Recent content by MongoLike

After many years of tube rolling, mostly with NOS, I actually have a 100% new production tube configuration that I am really enjoying. This happened quite by accident. I had a quad of NOS EL34s (Sino EL34As) from Nesstone that sounded really nice but I was looking for something a little...

I actually tried running the Audiolab DC Block off my filter bank first, but something didn't sound right with it. The channels were out of balance. So I did as the product instructions said and plugged it directly into the mains and that's what did the trick. It has its own filtering as well as...

It comes with with all the necessary cords. Power cord shown in the picture is a Nova Cable from iFi Audio.

I don't know if anyone has recommended this before, but I got a huge "wow" factor after hooking this up to my tube amp. I've noticed that lately the power transformer had been making a louder than usual humming noise. The power mains where I live is terrible and I already have all my audio gear...

I recently switched from my AT-VM95SH to an Ortofon 2M Blue. I spent quite a bit of time dialing it in to ensure the alignment was spot-on and the results are very nice indeed. It's an excellent tracker with no noticeable IGD. Even though it's a nude elliptical, sometimes I think I'm getting...

I've been listening to the VM95ML for about 3 weeks now and totally agree with your assessment. It actually sounds and tracks much better than some of the more expensive cartridges I've owned.

Those are awesome! Made a huge difference in the sound of the turntable.

I've done the exact same thing before. Easy to swap the stylus. Results were a mixed bag. Went from the grainy and poor tracking Red, to the sterile sounding and good tracking Blue. Ultimately I moved on from the 2M line. Lately I've been into the Grado Prestige line (see my previous post). Good...

I have a Goldring E3 in my rotation which I was really enjoying but I think the stylus is shot. I've got a replacement but haven't installed it yet. Too busy enjoying the Grado Green at the moment. :cool:

I've been listening to vinyl "on-the-cheap" lately using bargain basement phono cartridges. My current favorite in the Grado Prestige Green 3 shown here. Had a bit of trouble with the original cheap headshell wires and had to upgrade them. Other than that, it's a bargain and has bass galore...

Here's my latest and most favorite (so far) system configuration. 1. Vincent Audio SV-500 with stock tubes. I tried rolling the 12AX7 with all kinds of NOS tubes but the JJ ECC83s sounds best. 2. Wharfedale Diamond 240s that I got for a song after they were damaged (cosmetic) during shipping. 3...

I had been spinning with the Emotiva XPS-1 Phono Stage for a long time now, but recently noticed when my amp (Vincent Audio SV-500) was turned up to half-volume, there was a lot more noise/hiss than expected. I swapped the XPS-1 out with a TCC TC-750 and the noise is gone. As a matter of fact...

...and yet my old reliable cheap tubes keep chugging along without a hitch. Spent $45 on this quad. Shouldn't have bothered buying the Gold Lion KT77's, but I guess I had to hear for myself what everyone was raving about. Forgot that the Gold Lion KT77's are somewhat less than reliable, even if...

Just red plated a Gold Lion KT77. Damn! That didn't take long, maybe 40 hours. Started with the tube bias started creeping upwards. At first, I turned the bias down but after a while it became evident it was a defective runaway tube. Just to confirm it wasn't my amp, I swapped it with the other...

Agreed. I'm currently running with the Gold Lion KT77 power tubes. Picked them up recently at a very reasonable price. I've had just about every versions of JJ power tubes in my system before and had some reliability issues. But not so with their preamp tubes. In fact, I'm using the JJ ECC81...