Thanks
I hadn't thought about the silver ic's. However the arm is hard wired, though I don't know what the make up is. I will find out though and try replacing the rest of the ic's in the analog chain.
BTW, I like the "tell her to get her own TT". However I owe her big time for not raising a fuss when I bought the TT and snuck the arm in on her. Then too, I snuck the Scoutmaster in on her too. That was easy since it looked similar to the MMF=7. I figured it would be hard to get the Teres in without her noticing. |
Yes, Doug. the 2500A is still in service. i guess i'm surprised that the 2500 would b the weak link since it has sounded so good in the past. I've been wanting to get into tubes for a few yrs now. AAMOF, I was looking for a tube preamp when I stumbled across the Teres and just couldn't turn it down. I've thought about SET but wonder if my room is too big? I don't know, though i do know that Silverline shows off their speakers with a 7-8 watt SET.
FWIW, my wife said she didn't want to hear me say that I needed another piece of equipment now because of the TT. So i'm just going to show her your post Doug, and let YOU get into trouble with her. But i do thank you for taking me off the hook on this one.
Again, thanks to all |
maybe I didn't make myself clear, so i'll try to cover some questions. First, the new components are the Teres and the Origin Live arm. The Benz was on the scoutmaster and was brought over to the Teres.
The Scoutmaster sounded very good but there were a few albums that were somewhat bright but still quite listenable for me. But my wife never noticed any brightness with the SM. But it was only a very few albums that I noticed a sense of brightness
Now, with the Teres, the tables have been reversed. I think the TT arm cart sound great. But she thinks there is a sense of brightness to it that was not there with the SM. . However I heard brightness with the SM that I do not hear with the Teres
IOW's i heard some brightness with the SM that she didn't hear and she hears a brightness in the Teres that I don't hear.
Don't get me wrong, The Teres is still a giant step forward IMO and she also hears a great difference in all other parameters except the upper high frequencies.
Also I have not played with cart loading since buying the cart and coming up with proper loading with the SM. I don't think the cart would have different loadings with different tables. |
One more thing in the equation is that I play this quite a bit louder than the Scoutmaster because I can. I think this is part of the problem |
Sanhar, A koetsu would make a nice present for her wouldn't it?
I'll try to address some of the suggestions. First, it is all the albums that have a tendency towards brightness in my wife's opinion. Listening fatigue sets in for her after a few albums. Yes, she hears all the good parts and knows it is a big step above the SM but has asked me to tweak the highs so as to tone them down some. I also agree that women generally are more sensitive to highs and it will be advantageous for me to get this taken care of. Thus my post here.
I've also heard that the OL arm has a very good ic. I was quite surprised when she said the highs were bothering her since I thought the highs were tamed in comparison to the SM
I will try the curtain over the plasma also. I used to do that when I had a big box TV and it made a difference. I have some copper ics that I will give a try also. I don't have a good handle on capacitance and its effects but if I need new ic's I'll be back with questions. I'll also take a look at the Black Mambas
As to getting a new wife, nah, She's a keeper who's been with me for 34 yrs and has been very understanding and supportive of my music addiction.
Finally, the Teres/OL/Benz is a very big improvement over the Scoutmaster. That's not to say the SM is bad. Quite the contrary, It is a very good table too and a good bang for the buck. But the Teres is just that good to better it by a wide margin. And after this minor glitch is taken care of It will be even better.
Thanks to all for your suggestions |
Thanks Tom. i am a firm believer in the necessity of a good phono preamp. You may be right about the Wright though it too has been a very good preamp. Even so, i understand that the chain is no better than its weakest link. |
Thanks to all for your input. Regarding loading, it is set at 42ohms. However this is done via cheap resistors installed in RCA plugs and inserted into a Y connector at the input of the tranny. FWIW, I have never been completely comfortable with this arrangement though it was suggested to me by someone who is pretty knowledgeable. I don't like the fact that it has so much wire run in the analog chain, which in itself may be causing the problem
Concerning the amp/speaker combo, I was not aware that one could have too much power. I have been wanting to get into tubed equipment but was shooting more towards the preamp than the amp, with thoughts that SS amp did better in handling the bass than tube. I'd love to borrow a good tube amp to try but unfortunately I live in flyover country and do not have any audiophile friends nearby. I would also note that my speakers are rated at 91.5 db, which, IMO is borderline capable of low power SET. And given my room size, I've been somewhat skeptical of going in that direction. I did consider it before I bought the CJ 2500A,
Again, I'd like to thank you all for giving me much info to consider. I will be gone for the next several days due to a death in the family. And when I get back I will address the problem and keep you posted as to the results
Hug a loved one today. We are not promised a tomorrow |
I have updated and added pictures of my system so you can see it now.
Lewm. Thanks for your explanation about wattage. i should have known that from my days of playing in bands and using PA systems. With a PA you usually run your master volume high and adjust each channel low. I know the reasoning behind the high master but I just didn't put it together. Duh.
Thom. The internal loading of the Benz Ebony L is 5 ohms. I have been told that 10 times that value is an approximate proper loading. Is this wrong?
That said, I never heard a much difference between the 42 and the 470ohms with the scoutmaster. This always made me question the y connector method that I'm using
Samhar. Everything is isolated except the amp itself. Phono pre is on sorbothane. The new TT resides on a new rack I built just for it. it is modelled after the one on the Teres website with concrete in the legs and a sandbox at the top. Also thanks for the heads up on the ebay store |
Thanks Samhar. You're right. My wife is also my best friend and has been very supportive of my music need.
I have also ordered a tube amp and am looking forward to receiving it anad see how it compares. I must also say that since a few tweaks, this system really sounds great most of the time. I think what I am hearing on the few occasions where there is a tendency towards brightness is the system exposing a bad recording. But I've been wanting to play with tubes for a while now, so we'll see how a relatively inexpensive tube amp stacks up to the CJ 2500a
I haven't given up on a phono preamp. But like you, I haven't been able to come up with a path which turns me on yet. The Xono is a really good pre and gets very good reviews. Class A too, isn't it? I would like to stay with tubes though. I've considered the K&K maxxed out. But i need to take one step at a time. Right now, its tube amp time. It should be here by the weekend maybe. |
I will be out of town for a funeral for a few days. Unfortunately, my sister died on Wed. I have lost the 4 closest people to me in the last 2 yrs, 3 of them in one yr.I have not had an opportunity to make any changes to my system yet because I have also had a sinus infection.
There have been many good suggestions and a lot of good info so far. I thank you all for your help
I will try to work on these problems when I return, starting first with the least expensive. First thing is probably to remove the loading resistors and let it run at 470 ohms
Until then, thanks again. Hug a loved one. We are not promised a tomorrow. See you soon. |
Back from funeral and some progress made.
First, I took the loading resistors out which raised the load to 470ohms. This didn't make much difference. Then I replaced the silver cables with inexpensive Wireworld Ic's. This made some difference but there was a loss of resolution. I then removed the WW cables and replaced them with the Signal Cables silver signature. I previously had three different cable brands in the chain. This helped some. But what made a major change was in resetting the VTA. I don't know how it got so far off, but the tail was dragging a lot. I think what happenned was that I lowered it some to ry to alleviate the brightness and then when I set it back to the previous setting, I turned it the wrong way. Now the wife likes it but I would still like to tame the highs a little better. This is not on every album for many sound great. And I just made the changes yesterday. So i haven't listened to very many albums yet. I think the somewhat bright highs are a result of bad pressings as much as anything. Its not a full time thing nor is it unlistenable of fatigueing. So i may be overblowing the problem.
On another not, I have been looking at phono preamps and tube amps.
I've considered the JLTI but would really like to stay with tubes. However this pre gets lots of good reviews. I've also looked at ARC PH3se but have heard that it is not a good match for very LOMC such as mine which is only .23mv output
I've also considered some tube amps. I may pickup a Wright 300B since it is somewhat inexpensive and it would give me a sense of what tubes might sound like.
I can't nor should I spend much tweaking the system now since my wife has reaffirmed her desire for me to build a listening room. She'd like to have her living room back.
Thanks for your kind words about my loss and your help with the problem. 'm still open to ideas about the phono pres mentioned or other observations |
Dan ed. Everything has a price. Wifey is making plans for the possibility that we will have to take her mother in. They need a place to put me. Of course, that's fine with me. We talked about building a shop out back with a listening room above. I don't know if I'd spend much time in the house at all if that happens |
Thom,I put the resistors back in on the secondary. They are 4.7kohm. i had them in the primary position before. I'm sitting and listening now and WOW. It really sounds nice.
I'm still considering a new phono preamp though. Let a JLTI get by me that was very good price. I'm also looking at the K&K Maxxed Out which I am lead to understand is the Art Vinyl reference with a different rectifier.
I'm also looking at tube amps. I've been wanting to go the tube route for some time
Dan ed. I looked at your system and wow. Very nice and nice to look at besides. I had a pair of loaded horn cabinets about that size back in the early 80's They were nowhere as pretty though. I used them on my PA in a few bands I was in. They had 15" EV's and sounded as loud at 150 ft as they did at 10ft. Can't imagine how big your room must be. Then too, I sure they are diffeent animals then what I was running even though the cabinet size looks the same.
Raul, I looked at your system too. I think you need at least one more TT. All kidding aside, you have a showroom of some of the best TT's and arms I've seen anywhere.
Got your email also. Thanks. I'll give you a holler. things have been rather hectic
Happy Thanksgiving to all |
