Cartridges owned in (rough) Chronological order
Grace F9E, Grace F9L, Audio Technica OC9, Sumiko Talisman S, Garrott P77, Audio Technica ART-1, Monster Cable SG-2000, Sumiko BPS (worst cartridge owned!), 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-III(briefly), Ortofon Cadenza Black, Audio Technica ART-9
Mint LP tractor - amazingly precise tool for
establishing exact stylus/cantilever geometry.
There are reports that this tractor is a PITA to use but, after
following the (very clear) instruction steps, I found it easy enough -
certainly easier than non mirrored tools. However allow at
least 15 to 20min after
you are familiar with the adjustments.
Note: The Graham alignment tool
supplied with the Phantom arm I'm using has
the advantage of doing alignment away from the turntable, seated
comfortably at a desk with adequate lighting etc. Alignment is much
faster with this tool - 5-6min - and also very accurate (accuracy
reliant on exact setting of the initial arm overhang and care in using
the alignment tool). I find myself increasingly reliant on the Graham tool - no crouching in awkward positions at the turntable!
KAB Speedstrobe, a brilliant tool for setting turntable speed
Disc Doctor Miracle
Record Cleaner and Quickwash
Nitty Gritty 2.5 vacuum record cleaner
Zerostat
Antistatic gun
Magic Eraser used for stylus cleaning
Digital pocket scale (.01g resolution)
Phono Loading
Denon
103R (14 ohm DCR):
Active stage: 100ohms;
Step-up transformer: ~46ohms**
Ortofon Cadenza Black (5 ohm DCR): Active stage: 100ohms
(Rowland Capri S2 phono cards); Step-up transformer: ~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:
Using Choir Audio/Hashimoto SUT on 1:30 setting, 47K ohm phono stage
**Note2:
Using Lundahl LL1941 SUT on 1:32 setting, 47K ohm phono stage
(reflected impedance
= Rload/N2, where Rload
is the input resistance following phono stage and N is the turns ratio
of the SUT)
The
audio equipment has a separate 240VAC mains spur, run straight from the
fuse box to behind the equipment rack (a distance of about
12m). Conductors in the spur cable are 6mm2(~9AWG).
Two Furutech FP-15A-Cu AC duplex outlets are mounted into a fire and
acoustic rated wall-box. At the wall socket an
Audience aR2p-TO, Teflon capped
line power conditioner (240V version) is used. Two
VH Audio Hotbox's
with Furutech FI-11Cu male wall plug and FP-15Cu outlets are plugged
into the aR2p-TO.
Power cords are all
DIY. Bob
Crump's 'Asylum' recipe for the turntable/SDS, Chris VH's DIY
Flavor 2 design on
the pre/power amps and VH Audio Flavor 3 on the digital sources. The
DIY F2/F3s can be used with many different connectors
available from Chris' parts list. I chose the Furutech FI-11Ag IECs and
the FI-11Cu male plugs.
All power cords have been made a similar length to help maintain a star
earthing scheme.
It boggles the mind, but power cords and outlets seem to have a much
greater effect on system sound quality than interconnects and speaker
cables. In fact I now consider power connections to be of
fundamental importance (those who haven't experimented will be shaking
their heads!). Prior to installing the VH Audio power cables and
Hotboxes, I'd been using an API Power Wedge IIe line conditioner (high
current filtered outlets and isolation transformers for low power gear)
and the generic cords supplied with the equipment. I could scarcely
believe the improvement that occurred when I substituted the
Hotbox/Crump/VH Audio cords. Every aspect of the sound improved:
soundstage height/width/depth, transparency, transient definition,
focus, bass power, dynamics, detail - the sound became more open, vivid
and robustly realistic. I'm talking BIG improvements here, of
the kind associated with a major component upgrade!
VH
Audio Hotbox - photo linked from VH
Audio
(Chris's
photo is much nicer than my crappy camera skills can produce.....but
picture NOT showing the Furutech plug/outlets - see above)
For a long time I had my speakers
facing down the long dimension of my old rectangular listening room and
this seemed satisfactory.
Some further reading revealed that several speaker manufacturers
(including Thiele, Wilson, Audio Physic and Dunlavy) recommended that
speakers face across the narrow dimension of a rectangular room.
I decided to experiment with this placement and found it preferable - I
also prefer it aesthetically, it feels less cluttered than pulling the
couch and speakers into the room.
My current room has a timber floor nailed to battens over concrete and 13mm plaster walls. The two internal and external walls are insulated brick+stud to improve isolation (particularly to the rest of the house) and the fourth wall (facing the garage) is simple insulated stud construction. The ceiling plaster is fixed to resilient mounts and the music room shares its (skillion) roofline with the garage only. The external window is double glazed, which further reduces outside noise. This room is much quieter than the one in my previous house - and this benefits resolution.
The room size had to fit basic design
constraints - odd shapes would be difficult to analyse and expensive,
so basic rectangular construction was chosen.
Dimensions are: 6m length, 4.3m width and 2.7m height. The dimensions
of the room started by following Sepmeyer's 1 : 1.6 : 2.33
ratios and was slightly adjusted using basic (calculated) spectrum
analysis of room modes.
The corners behind the speakers have
DIY
Bass traps built to Jon Risch's instructions. There are four
DIY absorptive panels between the speakers on the front wall.
The panels are a slightly simplified version of JR's panel recipe. Some
additional 100mm thick 'Wave
Panel' acoustic tiles are placed in the front corners above
the bass traps and at other reflection points.
Speaker stands are are from Target Audio, 610mm (24") high, constructed from four square section steel pillars with steel plates top and bottom. The vertical columns have been filled with sand. Spikes are fitted to the bottom of the stands and these insert into Quadraspire QX7 floor protectors. The 30.1's are secured to the stands with four small blobs of Blutack. FWIW I've experimented with both solid cones and compliant stick on 'rubber' dots between the speaker and stand top plate - but prefer the sound with the Blutack. Speakers are positioned about 1.25m from the front wall and 1.6m from both side walls (measured to the centre of the front baffle). They are spaced about 2.7m apart and ~2.8m to the listening position (again measurements from the centre of the front baffle). Speakers are angled towards the central listening position.