A big 'HELLO' from Corby, Northamptonshire...

[synsei]

Hi all,

This post is a little late, but better late than never I suppose :)

My systems are thus:

SYSTEM 1

Sources:

Turntable ~ Thorens TD316/LINN LVX+/Audio Technica AT95he
CD Player ~ NAD CD524
MD Player ~ Sony MDS-JE480
Laptop ~ HP Pavilion DV7

Amplification:

Pre-amp ~ Audiolab 8000c
Pwr-amp ~ Hafler DH220

Speakers:

Rogers LS55's

Ancillaries:

Beresford Caiman DAC


SYSTEM 2

Sources:

Turntable ~ Dual CS506-1/Ortofon OM5e
CD Player ~ Sony CDP-XE370

Amplification:

NAD C340

Speakers:

KEF Q35's

Ancillaries: Cambridge Audio 640p


I listen to most types of music as long as the production values are good. I draw the line at Elvis and some Country & Western though. Not really my cup of tea... :eek:

[Marco]

:worthless:

;)

Marco.

[synsei]

...and Marco, Santa will bring you pics galore as soon as he see's fit to return my broken camera all fixed, shiny and new-like from Argos...:lol:

[Marco]

Nice one - I'll hold you to it! :)

Marco.

[Reid Malenfant]

Hi Dave, welcome to AoS :) Looks like you are just down the road from me, been to & through Corby loads of times ;)

Yes we love piccies but stuff em in the Gallery when santa brings you a new camera :lol:

I hope you enjoy your stay, all the best :wave:

[synsei]

Thanks for the welcome Mark. Will post lots of piccies once my camera and Caiman arrive. I'll have to move all my kit about to connect up the DAC so I'll take piccies once that's done... ;)

Btw, Dark Star: Awesomely funny book/movie. Haven't read/seen it for a long time, will have to locate new copies to experience the madness once again, now I'm old enough to fully appreciate it... :lol:

[Rare Bird]

Hi Dave
Aye gis a deck at that Hafler

[synsei]

This is my Hafler the day after it arrived and having had a good fettle...

http://i1019.photobucket.com/albums/af316/Sgtgrash/Vinyl%20Engine/DH-220VE.jpg


This is my system pre-Audiolab 8000c/Hafler DH220... (NAD C340 on amp duties)

http://i1019.photobucket.com/albums/af316/Sgtgrash/Vinyl%20Engine/MySystem3.jpg


My Rogers LS55's and the Mission 773's that preceded them...

http://i1019.photobucket.com/albums/af316/Sgtgrash/Vinyl%20Engine/RogersLS55s.jpg

[Rare Bird]

Another Grey DH220! I used to have a brown one but no one seems to have them.

[DSJR]

Hi (another) Dave,

Please can you tell me more about the AT95he? I know of someone in the states raving about a 95 with Shibata tip and I'm interested in your views please...

[synsei]

Hi (another) Dave,

Please can you tell me more about the AT95he? I know of someone in the states raving about a 95 with Shibata tip and I'm interested in your views please...

Hi Dave,

I bought the HE stylus from LPGear in the 'States after reading about how good it was on several forums, especially Vinyl Engine. I couldn't afford the kind of cartridge I wanted and had been exploring other options and this seemed to fit the bill. At the time the LPGear Shibata tip was almost the same price as an AT120 from William Thakker and beyond my means, but the HE stylus for the '95 worked out at £45, give or take a few pence. It's a bonded diamond, which has attracted some criticism from a few people, but at the price it was always going to be so.

It is quite an improvement over the standard elliptical stylus. Detail retrieval is much improved, revealing subtleties missed by the standard elliptical and drums are more immediate and full of timbre. Tracking is excellent as expected with better imaging and improved dynamics. In fact sound-staging is wider and has better depth with good focus and plenty of room between instruments and performers. Of course this is all relative. I'm not saying it outperforms a good budget MC, because it doesn't, but I'd happily choose it over say, an Ortofon 2M Red (wild and uncontrolled HF IMO) or a Grado Black (Too laid back).


http://www.lpgear.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LG&Product_Code=LPGATN95HE

[DSJR]

That's good, thank you. The AT95 basic mechanicals saw good servive in Linn's K5 and K9 (the later issue K5 body with K9 stylus being the best and sweetest sounding of them all I thought) and I know how surprisingly good a stock 95E can sound in a decent tonearm.

I also have a worn AT120e and apparently, this body will accept a 440MLa stylus and remember, the Ortofon OM Red is probably a re-cased 510/OM10 and these always were a bit raw compared to the 520/OM20 series.

Interesting you find the Grado Black a bit too laid back, as this is the most up-front sounding Grado of the six related models up to the Gold...

[synsei]

I've always had good experiences with the little '95 whatever deck I've fitted one to. They are a masterpiece of design at the price and can be easily improved with better stylii and judicious use of 'BluTack' or super glue to bond the stylus housing to the body. Apparently this eliminates micro-resonances although I've never tried it myself. I'm so ham-fisted, if I tried the super glue tweak on mine I'd probably end up as extra mass on the end of my LVX+...:lol:

The 440MLa stylus does indeed fit onto an AT120e body however the internals of the two carts are different, so it's not a total upgrade unfortunately. Anyway, the standard ATN120e stylus is a bonded ML diamond, so the difference would be negligible. The only difference IIRC is that the 440MLa stylus is nude, and Purple of course... ;)


p.s. My experience with the Gr/Black may be unique to my system as others have been dismayed that I describe it as 'laid back'. It does possess excellent bottom end clout although it's a tad woolly...

[DSJR]

You are right about the Grado's as the cheaper ones have a dip in the treble followed by a little rise to bring a tad of sparkle to the proceedings. The best models in the non-wood range have better, lower mass generators which lack this rise, so the response falls away making the treble regions rather distant and, to me, dull as ditchwater. My last employer was a huge Grado fan and I had loads of experience fitting them to a variety of decks (and I thought Rega cartridges were bad - in fact they're wonderful on anything without too much bass IMO).

There is or was an AT130e (cream or white stylus assembly from memory) I believe and I think it came with a naked elliptical stone. A now sought after classic from yonks ago was the AT20SLa, which I suspect the 440MLa has sort-of replaced.