The Task At Hand [Archive] - The Art of Sound Forum

WOStantonCS100

22-01-2011, 19:29

Wow, wow, wow :)

I would try and find away of keeping as much of that as I could.

My upstairs listening room sometimes looks like that.....only in my case its tuners and reel to reel machines.

Got any nice tuners ?

Regards D S D L

Oh, I'm certainly keeping everything. :) I just can't have nearly as much gear "at the ready" anymore. :( [I've seen some of your gear pics. "Salivating" is the word that comes to mind.] Unfortunately, I do not have any nice tuners, just black box stuff. There were only two good NPR stations in this area: one classical, one jazz. The bad economy forced the jazz station to become part talk radio. Having a great tuner would probably add insult to injury for me.

:lolsign: I'm seeing things surely :scratch:

2 x Pioneer CTF 1250 & 1 x Pioneer CTF 950 :stalks:

Seeing that just reminded me i need to put my own CTF 950 into the rack as well :doh:

Lovely collection of equipment you have there :)

Thanks. I wish I had a CT-F950 (maybe two)! That's actually a 900. It still sounds quite nice, though. If you've got the space, I would certainly put the 950 back in rotation!!

Reid Malenfant

22-01-2011, 19:37

Thanks. I wish I had a CT-F950 (maybe two)! That's actually a 900. It still sounds quite nice, though. If you've got the space, I would certainly put the 950 back in rotation!!
I soon will have & yes it'll definately be going back in the rack ;)

Never heard of the 900, it looks virtually identical to the 950 from what i can see of it. Lovely machine the 950 is, sounds like a decent CD spinner :eyebrows:

You have a lot of kit there & some lovely stuff to! Very nice indeed, it must have taken a while to gather those cassette decks up. I was lucky with both my good cassette decks, the 950 i found in a secondhand shop & snatched the blokes hand off at £40, an Akai (also three head & dual capstan) i found at a boot sale & paid i believe 50p :eek:

WOStantonCS100

22-01-2011, 21:27

I soon will have & yes it'll definately be going back in the rack ;)

Never heard of the 900, it looks virtually identical to the 950 from what i can see of it. Lovely machine the 950 is, sounds like a decent CD spinner :eyebrows:

You have a lot of kit there & some lovely stuff to! Very nice indeed, it must have taken a while to gather those cassette decks up. I was lucky with both my good cassette decks, the 950 i found in a secondhand shop & snatched the blokes hand off at £40, an Akai (also three head & dual capstan) i found at a boot sale & paid i believe 50p :eek:

Nice grabs. I didn't pay a whole lot for any of the gear I have, either. I guess it wasn't fashionable, then. :confused: Oh, well... Most of the gear has spent sometime on my workbench to bring it around; well worth the effort. I'll have to check out some pics of your gear.

Regarding the 900: From what I've read, it wasn't manufactured for very long, perhaps a year or so before they went quartz-controlled.

Reid Malenfant

22-01-2011, 21:39

I'll have to check out some pics of your gear.

Regarding the 900: From what I've read, it wasn't manufactured for very long, perhaps a year or so before they went quartz-controlled.
A lot will be changing starting from tomorrow now i have cables that are long enough, just got robbed by the UK governbent over import VAT, should have been a few quid, maybe three - but i got charged over £6. However is it worth the hassle trying to sort it out? In the end it'll cost you more :eyebrows: Once i receive a few american style plugs from Hong Kong it'll change a bit more & i'll have to strip the whole rack out to bring things up to where i want :doh:

Long story, but i'm sure you'll see it sooner or later ;)

WOStantonCS100

26-03-2011, 05:32

The Trans-Fi T3 Pro in situ on my second (and well loved by a previous owner) SL-1200MK2 using an Origin Live/Rega armboard. I am really liking this. I'm going to be up late tonight!

http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz80/TCKA1ESa/Projects/IMG_7829800x600.jpg

Now, I'm just waiting on an alternate weight from Vic (a top notch guy!) so I can use my recently received SoundSmith ruby-ized Stanton Trackmaster. What fun this is... ...and the sound! :)

Beechwoods

26-03-2011, 07:02

:stalks: :stalks:

I missed this first time round. You have a lovely collection of gear there Biff. Excellent taste in tape playback equipment - cassette and open reel!

I hope you can find room to keep at least one tape deck and one reel to reel in your main system!

WOStantonCS100

02-08-2011, 04:50

I just started on this over the weekend. Right now, I'm just doing the mock up using an old MDF shelf; getting the necessary measurements and working on the layout for the electronics. (The final version of the plinth will of course be much more substantial.) As seen here, the electronics can be completely separated from the motor unit. This should be fairly straight forward.

http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz80/TCKA1ESa/Projects/IMG_8599.jpg

A 2" diameter hole easily accommodates the bearing.

http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz80/TCKA1ESa/Projects/IMG_8602.jpg

The flange screws will soon be replaced with bolts and nuts. The original arm will not be carried over, as it is long gone. A larger plinth will also open up 12" arm possibilities.

http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz80/TCKA1ESa/Projects/IMG_8603.jpg

Soon a 1" diameter hole will be add to enable the control wires to feed up to the motor connection.

* * * * *

WOStantonCS100

06-11-2011, 05:12

I was previously using Teac hub adapters, which are perfect for the Teac decks, on my sorted PR99. They were "ok" in this application; but, I have to say, these work a whole lot better and precisely couple the reels to the deck, as well they should. These and two Maxell reels came as a package deal with a another PR99, which despite it's auction listing, will need some close attention. Good thing I've come to expect that... ...gotta read in between the lines of those auction listings! ;) Pays to have a good sense of humor, too.

http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz80/TCKA1ESa/024.jpg

Rare Bird

06-11-2011, 21:49

Hi Biff

I use those Revox NAB adaptors on the Ferrograph & was in all honestly thinking about changing them! i don't like plastic. I was thinking about some nice ones from that guy in Turkey..

WOStantonCS100

07-11-2011, 00:42

Hi Biff

I use those Revox NAB adaptors on the Ferrograph & was in all honestly thinking about changing them! i don't like plastic. I was thinking about some nice ones from that guy in Turkey..

Now ya tell me... :) Those would definitely solve the problem of rubber rings wearing out and such. If you decide to get a set of those, let me know how you get on with them. If you like them, I may follow suit.

I've kept an eye on that guy in Turkey. I haven't gotten anything from him yet because the only authorized Revox tech in the US is about 45 mins. up the road from me.

WOStantonCS100

30-05-2012, 06:50

I replaced 2 cheap, builder grade, A/C receptacles behind the racks with much more substantial ones. I will eventually wire them both to their own breaker.

http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz80/TCKA1ESa/Projects/IMG_0248.jpg

UPS and Hum-X filters in place (David must be cringing over my power cords; but, one thing at a time, man! ;) :) )

http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz80/TCKA1ESa/Projects/IMG_0249.jpg

I'm back to using 2 turntables (no microphone, no scratching). The 1200 on the right is being used for microgroove and mono, primarily. The 1200 on the left has the MN bearing. Both will be receiving more upgrades. The replinthed SL-1500MK2 is taking a break.

http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz80/TCKA1ESa/Projects/IMG_0259.jpg

The other reel to reels, cassette decks and dbx units are taking a rest while I run with the DV-RA1000HD (and a TC-KA1ESa) for a while. Eventually, they may go under the window. I haven't figured that out yet.

http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz80/TCKA1ESa/Projects/IMG_0258.jpg

And, I still don't have enough LP storage.

http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz80/TCKA1ESa/Projects/IMG_9705.jpg

This pic is a bit old; but, this area looks about the same with the exception of a few more LP's on the floor in front of the crates.
Believe it or not, there is a fireplace behind those crates! :doh:

http://theanalogdept.com/images/spp6_pics/Biff_technics/biff014.jpg

The garage remains in serious jeopardy for a listening room makeover.

Spectral Morn

30-05-2012, 20:20

Beautiful room and set up.

How do you find the TransFi Terminator arm on the 1200?

Reid Malenfant

30-05-2012, 20:27

Wow, I thought I saw this post earlier but I realise I missed most of it :doh:

That is a whole shed load of lovely looking kit you have there Biff, or should that be garage load in the near future :D

Erm, how many 1200 series have you got exactly, I can see a couple but with different arms :)

WOStantonCS100

30-05-2012, 23:55

Beautiful room and set up.

How do you find the TransFi Terminator arm on the 1200?

Thanks. I have a very tolerant spouse. The T3 works quite well with the 1200, very simple to set up. If the T3 has a sonic signature, I can't tell you what it is. Conversely, differences between cartridges are easily detected.

Wow, I thought I saw this post earlier but I realise I missed most of it :doh:

That is a whole shed load of lovely looking kit you have there Biff, or should that be garage load in the near future :D

Erm, how many 1200 series have you got exactly, I can see a couple but with different arms :)

Hopefully, in a year or so, I'll have a proper man cave once again. I miss it. :(

Three MK2's and two M3D's, at last count. But, I'm still in the process of getting just one of them up to AOS Level 5 Twelve-Hundred Certification (ahem, Marco... ahem, Martin ...anyone else with a ridiculously modded deck :lol: ;) :) ).

Spectral Morn

31-05-2012, 21:00

WOStantonCS100

01-06-2012, 05:33

Thank you for that, interesting arm. I used to have an Eminent Technology ET2 arm and I miss it a lot. So a linear air bearing arm would be lovely to have. Not sure this one would fit well on my Oracle, where I had the ET2, but that arm would fit on my Technics.

You might want to check out http://www.trans-fi.com/clientscorner.htm . One guy on there installed a Terminator (an older version) on his Delphi.

Is the ET 2.5 still available?

Spectral Morn

01-06-2012, 08:13

You might want to check out http://www.trans-fi.com/clientscorner.htm . One guy on there installed a Terminator (an older version) on his Delphi.

Is the ET 2.5 still available?

Thank you for that I had presumed that the arm would be too heavy for a Delphi but based on that photo I was wrong to think that.

It would seem that they do, but $2900 is way too rich for me these days.

WOStantonCS100

09-05-2013, 05:49

Time flies... ...almost a year has gone by since last update...

This is an interim setup (valves are up in the loft) specifically for the purpose (ease) of getting my analog over to digital, as I seem to be traveling more. I can't really call it a cheap as chips system; just heavily slimmed down.

The number of 1200s is purely for entertainment value. However, I'm really getting spoiled by the Onkyo TX-8050's, frankly, astonishing feature set. If I could get that in a fantastic sounding valve integrated, I might be persuaded to go that route. But, who makes them with all the bells and whistles? Luxman SQ-38U? That's all I can think of at the moment.

http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz80/TCKA1ESa/IMG_1747.jpg

MartinT

09-05-2013, 05:56

No problem with 1210 spares then, Biff!

Alex_UK

09-05-2013, 21:22

I can't really call it a cheap as chips system;

Um, let me think... NO! :lol:

But fantastic, nonetheless. A bit bonkers, but fantastic! ;) :D

WOStantonCS100

10-05-2013, 00:24

Crazy thing is, for less than £162 (cheap as chips, essentially) the TX-8050 includes:

mono/stereo/pure (tone defeat/video off)
2x tape outs
preamp out
sub out
mm phono pre
coax in
opt in (don't care really)
usb streaming from mass storage (files up to 24/96kHz)
network streaming
balance control (amazing that's not present on some high end pre/integrateds)
binding posts instead of spring loaded clips
not cluttered with surround sound this or that (I'm a 2channel guy; so, that's a plus.)
etc.
etc.

I had to try it. It's kind of silly. If, like Oppo did with the BDP-95, they did an "audiophile" version of this unit it would be a serious audio value, even at twice the price. IMHO.

WOStantonCS100

26-10-2015, 00:40

Snapshot:

I had an opportunity to try out a few more "cheap as chips" items. I stumbled upon an Empire 2000E cartridge for a pound. I bought a TCC TC-750 phono pre for 28 pounds (mostly because they proudly stated it was "discreet" and it spec'd well, at least on paper). Finally, for less than 65 pounds I acquired a Kenwood Basic C1 preamp. I still have, prefer and love my tube stuff, for obvious reasons. Nevertheless, I have to say, I'm not sorry I bought any of these pieces.

Despite having the SAE power amp and EPI speakers for an eternity, I never actually paired them together. I've typically only used the SAE with much larger 3-ways. Even on the stands (I found at a thrift for a couple pounds each) and almost 3 feet out from the back wall the SAE and the EPI's work incredibly well together (and there's still bass!, not house rockin', but it's there). It's the best (clearest, tightest) sound I've ever gotten from the EPI's. I'm sorry I didn't try this combo a long time ago. The most expensive change in this photo is actually the Monet print which of course means, now I have to repaint the walls with a color of less... ...brilliance.

I am currently experimenting with the Mark IIIA. You might be able to see that I have removed the 100K gain pots from the front panel. The inputs are now directly wired to their respective driver boards with a 100K resistor inline. Honestly, the sonic benefit is minimal as the pots were not doing anywhere near the kind of damage to the input signal as initially suspected. I will probably "go all boutique" and toss in some blue velvet pots, or the like, retaining the adjustable gain feature. New PSU caps are on the way as are a bunch of other discreet components so the amp can be freshened up all around. For good measure I also replaced both 6.3V lamps. After all, it's been several decades.

http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz80/TCKA1ESa/Projects/IMG_4822_small.jpg

walpurgis

26-10-2015, 09:48

I bought an Empire 2000E cartridge new, many, many, years ago. I quite liked it, the sound was pleasant and it did nothing wrong.

WOStantonCS100

27-10-2015, 02:51

I bought an Empire 2000E cartridge new, many, many, years ago. I quite liked it, the sound was pleasant and it did nothing wrong.

Yep, that's how I'd describe it. There are carts that are subjectively better, surely; but, there's nothing about this cart's sonic presentation that jumps out at me as objectionable; no exaggerations that slap me in the face. I wasn't expecting that from what I consider to be a rather bland and decidedly humdrum appearance.

WOStantonCS100

30-07-2016, 01:44

"Main" system changes

New in: JBL L112 speakers (reconed by yours truly), Parasound Halo A 21
Soon in: Parasound Halo P 5 or Icon Audio LA4 MKIII
Turntables: Though I really like my replinthed 1500MK2, the Mike New bearing is just too precious; so, I'm back to the 1200s.

Still have the Bottlehead, SAE and EPI gear. I just have to figure out where to set up a second system. :scratch:

http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz80/TCKA1ESa/ef0ab6e8-f726-43c8-aef9-727aa70a397e.jpg

petrat

30-07-2016, 08:04

WOStantonCS100

31-07-2016, 03:18

Nice. Quite a kit list you have there ... the Parasound amps seem quite rare in the UK, but have a great reputation.
Love the speakers. Have you tried raising them off the floor a bit, get the tweeters to ear level, etc? Or do you sit on beanbags :D

Thanks. My recent gear changes have been entirely predicated on what kind of "sound" I want in my ear. I've just gotten started. More changes and a paring down are imminent.

I originally looked at the Parasound A 21 (just realized my typo in the previous post). It's dimensions better "matched" the SAE Mark IIIA (tall); but, the A 21 was much more power than I needed (especially given the better efficiency and sonic presentation of the JBLs over the EPIs). The A 23 has more or less the same power output as the Mark IIIA despite being "height challenged".

There is plenty of UK gear that I've drooled over but would've cost a fortune to have shipped. The Trans-Fi tonearm was the first piece of gear I simply had to have regardless of freight costs. It was well worth it. Same with the Mike New Audio bearing.

I would certainly be happy sitting on beanbags. Nevertheless, it's doubtful that would go over well with SWMBO. I'm already pushing it with having this system where it is. Waiting in the wings, I have very large chunks of our cut down 100+ year old white oak tree in the garage. They've been in there for several years now. I hope to send a chunk over, to the same gent who CNC'd my plinth, for some custom stands before the year is out.

petrat

31-07-2016, 08:12

Good plan! It's always good to have some hand-crafted items in the house.
I lived in New England for five years, so am well-familiar with the beautiful trees of the eastern USA :D
Hardwood timber is really expensive in the UK, so I reckon your big old oak would be much sought after by any furniture builder here.

Macca

31-07-2016, 09:17

Vintage JBL with Parasound amplification = good call :)

Speaker stands are foo ;)

jandl100

08-08-2016, 07:34

JBLs - love them!
Parasound amp - I had an A21 and it was fab, so I'm sure the A23 is good.

Speaker stands are foo ;)

:doh: err, what can I say? :lol:
- you can probably get away with raising the JBLs by a couple of inches and maybe tilted back a bit?
Certainly worth a go, just an inch or two to decouple them from the floor can give a worthwhile improvement in bass definition, ime.

Macca

08-08-2016, 17:17

I was joking of course...

They need those little stands with the castors that take them up about 6 to 8 inches. I want some for my Akais but I think they all got skipped years ago.

WOStantonCS100

20-02-2019, 18:40

Cheers.

Two years have flown??? Wow!

Many, many changes. Most importantly, I am back in my listening room after 8 years! :champagne:

Photosuckit is dead to me so I guess I'll have to upload the "before" pics as well as the new pics.

WOStantonCS100

23-02-2019, 03:47

BEFORE moving everything out (had a third child)

The "Old" Room

https://i.imgur.com/7ukKK4y.jpg

DURING Still moving back in. (one child off to college)

The "New" Room

https://i.imgur.com/11BWE5n.jpg

Lots of work ahead, but, it's joyful work. At least, in the process I can once again shut the door and spin tunes.

https://i.imgur.com/b8d3Rpg.jpg

WOStantonCS100

23-02-2019, 04:05

Not everything is going to fit back in this room as there is more stuff than before even after moving some things out, likely permanently. My wife and I want to be able to easily enter and exit the room. I am going to have to be and have been more selective about what comes back in. Needed: another 4-shelf rack to house two cassette decks, a third turntable and another box; a record cabinet on the left wall on which to set the PR99's; taller cabinets on the right wall (see the current right wall situation pictured below); speaker stands for the JBL's. The lion's share of LP's are still and will have to remain in the living room and the bedroom as there simply will not be space in the listening room for them. Seating also needs to come back in on the back wall.

https://i.imgur.com/RGVCx4A.jpg

And another old friend comes out to play from underneath our bed.

https://i.imgur.com/R6haKx9.jpg

Hopefully, the next update will see, at least, the third rack in place.