The Marco-boy main system, as of August 2020

[carruthersesq]

great reading through this thread.

I have just been in contact with Arthur and placed my order for a Houdini to fit to my Funk Firm LSD with Funk F5 tonearm. I'm eagerly waiting on delivery now.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Anyway, also interesting what Andrew (REXTON) has to say there, clearly done a lot more experimentation in the area, so fair play! I too have an 834p clone fettled by Alan but the addition of the loading plug RCA's sounds very intriguing. Seems there is a lot more to be squeezed out of a lot of MM carts.

Chris

Chris, I did a lot of lateral thinking when conducting my experiments. I gained more enjoyment seeing how things could be done cheaply but retaining maximum positive sonic impact. I'm also quite happy spending money when needed. Currently I'm evaluating the my vintage MM collection with 5N pure silver cartridge leads, Orsonic head shell + vintage NOS and latest JICO stylii. I don't think we can do any more to push these vintage masters anything, well perhaps the "H" as well?

[Marco]

All good here Marco,

Just lost the post that i just wrote as i got signed out for some reason. How annoying.

So quick reply, tonearm cable is a silvercord plus with 35pF. I did order from same source but before i had seen your post, so will double check on the 100 ohms plugs as i have recently bought an SPU.

Looking forward to playing with loading.

Nightmare, mate. Wee tip, well two, actually... Firstly, always ensure that you tick the "Remember Me' box when signing onto the forum, as that way your posts won't time out, and secondly, just as an extra precaution, COPY your posts before you hit the 'Reply' button

Nice one on the SPU! Which one did you get?

Marco.

[Marco]

Hi Chris,

Well to summerize without using too many subjective superlatives (which people seem to jump on with criticism, even if they know EXACTLY what you mean), there is definitely more air right through the frequency range. This does not mean there are gaps in the sound, just that the music has a lot more room to breath. In comparison to before the loading was optimal, you can tell that the sound was a bit congested. Not having this reference to work from I didn't really think too much was wrong, until I heard the difference.

Yup, I completely agree, as I heard the same effect. For me, it's all down to achieving a cleaner/more accurate treble response, thus reducing distortion, and the lack of that happy situation (due to incorrect loading/insufficient capacitance), ably reveals itself on 'hot', or 'hotter', recordings, where the top-end can get a little 'spitty'.

It's slightly liberating that I've recently gone 'back' to MM carts actually. I have an Audio Technica AT-OC9XEN on my LP12 and its a lovely cart but I find myself choosing to play most records on my LP5 (direct drive) with the OM10 and loading plugs on at the moment. Not because it sounds better (although the gap isn't huge), but because it provides me with the most 'bang for buck' enjoyment factor.
I'm not exactly counting the hours on the OC9 (although I have a rough idea to within 10 hours+/-) but with the OM10 I'll happily just let it play grooves all day (and all night) long, then replace it once a year or less often. For £50 I can more than live with that.

Yup, I know exactly what you mean. You also tend to forgive any failings there are more when you haven't spent a fortune on something, and the overall experience therefore just tends to be more fun! Also, quality MMs often have a weightier, more secure and 'grounded' sound than many MCs, which can often sound too 'delicate and airy' or subtle [lacking 'balls'] for their own good, and of course be rather fiddly to set up!

You should try a Shure SC35C, as fitted with a NOS stylus and correctly loaded, it'll see off pretty much any MM on the market (I kid you not), and in the areas where it excels, many MCs! It really is THAT good, providing you can supply it with sufficient mass and facilitate tracking at 4.5g (with appropriate levels of anti-skate).

I've certainly learned to cut my cloth accordingly regarding hifi (among other 'interests') recently, another reason I'm afraid I will just have to hold fire on the Houdini (for now). Reason being I'm not quite sure how some building work will pan out and can't justify it to myself this minute (I may feel differently at any time though!). Can I afford it? Yes, can I also wait for and appreciate it in time? Also yes. Wow, my 20 year old self is shaking his head in disbelief, 'what happened, you used to be cool man' . . . .

Lol... I get all that. However, what I could comfortably predict is that once you try one a) you won't be able to live without it, and b) wonder why you didn't get one sooner!

Will be interested to see if any more 'developments' are in the pipeline Marco, got anything planned??

Yes, I'm waiting on a new/NOS MC (Denon DL103GL) cartridge and SUT, plus a new headphone amp, coming from Japan, so looking forward to that, especially getting the cartridge singing with a Houdini!

Marco.

[Marco]

I'm really surprised Steve (Pygmy Pony) hasn't commented on this, maybe too technical a thread.

It's just your colour Marco

Lol... You can beat a nice wee 'skid-mark brown' one!

Marco.

[Marco]

great reading through this thread.

I have just been in contact with Arthur and placed my order for a Houdini to fit to my Funk Firm LSD with Funk F5 tonearm. I'm eagerly waiting on delivery now.

Nice one, Steve. Be prepared to rediscover your record collection! And report back when you try it

Marco.

[Marco]

Currently I'm evaluating the my vintage MM collection with 5N pure silver cartridge leads, Orsonic head shell + vintage NOS and latest JICO stylii. I don't think we can do any more to push these vintage masters anything, well perhaps the "H" as well?

Remember what I said, Andy and the Houdini rendering the sonic signature/'flavour' of the arm and headshell virtually redundant...

Therefore, in terms of your above statement, try it the other way round, as in reality you will find the influence of the 'H' on your enjoyment of music to be far more significant than any of the other items you mention, trust me...

Marco.

[Marco]

I mentioned earlier on the thread that I was going to try some Furutech 'La Source' headshell leads, with the Denon DL-103GL, when it arrives, and I may still do eventually, but for moment I've pulled the trigger on a set of these, which I obtained from David Brooks (MCRU) at a very attractive price that was too good to say no!



I already use pure-silver Litz wire in my tonearm cables, and Kondo/AudioNote silver wiring is very highly regarded by the most discerning of audiophiles, as being the best, so I'm looking forward to hearing what the SL-115s do with the Denon!

Marco.

[RobbieGong]

Those look quality Marco, As you know I use Ortofon's LW-800S, pure silver headshell lead wires and find them excellent.

Good silver lead wire brings that bit more clarity and information, instruments sound real ie: piano lines sound like a piano being played, bass has bass note and texture rather than boom/wool/fluff/muff , if you get my gist.

Hi-hat, cymbals shimmer, again with a more realistic/natural tone.

I'm sure this is in some part down to how the nature of pure silver transmits the signal IMO.

Those must be seriously top quality Marco at more or less double what the Ortofon's pure silver offering goes for.

[Marco]

Cheers, Rob, I've also used the AT ones before, and they're great, but like you say I think these will be another level. It's all in the purity of the silver and annealing process

This is what I like doing though, and my approach to audio: mixing the best of the old and new, and knowing exactly where to put both in a system, in order to get the most lifelike sound and musically addictive result

Marco.