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Post by Westie on Apr 23, 2020 17:00:30 GMT
Well, where to start: I’ve been into hifi since ore-teens so that’s over 40 years. My most influential years were the mid to late 80s into the early 90s, which were a golden era for hifi. I’ve been a habitual box swapper for many years but lately I’ve settled down to enjoy a mostly Sonneteer-based system. I just love what their gear does. I do still dabble with stuff that takes my fancy, but it’s as much about the design and build as it is the sound. I just enjoy owning nice kit. My dabblings these days are almost always things tat wot unseat my main system. Here are a few pics:
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Post by Westie on Apr 24, 2020 3:46:04 GMT
As you will see from the pics, I’ve returned to using the Sonneteer Campion. It feels like coming home or putting on your most comfortable clothes. I have three great amps, but the Campion is the best of the three to me.
The Orton does some things better. It’s a bit more dynamic, for instance, However, it doesn’t have the Campion’s ability to sound wonderful at all volumes. It also lacks that last degree of relaxation and poise. It’s also more forward and less spacious.
The JVC is Great with the Reference 3as. Despite being 92db sensitivity they seem to need power. The JVC has wonderful bass wallop. The phono stage and DAC are both good, but not as good as my Sonneteer kit.
I have also returned to my Spicas. As good as the Neats and Da Capos are, the Spicas are simply the est I’ve heard. The best soundstage you can imagine, great pace and the ability to start and stop in a microsecond.
My TransRotor deck with Artemiz arm and OC9 is unlikely to change. To me it’s perfect.
In short, I’m very thankful for the kit I have. It makes me happy to look at, to use and to hear.
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Post by dsjr on Apr 24, 2020 16:34:55 GMT
As we discussed recently, if you come down one day and the stereo sounds uncharacteristically awful, just switch it off and do something else, as it's almost certainly NOT the system underperforming! If it sounds shit every time, that's different
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Post by Westie on Apr 24, 2020 19:02:49 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2020 21:56:19 GMT
I bought an old Rega 'RB-250' Yesterday that im gonna Rewire & add J.A Michell Tecno weight to over the next few Weeks..
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2020 22:02:09 GMT
Also bought an Hard Rubber Mat from a Pioneer 'PL-112D' to replace that crappy felt mat on the Systemdek. The Snake oil mob can come out with any new fancy material they want to make mats but Rubber mats win the day, any day for me.
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Post by Westie on Apr 24, 2020 22:33:42 GMT
I bought an old Rega 'RB-250' Yesterday that im gonna Rewire & add J.A Michell Tecno weight to over the next few Weeks.. I just wish Rega had spent a tiny bit more on the wire and tags in the first place. I’ve never rewired one myself but I’ve had plenty done by Johnny at AO. I’ve watched vids and the earth wire bit scares me.
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Post by Westie on Apr 24, 2020 22:38:59 GMT
Also bought an Hard Rubber Mat from a Pioneer 'PL-112D' to replace that crappy felt mat on the Systemdek. The Snake oil mob can come out with any new fancy material they want to make mats but Rubber mats win the day, any day for me. View AttachmentI don’t think I’ve ever tried a rubber mat since the days when I had a cheap Akai belt drive. They seem to be “out of fashion” Give it ten years and they will probs make a comeback everywhere when some internet guru “discovers” them. I really liked the Origin Live mats (which look like rubberised felt or fibre, but my current deck really seems to like the Ringmat. Utter, utter rip of product, but I got mine for nothing.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2020 14:42:31 GMT
I bought an old Rega 'RB-250' Yesterday that im gonna Rewire & add J.A Michell Tecno weight to over the next few Weeks.. I just wish Rega had spent a tiny bit more on the wire and tags in the first place. I’ve never rewired one myself but I’ve had plenty done by Johnny at AO. I’ve watched vids and the earth wire bit scares me. Made to a price point i guess. I really do not understand why people have problems with earthing when rewiring. Do not remove that Black ground wire that comes from the arm tube, so be careful.. Replacing this wire will not make a blind bit of difference to sound quality. This needs to be wired to the base of the arm together with a flying ground wire. Scrap the original idea of using the Left Ground wire from the Cartridge. There is actually a good kit on E-Bay with a machined base plug & Cardas wire, One continuous run from cart the Pre amp. This is how it should be done.. Id personally use J.A.Michell Cartridge tags cos they are the best tags i have ever used, also different RCA plugs. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Xad-CARDAS-REGA-Tonearm-CONTINUOUS-LOOM-REWIRE-KIT-UK-EU-PRICE/401969892074?hash=item5d9745caea:g:-8UAAOSwW2Zed5D6
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Post by dsjr on Apr 25, 2020 17:50:25 GMT
What is it about the Technoweight please apart from nicer manufacture? Lowering the centre of gravity surely makes no odds in a conventional pivoted arm and unlike Dual tonearms, no Rega arm is fully dynamically balanced to my knowledge so what the heck...
The internal RB arm wiring is supposedly good quality Hitachi OCC stuff and it's fine enough not to bind up the arm bearings. Too fine for the cartridge fittings by ham fisted twats like me, so they put heavier wires here. The tags are fine for most people and originally well soldered on, but no idea why they didn't use posher looking gold ones (I think Roy G had a thing about gold plating and 'plating' in general as he insisted on using nickel RCA socket bands on their electronics, his argument was against gold plated nickel? plated base metal).
Cardas type wiring I gather is heavier gauge than the original stuff and there is supposedly a gland inside that this wire passes through (may be bullshit and I've never looked). The arm tube was I remember, conventionally wired to the earthing point in addition to the wire strap connecting to the pillar. I appreciate Johnnie has serviced so many of these and will know more, but he got shirty when I asked him if he had the tooling to properly torque up the horizontal bearings on an RB300 style arm, as Rega made special tooling for this and supplied it to Moth Marketing (Mike Harris was the only third party to have this Rega tooling for his Incognito wiring loom at one time). The torque driver defeated my hands and wrist muscles it was so hard-set (oo-er missus).
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Post by Westie on Apr 25, 2020 18:15:58 GMT
I just wish Rega had spent a tiny bit more on the wire and tags in the first place. I’ve never rewired one myself but I’ve had plenty done by Johnny at AO. I’ve watched vids and the earth wire bit scares me. Made to a price point i guess. I really do not understand why people have problems with earthing when rewiring. Do not remove that Black ground wire that comes from the arm tube, so be careful.. Replacing this wire will not make a blind bit of difference to sound quality. This needs to be wired to the base of the arm together with a flying ground wire. Scrap the original idea of using the Left Ground wire from the Cartridge. There is actually a good kit on E-Bay with a machined base plug & Cardas wire, One continuous run from cart the Pre amp. This is how it should be done.. Id personally use J.A.Michell Cartridge tags cos they are the best tags i have ever used, also different RCA plugs. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Xad-CARDAS-REGA-Tonearm-CONTINUOUS-LOOM-REWIRE-KIT-UK-EU-PRICE/401969892074?hash=item5d9745caea:g:-8UAAOSwW2Zed5D6I think that’s the problem. So many bodgers aren’t capable of being careful. Most aren’t even able to understand the concept. I view DIYers the same whether it be hifi or home. The majority just don’t have the skills. I realise you are very different to that. Can’t fault your chore of cable either. Johnny did my Artemiz with Cardas and it’s a delight.
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Post by Westie on Apr 25, 2020 18:19:47 GMT
Postie came whilst I slept the day away. I spent most of the night listening to Yello live in Berlin, so was light out from about noon until almost 7pm! When I awoke I had three albums in the Front porch. Toy by Yello. I already have the deluxe CD bit nothing beats vinyl so I got it. Hotel Ambient by Moby. I gave the double vinyl to a mate and missed it, so there is now a triple out. Yello Baby. An album I have on CD but never really got into until lately.
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Post by Westie on Apr 25, 2020 18:29:42 GMT
What is it about the Technoweight please apart from nicer manufacture? Lowering the centre of gravity surely makes no odds in a conventional pivoted arm and unlike Dual tonearms, no Rega arm is fully dynamically balanced to my knowledge so what the heck... The internal RB arm wiring is supposedly good quality Hitachi OCC stuff and it's fine enough not to bind up the arm bearings. Too fine for the cartridge fittings by ham fisted twats like me, so they put heavier wires here. The tags are fine for most people and originally well soldered on, but no idea why they didn't use posher looking gold ones (I think Roy G had a thing about gold plating and 'plating' in general as he insisted on using nickel RCA socket bands on their electronics, his argument was against gold plated nickel? plated base metal). Cardas type wiring I gather is heavier gauge than the original stuff and there is supposedly a gland inside that this wire passes through (may be bullshit and I've never looked). The arm tube was I remember, conventionally wired to the earthing point in addition to the wire strap connecting to the pillar. I appreciate Johnnie has serviced so many of these and will know more, but he got shirty when I asked him if he had the tooling to properly torque up the horizontal bearings on an RB300 style arm, as Rega made special tooling for this and supplied it to Moth Marketing (Mike Harris was the only third party to have this Rega tooling for his Incognito wiring loom at one time). The torque driver defeated my hands and wrist muscles it was so hard-set (oo-er missus). I’m not sure about lowered centre of gravity. I know the Artemiz does this, but it’s far from conventional. I do like the OL counterweight and stub. I find the tensioning rod makes the Rega a far better arm. Are others better than the stock Rega? The standard 250 one is a bit of a horror (bad, wobbly fit between weight and stub thread) and should be replaced, I feel. Not sure how much better an RB300 one would be but I’d expect it to be worthwhile. I’ve never owned or even seen a techno weight. I used to be a big critic of Michell stuff on the basis of the old Gyrodek. Then I had an Iso which I loved and an Orbe which really impressed me with its engineering and finish. I honestly can’t see them making something that didn’t improve on sonics but i really don’t know. Arms are strange things in that fit, finish and precision seem to count. Michell are good at that. I’d be interested in trying one someday but they aren’t cheap and I have an OL one spare in my toolkit. Johnny is very critical of both the tags and wire. I think the word he uses it shit or it could be shite He says he often gets arms where the tags have corroded to the point of signal loss. I really don’t buy the argument that it’s decent cable because it sounds so bad. It’s a pity to me because there is so much good about the RB250 and 300, but the cheap cable really did throw the baby out with the bath water. Off topic, but Johnny Has also said to me that he’s often surprised by how many folk spend a lot on an arm then rail against buying a new cartridge when their old one is worn and caked with garbage. Now that will make a difference
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2020 7:30:49 GMT
Ive done a 'RB250' before both re-wire & Tech weight. 100% improvement on both counts or i would not do it again.
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Post by Westie on May 9, 2020 11:30:05 GMT
So last night I moved all the electronics into the bay between the speakers. I didn’t really like the look and feel but wanted to sleep on it. When we both looked at it this morning neither of us liked the way it made the room look and feel. It was like we’d lost the bay area and it all felt cramped. It all got torn down again an relocated where it was. I put the extra shelf back in place and located the Sonneteer Sedley back on the rack. The sits higher which I don’t like as much but it is easier to access. For me, a room has to be comfortable to exist in and the hifi has to have its place, I do have a smaller room I could take as a listening room but that would mean sitting closer to the speakers and also having the speakers closer to a back wall. Never gonna work for me. At least I tried it and satisfied myself that it wasn’t the right solution for me. I was tempted to build a low level cupboard and a couple of shallow shelves into that alcove, just leaving the turntable on show. I’d like to be shot of the ugly wiring and steel. Problem is the depth. I’d want it to be flush with the chimney breast and that leaves too little room for wires. I know there will be another solution. Just not sure what that is. There’s a perfect spot for the hifi on the opposite wall but that means running speaker cable past a door. It wouldn’t sit underneath carpet and I’m not hauling up floorboards for anyone. With very few exceptions, hifi racks are ugly. I like the convenience of the Equinox and I think it’s a good design. I just need something neater.
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