Hi folks, I have owned a cortese for 2 years and have been recently going through the isolation issue with DIY racks and isolation platforms. I removed feet from pre and PS added a solid hardwood 20mm base ( left the metal base by screw fixing it through the exisitng holes). I then separated it from the isolation base using a DIY version of a roller block - made a definite improvement in clarity and solidity.
Cheers,
Phil |
Hi clipsal - I just added a full suite of herbies tube dampers to all tubes on the cortese and it made quite a difference. Bummer to hear the Cab is that far ahead though. Would you say the bass with 101D is still superior to suavignon/cortese ( with tung sol, v-cap etc.) BTW I am in Brisbane |
Dev, the backgrounds became blacker and the instruments more clearly articulated - A similar effect that you seem to get with any vibration isolation or damping tweak.
I should have tried them one by one but whacked them all on at once - I suspect improvment is incremental for each stage and it all cost less than NOS tubes anyway - all the gear sits on ball bearing type footers ( spikes do not work as well) and lead shot filled hardwood plinths so there is already a decent amount of damping
Gear is:
CDP CEC TL0X
DAC CEC DX51
Pre Cortese
Amp Halcro Dm38
Spkr DIY WMTMW transmission line
Cheers |
Has anyone out there contemplated changing the volume pot on the cortese to the alps RK50 ( as used on Kondo) - it may be possible to adapt and keep the remote control inside the unit unlike the DACT |
I would like to second Fiddler - in my cortese the V caps gave bass extension, detail and cleaned up the "fuzz" - I don't see why detail and musicality are mutualy exclusive -often when resolution is improved it exposes other challenges in the system - my experience is that vibration control and room treatment need to be developed at the same time as the rest of the system |
Fiddler,jmr and other "mad upgraders" - I have followed your lead and replaced the volume pot with the Alps RK50 ( on cortese) - definite improvement - fuller sound, sharper edges, lower noise floor - much more "live" sound - not sure if it is better than the dact but had a ARC ref3 in my system while ago and while it was not as musical as the cortese it had a lot more body and heft - the alps pot seems to go some way to providing that without losing musicality - now looking at selector switch - anyone had a go at replacing that
Cheers |
Markxiii
The spindle does not go through to the back so the only way would to be run a gear drive on an extended shaft between knob and pot( I think I have seen a picture of that somewhere) and there is not enough room in the chassis for that. I lost remote but sit quite close so it was not a big issue. You probably have seen the bent remote for dact but it would not fit either.
One of the advantages of the RK50 is that if you do set the volume too high it does not get into that ear bleeding teritory - just gets louder ( my experience)
Cheers |
Easy Tweak for preamp! - I have been playing with diy active shielded cables ( a la tesla) and tried it on the cortese power supply to pre cable - as it is a copper braid shield I just added a 12v wall wart power supply, 12v LED lamp and connected it to either end of the braided shield - switched polarity to get the best sound. I thought it a small but clear improvement - worth a try esp. if you have that stuff lying around
Cheers |
after a long silence quite a spray - Maril55 - sssso sssibilance turns into coloration - I am sure ssssupratek owners are surprised by your vassilation on this matter.
Lrsky - it appears you can can establish coloration from reading posts and can divine that no resales mean warranty worries rather than satisfied owners
amazing |
PS cap replacement - anyone tried any other options - I have done the V caps and they were definitley an improvement so I am keen on upgrading power supply ( alps RK50 pot was also very good but pricy ) - another tweak I recomend is replacing the bottom plate in both pre and PS with something more rigid and using proprietry footers - I used symonite sandwich panel ( like alucabond ) - I drilled new vent holes of course
Cheers |
Cr - I have DIY active ( 12vdc) shielded single ended IC from dac to cortese and there has been no hum at all - I am doing similar to amp ( solid state) - a rough prototype did not hum - it all gets very complex with lots of different currents at the rear of the rack though -
I did try them on a a passive pre to OTL graff amp of a friend and there was quite a hum
Cheers |
Hi Fiddler - agree totaly with your results - I actually added a hardwood base under the metal bottom plate just using longer screws ( and drilling vent holes) so I could use footers of various types - only difference is I have found that balls work better than cones ( I did a diy roller ball type using ceramic balls)
It is amazing how these things make such a difference - hard to explain the tower of stuff under your amp to visitors tho
cheers |
All disbelievers - just try out some vibration reducing tweaks - then report back - dont worry about the theory - prior to Newton you would have fallen off the earth - Fiddlers posts started the current flurry but his posts have always been clear and rational - reporting on experience - it amazes me that people believe in the free market except when it involves audiophiles - BTW if your sonic memory only lasts 20 seconds that should save some money
Cheers |
Ait - you have a good point - although my experience is that isolation under everything - tubes and SS - (even power supplies for TT motors) make a difference as do cables and power supplies - when you drop in the new cable and it is bright ( but more detailed )it may well be isolation or power supply filtering that is needed to solve it rather than another cable - none of us will will ong enough to try out all the permuations of products on offer but it does keep you off the streets - I have ended up with ball bearings for isolation, ribbon cable and actively sheilded power cables with bybees + v caps and alps RK50 pot on cortese - it all sounds pretty good but who knows if another approach would not sound better
Cheers |
Chelvam - you could be right - the hardwood would conduct heat and transfer to air but not as efficiently as metal - if you really wanted to lose heat better if top plate was black and well ventilated- I have actually since changed bottom plate to a sandwich panel of aluminium sheet with foam core due to rack height limits and new tubes but I suspect the hardwood was better - life is too short to AB everything - in any case a stiffer base plate and improved footers help
Cheers, |
Hi Kj - I had a phono stage shoot out with cole, pathos and herron and the herron bettered the phono stage on the cortese - a bit more solidity without any loss of musicality that you might get with AR ( also tried AR ref line stage on previous time) - it was an older preloved model - might be worth pursuing on 2nd hand market
Cheers |
