Hi Fi Pyramid scheme

[Marco]

Let me know when you plan on coming down - I can't promise much (except a drink & some food)...

Hey what more could a chap ask for?

Probably some time in the summer. When are you free?

I'm sure when I come down I could effect a few 'Marco-boy' tricks to optimise your system set-up more and bring a nice bottle or two of something with me... Steve knows all about that

Marco.

[Alan]

Longer cables have now arrived - SSPs so a noticeable improvement & enough length to move the pre-amp.

[DSJR]

A quick comment on the Arcam.

A mate from twenty years ago blac-tac'd his Delta 270 transport to two sheets of slate (I think it was, but it could have been a granite of some sort), one above and one below. I thought it sounded better for it - a little less "splattery" was the feeling at the time.

[Alan]

Thanks Dave,

Les gave some advice on PFM on how to setup one of his Avondale models - I've just done what he recommended: standsunique feet on a granite slab. The feet made a lot of difference and the addition of the slab just focused things a little more, perhaps adding just a hint of attack to the leading edge of each note. Quite a nice return for such a modest outlay.

My player is not an Arcam any more, but is not an Avondale either. It is modified by Kevin Green (AKA the Audiocellar - he services & repairs Audiolab kit.) and it would be interesting to compare it to an Avondale. Mine is also now non-oversampling, and has a whole load of stuff done to the output stage as well as elsewhere. A lot of standard functions have been disabled as well, but aside from this I don't know too much. I am aware that Kevin has been using lots of Black gate capacitors until recently - mine has poly caps instead, which he now uses as the treble is less grainy apparently.

It sounds fantastic - took a good while to burn in as it had a new old stock DAC chip fitted as well. I demo'd a private sale player, an earlier Audiocellar one before I got this as a new build - and the recent changes are streets ahead imo.

The next tweak will be to hard wire the mains lead and damp the biscuit tin Arcam fitted for a case.

[Marco]

Your set-up is much better now, Alan - I bet you can hear the difference, too!

Well done.

Marco.

[Alan]

It was interesting - the interconnect made the most substantial difference, releasing more of the same from the setup, but moving the pre was more subtle. It seems to me (early days yet) that the imaging has achieved greater depth front to back, and a little more balance overall. A definite improvement & productive bit of DIY...just can't wait to get it all off the bookshelf.