What did you do to your stereo rig today?
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@nooshinjohn I've gone fairly deep down the phono preamp rabbit hole, and my current reference level is the Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista Vinyl. It is exceptional. I also own a unit from the very boutique UK brand, the Bigbottle Audio tube phono preamp (BB3), that requires loading plugs. It scratches my itch for a tube phono preamp.
For awhile, I was determined to obtain the heralded Herron VTPH-2A phono preamp, but the feeling passed. Those units utilize 6 tubes, which (in my opinion) opens the opportunity for 6X the noise.
Happy to do a swap for trial purposes
"This may not matter to you, but it does to me for various reasons, many of them illogical or irrational, but the vinyl hobby is not really logical or rational..." - member on Vinyl Engine
"Sometimes I do what I want to do. The rest of the time, I do what I have to." - Cicero, in Gladiator
Regarding collectibles: "It's not who gets it. It's who gets stuck with it." - Jimmy Fallon -
Jody, when speaking with Bob Carver, he stated thet the more tubes in a phono pre, the better.
This contradicts what you are saying.
His TOTL phono pre had many tubes. The model escapes me right now. FWIW.
Tom~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
Tom,
In a utopian world, where all tubes perform as expected, it would be ideal to have 'the more tubes in a phono pre, the better'. But let's be honest...that is not reality. Tubes are fun...tubes are noisy...tubes are tubes.
In the world of tube phono preamps, the Herron still reigns supreme (based on reviews), but Manley Labs has a few choices that cannot be ignored."This may not matter to you, but it does to me for various reasons, many of them illogical or irrational, but the vinyl hobby is not really logical or rational..." - member on Vinyl Engine
"Sometimes I do what I want to do. The rest of the time, I do what I have to." - Cicero, in Gladiator
Regarding collectibles: "It's not who gets it. It's who gets stuck with it." - Jimmy Fallon -
The only constant is change. I swapped some gear around in my backroom system.
Yamaha QL-Y5F turntable
Juicy Music Tercel phono pre
Sonic Euphoria PLC preamp
Music Fidelity Pan CDP (Germany)
DIY ST70 amplifier
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The only constant is change. I swapped some gear around in my backroom system.
Yamaha QL-Y5F turntable
Juicy Music Tercel phono pre
Sonic Euphoria PLC preamp
Music Fidelity Pan CDP (Germany)
DIY ST70 amplifier
Have I had a stroke or is there a JVC on that turntable? 🤣
2-channel Yaqin B2-T Pre, Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 2, Marantz SA8005, Pro-Ject RPM-10 Turntable, Denon DP-59L Pro-Ject Phono Box DS3B, Polk Audio Legend L800's, AudioQuest Cable throughout. -
Have I had a stroke or is there a JVC on that turntable? 🤣
Senior moment. It is a JVC QL-Y5F. -
I found a Janis Interphase 1A crossover/amplifier in a nearby town that I can try and reverse engineer the schematic.

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I let the magic smoke out of my Jolida JD502B. Time for some refurbishing and then it's going up for sale.Enjoying the journey while never attaining the destination.
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I let the magic smoke out of my Jolida JD502B. Time for some refurbishing and then it's going up for sale.
Bummer!CD Players: Sony CDP-211; Sony DVP-S9000ES; Sony UDP-X800M2 (x2); Cambridge Audio CXC
DACs: Jolida Glass FX Tube DAC III (x2); Denafrips Ares II (x2)
Streamers: ROKU (x3); Bluesound Node 2i and Node N130 w/LHY LPS // Receivers: Yamaha RX-V775BT; Yamaha RX-V777
Preamps: B&K Ref 50; B&K Ref 5 S2; Classe CP-800 MkII; Audio Research SP16L (soon)
Amps: Niles SI-275; B&K ST125.7; B&K ST125.2; Classe CA-2300; Butler Audio TDB-5150
Speakers: Boston Acoustics CR55; Focal Chorus 705v; Wharfedale Diamond 10.2; Monitor Audio Silver-1; Def Tech Mythos One (x4)/Mythos Three Center (x2)/Mythos Two pr.; Martin Logan Electromotion ESL; Legacy Audio Victoria/Silverscreen Center; Gallo Acoustics Reference 3.1; SVS SB-1000 Pro; REL HT-1003; B&W ASW610; HifiMan HE400i
Turntable: Dual 721 Direct-Drive w/Audio Technica AT-VM95e cart
Cables: Tripp-lite 14ga. PCs, Blue Jeans Cable ICs, Philips PXT1000 ICs; Kimber Kable DV30 coaxial ICs; Canare L-4E6S XLR ICs; Kimber Kable 8PR & 8TC speaker cables. -
I let the magic smoke out of my Jolida JD502B. Time for some refurbishing and then it's going up for sale.
I have run into that on a couple of Jolida pieces. Had a JD1000RC that I had to totally resolder the entire board.
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I think this unit is from 2001, so the electrolytic capacitors are due for replacement. It is stock with no upgrades or alterations, so I think it will respond well to a tune-up.Enjoying the journey while never attaining the destination.
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Moved the Arte Forma 2A3 into the sunroom. Something special about SET and horns.

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The Gilmore Raptors moved to the dining room.

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@Wardsweb Hey Luther, you still sporting the modded JBL and setup in the living room?
Loved that sound?
--Ron2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC
erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a -
txcoastal1 wrote: »@Wardsweb Hey Luther, you still sporting the modded JBL and setup in the living room?
Loved that sound?
--Ron
My main system and still my fav.
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After a 6-week ordeal with GIK, I finally got my ceiling clouds installed. Their “cloud brackets” were evidently out of stock when I placed my order, which I was not aware of at the time. The panels arrived quickly and all the communications from GIK indicated the brackets I ordered to expedite their installation were included in what they shipped, but that was not the case when the panels arrived. So, after multiple emails to their CS and 6 weeks of 2’ x 4’ “paperweights” sitting on the floor instead of hanging from the ceiling in my listening room, I finally got the brackets last week and completed the installation today. Still have some work to do to level the one on the right. Textured ceilings are not helpful as far as that’s concerned, but it shouldn’t be too difficult.
The brackets provide for a 4” air gap which is supposed to improve the panels’ performance, but due to the 12” drop (8’ down to 7’) from the soffit on the left, I had to do something different there to allow for enough headroom for ingress and egress to/from the sweet spot. Right now there is a 2 1/4” air gap on that left panel (roughly 6’ 7” clearance), but I can probably tighten it up to 1/2” if I decide to.
Not too happy with my experience with this latest purchase from GIK, but glad it’s finally done. Finished it up just moments before I headed out of town for a few days, so I don’t have any comments about the results yet. These room treatments have been somewhat of an experiment for when we eventually build our retirement home. If what I’ve done here works (and the 6 wall-hanging panels definitely gave positive results in imaging and flexibility in speaker placement with the RTA 15TL rear firing passive radiators - or, maybe it was just that beanbag chair? lol), I’ll replicate what worked or eliminate or tweak what I am not happy with in the next home.
I will say, this endeavor really raised more eyebrows and got more eye-rolls from the wife than anything I’ve done yet. 😂 I told her to just wait until she heard the results (with my fingers crossed behind my back). 🤞😝😋
Kinda surprised there aren’t some more threads or conversations here about room treatments …

Brian -
I'll have to try the bean bag mod this weekend. Looking good.Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists.
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Damn. I must be a bass trap then.
Tom~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
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It's a big old a$$ trap. Once you sit in it you can't gracefully get back up.
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For my Micro Seiki MA-505L tonearm, I got this AST-05 stabilizing nut. The stock nut is on the right...quite a difference.

These nuts screw onto the bottom of the tonearm pillar, under the arm board. It is clear how much more substantial the AST-05 nut is than stock.
Similar stabilizing nuts exist for other tonearms. Except for suspended sub-chassis turntable designs, these bigger nuts make a lot of sense. I'm using mine on a Micro Seiki BL-91L turntable, which has a one-piece, solid plinth.
"This may not matter to you, but it does to me for various reasons, many of them illogical or irrational, but the vinyl hobby is not really logical or rational..." - member on Vinyl Engine
"Sometimes I do what I want to do. The rest of the time, I do what I have to." - Cicero, in Gladiator
Regarding collectibles: "It's not who gets it. It's who gets stuck with it." - Jimmy Fallon -
Picked up a couple REL T/5x subs Wednesday. Still tweaking the setup some. Not because it is difficult, more just playing around since it’s the first time I’ve had a sub, or subs, in a two-channel setup. Had a junk, thumpy, boomy, rattly Klipsch in the HT in my last house, but it came with the house. Hated subs after that for a good long while.
I have the crossover set only a couple clicks off the lowest (30Hz) setting. Starts getting a little muddy at 4 clicks, so I guess that means the 15s are digging pretty low already. Have the level at roughly 33%, so it's set relative low, too, but what a great difference these have made. Could never get solid, deep bass with just the speakers without having them close to the wall, which destroyed the soundstage and imaging. Out from the wall, they had to be singing pretty good to pressurize the room. Get to enjoy the best of both worlds with the subs, now. Low level listening is eminently more enjoyable but the bass is still deep, tight and strong without being overbearing when you wanna crank it up.
Nice ~12" cubed footprint isn't overwhelming in the room and is about the exact same width as the 15s, so they look good together. Some pretty bright status LEDs throw off some nice ambient light that looks cool in the dark. But, I now have some serious cable management issues going on at the moment that I hope to get a handle on in the near future.
(The beanbag bass / BS / a$$ trap has been officially relieved of duty.)

Brian -
So, when I got my turntable and figured out the cue lever was sticky, I watched a video on YouTube about how to fix the problem. The guy on the video took the entire arm apart desoldering the cables from the main board and everything. I immediately decided it was not a job I could do because, if you know about the mockery I made of my SDA-SRS upgrades, you know my soldering skills are pathetic.
Anyway, last week as I was watching other videos on YouTube, that video came on again, and there was a throw away line in the dialogue where he mentioned that he normally fixes this problem with the tone arm still attached. So, I started looking at mine, contacted Sumiko to get a new cue arm, and in 10 mins, I had it fixed and readjusted.2-channel Yaqin B2-T Pre, Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 2, Marantz SA8005, Pro-Ject RPM-10 Turntable, Denon DP-59L Pro-Ject Phono Box DS3B, Polk Audio Legend L800's, AudioQuest Cable throughout. -
I believe Jelco made tonearms for Sumiko. You can normally remove the cue platform, and then the piston itself without dismantling the entire arm. It's typically a matter of stripping and replacing the very thick silicon oil, although getting the correct weight of oil can be a challenge...trial and error."This may not matter to you, but it does to me for various reasons, many of them illogical or irrational, but the vinyl hobby is not really logical or rational..." - member on Vinyl Engine
"Sometimes I do what I want to do. The rest of the time, I do what I have to." - Cicero, in Gladiator
Regarding collectibles: "It's not who gets it. It's who gets stuck with it." - Jimmy Fallon -
That’s what I did.2-channel Yaqin B2-T Pre, Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 2, Marantz SA8005, Pro-Ject RPM-10 Turntable, Denon DP-59L Pro-Ject Phono Box DS3B, Polk Audio Legend L800's, AudioQuest Cable throughout.
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I believe Jelco made tonearms for Sumiko. You can normally remove the cue platform, and then the piston itself without dismantling the entire arm. It's typically a matter of stripping and replacing the very thick silicon oil, although getting the correct weight of oil can be a challenge...trial and error.

I ordered this through Amazon and it worked great for my SME3009 cueing piston.
Enjoying the journey while never attaining the destination.








