Picture # 1 The Sound Labs 645-8s in position in a newly redecorated media room. There is always a price to pay for upgrades. Number 2 is The Wall, a custom cabinet built by yours truly. Number 3 is the Analog side with the Sota Cosmos and Channel D phono stage. Number 4 is the Magnetar Disc Player with the ugliest front panel I have ever seen, otherwise it is a great player. Number 5 is the amplifier shelf which is right under the speakers with two separate 20 Amp lines. On top are boxes of 6AS7s two MA 2s and two QSC PL380s which drive the subwoofers. Number 6 is a Naked MA 2, wired by hand in the good old US of A. Number 7 the brand new DEQX Pre 8 digital preamp/processor. Number 8 is two of four MS Tool and Woodcraft Model 4 subwoofers. They use two 12" Dayton DVC subwoofer drivers in a balanced force, non resonant enclosure. Next are the three current cartridges followed by the JVC Laser Projector and Lastly is one of two custom Sonic Attenuators. These are located behind the speakers attenuating the speaker's rear wave.
From a purist's perspective this system is a complete nightmare and not worth a second look never mind listen. Back in 1978 you would be preaching to the choir. I had an LP12 with an SME 3009 and Denon DL103. I took a Conrad Johnson Preamp and transferred it to a new chassis. All I left was a volume control, a selector switch and a balance control. The power supply was external and it had the power switch. An MC transformer was installed internally. All the wire was silver. All the solder was silver. All the components were the best of the day. The Speakers were Acoustat Model X's. They had their own amps. As close to a straight wire with gain you could get. So, what the ---- went wrong? Does a Buddhist become a third world terrorist? No, doesn't happen. The Buddhist learned 2 things. The room is just as important as the loudspeakers. Conversion between 24/192 to analog and back is totally and completely inaudible. The benefit from being able to work in 24/192 snowballs from there.
It is not all about the music. That is another subject. It is about making the music sound better.
I finally got the Sota, a Cosmos Eclipse Vacuum with a Schroder CB tonearm. That thing you see to the right of the tonearm is a locking tonearm rest attached to the plinth's cover. Mr Schroder does not like extraneous things hanging off his tonearms. They resonate. I, for one, do not like trying to work on tonearms that are floating around.
The DEQX is now being used to run the subwoofers and bi amp the Sound Labs. All the passive crossover components have been removed from the Sound Lab's back plates, another set on input terminals was added and the bass and treble transformer primaries are wired directly to the terminals. The digital crossover is at 500 Hz 2nd order. The results speak for themselves, two burned out beyond repair JC 1s, a burned out bass transformer, a gain matching problem requiring an additional custom gain stage and amplifiers shutting down for mystical reasons. I think it is almost all sorted out and it does sound fabulous when it is working.
8 foot tall 645s which are 4" narrower than regular 845's. Full range ESLs they are crossed to subwoofers at 100 Hz.
MS Tool and Woodcraft Model 4 Subwoofers
The 4th and last attempt at building the ultimate subwoofers. Each of the four enclosures houses two very powerful 12" subwoofer drivers in a balanced force design. The enclosures are critically damped by design. They do not resonate at all. The four subs are placed evenly along an entire wall forming a linear array.
Atma-Sphere MA 2 3.3
This is an amp that has a history of fine performance on Sound Labs speakers. It is big, very hot and retro cool. If anyone wants to argue with you over the construction quality of Atma-Sphere products just show them the picture above. They are now directly driving the bass transformers of the Sound Labs where they excel.
Bricasti Design M 25
This amp, made in Shirley, Massachusetts is a beautifully built AB amp that is being used to drive the high frequency transformer of the Sound Labs from 500 Hz. The crossover is programmed into the DEQX Pre 8. This removes a bunch of analog components from the signal path and increases the efficiency of the loudspeaker. Into this load it produces over 300 watts/ch.
DEQX Pre 8
A 2.2 digital room control processor/preamplifier with a 4 way digital crossover allowing you to use subwoofers and tri-amp your speakers, a DIY speaker guy's dream.
MS Tool and Woodcraft Audio Cables
Canare Corp high bandwidth shielded wire for all balanced, audio and digital cables.
Canare RCAs
Neutrix Gold XLR's
Kimber Kable 12TC speaker cable
Power cords are shielded two conductor plus shield 12 gauge with medical terminals.
Sota Cosmos Eclipse IV Vacuum.
With a Schroder CB tonearm.
Channel D Seta L Plus
Super wideband phono stage with, in addition, a flat (no RIAA correction) balanced output. It has a battery power supply that recharges automatically when not in use.
I have been using digital RIAA correction and it is definitively better than analog. Using Pure Vinyl I can record records like Gamaman's 45 RPM Led Zeppelin Set in 24/192 PCM. The recording and the record are indistinguishable. This is so much better than a tape machine, any tape machine, on numerous levels and you don't have to buy tape!
Ortofon MC Diamond
The most dynamic cartridge I have ever heard even more so than the best high output cartridges. It has a slight edge to it that some might not like.
Lyra Atlas Lambda SL
This cartridge deserves it's reputation. It has an uncanny ability to define instruments and voices in space. That cantilever hanging out in the breeze remains scary.
Soundsmith Hyperion MR
The Hyperion, with it's cactus spine cantilever now with a microridge stylus. It is a little on the bright side of neutral. It is a phenomenal tracker. You get your first rebuild free!
Ortofon 2M 78
Cartridge for 78 RPM records.
Apple Mini i7 / Channel D Pure Music
Channel D Pure Music is a music server specifically for Apple computers. It uses iTunes, now "Music" as it's library.
Magnetar UDP900
This is currently the best universal 4K disc player made and the first one that outperforms any of the Oppo units. It is also built way better. It weighs 35 lb! The thing I like the most is the transport is very fast responding almost instantly. It has the ugliest front panel I have ever seen.
MS Tool and Woodcraft SALLIE
Sonic Attenuation of Low Level Interference Effects. These are used to dampen the rear wave of the Sound Labs speakers.
Looks like you should be an audio manufacturer, at least of the tweaks you built. Impressive shop. I always thought you should play records with the dust over off. I assume this is in a basement which helps with minimizing vibrations. Do you have any idea what you’ve invested in the now current list price value of the audio only components - analogue parts only, and what you actually spent on those components? For things like the record clamp and turntable bass, just include the cost of the material in what you spent and what you think they are worth if you sold them (based on a comparable solution on the market). Just dreaming….my system is very simple in a den with well placed speakers, but no acoustic treatments.
Hello Mike Great Info. your Advice on trading in the Pass X350 for a XA200.8 well taken. I ask for advice on the forum about purchasing a used Nova 2,500. It might have been you suggesting it would be better to buy a new Sota Sapphire-V another forum member suggested using the Origin Live Encounter MK-4 in which I think you disagree; I also wanted to used a high out cart. the SoundSmith carmen MK2 my phono amp is the ARC PH3. what would you strongly suggest Mike? Best regards, Martin
Love the Soundlabs. A friend used to own U1’s but were in too small a room, so never really got to hear them with the room to breath. Would like to hear the latest versions someday in a proper setup.
Yes redwoodaudio it is but it is very hard getting people to understand what this can do for a system. Radomir Bosevic aka Boz was TacTs chief designer and was doing this stuff long before anyone else thought of it. His units from 20 years ago are more comprehensive than many available today. Unfortunately, Boz thought everyone was as smart as he was and a lot of the programming has to be done manually. Team this with the worst instruction manuals I have ever seen and I think you can see where this is headed.
Anyway, It is fun to mess around with target curves to see what this that and the other thing will do to the sound. Great learning experience.
If I stay with Sota which is possible I will get a Cosmos and put a Schroder CB on it. Right now I am hoping to be able to afford a Dohmann on which I can put two Schroder LT arms, one for MC cartridges and one for MM. I am waiting for Dohmann to finish his vacuum plater and dust cover arrangement. If it turns out to be more than I can chew I could always get two Sota's for 1/3rd the price. You can not put two arms on the Sota's
Just thought I'd let you know I used to distribute Sota TT's back in th 80's.
I used to listen to the SOTA Syrinx PU3 combo regularly.
We used to mod the paps controller board with improved onboard regulation and an outboard supply - this vastly improved the performance, particularly cleaning up the bottom end response.
The SOTA is underrated in my view, and I would strongly recommend you look at the new power supply/motors SOTA has available now, should unleash significant performance improvement to last you another 20 years+.
