Of Squirrels and Shiny Things

I've seen the site before (mostly in the context of DACs). This thread led me to read a few amplifier posts... and I decided (l will strive to be diplomatic here), the majordomo and his followers there have rather different opinions (qualitatively and quantitatively) as to what is important in a power amplifier.
 
I was skimming a review that I wasn't particularly enjoying, and then it hit me... Squirrel ! Shiny Thing ! Something that just might appeal to certain Havenites.

A Denon 103 suitable tonearm (I think) that doesn't seem to cost the earth when new.

http://www.karmadon.net/shop/viscous-damped-unipivot-tonearm-12/

KarmadonUnipivot12.jpg

There's a 9" version too. Looks like he does tonearm lifters and other assorted things here.
 
airdronian said:
I was skimming a review that I wasn't particularly enjoying, and then it hit me... Squirrel ! Shiny Thing ! Something that just might appeal to certain Havenites.

A Denon 103 suitable tonearm (I think) that doesn't seem to cost the earth when new.

http://www.karmadon.net/shop/viscous-damped-unipivot-tonearm-12/

View attachment 8923

There's a 9" version too. Looks like he does tonearm lifters and other assorted things here.
Click to expand...

Was looking at those the other day. ;)
 
Redboy said:
Okay fellas (are there any women here?), strap on your headphones and give this one a view.

I believe this may be the best "system overview" video I've seen yet -- I'm looking forward to more!

Click to expand...

Great sound quality and measurements. Also like how the sound stays centered and does not follow the camera (even though that’s more realistic/common, ala kenrick sound).
 
airdronian said:
I was skimming a review that I wasn't particularly enjoying, and then it hit me... Squirrel ! Shiny Thing ! Something that just might appeal to certain Havenites.

A Denon 103 suitable tonearm (I think) that doesn't seem to cost the earth when new.

http://www.karmadon.net/shop/viscous-damped-unipivot-tonearm-12/

View attachment 8923

There's a 9" version too. Looks like he does tonearm lifters and other assorted things here.
Click to expand...
Serge has been making those for a few years now; I think our own @J-ROB has one that he likes quite a bit.

He (Serge) also makes a very faithful replica of the iconic Gray 108 tonearm, which is very nice. It will probably come as a surprise to no one here that I own one of those... :-/

http://www.karmadon.net/shop/klon-tonarma-gray-108/

 
Well, he takes his finger, and spits on it, in order to rub a little on the front sight, to make it a wee bit more shiny,.. and takes aim at the damn squirrel, and,... pop goes the rodent.

this pretty much sums up my last 7 months or so.
 
my khadas tone board DAC arrived yesterday. today i am trying it in my work system. https://www.khadas.com/tone
it is a lot better than the topping D30 i was using. all for just a franklin! hearing a lot of additional detail in some reference albums (Kid A, Moon Safari).
 
Redboy said:
I think we need a thread to share and document our daily audio distractions.

You know, the stuff that you find yourself reading about or looking at or (gasp!) purchasing?! after following that rabbit down that hole...

Whatcha got?

Here's something I found a while back. It's neat-o, and it sure gets the ideas swirlin'!

:)

Click to expand...



Build a mono system, horn loaded. I did on a bit of a whim and I'm now constantly amazed at how damn engaging and fun it is. They can be really awesome. I got SUPER lucky and scored a 1505 and 288c, and that prompted me to try mono.

Did I mention how awesome it is?

I'm even thinking of adding a horn mono system to the main system, so I have a better excuse to buy a nice mono cart/table, and all those vinyl albums I've been passing on for too damn long.

Not sure where you are, but if you're near Austin, ring me and I'll happily audition it for you.

Cheers,
Gable
 
A 1505 and a 288 family member's gonna be awesome even if it's just sitting there :)
It simply doesn't get much better (at least for anything even remotely like a practically affordable price point), IMO.
Watcha usin' for a crossover? Hiraga's?
 
mhardy6647 said:
A 1505 and a 288 family member's gonna be awesome even if it's just sitting there :)
It simply doesn't get much better (at least for anything even remotely like a practically affordable price point), IMO.
Watcha usin' for a crossover? Hiraga's?
Click to expand...

No, some pretty basic first order. I’m seriously considering making a few pairs of ~1505 ‘clones’ from wood. The larger segmented horns have a very special character that I would like to explore more.


2B09F2BE-522F-487E-BA17-3BF3BBD88A2B.jpeg 1227F306-FB44-439B-BF73-6EA855461995.jpeg

Yes, that is a wood shim wedged in to hold that rca jack in place. Until I remember to fix the bad solder joint, that I meant to do a few weeks ago. Haha

Cheers,
Gable
 
I was wondering if I could use a Grace Designs Lunatec V2 portable mic preamp as a gain stage for mm phono. It has 0-60 dB gain. I would try it out except I need to get a new battery (and hopefully thats it, this did power up the last I checked but that was about 10 years ago). I purchased this new 20 years ago, TOTL portable pre/PS, cost over 1.5k, real nice sounding unit that was paired w Schoeps CMXY-4V mics. Does anyone know? It would feed into a B&K AVP 1030 5.1 pre that does not have a phono stage. If it seems like a go, I will buy a battery and give it a shot. Thanks!

https://www.gracedesign.com/support/v2_manual_a.pdf

2nd from last pic.
http://www.gracedesign.com/products/discontinued/discontinued.htm
 
Ilusndweller said:
I was wondering if I could use a Grace Designs Lunatec V2 portable mic preamp as a gain stage for mm phono. It has 0-60 dB gain. I would try it out except I need to get a new battery (and hopefully thats it, this did power up the last I checked but that was about 10 years ago). I purchased this new 20 years ago, TOTL portable pre/PS, cost over 1.5k, real nice sounding unit that was paired w Schoeps CMXY-4V mics. Does anyone know? It would feed into a B&K AVP 1030 5.1 pre that does not have a phono stage. If it seems like a go, I will buy a battery and give it a shot. Thanks!

https://www.gracedesign.com/support/v2_manual_a.pdf

2nd from last pic.
http://www.gracedesign.com/products/discontinued/discontinued.htm
Click to expand...


No RIAA curve. But for straight analog gain, its a winner.
 
Thanks Mike. One of these days Ill get a battery and play around with it, like try to defeat the purpose of my Creek OBH-12 passive pre in an attempt to improve the sound. :)
 
You'll need to compensate for the RIAA curve in order to get proper EQ'ing for LP playback. Others might be able to suggest a work around for that (my records just collect dust anymore).
 
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