Hi Peter,

I will be considering the Pass XS Pre along with the Purity Audio Design Ultra series Tube pre. It will be a spring project. I have not ruled out the Allnic L5000 DHT preamp, especially if I can get "tape in" jacks in addition to the tape out jacks (already offered) so I can have a complete tape loop for EQ use when needed.

rockitman February 19, 2014 17:51

HI Christian,

Have you had a chance to listen to the Allnic H5000 with the Philips Valvo GZ34 rectifier tubes? If so, any initial impressions?

Arnie

babybear February 18, 2014 01:37

Great pictures Rockitman. I also saw them over at WBF. The system must really sound great these days. I'm curious if you are considering the Pass XS Pre to replace the XP30? I've heard that it is a worthwhile upgrade if you can afford it. Congratulations on the system and the new photos really give a great impression of the room and the great equipment.

peterayer February 16, 2014 23:47

System edited: Current System pics added.

rockitman February 15, 2014 19:57

Dev, I followed your advice and borrowed the TimeLine from Albert. The video results are on two other Audiogon threads on turntable speed. I don't want to derail Rockitman's system thread any longer.

peterayer December 27, 2013 19:54

Hi Peterayer,

no problem, sorry Christian - ya there's been allot discussed on another thread as you pointed out and many wrote this and that and I find some are just in denial or don't know, some seem to want to discredit and suggest one is in audible and that's okay - Best you barrow Albert's TimeLine and see for yourself or maybe best you don't because if your table isn't holding or can't hold an accurate speed may drive you nuts.

Wall to spindle was approx 30 inches.

What ever the table is it can either hold an accurate speed or not - one can either hear the effect of such or not - I know I can and others like Albert can. I'm sure Albert can share some experience with you, notice he declined to get pot on any of those threads.

I'll briefly try to describe, say when you are setting up your cart and the sound just appears to lock in, if you have experienced this then you know what I'm talking about. It's one of those instances, until one has experienced they won't know what they have been missing.

Effects the entire spectrum - pace - rhythm - images - air around performers and instruments and more ...

The way I look at it is if the table in question can't hold an accurate speed from the get go the sound is compromised, carts transmit such a small signal.

dev December 16, 2013 01:13

Thanks Dev. Do you have specifics about how your friend did the test of his 30/12? How far away was the strobe dot from the spindle, for instance. Also, how much was it too fast or too slow by?

I can't do the math, but if the strobe light falls say 15 feet away from the device and it drifts off of the reference mark by 1cm over five minutes, that could be off on the order of 1/1000th of an rpm. Would that inaccuracy be audible?

Did your friends dot drift to either side of the mark or was it consistent in one direction, etc?

It will be interesting to learn how this device works and how it compares to my KAB. I think there are some other dedicated threads on the subject. The results I've read about so far don't seem to have a consistent testing methodology. Sorry to highjack this system thread, Christian. I'll look for other threads.

peterayer December 15, 2013 22:47

Peterayer, hopefully yours will fare better than my friends (has same model as you) either ran too fast or too slow.

This TimeLine just shows more accurately what the table in question is doing - my Micro Seiki is spot on also with either belt or thread.

dev December 14, 2013 21:48

Albert, will do. Thanks.

peterayer December 14, 2013 19:00

Peter,

Contact me, I will loan you my TimeLine.

albertporter December 13, 2013 20:26

Dev, I'm pleased to read your report of the TimeLine test on this impressive TechDas belt drive turntable. It confirms that some belt drives are able to maintain proper speed accuracy. At some point I'd like to borrow a TimeLine to test my belt drive.

peterayer December 13, 2013 16:30

Hi Rockitman,

Thx, I have a large Minus K platform so best I try, it worked very well with any other tables I owned and I'm aware of Micro Seiki owners who have air bearing table designs and using with positive results. I also have the HRS platform so I will place that on top.

Rear slot, ya I know you have that combo :)

Two potentials that interest me is the Schroeder Linear tracking arm or DaVinci Master Reference Virtu. I'm also waiting to see what TechDAS brings out and possibly pair up with their cart.

The AF-1 table is truly amazing - I could tell it held an accurate speed from my fist time listening, recently a friend was over and wanted to see the Sutherland TimeLine in action to test this. It operates spot on with both speeds along with playing - two thumbs up for them for getting this right because many other manufactures don't. Reminds me of my past TW Acustic Black Knight table and it couldn't using this tool even without playing, same friend happened to drop by when I was trying to set the speed but in the end either ran too fast or slow and when the battery mode kicked in even worse.

You must be really looking forward to receiving the 5000, I'm curious in general along with the noise comparison difference coming from your speakers.

I'm really enjoying my Burmester 100 phono but always have room for another outstanding phono :)

Look forward to your new updates, I'm currently working on my designated room so lots of changes coming - will be approx 19'6" x 35' with over 9ft ceiling clearance.

dev December 11, 2013 00:40

Hi Dev, The difference with the TS-140 is obvious. More transparency, lower noise floor (Which is already amazing) and clearer more defined low to mid bass. It is a no brainer if you want to maximize the AF1, imho. I use the HRS TechDas base on top of the TS-140. The elite arm will come in January hopefully. The 12" Graham Supreme with Koetsu Coralstone in the rear slot sounds great.

I plan to update pics and impressions of my component changes soon. I am looking forward to no more component changes. With the turntable at least, I have achieved that.

rockitman December 10, 2013 22:43

Hi Rockitman,

I read you placed your AF-1 on top of your TS-140, do you currently still have it there.

What differences have you noticed by doing this, are they very obvious or slight?

Your Elite arm, do you have a confirmed date as of yet.

Look forward to reading your impressions of the Allnic 5000, others so far seem to be really liking. Should offer a different flavour than your XP-25 :)

dev December 10, 2013 20:56

Great to hear from you, thank you for the feedback.

number95 November 07, 2013 19:20

Hi 95,

It's been a while since I heard the A90 and even longer for the Shelter. I feel the Shelter Harmony is closer to the Koetsu than the A90. The A90 seems to do everything well, great air up top, sweet mids but with a bass that is a bit leaner than that of the shelter or Koetsu. The A90 is a bit more audiophile/hi-fi sounding whereas the others...still audiophile seem to be more musical to me. I will be setting up my A90 again soon, but not on a Graham, rather a Clearaudio Universal arm. Since my system has changed quite a bit since it was last mounted, I will share my impressions again on how it stacks up against my Koetsu Coralstone.

rockitman November 07, 2013 18:50

Hi Christian,

First of all, I would like to congratulate you for your efforts to build up a great setup with carefully selected components. You must be almost in audio heaven.

I would like to ask about Shelter Harmony MC, which I see you have that but currently do not use it. I am in the process of adding a second cartridge to my system to be used with Graham Phantom II Supreme (9 inch). Currently I have Transfiguration Phoenix with 9" Graham Phantom with Acoustic Solid Royal turntable (ARC Ref 2 SE as phono pre). Alternatives are Koetsu Azule Platinum, Airtight PC-1 Supreme or Ortofon PW. Could you please give some feedback as how your Shelter plays against your Koetsu Coralstone and/or Ortofon A90? I heard good feedback for all of those. Btw, I realized that Shelter uses an aluminum cantilever for its top model while most of the high end cartridges are having either boron or ruby cantilevers, have you had a chance to get some information about the preference of using aluminum rather than boron for Harmony?

Best Regards.

number95 November 07, 2013 12:09

Thanks for the compliment Robert. I'm getting close to the finish line...hopefully. :-)

rockitman September 26, 2013 00:27

Thanks for the link to Kessler's review. I like the technical reporting in Hi-Fi News. It seems like a most impressive turntable.

peterayer September 25, 2013 14:44

Hi Rockitman,

You have superb taste and have built a tremendous system,enjoy it to the max in good health.I just love the new Pass amps and the Koetsu cart. and that turntable looks incredible.

Regards Robert

strapper211 September 25, 2013 12:55

Ken Kessler's AF1 review from Brit mag Hi-Fi News..
http://www.absolutesounds.com/pdf/main/press/AirForceOne_HiFiNews_June2013.pdf

These reviews were done with the original hybrid air and gel bladder suspension. The current production which I have is an air chamber. I am trying to get more specifics if in fact it's a bladder or piston with gasket type arrangement.

rockitman September 24, 2013 23:30

Rockitman, I just reread MF's review in Stereophile. Man that table is full of technical features and seems very sophisticated. He describes the same sense of music exploding out of jet black backgrounds.

Would you consider selling your second turntable if you end up preferring the TechDas by a large margin? You could then focus your energies and listening time on just two arms, two cartridges and one phono amp. Put the extra resources into LPs or tapes. I'm just curious why some keep gear that is not often used because they prefer the other unit much more.

I'm sure it's too early to decide that right now. I'm also interested in how the TechDas will perform on your Herzan versus the HRS platform.

peterayer September 24, 2013 00:14

I'm looking forward to receiving mine too. I have Rick's H5000 again for a few days, I can tell it's unhappy about traveling in my car even thought trip was short.

It will be interesting to compare notes on break in since we should be going through this about the same time. I'm already wondering about tubes, especially the 300B. I understand the Japan Takatsuki is supposed to be the ultimate version.

albertporter September 23, 2013 23:43

speaking of tubes...I am salivating over the notion of getting my H5000 in the near future. The final missing piece in the reproduction change...well almost..lol

rockitman September 23, 2013 23:02

I wish I could hear that turntable comparison, your description is vivid and I believe every word.

I spoke to Peter Ayer over the weekend about Pass Labs, he is as pleased as you are with their performance. I love tubes but am always drawn to the idea of no maintenance and Pass seems to be the choice among top systems with solid state.

albertporter September 23, 2013 20:56