockitman April 18, 2014 20:28