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Thread: Parkie37's Audio Note System

  1. #241
    Join Date: Apr 2015

    Location: Vancouver

    Posts: 285
    I'm Don.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Chivas View Post
    I'm on holiday and just read through this whole thread, I enjoyed reading how your system came together and what a great system, congratulations!

    I can certainly agree with you on one point, you have a very understanding wife!!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Yes I do : )

    I have made one step up after another over a lifetime and I have been in the right place at the right time when crazy good deals came up. I find myself enjoying music more than I ever have. We had friends over for dinner a couple of nights ago and after dinner we sat down and listened to music for the rest of the night. My wife enjoyed it as much as I did. Sometimes that means putting on some music that isn't my favourite, but if it makes her happy, then I'm happy!

    I just can't afford any other hobbies now!
    Vertere SG-1 Turntable / Audio Note IO Gold MC
    Audio Note AN-S8L MC Transformer
    Audio Note Pallas I/C (SUT-Preamp)
    Audio Note M6 Phono Preamp
    Audio Note CDT 3/Audio Note 4.1X Balanced Signature DAC
    Audio Note Kassai Monoblocks
    Audio Note Sogon Interconnects
    Audio Note Pallas Interconnects
    Audio Note AN-Vx Interconnects
    Audio Note Sogon Speaker Cables
    Audio Note AN-E SPE HE speakers
    Audio Note ISIS Power Cables
    Loricraft PRC-4 Record Cleaning Machine

  2. #242
    Join Date: Mar 2009

    Location: Knebworth, Herts

    Posts: 218
    I'm Retief.

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    That sounds like a small price to pay to keep the Mrs happy. Well played! It's probably hard to say considering all the changes, but if you had to venture a guess, which upgrade made the biggest difference?
    The reason why I'm asking is that I currently use a copper Slagle SUT which I think is excellent for the money, but I am curious about what a silver AN SUT can bring to the party with my IO2. I'm also considering an upgrade to an M6 phono over my current M3 phono, but this will probably be a little further down the line


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Retief
    Analogue: Origin Live Resolution mk2,OL Encounter mk3c,MM III and isolator.Digital:CA 840C.Amplification:Croft RIAA R, Icon Audio LA4mkii,Icon Audio MB845 signature version.Speakers: Kef Reference 203/2 Cables: Mark Grant G2000HD. Speaker cable Van Damme Hi-Fi UP-LCOFC.Headphone: Grado PS1000,HD650,HD600,Icon Audio HP8 RCM DIY Moth

  3. #243
    Join Date: Apr 2015

    Location: Vancouver

    Posts: 285
    I'm Don.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Chivas View Post
    That sounds like a small price to pay to keep the Mrs happy. Well played! It's probably hard to say considering all the changes, but if you had to venture a guess, which upgrade made the biggest difference?
    The reason why I'm asking is that I currently use a copper Slagle SUT which I think is excellent for the money, but I am curious about what a silver AN SUT can bring to the party with my IO2. I'm also considering an upgrade to an M6 phono over my current M3 phono, but this will probably be a little further down the line

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    I have had about three large upgrades. The first was switching from a Dynavector DV20X2Lo to the Io Gold feeding the AN-S8/Lo SUT. Three of us all stopped and said "holy ****!" Anyone that tells you that high end cartridges aren't any better than regularly priced cartridges have never heard a well set up top notch cartridge. It is a fantastic upgrade!

    The second large upgrade was move from the Meishu Silver Phono to the M6 preamp/Kassai amps. It brought the music to an entirely higher level of enjoyment and resolution. It is wonderful once your system gets to this level. There are a lot of systems that present a lot of forced detail but not nearly enough musicality. They are supposed to be "true to the source", yet are not very enjoyable to listen to and don't present the tonality of a great tube system. The level four and level five components from AN seem to provide a reproduction that sounds like what you would have heard in the recording studio, if you were there during the recording. Some people accuse SET amps,as sounding warm and lush and rolled off in the frequency extremes. That is the opposite of what you hear as you go up the AN chain, as you probably know and yet it never is anything less than musical!

    Lastly, the jump up from the TT-2 Deluxe to the Vertere SG-1 turntable was staggering. It sounds like the only thing that it presents is the music cut into the grooves. It sounds simple, but once you hear music without all of the built in noise and distortion of a good but not great turntable, you find it to be addictive. Good or bad recordings sound more enjoyable. You get the musicality and the natural sound of the instruments and vices, but no rumble, noise, distortion, pitch variation and so on. It's like suddenly seeing a portrait that was taken with the very best lens. Great skin tone = great tonality in a sense.

    Oh and lastly, put the best tubes in your amps and preamps!

    Don
    Vertere SG-1 Turntable / Audio Note IO Gold MC
    Audio Note AN-S8L MC Transformer
    Audio Note Pallas I/C (SUT-Preamp)
    Audio Note M6 Phono Preamp
    Audio Note CDT 3/Audio Note 4.1X Balanced Signature DAC
    Audio Note Kassai Monoblocks
    Audio Note Sogon Interconnects
    Audio Note Pallas Interconnects
    Audio Note AN-Vx Interconnects
    Audio Note Sogon Speaker Cables
    Audio Note AN-E SPE HE speakers
    Audio Note ISIS Power Cables
    Loricraft PRC-4 Record Cleaning Machine

  4. #244
    Join Date: Apr 2015

    Location: Vancouver

    Posts: 285
    I'm Don.

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    A minor update....

    My Io Gold had its stylus broken by my cleaning lady or a visiting family member when I wasn’t home. Not sure and no one seems to know how it happened. So, I have removed it from the tonearm and put it back into its original shipping box, to send it back for a rebuild. I’m told that it takes 4-5 months to get it back.

    In the meantime I bought a new Denon 103 and a used AN-S2 SUT from my dealer. I had it installed by my local expert as he is much more practiced and skilled at installation than I am. I have only done it twice in the last twenty years. I’m a tad bit rusty!

    Well, after waiting with baited breath we spun a couple of favourites; Sonny Rollins ‘Way Out West’ and Holly Cole’s ‘Don’t Smoke In Bed’. It sounded nice, but wow is it ever a step down from the Io Gold/AN-S8 combo, as it should be! That being said, the 103 is only $300 new and the Io Gold is many times that. I had gotten used to the Io Gold and had forgotten how much of an improvement it was over my Dynavector DV20X2 Lo, which is a pretty good cartridge.

    So, when the Io Gold comes back I will have a plexiglass cover over my turntable for protection, while its not in use. Then the Denon will be installed on my daughters Rega RP-1, which will be a nice upgrade over the stock cartridge that she has been using. That and the AN-S2 will be a university graduation present from Dad.

    So, a lesson learned, but it also confirmed that I prefer vinyl through the Denon 103 over Tidal via our Sooloos. I think that this could be safely classified as a ‘First World Problem’.
    Vertere SG-1 Turntable / Audio Note IO Gold MC
    Audio Note AN-S8L MC Transformer
    Audio Note Pallas I/C (SUT-Preamp)
    Audio Note M6 Phono Preamp
    Audio Note CDT 3/Audio Note 4.1X Balanced Signature DAC
    Audio Note Kassai Monoblocks
    Audio Note Sogon Interconnects
    Audio Note Pallas Interconnects
    Audio Note AN-Vx Interconnects
    Audio Note Sogon Speaker Cables
    Audio Note AN-E SPE HE speakers
    Audio Note ISIS Power Cables
    Loricraft PRC-4 Record Cleaning Machine

  5. #245
    Join Date: Aug 2009

    Location: Staffordshire, England

    Posts: 37,779
    I'm Martin.

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    I've probably said this before but all cleaning ladies are in the pay of the cartridge manufacturers. I reckon they keep a league table amongst themselves of how many cartridges they have wrecked and they have a secret awards ceremony every year.
    Current Lash Up:

    TEAC VRDS 701T > Sony TAE1000ESD > Krell KSA50S > JM Labs Focal Electra 926.

  6. #246
    Join Date: Apr 2016

    Location: Gravesend and France

    Posts: 1,498
    I'm paul.

    Default

    4-5 months with a rusty nail, life sure is tough
    Bakoon 13r Denon DP80 Stax UA-70 Shure Ultra 500 in a Martin Bastin body with jico stylus, project ds2 digital Rullit aero 8 field coils in tqwt speakers

    Office system, DIY CSS fullrange speakers with aurum cantus G2 ribbons yulong dac Sony STR6055 receiver Jvc QL-A51 direct drive turntable, Leema sub. JVC Z4S cart is in the house

    Garage system another Sony receiver, cassette deck


    System components are subject to change without warning and at the discretion of the owner.

  7. #247
    Join Date: Apr 2015

    Location: Vancouver

    Posts: 285
    I'm Don.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by paulf-2007 View Post
    4-5 months with a rusty nail, life sure is tough
    Hahaha! Yes it is suffering at it's greatest ; )

    I wasn't all that happy with the sound coupled with the AN-S2/H, as I have been spoiled by the AN-S8/Lo. So I tried the same songs with both SUTs and have stuck with the S8/Lo, even though it isn't supposed to match well with the Denon 103. A lot more enjoyable sound; more natural tone, air and dynamics.
    Vertere SG-1 Turntable / Audio Note IO Gold MC
    Audio Note AN-S8L MC Transformer
    Audio Note Pallas I/C (SUT-Preamp)
    Audio Note M6 Phono Preamp
    Audio Note CDT 3/Audio Note 4.1X Balanced Signature DAC
    Audio Note Kassai Monoblocks
    Audio Note Sogon Interconnects
    Audio Note Pallas Interconnects
    Audio Note AN-Vx Interconnects
    Audio Note Sogon Speaker Cables
    Audio Note AN-E SPE HE speakers
    Audio Note ISIS Power Cables
    Loricraft PRC-4 Record Cleaning Machine

  8. #248
    Join Date: Apr 2015

    Location: Central Virginia

    Posts: 1,736
    I'm Russell.

    Default

    Heartbreak and woe! Is there anything much worse than discovering your cantilever is broken? It’s like the death of a pet! My condolences.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  9. #249
    Join Date: Apr 2015

    Location: Vancouver

    Posts: 285
    I'm Don.

    Default

    [QUOTE=alphaGT;924822]Heartbreak and woe! Is there anything much worse than discovering your cantilever is broken? It’s like the death of a pet! My condolences.


    Thanks! I think that I will really appreciate (even more) just how special the Io Gold is. Music is quite enjoyable with the Denon 103 via the AN-S8, but it just doesn't have that beautiful aliveness and dynamics and breathtaking realism.

    One other thing that I have noticed is that one or two premium records that I have, that have a tick or pop in a certain location are now not clicking or popping as much as before, after repeated playing. My Analogue Productions version of Getz/Gilberto had about four loud ticks during the lead-in groove and everything else sounded great. Now that I have played it with a different stylus that has a different shape, I think that it has perhaps worn down the tiny little piece that caused the 'tick' once per revolution. I guess I won't find out for sure until the Io Gold returns! In the meantime I am playing any record that I can think of that has a tick or a pop, with the vain hopes that I am 'repairing' that record with the 103
    Vertere SG-1 Turntable / Audio Note IO Gold MC
    Audio Note AN-S8L MC Transformer
    Audio Note Pallas I/C (SUT-Preamp)
    Audio Note M6 Phono Preamp
    Audio Note CDT 3/Audio Note 4.1X Balanced Signature DAC
    Audio Note Kassai Monoblocks
    Audio Note Sogon Interconnects
    Audio Note Pallas Interconnects
    Audio Note AN-Vx Interconnects
    Audio Note Sogon Speaker Cables
    Audio Note AN-E SPE HE speakers
    Audio Note ISIS Power Cables
    Loricraft PRC-4 Record Cleaning Machine

  10. #250
    Join Date: Apr 2015

    Location: Vancouver

    Posts: 285
    I'm Don.

    Default

    After having a very costly accident, I have finally taken the time to order a custom turntable cover that will completely cover all of the table and it should be ready in a few days. It will look something like this:

    Attachment 22550

    A friend of mine had this created to cover his amplifier in his garage. His garage is so beautifully finished and his system in there is better than a lot of the systems that I have owned over the years! I am going to have a front that goes straight down from top to bottom without any cutouts and the left and right side as well as the back will have a cutout about half as high as the cutout in this photo. That will allow power and phono cables to pass underneath the cover in the back and allow a place on the side to lift the cover up and off of the wall mount. It will give me peace of mind : )

    I also received my rebuilt Io Gold MC cartridge yesterday. I had a dealer friend set it up with amazing accuracy using what looked to be an excellent piece of German engineering. It was the pro version of the Acoustical Systems protractor. Expensive and complicated piece of gear, just what I like I can fly a Boeing airliner but I am not sure that I could work that/those pieces of protractor to it's potential! The good news is that once he was done, the system sounded fantastic again with the Io Gold in place. The Denon was a very reasonably priced replacement, but the Io Gold is in another level altogether (as it should be). If anyone is in the market for the Denon 103, I recommend it, but give it at least 20 hours of use before passing judgement on it. Doesn't sound all that great straight out of the box but it opens up a lot after 15-20 hours. I didn't get more than about 30 hours on it but I am told that after about 60 hours it opens up more. Pretty darned good value for the money.

    Through this whole process I also learned that my AN-S8 SUT had a bit of a ground hum. I asked my local AN tech to have a look at it and he told me that one of the phono lead connections had come somewhat loose. The leads are hard wired for better sound but at some point, probably during our household move a year ago, one of the leads had been a little stressed. This surprised me as I am quite careful with my gear. I had my wife sit in our car with three pillows on her lap and the turntable on top of those, during our move. She is a good woman!! I guess I should have treated the SUT with the same gentleness. I get the AN-S8 back later this week or early next week. That will really be the final piece to having the system sound it's best again. Can't wait!!

    I have bought a few records in the last couple of months that I have been saving as a treat, for when the Io Gold was back as well as the AN-S8. I will be cleaning those on the Loricraft ahead of time in preparation.

    Vertere SG-1 Turntable / Audio Note IO Gold MC
    Audio Note AN-S8L MC Transformer
    Audio Note Pallas I/C (SUT-Preamp)
    Audio Note M6 Phono Preamp
    Audio Note CDT 3/Audio Note 4.1X Balanced Signature DAC
    Audio Note Kassai Monoblocks
    Audio Note Sogon Interconnects
    Audio Note Pallas Interconnects
    Audio Note AN-Vx Interconnects
    Audio Note Sogon Speaker Cables
    Audio Note AN-E SPE HE speakers
    Audio Note ISIS Power Cables
    Loricraft PRC-4 Record Cleaning Machine

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