http://www.skycomp.com.au/item/CyberPower-Value-GP-LCD-2200VA---1320W-Line-Interactive-UPS---15Amp-Input-Socket.aspx

I do not want to debate the merits between this and vacuum based systems as the primary criteria that I had was ease of use and automation to allow me to clean several thousand records.

Whilst the unit was only fired up this afternoon, I have managed to clean several records, some new, some old, some relatively clean and some that are unplayable.

First impressions are simply amazing. The AudioDesk has resurrected several records that where in the 'throw out' pile because I thought they cannot be saved. Even 'newer' records benefit from a spin through this machine.

Needless to say, it is money well spent on improving 'the source' of my music more noticeably than any other upgrade I have made.

Thank you to everyone who has posted to my queries that assisted me in making this decision!

Cheers,

Abe

So my amps (Odyssey Audio Kismet monos) were sounding a little lean. Turned out voltage in my place had dropped 10v on average since they were biased in the factory.

Was sent instructions on how to change this, so opened up the case, hooked up the multimeter and proceeded to set the bias.

Looks like my multimeter was misreporting/is whack/gives different readings randomly. Noticed the heatsinks/caps getting ULTRA ULTRA HOT... Realised I must have set the bias into the stratosphere and pulled the plug. 

Anyone in Sydney who would be willing to drop round and take a look with a multimeter of their own? Happy to offer a case of beer or cold hard cash. Hoping to salvage the amplifier.

Cheers

-henrysnark

http://www.harptwins.com/MusicVideos.html

And the Star Trek theme!  There'll be nerds spasming in geeky delight all over the planet.

Have to love the costumes and locations too, they certainly put in some effort.

That's right - I can't get enough of the full-range speaker sound, so welcome back the Omega and Hoyt-Bedford range of single driver speakers and subwoofers. The first shipment is underway and due in about 4 weeks. If you want to get in on the order please contact me and I can add your speakers. 

And keep checking back for some exciting new products from Omega in the coming months too, including some DIY drivers. 

I'm attending a conference at the Convention Centre in Perth from tomorrow until Wednesday.  I haven't posted previously as the program looks pretty packed both during the day and evenings.

But if anyone would be willing to show how stereo is done in the West and lives near the route from the airport to CBD, I might be able to drop in on the way in tomorrow afternoon or on the way out on Wednesday afternoon.  Monday or Tuesday evening could still be a possibility if I can decide I can skip the functions on one of those nights - won't really know this until I meet up with other conference attendees and find out more.

I booked the last flight out on Wednesday before I was aware the conference finished at lunchtime, so a visit to any worthwhile near CBD hifi stores could be an option for me.  I like everything I've heard about WAR audio, especially the speakers they exhibited at the Melbourne audio show a couple of years ago so I might have a look there.

Anyway, please let me know by post or PM if catching up with any Perth people looks possible in the limited time available.

I am about to embark on an impromptu visit to the big smoke, otherwise known as Briz Vegas, and was hoping to drive home with a new cache of cd's.  I will be in the CBD and The Valley today and was hoping for some input to some decent places to get some music. 

Thanks in advance.

Anthony

Is this a common problem with optical, and is there a solution?

Is 3 metres too long?

Does it depend upon how straight the cable is?

I remember reading somewhere that some of the newer type motor oils are just the thing for TT bearing.

For the last 3 years it's been at parity.

In the last month it's dropped from $1.04 to 0.97c.

This means the next shipments your favourite high-end audio retailer receives will be at least 5% more expensive.

The $A dollar's plunge is expected to continue.

Seems to me that buying high-end audio is a bit like buying a house: people tend to throw every spare cent they have at it.

Also seems to me that unless you are buying what's on the showroom floor right now, you might not be able to afford it when you try again in a couple of months' time.

My current system is pretty simple.

iPod

Rotel RC1070

Rotel RB971 x 2 in mono

Monitor Audio bookshelfs

It looks like will be upgrading my amps to a Rotel Michi RHB-10 within the fortnight, but i just can't stand the MAs.  They just have no presence. Yes I have to look at source options but one thing at a time...

I have read here that the Michi's are paired well with the Gale 401/402s but i have never heard the Gales.  Might see if I can track a pair down locally to have a listen to...

My other option is building a set of speakers using on some dyn esotar components i have left over from my car audio days (330 tweets, mw160 MBs and mw180 subs).

Years ago I was introduced to a gentleman who made speakers under the brand Audiogram in Oxley, Brisbane (17 Mile Rocks Rd).  I recall that he used the esotars as a basis of his speakers but that may not be totally correct.  I spent a good afternoon there listening to various speakers and remember quite liking the sound.  I thought he may be a good option to talk to about building a set of speakers but I dont think he is operating anymore.

Has anyone got any experience with his products ?  Is anyone aware if he is still in business ?

Alternatively can anyone recommend a speaker builder ?  I would love to but I just dont have time to take this project on myself.

I would also welcome comments from people who have made speakers using these dyn components. 

Sorry about the rambling post but this may be a bit of a journey for me.  Appreciate any help or advice.

Robb

I happen to be travelling to Melbourne for a conference the week after next so I rang Trevor.  He was happy to hold it for an auditing for a nice deposit.

Years ago I remember listening to a Michi setup (pre/power amp/cd) paired with some s.f extremas at Stereo Supplies in Brisbane.  I was studying my Bachelor of Music at the time so these were unreachable...but I certainly went back a few times to listen. 

So Monday week will be auditioning.

Now i just have to select my top 10 cds to take with me...

Or am I just getting a bit old and jaded?

Thoughts?

was having an interesting discussion on another thread regarding how to interpret speaker measurement results that for the thread was way off topic, and I thought I'd create a new thread.

All of the graphs below are generated by my DEQX, but measurements by REW, ARTA etc should be equally valid...

When we measure speakers we typically "window" out reflections caused by the room or other boundaries.

The benefit of this windowing is we only measure the speakers response and remove reflections from the room/other boundaries.

The downside is we compromise the resolution of the measurement at low frequencies.

from John Atkinson

The basic premise behind the application of the FFT to a loudspeaker's time-domain behavior is that impulse response be first "windowed" to reject data that are not of interest (room reflections, for example). It is then assumed that the impulse response is part of a continuous repetitive waveform, the end of the data window being spliced to its beginning to produce an infinite series of copies of the impulse response. Applying the FFT produces a line spectrum with its first component having a frequency equal to the reciprocal of the time window.: ie, if the impulse response is windowed to have a length of 4ms, the fundamental frequency of the transformed line spectrum is (1/0.004)Hz = 250Hz. The spectral lines present at integer multiples of that 250Hz fundamental—500Hz, 750Hz, 1000kHz, 1250Hz, 1500Hz, etc.—paint out the frequency spectrum of the signal.

It is important to note that no information is present in that spectrum below the fundamental frequency. Nor is any information present between the spectral lines. The windowing operation necessary to perform the FFT eliminates real information. And the shorter the time window, the higher the fundamental frequency in the resultant spectrum and the larger the gaps in that spectrum.—John Atkinson

http://www.stereophile.com/content/measuring-loudspeakers-part-two-fast-fourier-transform

In the DEQX documentation there's a discussion on applying windowing and smoothing independently and making interpretations to get the best correction, but it doesn't describe how to make those interpretations.

I've done some close miced indoor measurements of my woofer box and then applied 2 different windows - 10.6 ms, just after the main energy peak, and 60ms, after everything has decayed into the noise floor. Note that the 10.6ms window will still have at least floor and ceiling bounce reflections.

10.6ms window

FR             100% smoothing                                                       no smoothing

Group Delay      100% smoothing                                               no smoothing

60ms window

FR         100% smoothing                                                         No smoothing

Group Delay    100% smoothing                                              no smoothing

I'm interested on peoples views on interpreting the graphs to then apply correction using the DEQX.

cheers

Mike

Here's a chance to post up links to tributes etc etc. I'm looking at organising a "showing". Does anyone have any of their own plans?

Here's a starter suitable for sitting at your computer: http://www.npr.org/event/music/186033005/imani-winds-tiny-desk-concert

What on earth is going on here?Last time I used it it behaved normally but it has done this before.Plugging it in to different power points does not seem to change its contrary mood.

Is there some risk or is it just a female amp?

Anyone else a tad excited?

Just picked up a Pioneer PL25 turntable. It's in terrific condition and everything works ok with the exception of the cut off/cueing feature (I'm not sure of the correct term). Halfway through the last track the arm basically stalls and won't track to the end and lift off (like it's stuck on a track). I've tried several LP's with the same result, so it's not an album problem. If I lift the arm towards the centre the cueing mechanisn cuts in and takes over (so it works ok). The function also works if I use the lever at any time during the playing of an LP.

I've read on this forum that some have dismantled/disengaged the auto function and settled for manual operation. I'd probably settle for that but I would like to try and fix this issue If I can. It looks like it should be fixed by a slight adjustment/tweak that would allow the arm to go a little further toward the centre of the LP. Maybe that's just wishful thinking.

The second question is: If I can't fix it, does anyone know how to disengage the auto function without damaging the components (i.e. so that the function can be re-engaged at a later date).

I've removed the bottom cover to have a look at the mechanism. It appears to be quite intricate but at least it is reasonably accessible.

Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

The 105 has the same dac chips as my Eastern Electric MiniMax Plus, so I would presume that the sound signature is sort of in the same area? 

So my questions, If I run my MacBook Pro into my EE via USB you get jitter problems, if I use my main computer (not set up for music, set up for speed in photoshop) and plug the EE into it to listen to my headphones though my Woo amp I get all sorts of electrical noise. The MacBook Pro is much quieter but... if it's the computer that creates the jitter then with the Oppo taking external HD's and playing files off them whats the point of computer audio. 

I guess I'm asking if the external HD doesn't cause jitter wouldn't the signal be better going directly into a player like the Oppo then amp as compared to computer to dac to amp.  Having a couple of digital inputs makes it pretty much a dac to me as all I run into mine is my Xbox, ATV and Panasonic Blue-ray PVR

I'm thinking I could get rid of the EE MiniMax Plus buy a Oppo for my digital files and cd's and also as a better Blue-ray player

So before you all say a dedicated CD player sounds better, well so does vinyl, and if I'm listening to music I'll spin vinyl before I'll listen to digital. But I do have more CD's than Black stuff but that will slowly change.

Any help or advice, in the least computerspeak possible please, , about this conversion process would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Mike

But I recently copied the iTunes library to a NAS and decided to use my MBP to point to the NAS instead.

This worked fine until I was out of town for a few weeks and accidentally ran iTunes (which was the default program for MP3/WAV files etc) and when iTunes loaded, it was looking for a non existent library sitting on a NAS that was thousands of miles away. And that was when I noticed the blank album artwork.

When I got back home, even though iTunes could now play those files, the artwork remained missing.

Googling I found that someone has got a fix. It's called Re-embed Artwork script.

http://dougscripts.com/itunes/2011/07/new-re-embed-artwork/

Worked for me. For the most part.

But I noticed I had to select a limited number of albums each time. Didn't work for the entire library.

Also there were a few cases where the first track didn't have the album art and this would trip the script. For those albums, I just had to find the track which did have the artwork, copied the pic, then selected all the tracks in the album, "Get Info", then pasted the artwork in the right field.

Hope this helps.

Line level attenuation not possible as its a 'powerdac' amp I'm using.

Speaks are 113db/W so I seldom use more that 1 watt of the 60 watt amp. If I have a party I could just remove the L-pad.

What I'm wondering about is the sonic cost, if any, of dumping this much power into resistors?

Was thinking of using Mundorf MOX 10W on the CD/horns, Mundorf ceramic 25W on the 100db bass driver, this be a good choice?

Cheers

B

Dyn 42s

Rotel 971 mk2

Rotel 951 CD player

Sonique 1200 sub

Perreaux SXH1 headphone amp

Sennheiser HD590s (not pictured)

Recently added:

Panasonic 47in LED TV 

Panasonic Blu-Ray/HDD recorder

Rack is an original Belloggetti I bought in 1998, used it ever since and will continue to, the styling is timeless.  The 8mm vinyl flooring we had put down mid last year (fantastic stuff with young kids) sounds just wonderful as it's the ground floor and rests on a solid concrete slab.  Would definitely recommend it for acoustics if nothing else.

There's been great interest in the Zu speakers ever since I announced taking on the brand. I've got a few models on hand now but would like to take this opportunity to showcase the new Druids I recently received. They're really something. 

Gear to hear:

• Grand Prix Audio Monaco turntable
• Pure Audio Vinyl phono stage
• Pure Audio Control preamplifier
• Audion Silver Night 300B SET amp
• Zu Audio Druid Mk V speakers
• Zu Audio Undertone subwoofer (optional)

Alternate sources:

• Aurender S-10 digital transport
• Esoteric K-03 SACD/DAC

Things to bring:

• Vinyl, CDs or USB stick with your favourite tunes! 
• Marshmallows (optional)

It occurred to me that one of the benefits of the speedbox might include separating the wall wart and turntable via the speedbox and this raised a couple of questions I have on these devices that I couldn't find from searching these forums etc:

Are there any expected sonic benefits from the power supply separation or does it make no difference?

There is a more expensive model called with Speedbox SE II - any benefit in upgrading to this version from the ordinary speedbox?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2125608/

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/searching_for_sugar_man/

It looks to be in good condition but I think it was ripped out of it's previous home in a hurry.

There are no phono cables to speak of and I can't even see where they were and the power cable has been cut.

I think it was hooked up to a built in amp in a cabinet.

Is this worth fixing? The plinth is all intact and all the switches seem ok, spins freely and original plastic sheet is still on the platter?

3 months ago I didn't own 1 LP. Now I have a restored Dual 1229 and this Garrard.

What just happened? I feel like the deer in the headlights! 

WELL....... I am now in valve heaven.

Lets start at the top, Technics SL-D3 turn table. Project Tube Box S, Amber 12AU pre amp, Contan Audio power amp & Whatmough 301 monitors. I also have a Marantz CD6003 CD player.

As you can see in the pics I also have a Integra DTR 8.3 that I have running a 2nd set of speakers. These speakers are the ESS AMT1(anyone seen or heard these before?). These are there just in case I want to play it REALLY loud so I can hear it at the other end of the house. These are all set up in my office, just for playing music.

There is also a life size Darth Vader that Looks after all of my toys. He is the Security. 

I have also posted a pic of my vinyl & CD collections.  The vinyl bug has bitten me again recently with over 50 new LPs in the last few months.

Hope you enjoy the pics !!

* Ask Apple if she can have her existing iCloud files in a superior format.

* Download a bunch of new, FLAC (or similar) decent files and load them onto her Mac lappy and take the output from the lappy.

* Download or convert files and load them onto a Squeezebox or similar.

Any thoughts and suggestions will be welcome.

My home system is a computer based rig using audio gd dac into rotel amp into mission 773 speaks. Normally v enjoyable until recent hiccup that brings me here seeking help.

After a computer upgrade/service my sound qual took a big dive. Started to play ugly, hiss in the higher bandwidths, terrible. At first I didn't know if it was amp/dac/cable problem but taking a punt I changed from co-ax digital output from pc to my Audio-Gd nfb 3 dac to usb from pc to dac which resulted in problem fixed so I guess it is either co-ax out on motherboard, co-ax in on dac or coax cable. Anyway, using usb now back to sounding good... BUT...

Music is now much quieter, maybe nicer(?) but def quieter, need extra 10-15 db out of amp to get comprable spls. Also getting 2-3 seconds stutter every 4-5 minutes, just using $2 dollar cable as temp solution

Using win 7 64bit device shows as 'SPDIF int 2 te 7022 audio w/ spdif' - playback via winamp, mainly flac files

Hoping to use the stereo.net community knowledge bank to extract best performance from my set up. Any advice re my setup would be great as I don't really know what I am doing.

thanks guys

So if your into the bluegrass scene and want to hear some of this young but talented trio I have just purchased their three available albums on vinyl. Big thanks to Keith from Vinyl Eye for sourcing them for me, and I think he now lists them on his site.

If you have the albums on CD as I do the vinyl kills them, much much better, more open, fuller sound and a joy to listen to, I can see many late nights with a single malt listening to these albums, I may even purchase another set as I can see myself wearing these out. Well worth the purchase and highly recommend to anyone who either knows their music or would like some smooth bluegrass playing

I have been a vinyl user for a couple of years but it is the first time I try to set up a TT and tonearm myself, therefore, still very much a newbie.

I acquired an already reconditioned Lenco L75 TTa new Jelco tonearm and a ZYX RS30 cartridge.  I have already done some drilling on the steel plate to enable the Jelco mounting collar to be screwed in at the right distant, i.e. 214mm from the spindle.  However, as I tried to set up the cartridge, I found that the arm was way too high, even at the lowest height setting.  I had a search at the Lenco Heaven web site and found that it is a known problem.  There were already some discussions in that forum about machining the collar etc.  Unfortunately, I do not have the right equipment, or skill to do that.  I just wonder if it is viable to add another  rubber mat (eg, the cartridge man mat) on top of the existing original Lenco rubber mat to raise the height of the redcord and eliminate this problem?  Would such an approach be detrimental to the SQ?  Is there any other possible solution available?

My sincere thanks for any advice and tips.

Regards

The collection (some)

The 'new' receiver :-)

More to follow :-)

So its exam time at uni, and what that means is that i need a way to waste time.  This semester, my procrastination is an attempt to restore an amp that i bought almost 6 months ago.  The amp in question is a Yamaha CA-2000 (aka the japanese version of the CA-2010).  After seeing the following thread i thought id give it a shot.  ( http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/index.php?/topic/41409-yamaha-ca-1010-restoration-lots-of-pics/ ) Now im not saying that i have the ability of John and Pete, but i did a bit or work with electronics at school so i should know the basics to get me through this.

This thing has been sitting around collecting dust since i bought it and i need to buy a transformer, or ideally, change the power supply board to match the one that was fitted with the australian model.  Because I havent turned it on ever, and bought it from yahoo auctions in japan, i have no idea if it actually works or not.  the ad said it does, but that could just be poor translation.  The overall condition in reasonable, has a chip on the top edge of the face plate, a scratch on the volume knob and a few scratches on the wooden cover. unfortunately, i opened it up when i first received it and noticed it was filthy inside as any old piece of kit would be.  I naively bought some electric component cleaner from jaycar to clean of some of the flux, but heard some popping noises when i sprayed it.  thinking that those noises meant something bad i stopped and havent touched it since.  So not only would i have to give this a full re-cap, i also need to see what other components i may have damaged or may have already been faulty.

So the first few questions that I have are, what are the things i should look out for, both general items and specifically for this amp? Also, is it possible to tell exactly what capacitors i need and how many of them prior to pulling it all apart, that way i dont waste time sitting around waiting for parts to come in? Also, any recommendations for removing the large amounts of flux as my initial idea seems to have caused more problems than expected?

Thanks in advance guys

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcXlAfPwbSE

My source of music is coming from my computer, via 3.5mm jack

I am currently using a behemoth Kenwood Mini-Hifi amp. I want to downsize, without breaking the bank

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Hi-Fi-2-1CH-Stereo-Audio-Amplifier-AMP-Super-Bass-HX-168A-with-AC-Power-Adapter-/221183836947?pt=AU_Electronics_Audio_Amplifiers&hash=item337f958313

Would this amp do the trick?

Below is some quick notes on my experiences with 5 different 6SN7 or equivalent , tubes.

I now have owned an Audio Icon PS3 phono pre that utilizes 4 x 6DJ8/ECC88 tubes, and 1 x 6SN7 tube in the output section of amp, for nearly two months. I really love the pre, and how it sounds. I've plenty of experience in rolling different types of tubes in the past, but this is my first experience with the 6SN7 tube.

My pre came fitted with a new  Full Music 6SN7 with gold pins, and right from the get go I have enjoyed this tube. Does most things well, and throws a good soundstage.

It was only a matter of time though before I got the itch to try something else. A member here (thanks Willow) kindly lent me a Sylvania 6SN7GT VT-231  

( cira 1944 ) to try, so when it arrived, in it went. My experience with it seemed to match willow's thoughts; that is, nice enough sounding, but lacking a little in bass, and soundstage slightly recessed. 

Next up was a 50's RCA 5692 red base, purchased at a great price from a member here. Thanks matt200sr. Many seem to regard this tube highly and I can see why. It has a full lush, and sweet sound to it, and I immediately liked it. If i had to be critical it would be to say that I thought the bass was a little flabby at times. I play a lot of jazz on vinyl, and this tube seemed to shine doing just that.

A few days after getting the RCA 5692, another RCA tube arrived in the post.

I'd purchased this from an overseas seller on another hi fi forum.

This one was a NOS early 50's vintage RCA 6GN7 GT with grey glass and silver print on the black base. I loved this tube right from the start. It did everything well and has a great midrange, and tighter bass than the red based 5692. I swapped these two above mentioned tubes in and out for a week, and in my system I have decided I prefer the RCA Grey Glass 6SN7 over the 5692. Just.

I also have swapped a few emails and phone calls with stevenvalve in regards to the Mullard ECC33 tubes that he rates very highly. I ended up not pursuing the purchase of one of these tubes due to the fact that they are not an automatic drop in replacement for a 6SN7, and I am concerned that the plate voltage of my pre may not be up to the task. Plus, I'm not willing to risk frying my transformers. They go for big money too, another nice deterrent. 

Last, but by no means least is a Russian 6H8C/1578 tube that I've read a lot about. Many out there in tube world rate this tube as highly as the Tungsol 6SN7 round plate and the Osram B65 tubes, among others. 

While researching the 1578 tube I came across an SNA thread discussing different 6SN7 type tubes, and monaro8 (hi Vanch) was talking this tube up. I got real lucky, as not only did he still use this tube, he offered to sell me one as well. The "real" 1578 will only have 1578 printed on the glass, and ebay shows that there are many people trying to sell tubes as 1578's which in fact are far inferior (or so I am led to believe) 6H8C tubes. Made by the same company I believe.

Anyway, I picked up the 1578 tube from the PO yesterday morning, and like wow. This is way superior to any that I have tried in my amp, and it's end game for me. It really sounds superb, is airy, detailed, huge soundstage and fabulous bass as well. I put on my original UK David Bowies Ziggy Stardust album, cranked the volume as high as I dared, and away I went. Fantastic, and I'm unlikely to forget that half hour musical orgasm in a hurry. 

Another tube arrived early evening last night, a US ebay purchase. It's a Sylvania 6SN7GT, apparently from 1952. It may not be the tube I was hoping for, as the plates and getter differ from the '52 GT that has a great rep online. Anyway, it went in for an hour, but to be honest, I never really was interested after hearing the 1578. Nice enough, but not a lot of time evaluating.

So in summary, these are some quick notes I thought  would post in regards to how the above mentioned tubes sounded in MY pre amp.

Having never heard a Tung-sol 6SN7GT round plate, Sylvania 6SN7W with metal base, Swedish 33S30A, Mullard ECC33, and a few other highly regarded tubes, who's to say how the 1578 stands up?

Many think it beats some or all of them, and while I may never know.... I don't care. 

Below is a picture of the suspects used in my evaluations, and my favourite tubes from left to right. Keep in mind that the last tube never had much time in my pre, will get around to trying it again soon.

Take my post as lightly as you wish.

I just wanted to post my impressions trying different 6SN7 tubes out, and I don't profess to have the skills of John Darko or Cafad when it comes to writing about a product. I mean to say.............. how many ways is there to really say that something sounds great or otherwise? 

So, back into computer audio; past attempts have really failed, because I just find it too fiddly to bother with, and find sticking a CD in a transport or player much easier.

I have 2 TB of music which a friend recorded for me, mostly in FLAC, I seem to remember, and terribly indexed (part of the problem).

I used J-RIver a couple of years ago, but found it a bit unstable.

I now intend to use a dedicated laptop (a few years old, but with a new, empty solid state drive), which will be doing nothing but playing music.

What are some thoughts on an easy, stable, and musical playback system? I've seem a few mentioned here, J-Play looks attractive (though it is expensive), J-River has no doubt improved, and I see there are various open source/free options out there.

Very interested to hear about something fairly straight-forward and no fuss.

Just scanning the interweb and found this which may be of interest to the Home Theatre enthusiast ....

http://www.gadgetguy.com.au/imax-comes-to-your-home-provided-you-have-a-small-fortune/

JJ