Nrchy,though I understand your response,please make note----It did not satisfy my appetite for a "good,overlong,boring to many,provoking,and agitating" read!!I guess I'll have to go back and revisit some of my own posts!!Best of luck.BTW--The umbilical will better performance,as will an update to the clamp(clamp update costs about 5 bucks).Best regards! |
Ca2284,---been to that place.Not much stuff of interest,anymore.Same goes for Princeton Record exchange,which is sad,as I loved to take my wife & daughter there for Saturday brunch(in wonderful Princeton township),and then bribe the two of them,with a few dollars,for shopping,as I browsed the record bins.GOD I LOVED to do that,but ownership of that shop insists that the good discs have been snatched up,by foreign collectors.
Fortuneately for me,I have more than a lifetime's worth of good listening discs,as I've been a serious collector for about 25 years!
Best regards. |
BTW-Doug,I admit to being up,last night(Thursday),until 3 am,doing(STILL)JUST THAT.I think? I have found a way to pull a smidgen better timbral performance,by increasing the height,on the phono tubes,of the "Herbies" tube dampers.This has allowed me to "voice" a bit more,to my taste.I'm going in,for the final round,tonight,but admit I'm REALLY tired of fotzing around!!Though I'm happy my system has the ability to tell me of such minute changes.
BTW--I hope you REALLY forgave the "little" devil(on my left shoulder) vs "little angel (on the right one).I killed off the left sided terror.He should not rear his head for a long time.I hope!!! |
Ca2284,sounds like you are on the right track,to good set-up,AND more importantly,learning about critical set-up,which makes a huge difference,in a high res system.
I don't want to spoil the party,BUT----You will definitely NOT get the most out of your fluid(TINY amounts at a time)efforts if you do not go back and recheck/revoice tracking force,and VTA,after each addition,or subtraction of fluid.These work in conjunction with one-another(sort of like a rubick's cube).It is a very tedious series of adjustments,which I'm fairly certain most will not be happy about doing,to this level,and I don't blame them!!I know it sucks,but that's the way it is!!I don't want to come off as arrogant about this.Let's call it "militant",instead!Just kidding!!
Believe me,I've spent hours upon hours with this,and trust me----"I friggin HATE fotzing around" to this level,but I know what I'm talking about,here.Sorry!!
The good news is #1-Nobody is really forcing you to actually do all this.#2-In reality it will be you,not any of us,who benefit.
The first two were really just a bit of humor.#3-(this is really the good news)-The fine tuning needed "after fluid addition/subtraction"(pinheads at a time) is in very small increments,and is easily repeatable due to accurate markings on your arm.Also,it is of paramount importance that you have a very good DIGITAL guage.Accurate to 1/10 gms will NOT be enough to get the very high level of performance,this arm/cartridge can deliver,if the rest of your system is up to it!Possibly you can borrow a "WINDS" guage,or consider the excellent Digi-One stylus guage,which is not too pricey,and superb.
Remember to carefully take out the bearing,and place it with the "tip" facing up.Now with a toothpick,or actual pin,(I like to use a pin,because with a toothpick there is a bit of absobtion,into the wood.Am I obsessed,or what?)add tiny amounts to the bearing tip.Hope this helps,and doesn't drive you out of the hobby!
Believe it or not,I'm actually done with ALL my tweakings!!Thank GOD!!!!
Best of luck!! |
To add to Thom's fine point,while on the Phonostage subject,if we are speaking of tubed stages,there is alot to be gained in trying some really good NOS tube types.This,too,can affect bright/dark voicing which is SO easy to blame on other components.
I have a pal who spent really big bucks on 3 big name phono tubes.After repeated listenings to his set-up,my audio pals kept stating that it seemed as though listening to this SOTA set-up was like going to the dentist,and getting the drill.GNAWING!!
It would have been SO easy to blame the cartridge,speaker/amp interface,or cable choices,as this owner has a hard time admitting anything he spends big dollars on is NOT great.Yet,one night we decided to do some tube swapping,as he has a nice inventory of good tubes.Well the megabuckers were the culprit,and were sold fast!On Audiogon,btw.Hope non of you bought them!Now we no longer feel the need to have our molars checked,when listening.
BTW--We have just experimented in this exact set-up(which has very "high -line" equip.,btw)with the Walker SST contact enhancer(which has gotten great press),and have found that it adds a brightness to this set-up.This could be specific to this system,yet if my friend was NOT willing to do EVERY connection(tube pins too),and then wipe everything off(total job,12 hours),we could have easily blamed some other component,like a cartridge mismatch,for example.This is simply a good example of how many parameters can affect performance,with it being SO difficult to determine the culprit,unless one is privy to a really good/experienced audio group.My friend SID calls this symptom,correctly,"BOON-DOCK-ITIS"!!Or the inability to diagnose a problem due to living in the boon-docks(not close to other "philes!).Like me!
Moral of story--Go back to mid-fi,or take up a nice hobby,like tropical fish,unless you want to drive yourself crazy!!BTW-I have a nice 55 gallon tank for sale!
Best regards! |
Doug,As from what "The word on the street",about you(and Paul)IS--You really have picked up on the finer points,in this hobby,fast!!Sort of reminds me of these two little thirteen year old girls,whom I was watching play tennis,last week,in my local club.As their proud fathers watched,I was SHOCKED as to the INCREDIBLEY high level,these little "Shrimps" could play!!SO high a caliber,I doubted if I was wasting my time,playing the game.I would have had a problem even returning their serves,and I consider myself a fairly advanced player,and have taught the game,yet there is always that next level.Scary!!
While I won't give up on audio,I have to say that the Herbies are by far the best dampers I've tried.I've played around with about a half dozen types.Too low,on my tubes tends to overdamp.I like them towards the top,for more life.Funny thing--When I first added them,I was able to take out a bit of the "maddening" damping fluid,from my 2.2,which opened up the sound,even more than I'd previously thought possible.I was now able to hear differences in tracking forces as small as 1/100 gm,and easily.This was fun,but a two sided sword as well.From this(and this is only conjecture),I came to the conclusion that the tubes/phonostage/cartridge/arm/table/suspension/support/shelf/arm cabling was one BIG circuit(sort of),with each layer compounding the influence of the other.I SWEAR I'd rather just listen to my music,but after hearing so many performance variables(that I liked),in some of my pals' superb set-ups,I said "let's GO for it",and see how far I can go with my own system!I,fortunately,have been pleasantly surprised,yet it has made me a "Madman",but an informed one,at least!!
Best regards,and keep up the good work.!
Oh,yeah--Forgot to mention that where you are,as of now,in your discoveries of music/lp collecting etc.,is/was the most enjoyable part of the hobby,to me.I envy you for this.Not that I don't still get a real bang out of it all!! |
Mustang,I see absolutely NO reason to ascribe to what you suggest.What's your point.If you really think that Raul,and all else' opinions are misguided,than why bother to correspond,yourself?
I find Raul's input to be quite simply,"alot of fun to read"!I don't agree with everything stated in all posts,and don't expect anyone to agree with everything I state.The object,which I'm sure Raul IS aware of,is to have some input,on subjects we are ALL trying to learn,a bit more,about!So sometimes we go a bit overboard.Big deal!Any laws broken?This is all supposed to be "FUN"!That's my take!You're entitled to see things differently.
Best regards,though! |
BTW-Raul,You have to learn to get a better feel for my humor.I was kidding with you re:What's your point",and the "EGG Sandwich" stuff. |
Nrchy,I'va asked before,but no response,so I'll ask again.How did everything go,with your Cosmos,and analog rig?Also,did you go for the additional umbilical?
Be REAL WORDY,as I'm currently bored,and need some audio stimulation!!See some of my previous posts,for examples of overt wordiness!! |
Ca2284,Firstly--A xv-1s is quite a heavy cartridge,and would probably be a better match for an arm like the Phantom,Schroeder,Dynavector's own(excellent)507 mk 2,and some other contenders.The 2.2 may work with it,but it is really not ideal with cartridges like this,or the more massive Koetsus,IMO.
As to your NOW experimenting with adding an additional drop of fluid,I'd like to emphasize (strongly)that you work in tiny,as in pinheads at a time,of the damping fluid.This is SO critical,you won't believe it.You want to shoot for a very detailed sound,yet not a damped sound.There should NOT be any brightness with a high performance cartridge like the ZYX,that you have.Adding drops at a time is WAY too much to properly voice the arm/cart. interface.
Best of luck! |
Raul,what is your point,other than to make a scrambled egg sandwich,from the "Eggs dripping down" the faces of those Audiogoners who have "pitched" the INIV big time,for the last year,or so.All kidding aside,this all means NOTHING!!We have a comparison,from one,or two hobbyists.Hobbyist #1 did not load all cartridges to the exact requirements,and admitted to it.The ONLY way to find out how good a prescribed design is,is to audition one,fully broken in,at home.Not in a pal's system.Everything relates to our own perception,in our own system.To me,the Univ may still be something special.I won't know unless I hear one,in my set-up.That won't happen,any time soon,as I'm afflicted with a good disease,called "Happy For Now-Itis"!I suspect most hobbyists will succomb to this at some point.They'll be happy they did.Are you? |
Since I do agree that sometimes I may "seem" to take myself too seriously,in reality,the "real me" doesn't.I'm simply a "one man's opinion"!That's it!Anyone going beyond that is going a bit overboard,with forum life.In seriousness,this whole posting bonanza is just fun.Yes I learn,mostly from pondering thoughts,picked up.If these equate into what my own perceptions are(about enjoying music "reproduction")than I move on,from that point.Believe me,I LOVE spending money on things audio.I'm embarrassed to admit to,just how much.If I'd have invested ALL of it,I'd be living comfortabley,off the interest.YET,I now have the best sound that I,personally,have owned.Growing as a "LISTENER",to me, is much more valuable than simply being a hobbyist(a hobby I love).
What I DO NOT see myself as,is "mean spirited",which I don't have to name anyone here,who seems to lean in that direction.You know who you are.If that is "YOU",than it's time to re-think whether you are in this for fun,or to intentionally jerk some of us around.Baiting is,to me,accepted.Being nasty,for it's own sake, won't make anyone any friends.I didn't for me.
Let's not get away from the FACT that MIKE L. spent ALOT of time on his very enjoyable comparison,and spent alot more time posting,for our entertainment,and appreciation.I don't think he thought anyone was going out,to buy something off any of his comparative opinions.What I DO think,is that he "GOOD NATUREDLY"(hope that's a word)wanted to share his enthusiasm,and appreciation of "music reproducing" products!The rest is up to us,to ponder!!
Happy holiday,to all!! |
