My "REAL SOUND" experiment.

[Jimbo]

The REAL SOUND experiment Pt XVI - Full loom.

Hi guys hope your all keeping well. I now finally have a full loom of Duelund cable sitting in the system. The last link in the chain was the tonearm cable. I'd been using a Nordost TYR cable, which whilst ok did have it's problems. The tonearm cable is a little rough and ready but it works and there are no ground loop hums which the Nordost cable used to be fantastic at transmitting. The deck also has a couple of new MM's, at the moment it's a three way shoot out which I'll go into more details later. It's now late and I will hopefully get some pictures and comparison notes up for the next installment.

Stay tuned....

Looking forward to a full write up on the 3 way shoot out.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Looking forward to a full write up on the 3 way shoot out.

They are :-

Shure M55e with JICO M44-7x SAS/B stylus
Shure SC35C with JICO SAS/B stylus
Ortofon 2M Black.

So far after only 2-3 hours I think this is my preference.

1. 2M Black
2. SC35C
3. M55e

Unfortunately I will need to do MANY, MANY, MANY hours of research and listening to vinyl to make my decision.

[Jimbo]

Sensible approach to take Andy. I always spend hours , usually a week with anything new listening to a wide range of material so I can get an understanding how something sounds in my system.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Part XVII - A gaggle of MM's.

The system is really buzzing now, loads of different stuff going in and out of the system, several TT's, several pairs of speakers, a few phonostages, I now have a stable(ish) system. I had an amazing stroke of luck when I was offered the loan of a Ortofon 2M Black from Jimbo of this forum, who the hell is going to turn that down? I'm quite the Ortofon fan boy, I own Cadenza Black, SPU Royal N and Silver Meister II, the 2M Black is supposed to be one (if not) the very best MM on the market at the moment. Here is a picture of the 2MB looking extremely evil.



I'm currently enjoying a threesome (no not that one) of MM cartridges. I also have these other two to play with as well. The Shure SC35C SAS/B and the Shure M55e SAS/B cartridges, both have tweaked a little further. The SC35C has a aluminium body whilst the M55E has a snake wood (not oil) body.



Trying to find time to listen to one of these cartridges for an extended period is very difficult, now I have to try and find time for three . I've paid no attention to power leads, as you can see, it's been a mish-mash of any kettle lead and spare 4 gang extension that I could find in the garage. I'm quite a tidy person by nature so this can't stay for very long. I've dug out some better cabling and will replace all the kettle leads for some screened beldon cabling alongside decent IEC and plugs, well it's can't hurt and it should be neater than the old setup.





I've also been playing around with speakers and tried my fully restored JR 149's, these are a truly excellent speaker and really do sing when you get a decent amp driving them, they are a little limited and not really a speaker for all occasions, unlike my IMF Super Compact II's of which I now use as the main speaker in the REAL SOUND system.




So we now have a stable set of speakers, TT, phonostage, Pre.Power amp combo and a full loom of Duelund cabling. I'm now going through MM's, and then we can start making some notes about how the whole thing sounds.

Stay Tuned.....

[brian2957]

Nice one Andrew. James was also kind enough to loan me the 2M Black and I absolutely loved it. TBH I didn't want to send it back and when I did I really missed what it did in my system I'm not one for mucking about too much so I just followed his advice and bolted it on to a headshell. I don't know if I just got lucky or not but it sounded superb to my ears

[Wakefield Turntables]

Nice one Andrew. James was also kind enough to loan me the 2M Black and I absolutely loved it. TBH I didn't want to send it back and when I did I really missed what it did in my system I'm not one for mucking about too much so I just followed his advice and bolted it on to a headshell. I don't know if I just got lucky or not but it sounded superb to my ears

Thanks Brian. The 2MB is a special cartridge, that's for sure. It's also a cartridge which needs careful partnering. I managed to set it up fairly quickly as I've had enough pain and tribulations setting up the "black" cartridges before. I'll have to see how this sounds in the system and then decide if I'm going to get one.

[Jimbo]

Good looking system there Andy. TT looks substantial.

[brian2957]

Thanks Brian. The 2MB is a special cartridge, that's for sure. It's also a cartridge which needs careful partnering. I managed to set it up fairly quickly as I've had enough pain and tribulations setting up the "black" cartridges before. I'll have to see how this sounds in the system and then decide if I'm going to get one.

Well, unfortunately I won't be buying one any time soon

[Wakefield Turntables]

Good looking system there Andy. TT looks substantial.

It's the feet that give it that look, they are mounted on ball bearings, something I've not tried before and they make levelling the TT very easy indeed.

[walpurgis]

Thanks Brian. The 2MB is a special cartridge, that's for sure. It's also a cartridge which needs careful partnering. I managed to set it up fairly quickly as I've had enough pain and tribulations setting up the "black" cartridges before. I'll have to see how this sounds in the system and then decide if I'm going to get one.

It's certainly a cartridge that interests me and I'd like to hear one, a good Ortofon can be very nice indeed.