Cha-cha-cha-changes.... new adventures

How did I miss this thread? I’m really happy this is all working out. Lots of shared bits and bops in our systems from many shared hangouts maybe.I’m really looking forward to the iPhono3 and wish we lived across the river from each other still, as comparing it to the iPhono3 with the LPS would be fun.
 
So, when it all comes together the system will entail:
Sources -
Denon DP-80 - Jelco TK-950L and Technics EPA 250
Redboy SUT/Bottlehead Seduction (from Ernie) and iFi iPhono3
Denon DCD 1520 as transport/Channel Island VDA2 DAC/VAC1 power supply
Dynalab FT-101A tuner
Revox A-77 or B-77
Redboy TVC
DBX 200 switching box
Conrad Johnson MV-45
Reference 3A mm de Capo speakers on Target stands

Looking back a bit, this whole relatively recent rethink of the system began rather innocuously searching online for a turntable for a friend which ended up with the purchase of the Denon DP80 and that whole trip. That upped the game enough in one leap that it seemed I really just had to keep going and find a whole new level of "perfection" (whatever that is). Carts will change over time no doubt (entropy) and there might be a rethink of the digital domain at some point, but I think I'm really going to be set for a long run with this.

Now I just need some good shelving and to start playing the cable game a bit.

My thanks to the nice local folk who bought a few of my unneeded pieces recently! ;)
 
Sounds really lovely and well scaled to the room I think. I would like to hear it all in a bigger, better room, but... ya know...
I get that. But still- that’s quite the setup. I would love to do a tour of haven member systems- yours, John’s, the Minister’s…
 
Bruce: Thanks for the detailed write up, very informative….gonna look great when you get the shelves built.


VR
Andy
 
You've seen my system. Or the last iteration of it :) You even got to hear it at its best!
Yes, it was really quite marvellous! My goal here is really something more than just a little similar. It wouldn't be a lie to say that your system in Ferndale rather imspired me to keep pushing onwards along the path.
 
Yes, it was really quite marvellous! My goal here is really something more than just a little similar. It wouldn't be a lie to say that your system in Ferndale rather imspired me to keep pushing onwards along the path.
Funny as my goal here has been to try to replicate that system, too. It really was something special towards the end there. I"m almost back to it- and have all the ingredients, of course. I've just been trying to do it in a room with more restricted square footage and shelf space.

Your system was great when I heard it. Honestly from what I heard, the TVC alone could have gotten it there.
 
Bruce: Thanks for the detailed write up, very informative….gonna look great when you get the shelves built.


VR
Andy
The challenge with the shelving is three-fold. The first issue is that the turntable is 24"x20" and weighs a ton so there really isn't any commercially available shelving (that I've found so far) that it will fit on. The second part of the equation is that I've got roughly 42" of width to work with in the location the shelf needs to reside and a lot of gear to fir on those shelves. I'd love to have a spot for the RTR machine to go up top next to the turntable - should just fit. Then it would be nice to have a shelf for the tube amp and another below it for a SS amp to switch in form time to time without pulling things out of the closet.
 
Funny as my goal here has been to try to replicate that system, too. It really was something special towards the end there. I"m almost back to it- and have all the ingredients, of course. I've just been trying to do it in a room with more restricted square footage and shelf space.

Your system was great when I heard it. Honestly from what I heard, the TVC alone could have gotten it there.
Well, apart from the addition of a new second phono pre and a switch of one arm (which really doesn't basically change anything from what you actually heard) the system is still exactly as you heard it apart from the TVC in the chain. I loved things before, but love them even more now. I wasn't unhappy with what I was hearing, but have long wanted to try a TVC, plus just too many tubes fired up at once. Sixteen in total. The TVC does everything the tube pre-amps did and better, all without burning electricity and reminding me of Ongoing Audio Entropy. I sometimes had hallucinations of money floating up in the air distortions from the heat given off. HAH (not really). I love tubes in the system, but they don't have to be at every single stage of things - probably better they aren't.

The iPhono3 is home, but probably won't get set up and into the system until tomorrow. I need to socialize with my Darling Beloved, repay her audio tolerance a bit!
 
  • Well a Scotsman clad in kilt left the bar one evening fair
    One could tell by how he walked that he'd drunk more than his share
    He fumbled round until he could no longer keep his feet
    Then he stumbled off into the grass asleep beside the street

    Ring-ding-did-a-little-la-di-oh, Ring-di-diddly-eye-oh,
    He stumbled off into the grass asleep beside the street

    About that time two young n' lovely girls just happened by
    One says to the other with a twinkle in her eye
    "See yon sleeping Scotsman so strong and handsome built,
    I wonder if it's true what they don't wear beneath the kilt."

    Ring-ding-did-a-little-la-di-oh, Ring-di-diddly-eye-oh,
    I wonder if it's true what they don't wear beneath the kilt

    They crept up on that sleeping Scotsman quiet as could be
    Lifted up his kilt about an inch so they could see
    And there behold for them to view beneath his Scottish skirt
    Was nothing more than God had graced him with upon his birth

    Ring-ding-did-a-little-la-di-oh, Ring-di-diddly-eye-oh,
    Was nothing more than God had graced him with upon his birth

    They marveled for a moment then one said, "We must be gone.
    Let's leave a present for our friend before we move along."
    As a gift they left a blue silk ribbon tied into a bow
    Around the bonnie star the Scot's kilt did lift and show.
    Around the bonnie star the Scot's kilt did lift and show.

    Now the Scotsman woke to nature's call and stumbled towards the trees
    Behind a bush he lift his kilt and gawks at what he sees
    And in a startled voice he says to what's before his eyes
    "Ah, lad I don't know you've been but I see you won first prize."

    Ring-ding-did-a-little-la-di-oh, Ring-di-diddly-eye-oh,
    "Ah, lad I don't know you've been but I see you won first prize."

I had the opportunity to hear Bryan Bowers perform this in concert years ago.
 
The challenge with the shelving is three-fold. The first issue is that the turntable is 24"x20" and weighs a ton so there really isn't any commercially available shelving (that I've found so far) that it will fit on. The second part of the equation is that I've got roughly 42" of width to work with in the location the shelf needs to reside and a lot of gear to fir on those shelves. I'd love to have a spot for the RTR machine to go up top next to the turntable - should just fit. Then it would be nice to have a shelf for the tube amp and another below it for a SS amp to switch in form time to time without pulling things out of the closet.
Understand your quandary, have several tables that won’t fit standard shelve, Including my DP 75.

Used a intermediate heavy isolation platform on a standard sized shelf, it’s attaches in the rear and the platform and table overhang a bit, actually works well…

Andy
 
I've got the iPhono3 set up and running on the EPA250 arm. The DL-304 that was on the arm was displaying some odd behaviour recently (including picking up a radio station faintly in the background - what's that about?) so I mounted my back-up AT33PTG/II. Not a user-friendly cart to set up for sure as the little, tiny stylus resides far underneath a huge body. I finally gave up and cut a 52mm jig and did the alignment based on the Technics overhang method which seems to have been entirely successful. Still a bit of playing with VTF and TVA to do I think. I did a bit of playing with the loading and ended back where I started at 100 ohms, but it was interesting. 250 ohm has some good points, but suppressed part of the midrange a bit more than I cared for.

I guess we'll just let things break in a bit at this point, shall we? New cart and phono pre with unknown (but probably not very many) hours on it... Conclusion on the iPhono3 - clearly the best phono pre I've had in the house and possibly heard.
 
This iPhono 3- I read up on it last night. Seems to be one hell of a phono stage. I was not expecting that from iFi- I'm only familiar with their headphone products, and hadn't realized their pedigree and involvement with higher-end audio. Not that I will get one, but I sure do want one now.
 
This iPhono 3- I read up on it last night. Seems to be one hell of a phono stage. I was not expecting that from iFi- I'm only familiar with their headphone products, and hadn't realized their pedigree and involvement with higher-end audio. Not that I will get one, but I sure do want one now.
With the Anthem leaving the stage I lost a phono pre for one arm. I have an Opera PM-1 stage (really lovely) that I loaned to a friend, but asking for it back (as opposed to selling it to him) would have been cruel. So if I'm going to replace it the choice has to be at least as good as what I've been running. I like that the iPhono3 can just tuck in anywhere.
 
At the risk of boring folks I'll throw in a bit of an update/summing up (so far). Coming into this I had a system that I already liked, a lot. This was mostly a matter or satisfying curiosity and perhaps some incremental improvement here and there. What I've ended up with is instead a real quantum leap. I definitely did not see that coming.

The iPhono3 is definitely one piece that entirely lives up to the ad copy. Now that is it burning in and the back-up cart I had to mount (AT33PTG/II) is breaking in a bit it is clear that it is a step up from the already nice stages I've been running in recent times. At first the midrange was a bit thin and there was a hard edge, but over the past 24 hours that just vanished and everything is really full and balanced. Last night and this morning I played several of my contemporary Canadian classical LPs and was quite surprised to discover just how much I'd not heard before. I see a better-yet cart in my future...

What continues to surprise me is how the old MV-45 just keeps sounding better and better with every improvement. Not bad at all for a 40 year old.
 
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