[moosemp]

By they way, anybody here listen to vinyl through headphones? I was always curious about this, but a little bit worried about all those vinyl rituals, noise and relatively short length of the LP side. The idea of an all-analogue system looks very attractive on the one hand and terribly impractical on the other.

I listen to vinyl through hp’s but not a lot. First- if you have large collection you have full analogue sound with no tricks used when you want digital files or cds to sound analogue, which btw is not possible- it is clear when you compare it head to head. Second- it is intimate sensual feeling when you take record, clean it and put on turntable. Memories come to mind. Third- you need to maintain your lp’s and turntable for optimal result, find tune cartridge and tonearm. This is very wide topic, not for this thread. Four- you need space to keep lp’s , a lot of space.
And then trouble comes- you must get rid of every mechanical noise that is inherently connected with vinyl spinning- every problems with needle pressure ,antiskating, azimuth setting, arm adjustment, motor rotation, belt or direct drive etc etc are audible with headphones much more than with loudspeakers system. There is tremendous ammount of knowledge and work needed to make lp’s silent. I was never satisfied with my efforts to do that. So I listen to vinyl no more than 10% of time. I just choose digital file or cd and I am done. Relax and enjoy. When I will retire i will certainly listen more vinyl but convenience is more important for me than listening to Real analogue sound

 

[Axel]

I agree with @moosemp.
I listen a lot to records, it’s more a matter of mood.
Ultimately, when an analog setup + record is sounding great, no digital can sound like it.
But the path to reaching it requires dedication.

Also, you need a very good record collection, and most newly available records are digitally sourced and sound crappy.

P.S.
I also have the TBM album that @simorag recommended, on order, but on vinyl. I also have a few of those already on vinyl, and they sound much better than the digital remasters.

 

[simorag]

What's better than a new CD? Two new CDs that flew to me from the other side of the planet and arrived exactly on the last working day of this year.




@simorag thank you for your recommendations, these albums are amazing

Excellent choices! The TBM (Three Blind Mice) catalog is a gold mine actually ... I gradually acquired around 30 titles and there are so many others I am curious of. These japanese musicians and sound engineers from the 70s were wild!

This music, and how it was captured, goes straight to the guts, it has groove, spontaneity, directness, even rawness if you will ... it puts you in a laid-back, casual, yet slightly euphoric mood which is priceless in my opinion.

Yamamoto piano albums (especially Midnight Sugar), Suzuki bass and cello (Black Orpheus, Blow Up, ...), Mari Nakamoto vocals are some other favorites of mine.

Another pinnacle of audiophile pleasure is Greensleeves from Shoji Yokouchi Trio, one of the overall top sounding albums of my collection.

This musical material to me mirrors the fascination I have with the AIC-10 and the Valkyria ... it is not the most polished, it defeats technical perfection through some elusive mix of warmth, plump, tenderness, naiveness ... dirt, that makes it very human and comforting.

 

[Spawn300Z]

Listening to Yamamoto right now.

 

[MayUseAny]

Oh, come on! We are audiophiles, and impulsive purchases of unnecessary equipment is the best part!

Ok, so of course I now bought it and few other tubes to try… anyone got it yet? I keep switching between my GR-73 black label and my simple mullard as GR-73 is clinical and mullar has a bit more groove but less clarity. I hope this new shark tooth mullar will be the best of both worlds…

 

[MayUseAny]

Ok just got my Equi=Tech Model Q, tried with Riverra for couple of hours. I love the thing already. It makes everything so clear and the background so black…

I never tried any other regenerators apart from one cheaper transformer that completely ruined the sound. While this one really does magic. I am in love again, would love to compare to the regeneratos, but so far I am very happy.

For the first time I have heard the swalowing of the saliva at 0:14 and 0:28 on the Perfect Day by Lou Reed. Its a true saliva machine.

 

[MayUseAny]

Which Electrostat conversion box would you recommend for Riviera?

I recently got L700MK2 (I don’t like 009S or X9000, they are too intense for me) and would like to play around while waiting for my BH electrostatic amp.

 

[Spawn300Z]

Which Electrostat conversion box would you recommend for Riviera?

I recently got L700MK2 (I don’t like 009S or X9000, they are too intense for me) and would like to play around while waiting for my BH electrostatic amp.

See if you find an iFi Audio Pro iESL

 

[Ragnar-BY]

Ok, so of course I now bought it and few other tubes to try… anyone got it yet?

I’m listening to it right now Such old tube probably needs more burn in, but first impressions are great It’s the first Mullard that I really like and want to keep.

 

[MayUseAny]

See if you find an iFi Audio Pro iESL

Thank you! How much does it degrade quality compared to a dedicated amp?

 

[hifixman]

Thank you! How much does it degrade quality compared to a dedicated amp?

Personally it is not working well with Riviera to my ears.

 

[MayUseAny]

Personally it is not working well with Riviera to my ears.

Thank you! I will try to try one

 

[Axel]

Thank you! I will try to try one

I have the Mjolnir-built SRD-7.
It works well with the X9000, on the limit with the CRBN, as it seems more power-hungry.
I can tell you that this combination sounds much (much) better than any Stax-made amp, but I have yet to compare it with the likes of Mjolnir Carbon, DIY T2 or BHSE.

 

[normie610]

I have the Mjolnir-built SRD-7.
It works well with the X9000, on the limit with the CRBN, as it seems more power-hungry.
I can tell you that this combination sounds much (much) better than any Stax-made amp, but I have yet to compare it with the likes of Mjolnir Carbon, DIY T2 or BHSE.

+1 on Mjolnir SRD-7 (although I’m not using Riviera, my amp is CFA3 which has plenty of power for CRBN).

 

[drew911d]

Ok just got my Equi=Tech Model Q, tried with Riverra for couple of hours. I love the thing already. It makes everything so clear and the background so black…

I never tried any other regenerators apart from one cheaper transformer that completely ruined the sound. While this one really does magic. I am in love again, would love to compare to the regeneratos, but so far I am very happy.

For the first time I have heard the swalowing of the saliva at 0:14 and 0:28 on the Perfect Day by Lou Reed. Its a true saliva machine.

Do you power your digital front end with the same, or do you keep the MU1 and Dave on separate power sources?

This looks interesting, I hope you can compare to a power regen. I would love to see that comparison.