Gromit's music centre...

[Gromit]

Your LP12 looks simply stunning Richard. If only you knew how to take a decent piccy

Thank you Paul - as to the photos, one just does one's best... <nerves> <I do try...honest>

LP12 and P10 by Boxertrixter, on Flickr

Notice the CD player's gone

[Marco]

Thanks for the kind comments re the photos, Marco - being semi-retired now I get plenty of time to get immersed in the hobby.

Nice hobby to have, mate, but can be expensive sometimes, I guess?

I'm enjoying the LP12, since getting it I sincerely don't think I've listened to so much vinyl in a long time. Yes, I could've got something better for the money and I'll be the first to admit that the old girl puts something of her own stamp on music.

Indeed, as does every turntable in existence, although some more than others. There's no doubt though, if you like it, the ol' fruitster imbues music with an addictive tunefulness/musicality that is hard to achieve elsewhere. Whatever makes you relax and enjoy music is all that matters!

What it has shown is that proper, thorough set-up is paramount. Peter at Cymbiosis went through every aspect of stripping and re-building the deck - at the end of which he just said 'see - it ain't rocket-science'. And was at pains to point out there's no black magic/laying of hands needed to make the deck work properly - just methodical attention to detail. No bullsh*t, no hard sell. Refreshing.

Yes, Peter does seem to have a good rep with LP12s. The fact is, there's no 'magic' to it, just common sense and solid engineering principles.

There's way too much 'fairy dust' attached to the whole process, spouted by ardent fanboys, almost as is if one needs blessing with Ivor T's bath water, by the man himself, undertaken in a semi-religious ceremony at midnight during a full moon, within the sacred shrine at Eaglesham HQ, before one is qualified to set-up an LP12!

To get me started again I got a new Denon DL110 - a cartridge I know well, it doesn't do too much wrong (for the money) and is musically articulate enough to be a satisfying listen. Being a Denon it's also very kind to surface noise and tracks anything thrown at it.

The 110 is a superb budget MC, and a great all-rounder, but somewhat out of its depth on the end of an Ittok. To hear what the arm can do properly, you'll need to dig a little deeper down into your wallet and buy something with more poise and finesse, in order to ameliorate the presence region "sting" you mention.

My recommendation would either be the Denon DL-S1, which I mentioned earlier, or something from Benz Micro, such as their superb Ace: http://www.analogueseduction.net/all...idge-04mv.html or if you can afford to aim higher, the Glider S: http://www.analogueseduction.net/all...cartridge.html

Both, IMO, would work superbly well on a Tik-Tok. The unfortunate fact is, you're going to have to aim a little higher than a 110 (and perhaps also upgrade your phono stage) in order to fully appreciate the musical abilities of your Ittok (and LP12)... Sadly, this vinyl malarkey doesn't come cheap!

Marco.

[Gromit]

Hi Marco - sorry been busy listening to too much vinyl.

Agreed re the Benz, I had one (an ACE SL) in my old Sony 6750 and it is indeed a lovely thing. Quite neutral, not music genre-fussy, singing sweetly on just about anything thrown at it. Shame I let it go with the Sony but hey ho...

The Ittok has been replaced by a Roksan Nima - the former was only really fitted to give a base-line to work from, to offer an initial insight (or re-jogging of the memory - it's been 25 years since my last Sondek) into the LP12 way. The Nima is quite different, being less front-row, although still a dynamic performer, not as initially forthright as the Ittok. At first it sounded un-involving, lazy even, but over the weekend's long listening sessions it's won me over with its abilities. It always seems slightly odd having a U-P arm on a bouncy deck, but somehow this just works The DL110 is sounding sweet and along with the Cirkus bearing upgrade and Herc II psu (both fitted last week) I have a very nice tool for listening to records.

LP12 with Nima by Boxertrixter, on Flickr

Roksan Nima by Boxertrixter, on Flickr

[jandl100]

Lovely pictures, as usual, Richard.

I had a Nima arm on a Roksan tt I had in for review a few years back. That was my first ever unipivot, and it took quite a while to get used to the very different feel when handling it. Quite a shock at first, it felt all wrong!! I soon settled down with it, though, and got to like it.

If you are interested, I'd be quite happy to loan you a Linn Asak with a VdH retip. It's quite an interesting sounding beast with a fairly upfront and dynamic sound and I find it very enjoyable, but I don't play LPs these days so it's just sitting around not doing a lot.

[British high fidelity]

In all honesty those pictures are amazing, if I saw these images in a brochure I would buy the TT

Very impressive - Audio porn

Sent from my LG-H961N using Tapatalk

[Gromit]

Thanks chaps.

A new addition - just about run-in now...

Hana EL by Boxertrixter, on Flickr

With the Hana being LOMC, it's been good to get the Dyna P75 into PE mode so it can stretch its legs.

[Yomanze]

Hi Richard, I see you snagged those Royd Sintra IIs on PFM, will be interesting to hear your thoughts. The one Royd speaker that I haven't tried in my system... I did find the Sapphire I a bit too feisty at times, the Sintra II 'look' more balanced and refined to me judging by what I have heard from his other speakers.

PS do you still have your Something Solid SL24?

[Yomanze]

In all honesty those pictures are amazing, if I saw these images in a brochure I would buy the TT

Very impressive - Audio porn

Sent from my LG-H961N using Tapatalk

Maybe Richard is missing a trick by not seeing if dealers want their wares to be photographed by him.

[Gromit]

Hi Neil - thanks for the kind comments re the photos.

The Sintras? Should be interesting. Like you, I sometimes found the Sapphires slightly 'too much of a good thing' even though I still loved them. I actually preferred them (at a nudge) to the Edens which just didn't do scale quite as well. The Sapphires worked great on the 770ES, the Edens were better on the Exposure XV - by virtue that the XV has a stronger low end, and less top end extension. My favourite Royds, amongst those I've owned, were the Merlins. Liked them more than the Minstrels.

A good friend of mine has owned his Sintra II's since new, and I've been trying to persuade him to sell them to me for ages, but without success. The Scanspeak D2010 certainly cleans things up - they're still bright/perky (they're Royds when all's said!) but are certainly more refined. Have also got an Exposure Super XV on the way so the Expo/Royd Dream Team is back on.

[Gromit]

Well, the Super XV is in place and been settling down/warming up(?) over a period of some 48 hours - along with the Sintra II's of course.

First impressions were not good - the amp sounded very nice into the Q3010's but the Sintras just didn't play ball at all. Thin, pinched, no bass to speak of, and just downright shouty. Seems the Sintra - unlike the Merlins/Sapphires/Minstrels don't like being out from the back wall. They're far more 'Eden' in their positional requirements, needing to be pushed as near to the wall as possible with a small amount of toe-in. Result? Much, much better. The Q's still do bass better though, and have more dynamic headroom (I'm not going to push the Sintras though - they're way too precious).

Exposure on the shelf...

System by Boxertrixter, on Flickr

Going to perform a small amplifier bake-off tomorrow between the Exposure and the Cyrus rig - had a brief dabble just now (by putting the Cyrus back on line) and the tentative result has surprised me a little...