Ownership Chronology


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Speaker Chronology

I've been happy with most of the speakers below. I don't enjoy a lot of excess coloration and prefer a neutral/natural voicing.  When I was younger and house sharing I made a switch to the little Proac Tablettes - in hindsight a mistake - too much low end sacrificed for other attributes. The Mini Towers didn't help much, things only got back on track with the Response 2. The Harbeth period followed and I really enjoyed those speakers, especially with acoustic program. However I ultimately found my music choices being somewhat bent to suit the speakers. I wanted something neutral, but dynamic, that could play any type of music with equal competence - so moved on to ATC.

Harbeth Compact 7 ES2
Harbeth C7ES2

Harbeth Compact 7 ES3
Harbeth C7ES3

Harbeth M30.1

Harbeth M30.1 in room

ATC SCM19 Mk2
ATC SCM19


Amplifier Chronology

(NOTE: Other combinations were used. I also bought other amps, sold them, and went back to previous combos. Listed combos indicate a step change that lasted for at least several months. Not always for reasons of sound improvement, some changes were made for convenience/features or due to moving in different direction.  Sometimes just to try stuff out.)

Plinius & Harbeth setup
Plinius and Harbeth

Plinius M14 Phono amp
Plinius M14


Plinius CDLAD preamp and 8200P power amp
Plinius
                        CDLAD&8200P


ARC SP16 & VS55

arc sp16&vs55

Shindo Monbrison preamp
Shindo
                        Monbrison

Shindo Monbrison
                        internal


Cary PH302 and Choir Audio Hashimoto H7 SUT
Cary PH302 Choir H7
NOS Sylvania Gold Brand 6SL7WGT  & Mullard 1968 vintage GZ34
0.22uF 'Audio 1' oil cap in PS replaced with Multicap RTX.
0.1uF Solen interstage coupling caps replaced with ClarityCap MR. 1uF output coupling caps replaced with ClarityCap MR.
0.01uF KimberCaps in RIAA replaced with Aura T (1% tolerance) Teflon.
(All replacement capacitors are of the same nominal value as stock caps)

The very versatile Grace Design DAC/preamps
Grace
                                                          m903 &
                                                          m920

Jeff Rowland Capri 2 Preamp
Capri2

Bryston BP26 preamp + MPS-2 power supply
BP26


Odyssey Khartago power amp

Odyssey
                                                          Khartago

Quad 909 power amp

Quad 909

Xindak PA-M, 20W Class A

Xindac
                                                          PAM


ModWright KWA100SE
ModWright
                                                          KW100se


DIY Nelson Pass F6 (Class A) and Halcro MC30 (Class D)

Halcro
                                                          MC30 & F6

DIY Nelson Pass F6 and the diminutive (but superb) Benchmark AHB2

nelson
                                                          pass f6 &
                                                          AHB2

Benchmark HPA4/AHB2
HPA4 and
                                                          AHB2

DAC Chronology

Yggdrasil and Grace m920
Yggdrasil
                                                          and Grace
                                                          m920

PS Audio Directstream Jr - upgradable firmware
PSA DSJ
PSA
                                                          Directstream
                                                          Jr

Benchmark DAC3 & Chord Qutest
dac3
                                                          & Qutest

  

Holo Audio May L2(PSU bottom shelf) and Spring 3 KTE DAC
Holo May and Spring 3

 

Turntable Chronology

Cartridges owned in (rough) Chronological order

Grace F9E, Grace F9L, Westrak 501, Audio Technica OC9, Sumiko Talisman S, Garrott P77, Audio Technica ART-1, Monster Cable SG-2000, Sumiko BPS, Benz Glider (0.9mV), Crown Jewel (VdH retip), Denon 103R, Ortofon Jubilee, Ortofon A90, Denon 103R stock & Soundsmith retip/various bodies x 4, Audio Technica 33PTG(briefly), Audio Technica OC9-II(briefly), Ortofon Cadenza Black, Audio Technica ART-9, Denon 103R(stock), Garrott P77/Jico SAS stylus, Ortofon 2M Black, Ortofon 2M LVB 250

Trialled in system but not purchased: Grado TLZ, Shinon Red, Clearaudio Gamma   

Phono Loading

Denon 103R (14 ohm DCR):                  Currently using with CineMag 1131 SUT on 1:20 setting - 117.5 ohms*
Ortofon Cadenza Black (5 ohm DCR): Active stage: 100ohms (Rowland Capri S2 phono cards); Step-up transformer 1:30 - 52ohms* 
Ortofon Jubilee (5 ohm DCR):            Active stage: 100ohms; Step-up transformer: ~52ohms*  
Ortofon A90 (4 ohm DCR):                 Active stage: 47ohms (Note: I didn't have an SUT in my system when I owned the A90)

*Note1: 47K ohm phono stage
(reflected impedance = Rload/N2, where
Rload is the phono stage input resistance and N is the primary to secondary turns ratio of the SUT)

 

Cary PH302 Mk2 phono preamp
Cary
                                                          ph302 &
                                                          CineMag 1131

Bob's Devices CineMag 1131 SUT
CineMag
                                                          1131

VPI TNT/Phantom tonearm with Linn Uphorik phono stage
TNT&Uphorik

Old favorite: Ortofon Jubilee Moving Coil Cartridge - Silver coils, Boron Cantilever, Shibata Stylus


Ortofon Cadenza Black Moving Coil - boron cantilever, Shibata stylus
Ortofon
                                                          Cadenza Black

 
Ortofon A90 - Minimalist steel body formed by Selective Laser Melting (SLM) process, boron cantilever, 'Replicant 100' Stylus


Bob's Devices CineMag 3440A SUT and the Choir Audio SUT-H7 with Hashimoto HM7 transformers Cinemag
                                                          and Choir
                                                          Audio H7
 

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