terry9

Responses from terry9

Which Nakamichi to choose?
@tls49 Thanks for the Nak link. I'd forgotten about that site!@lowrider57 Sorry, I mis-attributed the question to jond. See above. Yes, pretty close to studio quality, IMO. 
Which Nakamichi to choose?
@jond My CR-7a with belts is marginally better than my CR-7a with gear train. High frequency was not an issue on Dolby B with either deck when stock. I found Dolby C to sound a little "processed", but not degraded to digital levels.I suggest that ... 
Which Nakamichi to choose?
@jond Not my experience with the CR-7a. The auto-alignment feature makes up for any limitation in what is basically a different compensation curve.  
Which Nakamichi to choose?
@lowrider57 I use Dolby B, but not Dolby C. With Dolby B, there's not much to choose between a hot-rodded Revox A77 half-track at 7.5ips and a hot-rodded CR-7a."Hot-rodded" means mainly cap and resistor improvements, not fundamental circuit changes. 
Which Nakamichi to choose?
If you're thinking about archiving precious records, don't think twice. Get a Nak. The medium is viable, the sound good, the build excellent. I have owned 5 Naks, and still own 3: an XR-7 and two CR-7a's. The XR-7 is used for a music reference in ... 
There should be a "Rant" category...
You did well to move on. Inviting "a fair offer" and then countering with the asking price? There should be sanctions for that. 
Foil damping tape as a tonearm tube wrap?
I use a product called Moon Gel, small semi-adhesive pads to adjust the tonal characteristics of drum kits. I place it on the arm wands of my TransFi air bearing tonearms.Subjectively, there is more detail and less fizz - an altogether more refine... 
if I buy an ultrasonic cleaner for my records will I be able to hear the difference?
Just about anything can be hazardous if the equipment is improperly specced or doesn't meet spec.Or appear to be hazardous after an inappropriate experiment.Bottom line, I have cleaned thousands of records, with only the occasional warp caused by ... 
Am I hearing things?
Is it possible that this is a warm-up effect?Electronics can perform better with warm-up. I find that my amps improve for about 16 hours, my preamp for about 4.So, if you plug into one outlet and let everything warm up for ages, it will sound very... 
if I buy an ultrasonic cleaner for my records will I be able to hear the difference?
@prof IME, you can't judge record cleanliness by appearance. All my records have appeared pristine since I bought a 16.5 back in the Precambrian. Five years ago I bought a lab grade German US machine and ran it at 80 KHz. After cleaning and rinsin... 
if I buy an ultrasonic cleaner for my records will I be able to hear the difference?
Very probably, and for the better.But you will certainly extend stylus life. Since my cartridge is an expensive rebuild, the sonic benefits were free.That said, I have had sealed records which sounded terrible, and could not be made right. But mos... 
Phono stage can minimize tics and pops on vinyl
@atmasphere Fair enough - agreed, there IS a distinction. 
Phono stage can minimize tics and pops on vinyl
@atmasphere Absolute premium parts aren't needed- the above parameters are.I agree that those three factors are necessary. But, with respect for your considerable expertise, I think not sufficient for the best sound. 
Phono stage can minimize tics and pops on vinyl
It's more than just circuit topology, at least that's what my experiments show. I built two examples of a phono/pre based on the same schematic. The first used some premium parts, but not all. The second was an all-out assault on the state of the ... 
Thumbs up for ultrasonic record cleaning
@slaw Further to the sticky o-ring problem:Washed until the rings were sticky, about 3 or 4 cycles of 20 minutes at 45C. Then1. Wiped rings with isopropanol - worse.2. Dusted and rubbed rings with charcoal powder - better. But it made a heck of a ...