System between speakers

[trio leo]

Hi Guys,

I've been toying around with the idea of moving my system from the side wall to in-between the speakers, the speakers stand 14ft apart, so there is room.
Before I moved it I did a little test, I placed the needle on a still record and I turned up the volume until feedback occurred, this happened at just past the 12 o'clock point, normal listening is 9-10 o'clock.
So I stripped, cleaned and moved the system so that it was sat in front of me, which I prefer, so I can clearly see the deck spinning.
While I was at it I cleaned the pins on the mains plugs and tightened wire connections.
I'm really pleased I've moved the system, now the feedback starts at 2 o'clock, so I feel that must be an improvement.
Fortunately I was also able to test out the new Albarry Flagship amps, the M1108s and TBH I didn't want to give them back, they are stunning.

a few piccies, I tried to get both speakers in but I couldn't get far enough back.
http://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/i444/trioleo/SDC12071.jpg


http://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/i444/trioleo/SDC12072.jpg

http://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/i444/trioleo/SDC12073.jpg

http://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/i444/trioleo/SDC12080.jpg

note my latest toy sat on the pre-amp Albarry MCA 11 Phono Stage, that little beauty has brought new life to my system

regards Al

[John]

Looking great Alan and the one DD I have always lusted after

[Beechwoods]

It looks like a major piece of kit. The whole system looks like it means business! How does it sound Alan?

[trio leo]

It looks like a major piece of kit. The whole system looks like it means business! How does it sound Alan?

I know most of my kit is old and I know we all love our own systems,

However, I like to think I can be honest, when I was involved with Bespoke Audio, the LO7D was our reference deck ( we sold all leading brands ) and I think it is one of the best decks ever built,I searched for years to find a mint one, I think it delivers music beautifully, allowing all the delicacy I enjoy whilst keeping a solid grip on the bass end.
I love the large sound stage the Allison 3s present ( upto 20ft apart ) and they play music to me that sounds very natural.
IMO the Albarry amplifiers are the best amplifiers ever to come out of Britain, my old 408s are still incredible after 27 years, but the M608s are a massive improvement.
Now the new M1108s Flagship amps have just been launched, I can't wait to afford a pair.
I think the Spectral DMC 12 is a superb pre-amp but it's performance has been vastly enhanced by the addition of the Albarry MCA 11 Phono Stage, that has brought a speed and delicacy that I've never had before.
Overall I believe my system is one of the best I've ever heard.
I often play music till the early hours because I enjoy it so much
I hope I don't come across as arrogant, my system is improving with time as I find new bits to add or swap.

regards Al

[Reid Malenfant]

Nice looking setup :D Great to see a pair of Allison speakers exactly where they are meant to be to get the best out of them.

It'd be fascinating to know the driver parameters & enclosure volume to see exactly how these things work, but I can make a pretty good educated guess :eyebrows:

That must be about one of the most desirable TTs in existence :stalks:

[Ducatiist]

HI Al,

you must be an advocate of The Audioworks in Cheadle, a great place to sit and listen to great music and equipment. Looking at your Trio turntable, that cart looks very similar to a van den hul grasshopper, which should give an awesome sound. If it is, how does it sound through the albarry compared to the spectral? I'm only interested as I have a spectral (running through a DMA 90) and have a severely crashed grasshopper, I'm thinking of sending to van den hul for a rebuild.

Lovely looking turntable and great choice of preamp

[trio leo]

HI Al,

you must be an advocate of The Audioworks in Cheadle, a great place to sit and listen to great music and equipment. Looking at your Trio turntable, that cart looks very similar to a van den hul grasshopper, which should give an awesome sound. If it is, how does it sound through the albarry compared to the spectral? I'm only interested as I have a spectral (running through a DMA 90) and have a severely crashed grasshopper, I'm thinking of sending to van den hul for a rebuild.

Lovely looking turntable and great choice of preamp
Hello Mr Ducatiist,
Yep I do go to the Audio Works, many years ago Larry was a customer of mine, now I'm a customer of his, they do have a passion for music.
All the equipment I have bought was after a lot of listening and evaluation both in the shop and at home.
Unfortunately the cartridge isn't a Grasshopper, I would love to hear one.
It is actually an Ortofon MC30 super with the body removed.
TBH I have considered it a bland cartridge through a couple of pre-amps including the Spectral, but now I have the MCA 11 Phono Stage through the Spectral MM stage it is fantastic.
As good as the Spectral is I want the Albarry AP 11 pre-amp so all my amplification is Albarry.
Good luck with your Grasshopper, what deck/arm do you use?

regards Al

[Ducatiist]

Hi Al,

That Ortofon looks almost identical to a grasshopper....I'm still saving to get the poor thing repaired, but its not cheap :steam:

Larry is a lovely guy and he's always happy to do a demo, even when I just drop in unannounced. I've seen the Albarry amp there and Larry did sy the phono stage was far superior to the Spectral....I must admit, the Spectral is good, but a little lifeless.

My turntable is one of Tom Fletchers Nottingham Analogue Spacedeck with Acespace arm. Its one of a few I've got, but none as nice as the beautiful Trio of your's :D

I'm not sure whether the Nottingham will be good enough for the Grasshopper when it does get fixed.....so I can see an upgrade :eyebrows:

I might have to pop into see Larry and ask for a demo of the Albarry gear ;)

I'll let you know how I get on.

Cheers, Stu

[synsei]

Hi Stu,

I've always had a soft spot for Albarry kit. One day... (sighs) That is a lovely system you have there my friend... ;)

[jason]

Very nice Alan stunning turntable always liked those...

Jason

[Marco]

Superb system, Alan! :stalks: :eek: :respect:

And great to see one where someone has paid proper attention to set-up, with the use of specialist equipment supports, 'audiophile' mains block, etc, all of which I adopt the use of in my own system, rather than all (or most) the expenditure being spent on the boxes and speakers, with an almost complete neglect of the former!! :rolleyes: ;)

We must have a bake-off sometime soon, as I've love to hear my modded Techy in comparison with your awesome L07D, especially in such a well set-up system, where the differences are liable to be shown up in all their glory!

So, shall we arrange something? This year, I'd like to take my Techy, now that it's pretty much finished, on a bit of a UK-wide road trip, comparing it to as many world-class T/Ts as possible, in order to get a genuine idea of how it fares in that sort of elite company :cool:

Marco.

P.S I've taken the liberty of posting a pic of your stunning L0-7D on the T/T competition pic thread, as it deserves to be there!

[Dinodale]

Superb system, Alan! :stalks: :eek: :respect:

And great to see one where someone has paid proper attention to set-up, with the use of specialist equipment supports, 'audiophile' mains block, etc, all of which I adopt the use of in my own system, rather than all (or most) the expenditure being spent on the boxes and speakers, with an almost complete neglect of the former!! :rolleyes: ;)

We must have a bake-off sometime soon, as I've love to hear my modded Techy in comparison with your awesome L07D, especially in such a well set-up system, where the differences are liable to be shown up in all their glory!

So, shall we arrange something? This year, I'd like to take my Techy, now that it's pretty much finished, on a bit of a UK-wide road trip, comparing it to as many world-class T/Ts as possible, in order to get a genuine idea of how it fares in that sort of elite company :cool:

Marco.

P.S I've taken the liberty of posting a pic of your stunning L0-7D on the T/T competition pic thread, as it deserves to be there!


Hi Marco

That would be great if you went for a "road show" arround UK;)
Please remember to post your experience in here so I know if I can stop my upgrades now or......:eyebrows:

BTW Alan, what an amazing system you got especially your L-07D. Wish I could hear one some day;)

[wiicrackpot]

Ummm.... think you could still wring a L'il bit more from it yet Alan, those IC and speaker cables should be 20cm's apart spaced out 60cm's length wise in little Ebony pegs/stands, have you checked your system faces Northwards starting from source to speakers ??? magnetic pull from north is strongest so electrons 'flow' better if you do so and sounds loads better, and there's........
:lol:
:lol:
:lol:
:lol:
:lol:
:D
......sorry Al, only having a jealous piss on your parade, lovely system one of the best ever. :cool:

wii.

[trio leo]

Thanks fellas for your comments, as Marco said I have paid attention to squeezing more and more out of the system I've got, rather than changing boxes.
Every bit of peripheral equipment I've got I installed after many hours of evaluating both at the HiFi shop and at home before I bought it and if it's there it's because I believe it has improved the musical performance of my system.
The latest addition is the Albarry MCA 11 Phono Stage which I think is superb.
However a friend came round for a listen last week and he brought an acrylic stand to place under the mains block and it was a massive improvement in dynamics and tunefulness ( is that a word? ) I already have an acrylic table with 4 feet under the mains block, but this was the new solid strip version and it is a vast improvement,so that's on the list.Why placing a mains block on a stand improves things I don't know, nor do I care, it works for me.
Next he replaced the generic OFC interconnects from the MCA 11 to the Pre-amp with a pair of AVT 1 cables and the system went to another level, so I feel I still haven't heard the full potential of my system yet.

regards Al

[Marco]

So, do you fancy a sesh then, Al? You've already heard my T/T at Geoff's place, but I've yet to hear yours :)

Marco.

[Marco]

Marco calling Al... Al, do you read me, over? :eyebrows:

Marco.

[trio leo]

Hi Marco,
Sorry I've been very busy the last few days.
Yes I'm up for a session. I'm not sure about moving my L07d as it weighs 72 lbs and I'm not as fit as I used to be, maybe, I live very close to Blueeyes.
Whatever happens I will look forward to meeting you again, you're a charming chap with far more knowledge than I.

regards Al
Marco calling Al... Al, do you read me, over? :eyebrows:

Marco.

[Marco]

Hi Al,

Thanks for the compliment, mate. However, I think we can all learn from each other, as you have far more experience in the industry than I have. Audio is a constant learning curve, I think, for all of us.

As for that brute of a T/T of yours, I'm sure that we could get a handle each and lift it off of your rack and then pop mine on in its place, and then reverse the situation at the end of our sesh. I'd really like to compare the Techy to your Trio :)

If you live close to Greg, then we could tie something up for the same day when he does his bake-off, either before or afterwards :cool:

Marco.

[trio leo]

Hi Marco,
Yeh, sounds a good idea, we may be able to do both on the same day,I'll look forward to it.
regards Al

[Marco]

Sounds like a plan, dude. We'll discuss the details nearer when Greg has finalised a date for his bake-off :cool:

Marco.

[BTH K10A]

And great to see one where someone has paid proper attention to set-up, with the use of specialist equipment supports, 'audiophile' mains block, etc, all of which I adopt the use of in my own system, rather than all (or most) the expenditure being spent on the boxes and speakers, with an almost complete neglect of the former!! :rolleyes: ;)

I must be guilty of total neglect then. :spank:

The L-07D is an outstanding turntable and so flexible with the capability for a second arm and the option of an outer damping / flattenening ring. VTA adjustment is very precise too. I always rue the day I hesitated on buying an immaculate one that came with all the accessories and packaging for £400. :doh:

[Marco]

Indeed. It's always said on your report card: 'Aims to please, but must try harder' ;)

Marco.

[Dominic Harper]

That's a bit special Alan, cool indeed. That is the first time I have seen a Trio, now I get the Trioleo. Anyway, I love everything about it and of course it looks a beast of thing. It was great meeting you by the way and I look forward to having a listen to your Trio Leo :lol::lol:

Natalie;)

[Theo]

The L-07D is an outstanding turntable and so flexible with the capability for a second arm and the option of an outer damping / flattenening ring. VTA adjustment is very precise too. I always rue the day I hesitated on buying an immaculate one that came with all the accessories and packaging for £400. :doh:

One currently for sale on pfm (not mine). Sadly not for £400...