Cottguy, I think that you are doing it exactly right. Seeking advice and, very cleverly, advice about infrastructure.
That's what nobody sees, but everybody hears. Power is usually neglected, yet it is a critical piece of the puzzle, for two reasons: first, it affects the sound, and second, it affects the longevity of your equipment. Every piece of equipment in my system, from (active) speakers to turntable motor, is protected by an isolation transformer. You can hear the difference for each piece. Plitron makes a wonderful line of isolation transformers, from raw pieces to finished boxes, all the way up to medical isolation transformers. I submit that if it's good enough for a hospital, it's good enough for audio - because in a hospital, it has to work, and smart people have already sifted the quality stuff from the snake oil.
That said, when isolation transformers are doing their job they can growl, so it's a good idea to site them in a garage or utility room. That means an electrician, or a good DIY project for you.
I also suggest another piece of the puzzle, similar to electrical infrastructure - a record cleaning machine. Clean vinyl records sound LOTS better, and wear the stylus less. Someone analyzed the crud in a record groove, and found that it was a near perfect grinding compound, consisting mainly of grease and diamond dust. Just the thing for a precision ground diamond stylus to bath in.
If you have an expensive stylus, that crud can cost you mucho dinero, so I suggest that the quality of record cleaner should match the quality of your cartridge. I have a Koetsu, and so I use ultrasonic.
My final suggestion is to concentrate on the biggest bang for your buck, at each stage. I find that cables are the least bang for my buck - so mine are about 1% of my system cost. Really. YMMD, but don't be shy about sticking up for what you hear, how much it costs, and therefore what you are going to take home.
Good luck!! And welcome!!! |
Can't agree, Inna. Cables connect components - and the internal wiring of components is rarely, if ever, up to the standard of the interconnects. Further, the caps and resistors and inductors in the components are almost always far from ideal.
I start by correcting the physics, which is well established and not the subject of neverending discussion. |
Hello Inna. Yes, I did try theoretically optimal cabling in two controlled experiments, one for interconnect and one for speakers. By 'theoretically optimal' I mean derived from the solutions to Maxwells' Equations, with special care taken of impedances and dielectric absorption.
To my ears, differences were marginal, given a certain minimum level of quality - much more important was the ability of suboptimal cables to reduce high frequencies, leading to the taming of various types of distortion, such as that caused by incautious use of electrolytic caps in the signal path. See my remarks on the components which are connected by interconnect.
In my system, to my ears, a first rate microphone cable with ETI connectors is close to as good as it gets. For $50 each. Goertz speaker cable is as good as it gets, also in my opinion. For a few tens of bucks a foot. For the cost of 'serious' cabling, and a marginal improvement at best, I can make a serious improvement in several other areas: upgrade caps, upgrade resistors, redesign the phono stage, etc.
As for NAS turntables, we are in complete agreement - they are very good for the money. |
Cottguy, I would be hesitant to buy without hearing. But that does not mean never.
I bought an upscale Nottingham unheard, after hearing the Hyperspace and admiring it. I spoke with Tom (then the owner/designer), and upgraded to the Mentor, and have never regretted. The table is at home in an all-electrostatic system, with a Koetsu. The modern equivalent of the Mentor is the Dias, which is said to be better than the Mentor, with superior resonance control.
Also consider the British Trans-Fi. I use their air bearing tone arm, which is a superior performer at $1,000, punching at 10x the weight. When I bought, they offered a money-back guarantee, which I don't think anyone ever exercised. They now have a TT, the Salvation, which gets very good reviews.
So there you have it. Two TT with very high bang/buck ratios. See what they will do for you - there is also a store in Toronto, if you ever get there, My Kind of Music, which sells Nottingham. Also, he is very very serious about set-up, which is very important for tables of this class.
|
Trans-Fi Salvation TT with magnetic suspension, 20 lb platter and air bearing tone arm, $3300. New. Beat that. |
Frogman, those are very good ideas. I have owned planar speakers since I bought two of the first Magneplanar Tympani 1a speakers, December 1973. Talk about "WOW". Everyone agreed. Everyone. The apex for that kind of speaker, IMO, were the Tympani IVa’s from the 1980’s. They come up from time to time. Room filling, superb midrange, more than decent bass, easy to listen to for hours and hours. WOW **2.
I was on my way to doing that when I diverted myself into ESL’s (Quad 2905). Cottguy, be aware that Magnepan seemed to take a perverse delight in naming their speakers: Tympani 1 (3 panels per side); Tympani II (2 panels); Tympani III (4 panels), Tympani IV (3 panels). Not to be confused with the MG1, MG2, MG3 (all 1 panel). Confused yet? The best sounding Tympani 1’s were the 1a and 1d, and the better sounding IV’s were the IVa. Since they’re old, they’re cheap cheap.
Caveat - if you buy them, they CANNOT have sunlight on the back, otherwise the wires delaminate from the diaphragms. Make sure that you address that with the vendor - delamination or other deterioration presents as a rattle or no sound at all from a panel, when driven at highish volume.
Check with Magnepan if they still service them, though I’ll bet they do. Service consists of removing the old wire and glue with acetone and gluing new wire directly to the diaphragm. It needs a jig and dedication and is definitely not a DIY project.
But VERY WOW if you get the right pair.
Good luck!!! And good suggestion, frogman.
|
The trouble with Magneplanars is that they are so damned fast and accurate that they leave subs far behind. The combination blurs the sound from C3 on down. Magneplanars alone are better (and cheaper). IMO.
I have had good luck driving Magneplanars with Bryston (SS) amps - they sound good, are indestructible, and have a 20 year warrantee. And no tubes to replace. That would absolutely sing in a big room.
Why, you might wonder, do we need such big panels? Because you can't expect to get a realistic piano sound, with its 20 square foot soundboard, from 2 square feet of speaker. Again, IMO.
|
Hello Eric.
Agree that planars integrate into the room. As to subs, not in my experience - but perhaps that is because of my insufficient expertise. |
Cottguy, have you considered Atma-Sphere? Their designs have no output transformers. I owned a pair, and found them to be very clear and sweet, and very decorative in a retro way, with their 12 glowing tubes. People would often comment on them, even if they weren't running at the time! |
About your curtain, John.
I don't think that will work for you - the curtain will simply absorb all sound, and may make the room sound dead. In my experience, two under appreciated techniques can work wonders: wall texture is very useful (think bas bas bas relief), as are non-parallel walls. YMMD |
Well done, cottguy. Now that you have a working system, you can change or add a little at a time. Your strategy of research-audition-research has obviously served you well, so I suggest that you continue to use it: only buy that which makes a significant contribution.
|
