[]eep]

Today I picked up some tools I ordered on the Express from that guy Ali.

Now I hear you say: "Didn't you already have a digital scale for that?" Yes. I do. Four in fact. Two diamond scales which I bought long ago that don't fit or are magnetic. That might be attractive (notice the pun ) for an MC cartridge's big magnet but that also makes it very impractical, not to say hopelessly inaccurate. The other two are the same (I received one free with my turntable) you usually see, sold as Tonar (€35) or Pro-ject (€50), also made by Neotek, but costs less than $10.
So what about that follow up question "So what's wrong with that one?". Well, not much. Only it works on a couple of lr6 batteries that I have trouble finding. And those button cell hearing aid batteries are expensive! More than the scale itself. So 1 is useless already. The second thing that annoys me is: there's no place to hold the 5g calibration weight.
This one does have a spot in the tin, and it uses cr2032 batteries of which I have a stack since they are used everywhere. And it only uses 1. It is just as accurate, to 0.01 gram. It has 3 rubber feet so it doesn't slide and is stable. The lid is far less finicky and sharp. And look at the design! Those amazing amber digits. And something I just noticed... Look at the spot for the stylus: it's a mini lp!

It's just a joy to work with. It's (almost) perfect. Any negatives? Well, er, the lid for the battery compartment is very hard to open. And after I put the battery in it said 'low' and shut down. Twice. And then it worked just fine.

Price? €7.50 incl VAT and shipping. How do you like them apples? Ortofon? Pro-ject? Rega? VPI? Clearaudio? Van den Hul? I see prices from Tonar and Pro-ject €35, to $100 up to $300. That is not just ridiculous, it's a rip off.

As you can see in the picture, I'm not a perfectionist. I just like round numbers. You don't need to get it to 0.01 gram precisely. The VTF is a ballpark number. It's a range with a recommended value that is thought to be the optimal compromise between tracking and wear. A scale is just to make sure you are within the range. The rest is done by listening. And this cartridge has played 6 lp's so far. It hasn't settled in yet. It's still a bit strident.

My other purchase. I finally got myself a USB microscope. Simply plug it in my phone, load the app and focus. Hey! Look here! I said focus! Yup, that's the hard part. It's a bit clumsy but it works.

Still hard to see it's a Shibata. But it's easier if you look at it BEFORE you mount it. Duh.

 

[]eep]

I'm sensing a theme here. Ivd never seen any reviews of this particular item and now a third one within months. I could have given you the conclusion beforehand. And he's rambling a bit in the middle (but maybe I was just enjoying my after dinner dip).


The price is better too.

 

[]eep]

I wonder if anyone ever heard of this brand? I just saw a review of their S4 pre-amplifier. Expensive, but it has multiple inputs and even one for optical cartridges from DS audio (that alone makes it worth the price of 4k).

But their cheapest offering, Ephono+PS is also a quite formidable set of seperates at 800.
https://www.keces.audio.com/EP.html Two inputs and switchable on the back. Adjustable matching. It looks great too.

 

[Charli]

Je viens de récupérer ça aujourd'hui. Nouvel emballage avec leur nom dessus. Il a l'air un peu bon marché par rapport à la jolie boîte en bois dur, douce au toucher, dans laquelle j'ai reçu l'autre.


Voici un gros plan de la cartouche. Joli corps en porte-à-faux translucide et ébène. Remarquez les bobines d'argent ! J'aime la couleur rouge mais il y en a aussi une couleur or.

Je viens de recevoir la même cellule mais en version doré et s'est une excellente cellule phono.

 

[]eep]

Je viens de recevoir la même cellule mais en version doré et s'est une excellente cellule phono.

Bienvenue au forum. Mais on parle anglais ici (pas de probleme mais juste PVI)

Un bon choix. Pas beaucoup des gens (Americains patriotique) qui ont le courage acheter un cellule chinois. Moi je suis orienté plus internationale (dit un en ecoutant Daft Punk).


I just put on this cartridge with the ceramic cantilever to try to tame some strident and sibilant record from 1986. It worked but not completely. When I put my phono-amp to 22Ω input impedance it sounded a lot fuller and pleasant (yes, that is very low for a 5Ω cartridge). Very spacious. Finally enjoyable like I remember this original 1st pressing. But it's not that well mastered in my current opinion.

I was really tempted to buy the 1-step since I recently saw some reviews and I remember it as a favorite.

Jennifer Warnes - Famous Blue Raincoat (songs of Leonard Cohen).
But this will set me back €220! For a record I already own... I am really tempted to try a '1-step' for the first time. But I can buy 6 other new LP's for that money. Also I really dislike the one shop in Haarlem that sells it. I had an argument twice already and I don't like to get angry and powerless again.

 

[]eep]

I started doubting the new cartridge because of that sharp Jennifer Warnes record. Well. Nothing wrong with the turntable. When I put Warnes away, I saw Weather Report right next to it. A live jazz record. Its just like your on the grass attending from a 100' away. Very big stage. And of course Jaco Pistorius on the bass.

Even the cat sits down where I put her to listen. She is very persistent and only does what she agrees with. But it's like the Gato amp is made for cats to sit on (on a towel).

The OG lp is still very good. A few crackles. But even though the music can be experimental and chaotic at times, somehow it's very compelling and it's giving arelaxing atmosphere. That's why I posted the picture.

 

[mbphotox]

the amp's name really is Gato?!

You know that Gato in Spanish and Portuguese means "cat"?!

 

[]eep]

Yup. Gato Amp150. The Danish firm insists on the name pronounced the Iberian way. The logo is a big cat (male lion). So this is my budget way of getting a Gato stack. (you'd be surprised how much a pedigree British shorthair costs).

I think I've chosen an amp that really fits my ideal of analog and minimalism (simple design but good parts and execution). I am not averse to digital amplifiers at all. I was saving up for the DIA-400s after viewing the review by Steve Huff (and others) but I saw a YouTube video comparing the DIA-400s and the AMP-150AE (by Alpha Audio). Even through the YouTube codec the difference was very clear. The 150 has better sense of space, better detail yet smoother. This sounds just like my other amps (300b tubes and translinear current amp) as a culmination of decades of upgrades. So I knew it would not disappoint. And it doesn't.

 

[]eep]

I just bought a new toy, out of curiosity. Out of necessity for someone I made a set for. Maybe for my third arm, it's very narrow and exactly the right height, so it's a doacesaver. And it was on sale. Hey, €80 for a decent phono with a tubebuffer and an extra input, ànd a HP output.

I just gave it a first testrun after crawling behind my audio and video rack for a good hour. I can pull them forward on wheels just far enough so I can crawl between the open space in front of the windowsill and radiator. Lots of cables there. And powersockets.
Just as a side trail, I had to reinitiate the two Tuya ledstrips so they are on wifi instead of bluetooth (so the programming always works). I also had the bright idea to put a Tuya powerswitch on my subwoofer amp. So I can switch off my sub from anywhere with a tap in the app. Idea: 10, function:4. It makes the subs give off a huge thump when switching on and off.

What you can also see in the picture: springs. I had those feet for years. My TT has magnetic suspension on the second floor, the first floor has ballbearing that couples to the shelf. But that shelf is 4' wide and has a low resonance frequency. So that did not work. So I now suspend the first floor on springs with an even lower Fres. And hey! No more footfall. I inserted a foam disc between the (now hanging above the ball) for sideway stabilisation.
I also bought some smaller feet (4cm 5kg max) silicone trampolines. I didn't know from the description or photos if they were any good. But they are great. 4cm are €20/4pc, the 6cm 10kg are €50. A bit much just to see if they are any good. So I just put them under my amp.
Those aftermarket tweaks like spikes are stupid expensive!

So back to the Phono-amplifier.
The Douk Audio T4 PLUS

It came in a nice printed box with sturdy foam. In the package a nice guaranty card welcoming you and a glossy manual. In a matte plastic bag the amplifier. In a seperated compartment a 3.5>2 RCA cable for the aux input, a 12V power adapter and two small boxes that don't fit in the other 2 small compartment. That's because these boxes contain 2 NOS General Electric JAN (Joint Army Navy) 5654 tubes from 1987. Those must be some of the last original GE made tubes.

Then the case you can see here has a blueish grey powder coat on thin plied iron casework. Good for keeping RF interference out. The power/volume button is cherry red, not too bright red. Also on the front a headphone output and a real VU-meter, that is now adjustable with a hidden behind a small hole potentiometer. Also on the right side a whole slew of microswitches for choosing MM or MC adjusting impedance for MC; 1K, 470, 220, 100, 47, 22 and 10Ω. And on the back RCA's for input and output, a 3.5mm Minijack for aux input, a very decent ground terminal and the 12V input.

My first listen was Bob Marley's Exodus (UMC repressing) fed from my MC transformer on MM. Consider that it had no burn in time and only just enough tube warm-up. It really sounded good. It has a good bass response, a nice overall tone, good width, a bit of depth and not too bright. This also helps with attenuation of clicks and ticks. Overall a pleasant sound. What I missed was bit of air and depth. It didn't sound whimpy.
The second listen was the headphone part. Yes, it's just an opamp based output, but it sounds pretty loud on my HP. I had to turn back the volume to 11 o' clock. But it does let you listen privately. The amp is quiet enough for headphone listening, and you don't hear a lot of hum or static noise.

Next will be testing the aux and MC. So far I'm am pretty satisfied, and impressed. €80 including 21%VAT and P&P!!


Continued...

Session 3: so how does it work direct to MC in? I picked another repress I recently bought that I found out I never owned: The Cure - Seventeen Seconds. Not the best recorded. It didn't sound great with my new shibata cartridge. So I rerouted the cable from the transformer to the tonearm of the LP-Audio Ruby II directly. I adjusted the microswitches to MC and 100Ω.
I was surprised that this actually worked. Yes, the noise level went up, still not really noticable from the listening position. No black background though. But it did not sound bad. It was actually sounding ok. Funny enough this is much closer to my memory of how the Cure sounded back then. It was fun to listen to. Only the sound level was a lot lower. I had to turn up my amplifier considerably. More than 10 dB. This time the soundstage was very deep. A bit narrower too. Sound balance was good. This sounds better than many other MC stages I heard on budget phono-amps.
I wanted a bit more loose sound, wider. So I tried 47Ω. That worked (cart is 8Ω IIRC).

I don't know if I would advise to use this on a >$500 MC cartridge. But I know a nude 0.8mV MC cartridge for $200. That would be a great starter setup. Or path for an upgrade.

Ok, so here's the thing you read or hear nowhere: in the manual specs it reads MM s/n is 80dB. But nothing on amplification factor. I think that it is 40 dB for MM (a healthy amount) but it only has 50dB for MC. That is not really enough for my 0.3mV MC.

So I did an experiment with a 1:2 transformer on MC. I put the input and changed the input impedance on 220Ω (up the ante by 2²). That gave me more volume but not much, and I thought the soundstage was more to the back and narrower. Also bass was less. It sounded a bit slower. Nope. Not a good idea.



The next thing I tried was the aux input. The thing to notice is: there is no switch! It works just like a headphone output: if you jack it in it takes presedence over the other input. So if you leave it in (even if the aux device is turned off) you can't listen to vinyl. I would have preferred a switch on the front.
Plugged in it sounds great! It's just adding the tube buffer. Gives it a bit more hash, or veil. But the sound character is nice.

This is why I chose this: the system I made only has a phono (cheapest little brother of this one) into a class D amp and the only other input is BT5. So no input to connect the TV to watch movies. The system (or they) really deserves it.

The good:
Sounds a lot better than the price suggests
MC is actually usable
Adjustability
Quiet.
Sound balance
Does not draw attention to tics and pops
Looks and the VU-meter
Features

The bad:
Sounds slightly veiled
Not much air, 3D imaging is limited
No rubber feet or any
MC level is rather low
Aux signal breaker
HP out does not break the output signal.

The ugly:
Nothing. It's a remarkable phono-pre for under $100.

PS: this is the first time I didn't feel my top notch MC transformer brought it to another level. Besides lower noise floor. That's not necessarily a good thing, it just means it is not scalable. The 3 opamps and a tubebuffer just is too much parts in the way. With all tiny SMD parts it is just fine. In a TV show called "X-Factor" it would say: not much talent but well executed. Lots of transpiration but not much inspiration. That's usually more usable than lots of talent with a lazy attitude. A workhorse but no racing thoroughbred.

I think music should be inspiring, captivating. Morons call that 'audiophile' as a slur. That is probably because they have never seen (heard) a Wonder. If you did, this won't satisfy.

 

[moneypit]

I wanted to contribute to this thread, though I didn't get through all 179 pages.

I bought an SL1500C with the 2M Blue cartridge about a year ago for my two-channel setup. The rest of the chain is a Schiit Saga S, Emotiva XPA-2 (Gen1), Magnepan MMG and REL T5. I suppose most of that would be considered 'vintage' at this point.

Anyway...There are two problems I have with my system.

1) The MMGs don't really wake up until you increase the volume to a point my wife doesn't care for if she is in the room. Once at good volume, though, I find it difficult to come up with a reason to upgrade. I have a Schiit Magni Unity on the way so I can listen with headphones.

2) I am running out of places to put all the vinyl.

 

[]eep]

I wanted to contribute to this thread, though I didn't get through all 179 pages.

I bought an SL1500C with the 2M Blue cartridge about a year ago for my two-channel setup. The rest of the chain is a Schiit Saga S, Emotiva XPA-2 (Gen1), Magnepan MMG and REL T5. I suppose most of that would be considered 'vintage' at this point.

Anyway...There are two problems I have with my system.

1) The MMGs don't really wake up until you increase the volume to a point my wife doesn't care for if she is in the room. Once at good volume, though, I find it difficult to come up with a reason to upgrade. I have a Schiit Magni Unity on the way so I can listen with headphones.

2) I am running out of places to put all the vinyl.

I can imagine... I had the same already on 7 pages about Maggie's 1.7.
Anyway, welcome.

First let's tackle number two. How much is 'all the vinyl'? I think it's safe to assume you don't have as many as I do (about 10k). If you're a beginner it will be closer to 10. First things first: while it's fun flipping through LP's the best and safest way to store them is either flat in small stacks (inconvenient) or straight up. And I mean straight 90°. Use bookends to keep them straight. If you keep them slanted they will sag over time and the LP's get warped and unplayable.

Best solution: ikea kallax storage shelving. A simple 2x2 fits around 240 LP's and costs about $30. Or better a 2x4. In portrait it doesn't use much floorspace or in landscape you can put your gear on top. Filled with records also makes for a solid dampened base. You can put inserts in it with drawers or doors to store your loose stuff out of sight (or CD's?).

Then to number one. That is a strange one. Though it is a familiar problem with certain amplifiers (class B) and speakers. I'm not that familiar with the MMG but it is an old budget model different from the new LRS. I don't think it (they) needs a giant amp. My 0.7's don't.
I assume there is no bass on low volumes? That is what subs are for.
When I bought my 0.7's last year I auditioned them with my own system I brought with me, a 40W amp (70W in 4Ω). I could buy the just new LRS+ or used 0.7. Both played fine on low volume or any volume. The treated room at the dealer was quite large and my tiny amp had no trouble filling the room with very loud music (electronic dance or metal). The LRS+ gave some trouble in the bass, the amp started running out of steam (distortion in the bass) and there was no low bass. The 0.7 was a perfect match. There was plenty of low bass that filled the entire room and it was party level loud. At home the bass is even a bit much (placement!). All this shows it is NOT about watts in the specs.

Troubleshooting: try to borrow a different amp and/or speakers to see how they behave. It is about the quality of an amplifier. Good sounding amplifiers have a big powersupply instead of big specs.

I saw a lot of people with big Emotiva amps because it's 'cheap power'. I have a pair of Fosi ZA3 coming (much less power hungry than my Gato and has sub out too) for use with video. I also tried with my bedroom class D amp (SMSL DA8 with Infineon 80W chip) and it sounded great. That amp also has a jrc chip for volume and a sort of loudness or bass, mids, treble adjustment. Sounds great. I think even with the SMSL AO300 (slightly bigger brother, you can even use a pair bridged) it will sound great. Very smooth, powerfull and detailed.

On a personal note: I wouldn't have chosen a Technics, and never an Ortofon 2M. They don't help your problem at all. Those are two of my Hifi 'icks' (see YouTube 'United States of Analog' channel). Also not helpfull: built in phonostage. Those often sound thin and lacklustre.

Other than that, a nice setup. Or eclectic collection of gear. Good luck troubleshooting and I'm always available for help.

 

[moneypit]

I don’t have that much, between 100-200. But the space I’ve been allocated is about full. I’ve been showing my wife storage options. She hasn’t liked any of them.

Bass isn’t an issue. The REL gives me what I need. The MMGs are just not anything special at low volume. You don’t have to turn them up that loud but my wife doesn’t care for even moderate volumes.

The gen1 XPA that I bought 16 years ago is supposed to be the best sounding of the generations. The MMGs like a lot of power. 500ish (into 4 ohm) seemed like a good number at the time. And I do like the way the system sounds once up in volume. It would just be nice to get that at lower volumes.

I want LFT-8Cs but I keep spending that money on other things. I almost bought the 8Bs in 2020 but 2020 happened.

 

[]eep]

Have a look at the Ikea iket series. Modular cubes that can be varied and in many colors. Partly with doors or open. Not 4 cubes on a rail, that will to much weight.

Or just a kallax 4x1 that has a footprint of 1' square.

I'm always amazed how men let their wives get in the way of their hobby while they plant ugly vases everywhere, of folks, or crystals, or want a speaker they can put a plant on. I suggested a friend of mine to borrow a few speakers (very slender) but she wouldn't have it. And when I asked why, I didn't get any answer, just a dismissive smile.

XPA that I bought 16 years ago is supposed to be the best sounding of the generations. The MMGs like a lot of power. 500ish (into 4 ohm) seemed like a good number at the time.

Well, that's exactly what you got then. Power. I don't want to criticize Emotiva, but they focus(sed) mainly on home cinema (then). What many audiophiles say, and is my experience, that home cinema amps and receivers are not good for music. They are made for loud booms and dialog, not microdynamics and soundstage. Also, what most people forget is that transistors also wear. Caps get old. On an amplifiers that runs hot, over 16 years it will have aged a lot and not sound like it used to.

I think it's silly to make a budget model that needs such a lot of power. And I bet it doesn't.

I was also tricked into thinking that Magnepans need lots and lots of power. It's nonsense. You just need a good amplifier. I bought two high power amps for nothing. One is noisy and the other eats up electricity. And now I'm not even using the Maggie's (latest buy) and went back to my own built speakers. Because with vinyl they lack detail and the sense of 'being there'. With my dipoles it's like the singer is in the room, with the 0.7 I'm listening to a good system.

Another thing to take into account: you don't know what you don't know. You say they sound good, but have you heard a new pair with a different amplifier? Your symptoms may reach farther that you realise.

If you suspect the MMG is the culprit, why not ask Magnepan service? They know if and what models need service and they are also helpful with upgrades.

 

[]eep]

This just posted: about storage

 

[]eep]

A jazz update

I don't know where to begin. So I'll just start where it begun for me. Watching videos like that one
'The VC' or the vinyl community. I like watching most of it. But sometimes... I'll put it kindly: they're just like people. Opinions on the internet. Why do I listen to them? Because I don't know everything. But some (a lot?!) of them haven't nearly been as long in this hobby as I am. Well, I grew up with vinyl. Playing stories of Ivanhoe and Snowwhite. And listening to my fathers classical music. So that's about 55 years worth... And I never stepped away from it. Ever. Unlike some others who threw away all their recerds and now claim to know everything there is to know about vinyl. So my question is: why did you throw them out then, if you have such good ears? After so many years I'm still learning. And listening. Listening to music, not to people. And that's exactly why you shouldn't just believe me either...

The hype and the BS. How do you seperate good information from myth or payed promotion? Payed promotion isn't necessarily bad. Unless it starts trampling on (perceived) competition. Or promoting bad things, overpriced things, FOMO and let you buy things you don't really need.

That brings me to the point of audiophile reissues. Is it snobbery or does it sound better to justify the price for people who can afford it. And if you're fiercely opposed to it, is common sense, not knowing better, or just envie? I've seen so much vitriol going both ways. I'll tell you why this came up.

I've several people talk about 1-step reissues of Jennifer Warnes and now Getz Gilberto by impex. Prices in Europa €220 and €180. I decided against buying the first because I have the OG. But not the second. Now the problem is: the only Dutch shop that sells it have cheated me twice already. Communication was getting pretty rude. Even though I support 'buy local'. So I went online and found it again at Hip Hop Vinyl (Berlin). In the words of Leonard Cohen: first we skip Manhattan (or Haarlem), then we take Berlin. Ok, I know them because I bought there before long ago. They had the impex, but also another much cheaper version at €16. The sticker said 180g virgin vinyl. I didn't know the company DOL. And they had so many other records I wanted for really decent prices. And ones I never saw before. So why buy an old record older than me, the ultimate elevator muzak btw, instead of so much more interesting music?

SO I bought this one instead, together with a dozen others. 13 in all. PayPal and DHL so no hassle.

I was curious so I unpacked this first. Package was excellent, good lined inner, label bland DOL and not Verve. I only played side one so far but what I heard was not bad at all. I think they used a digital source but the mastering is well done and the vinyl is really quiet. Sound is not very deep and panned very wide left right but still well spread from outside the speakers left to right. It has that creamy digital master sound. I wish every new and reissued LP was mastered this well without any difficult to track pieces (eh, 'The Smile'!?). Very listenable. Not the immediacy of OG records of the time but they are most commonly noisy as heck.

So I looked up DOL records quality... Aha. They are in the same league as Wax time. That figures. I have a few of them and they are certainly worth buying IMO. But oh my. The comments... And the emphatic advice "labels to avoid at all times", "bad quality pressings", grey market label", "poor quality copyright loophole labels", and even "pirated jazz" "junk" and ultimately bad "Russian record label"! Wow! That sounds like "the choice of dictators". Newsflash: not every country is under American law (abuse). Rules for thee but not for me. The indignation if others don't agree with those rules. In Europe we agree that 50 years is long enough for copyright.

I think if you have enough money and you love the music, €180 for this record and the restoring of the tapes is ok. And €16 for an LP that sounds fabulous on sub 1k turntables is great for beginners. Vinyl prices are getting really out of hand. Fortunately HHV charges decent prices. The most expensive was Dominique Fils Aimee's first at €40 (hard to find!) and Roisin Murphy - Hit Parade (from Moloko, not a compilation album), a special, signed! edition. All the others were around €21. Postage for the whole package was just €10.

I hope we can enjoy more normal prices. And normal behaviours. Not judge others because they can buy more expensive versions or look down on others because they can not, or don't want to. It's a hobby. It's supposed to be fun.

I'll share the other stuff in the next post.