Justin & Jerry's Hifi Blog

[jandl100]

btw - the Techie SL-P1200 CDP has the same sort of footers that hold back the performance of the SL-1200 turntable.
Bypass those with metal cones and lo & behold we have a 3D soundstage!

[nat8808]

I used a £20 cd player at scalford last weekend.
Sounded fantastic i thought.
Still of the belief if your using a digital front end only it is well worth throwing the majority of money at the speakers.

I dunno.. depends how cheap you can pick stuff up! There are no rules when it comes to bargain and obscure item hunting, you just roll with it..

[MartinT]

btw - the Techie SL-P1200 CDP has the same sort of footers that hold back the performance of the SL-1200 turntable.
Bypass those with metal cones and lo & behold we have a 3D soundstage!

I was looking at those, Jerry. Have you tried the cones, then? I was thinking of trying my Isonoes on it.

[jandl100]

Yup, the cones under the Techie CDP have largely sorted the imaging issues I previously mentioned.
And going one step closer to the AG1500 power regenerator by bypassing an Audio Friendly extension block has helped a lot with the tendency for treble over-enthusiasm. (AF mains cables tend to be a bit bright, ime.)

[istari_knight]

No lights and no RJwotsit remote socket -- So mine might not be crap, after all?

Does my system sound great or not? Oh, the suspense

You almost certainly have an original AI version. Heres the internal difference:

Original:



Rubbish Richer Sounds version:



The original is basically a "passive preamplifier" feeding a single rail power amplifier with output coupling capacitors... Very similar to some of the old ION/Nytech amps I've fiddled with but much nicer execution on the AI. Richers model is a shambles that has nothing in common with the AI model other than its funky chassis.

I'm not surprised you like it... there's something about the old cap coupled designs that sound "nice" - Also used in the Quad 303 power amp & lots of the Marantz amps/receivers of the 70's amongst others

[jandl100]

I'm not surprised you like it... there's something about the old cap coupled designs that sound "nice" - Also used in the Quad 303 power amp & lots of the Marantz amps/receivers of the 70's amongst others

I've one of the Marantz quadraphonic receivers from the 70s (as reported previously on this thread) and it looks fab and sounds wonderful as a headphone amp (as Paul Refc can attest). I've not linked it up in speaker driving mode (yet) - perhaps I should! - I'd need to get bare wire speaker cables, though.

Here it is again.




EDIT: I've just come across this eBay auction - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Ma...item3f31b11db5
Same model, mines in top nick, too. But cost me £200 on eBay a few weeks ago! That's the power of better pics and more/better text, I guess!
-- mind came from Holland, maybe that makes a difference?

[Marco]

btw - the Techie SL-P1200 CDP has the same sort of footers that hold back the performance of the SL-1200 turntable.
Bypass those with metal cones and lo & behold we have a 3D soundstage!

Yes, I was going to suggest that, so nice one! It's yet again proof how much the stock Technics feet inhibit the musicality of whatever they're connected to.

Btw, if you guys are getting serious about the SL-P1200, I would advise you to source some spare transport mechs, as the originals defo won't last forever...

Marco.

[jandl100]

You almost certainly have an original AI version. Heres the internal difference:

Original:



Rubbish Richer Sounds version:

Aha! - Peering in through the thin grille slots on the top of my Alto with a carefully aimed torch I can defo see the white on black printing on the left hand side.

Yay - it's the original.

So my system is officially sounding AOK.

[Macca]

I never rated the original Alto and I was going to say that the issues Jerry was having with the soundstage and the top being a bit bright were down to the amp not the cd player but he appears to have sorted it now. Even so I'd like to hear Jerry's opinion on the Technics combined with a clean sounding power amp and a passive pre, my experience has been that combo will get the best out of it. The Alto circuit is designed to emulate a valve sound by adding even order distortion, also its power supply is not very stiff (all according to Hi-Fi World test results).

re the laser mech - talking to the engineer in the local pro shop apparently the mech is pretty bomb proof, it is the logic chip that is most likely to fail and there is no cure or replacement save getting a donor unit.

[jandl100]

I never rated the original Alto

Fair enough, Martin!

It sounds fabulous in my system. Astonishing clarity, musical presence, speed, dynamics, bass depth and control, image focus. What's not to like? - well, OK, it's not a sound for those who like to relax in a smooth ambient haze, and some folks do which is fair enough, but it does me very nicely indeed. - Paul Refc rated it very highly, too, so it's not just me kidding myself.

System synergy? Personal taste?
Who knows? - not me!

You're in Staffs - not a world away if you travel round a bit - come visit the lovely Forest of Dean and you're welcome to pop in for some choons and a pizza and hear for yourself!