debianlinux
Well-Known Member
Bass heavy EDM delivers the overwhelmingly better sound I was hoping for. It went from a rather strident crispness to a liquid bass envelope.
Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice
- Thread starter Joe Mac
- Start date
debianlinux
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the recommendation. I am currently using the stock recommended 1.5g.
debianlinux
Well-Known Member
VTA increased 2mm made a palpable difference. The 1210’s VTA adjust is a dream come true coming from a table with no actual adjustment other than manually loosening bits of the gimbal, lol, which I never braved doing.
debianlinux
Well-Known Member
Yes, substantially improved treble with the arm raised to get the face to 90 degrees. Julia sounds far more forward than before. Having gone through 5 records of various sonic textures it’s clear the Grado is far superior but seems somewhat less “accurate”? Sound is more musical and less strictly reproduced. I think I may have some affinity for the more clinical nature of Ortofon then again it’s been my daily driver for a few years so there is probably a transition involved.
One thing has stood out, the Ortofon had a consistent effect, that is every record had the same dynamics. The Grado varies wildly from record to record. Some records it just explodes with flavor and others it feels a bit muted. For example, Japanese Breakfast’s Soft Sounds was a major shift from the Ortofon suddenly being more lush and deep and wide whereas Kevin Morby’s City Music felt sort of pedestrian where the Ortofon made that music feel like a live performance. It seems so far that music designed to showcase vocals gets less favors done than denser stuff where vocals are more integrated into the overall sound.
I do agree break in is real and I am looking forward to the sounds more miles will bring.
After last nights success I got extra confident today and tried with the fancy ez mount screws and my heavier counterweight! Worked a treat this time!
Ethos99
Well-Known Member
Looks like bad ass little devil horns!
Haha yeah they’re smart looking yokes alright. I’m quite glad to have them on it now, they’re pretty heavy things at 6.3g and it’s made a big difference to the tonearm already. the gold is a really light cart and the arm was prone to “bounce” a little when you lifted the lever at the end of a record and when you moved it felt a little light. It’s a lot more solid looking and feeling with the extra weight on the head shell. Obviously had to use the heavier counterweight to balance it at the other end!
The Musical Fidelity LX-LPS preamp got here today! Thank you guys all for the recommendation. It sounds absolutely fantastic. Feel like another listen through of my collection is in order 
, luckily my collection is still small (215 approx)!
, luckily my collection is still small (215 approx)!
Selaws
Well-Known Member
This might be the wrong thread for this question, so sorry in advance if it is.
I was planning on getting a 2x4 Kallax tower before the lockdown happened and looks like it will be a while yet before I can get one. In the meantime I have had to shift some records around and have just stacked a load between a weighted box (full of record) and the outside face of a Kallax cube. Eventually, the new shelves will go in the space, but what I really want to check is that the records are fine as they are in the photo? My main concern is the weight of that row and the pressure it might have on the end ones with the leaning which will be occurring as the space is pretty much double the width of the space in a Kallax cube. Any advice?
I was planning on getting a 2x4 Kallax tower before the lockdown happened and looks like it will be a while yet before I can get one. In the meantime I have had to shift some records around and have just stacked a load between a weighted box (full of record) and the outside face of a Kallax cube. Eventually, the new shelves will go in the space, but what I really want to check is that the records are fine as they are in the photo? My main concern is the weight of that row and the pressure it might have on the end ones with the leaning which will be occurring as the space is pretty much double the width of the space in a Kallax cube. Any advice?
I”m not seeing any issues.
Selaws
Well-Known Member
Brilliant, thanks. Think its one of those situations where I was overthinking it.
That does happen a lot for me. Once they’re stacked upright and there is a little bit of breathing space in there you’re good, much the same principles as within a Kallax cube tbh.
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DoubleM
New Member
I’m beginning to dive into a search on new floorstanding speakers and would love to hear some suggestion/recommendations that would stick into a $2500-3k budget. They’d reside in my main living room area that’s approx 18x20 and driven by my Jolida 8602 with 6550s.
Obviously it’s a bit of a weird time to buy since I’m not in a position to test out at a local dealer so I may need to settle on buy/try scenario with a good return policy. I see that the Zu DWs are quite popular around these parts.
Obviously it’s a bit of a weird time to buy since I’m not in a position to test out at a local dealer so I may need to settle on buy/try scenario with a good return policy. I see that the Zu DWs are quite popular around these parts.
Welcome!
Oooohhhh. Zu Souls are in budget. Both @wooha and I Iove ours. And they’d be a great match for your amp.
Zu Audio Soul Mk II Review
It all started innocently enough. A few years ago I purchased a pair of Magnepans- I had always wanted a pair. Then I went through a few different amplifiers attempting to find the right match. Later we bought another house and moved. The square footage of the new house is nearly identical to...
www.needlesandgrooves.com
Splunders
Well-Known Member
For whatever it's worth, I also had the Wharfedales 10.7s, before I got the Zu DWs a year ago. I immediately liked the Zus more. While the Wharfedales performed really well for the $700/pr price range (esp as I improved other gear) the proverbial blanket was removed with the DWs, and everything sounded much more open and airy. I imagine the Souls would take things even further. The CS there is also really great and 60 days to test drive is as good as it gets.
There's so many quality options in your price range, I'm sure you'll end up with a great improvement regardless. Keep us posted!
High Rant District
Active Member
Time to Schiit or get off the pot.
Current system:
Speakers: Dynaco A-25
Table: harman/kardon T65C with a Grado Gold 2 cartridge
Phono preamp: Parasound Zphono
Receiver: harman/kardon 730 twin powered
CD: Marantz CD5004
Cassette: Nakamichi CR-3A
I've always had a 'thing' for vintage, but - particularly as far as components go - these things are old and they start to go. When I first got this receiver 3-4 years ago, the built in phono stage sounded fine, until it didn't, so I grabbed the Parasound. Have had it a few years and it's fine, but I think it could sound better. CDs sound good. Tapes could sound a little better, but I don't play them often. I'm a neanderthal; I dig punk, rock, some hip hop, don't blast the music but want it to sound good to me at a reasonable volume in a roughly 12x12 room. I don't care about specifications, I care about music sounding enjoyable. I don't pick nits at sound quality, but I know when something sounds wrong.
I've wrapped my head around the idea of throwing a grand-ish (USD) per year towards improving my gear. The idea is to not fuck around with a minor upgrade, but to buy the best quality I can for the budget. I want to spend and be done. I value separates, don't really need a tuner (so not concerned about a receiver), and prefer to stick with US-made. As much as I dig 'vintage', I know that buying newer gear means less chance of breakdown. Breakdowns are irritating. I've had it happen enough with vintage stuff that I think I've learned my lesson. Maybe.
I think the real weak link right now is the phono preamp, but since "stop fucking around" likely means a Sutherland Insight, I don't think adding it to my current system gives me the best bang for the buck. I'm going to start with replacing the receiver, as I feel the proverbial clock is ticking on it.
I dig the Schiit mindset, read the book, want to jump in. What I think makes the most sense is the Vidar amp and the Saga S preamp. I dig my Dynamo A25s and if/when I replace them I would look to Zu DWs or perhaps Klipsch Heresy. Due to the sensitivity of Zu and Klipsch speakers, and given that my Dynacos don't seem hard to drive (I'm guessing 90/91db sensitivity), might it be wiser to go for the Aegir amp? I don't listen at loud levels. On the down side it creates more heat than the Vidar, but on the plus side the Aegir's maximum power consumption is 450W rather than 700W. Not a major issue, but I try to be less of a dick to the environment (and electricity bill) where possible.
Other possible considerations pre-amp wise: the Saga + is a hybrid tube pre-amp. Not sure it would make sense with an Aegir (sorta coloring an amp that is coloring things already), but maybe it does make sense with a Vidar. And, because I'm largely an idiot, another but less-likely option is an overpriced but re-capped Hafler DH-110. There's the vintage bug again, but it's black (the Sagas are only available in silver but I'd rather have the gear be black - yes, I'm weird) and the Hafler's phono stage may be at least on par with the Parasound (so I could get rid of it) and tide me over until it comes time to get an end-game phono pre-amp. Otherwise, I add a Schiit Mani phono pre-amp to the order and it may very well sound better than the Parasound, and with me selling the Parasound, the Mani is likely a wash cost-wise but boost sound-wise.
Blah blah blah. Thoughts? Most likely grabbing the Vidar and Saga S, but if I was 100% on the decision I'd have placed the order already.
Current system:
Speakers: Dynaco A-25
Table: harman/kardon T65C with a Grado Gold 2 cartridge
Phono preamp: Parasound Zphono
Receiver: harman/kardon 730 twin powered
CD: Marantz CD5004
Cassette: Nakamichi CR-3A
I've always had a 'thing' for vintage, but - particularly as far as components go - these things are old and they start to go. When I first got this receiver 3-4 years ago, the built in phono stage sounded fine, until it didn't, so I grabbed the Parasound. Have had it a few years and it's fine, but I think it could sound better. CDs sound good. Tapes could sound a little better, but I don't play them often. I'm a neanderthal; I dig punk, rock, some hip hop, don't blast the music but want it to sound good to me at a reasonable volume in a roughly 12x12 room. I don't care about specifications, I care about music sounding enjoyable. I don't pick nits at sound quality, but I know when something sounds wrong.
I've wrapped my head around the idea of throwing a grand-ish (USD) per year towards improving my gear. The idea is to not fuck around with a minor upgrade, but to buy the best quality I can for the budget. I want to spend and be done. I value separates, don't really need a tuner (so not concerned about a receiver), and prefer to stick with US-made. As much as I dig 'vintage', I know that buying newer gear means less chance of breakdown. Breakdowns are irritating. I've had it happen enough with vintage stuff that I think I've learned my lesson. Maybe.
I think the real weak link right now is the phono preamp, but since "stop fucking around" likely means a Sutherland Insight, I don't think adding it to my current system gives me the best bang for the buck. I'm going to start with replacing the receiver, as I feel the proverbial clock is ticking on it.
I dig the Schiit mindset, read the book, want to jump in. What I think makes the most sense is the Vidar amp and the Saga S preamp. I dig my Dynamo A25s and if/when I replace them I would look to Zu DWs or perhaps Klipsch Heresy. Due to the sensitivity of Zu and Klipsch speakers, and given that my Dynacos don't seem hard to drive (I'm guessing 90/91db sensitivity), might it be wiser to go for the Aegir amp? I don't listen at loud levels. On the down side it creates more heat than the Vidar, but on the plus side the Aegir's maximum power consumption is 450W rather than 700W. Not a major issue, but I try to be less of a dick to the environment (and electricity bill) where possible.
Other possible considerations pre-amp wise: the Saga + is a hybrid tube pre-amp. Not sure it would make sense with an Aegir (sorta coloring an amp that is coloring things already), but maybe it does make sense with a Vidar. And, because I'm largely an idiot, another but less-likely option is an overpriced but re-capped Hafler DH-110. There's the vintage bug again, but it's black (the Sagas are only available in silver but I'd rather have the gear be black - yes, I'm weird) and the Hafler's phono stage may be at least on par with the Parasound (so I could get rid of it) and tide me over until it comes time to get an end-game phono pre-amp. Otherwise, I add a Schiit Mani phono pre-amp to the order and it may very well sound better than the Parasound, and with me selling the Parasound, the Mani is likely a wash cost-wise but boost sound-wise.
Blah blah blah. Thoughts? Most likely grabbing the Vidar and Saga S, but if I was 100% on the decision I'd have placed the order already.
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I like your H/K (I’ve owned one) and my brother had a pair of A25s.
That said, the Dynacos are probably holding you back the most. I’d look towards a pair of Dirty Weekends. I bet they’d sound great with the H/K. Make sure you get the optional snubber resistors.
High Rant District
Active Member
The barrier to this: I've got an aging rescue dog that is inclined to pee on things. I see floor-standing speakers as a target. I love the little guy and so I'll hold out speaker-wise and stick with stand-mounts until... nature.
Then your plan makes sense.
High Rant District
Active Member
Dammit, another wrinkle. Even though I mentioned preferring components, what I read about the Rogue Audio Sphinx v3 seems pretty good. It ticks a lot of boxes, and I'm especially attracted to the idea of 'green' power; that is, it maxes out at 250W of power consumption. Dammit.