Luxman PD264 (~1978 - 1979)
Rega Planar 3, Grace 707 (~1980 - 1984)
Sota Saphire, Sumiko MDC800 'The Arm' - (~1984 - 1989)
VPI TNT, SME-V (1989 - 1991)
VPI TNT, Graham 1.5T (1991 - 2009)
VPI TNT, Graham Phantom II (2009 - current)
Phono Accessories
Mint LP tractor - amazingly precise tool for establishing *exact* stylus/cantilever geometry. Effected a significant sonic improvement over setup using the 1.5T's Graham jig - which in hindsight is not nearly precise enough to do justice to the cartridge or the Graham arm (Note: the jig that comes with the Phantom is much more precise). Of course the Graham jig has the advantage of doing alignment away from the turntable, seated comfortably at a desk. Alignment with the Graham can also be done much faster - 5-6min. Great for comparing cartridges. You won't know how good your cartridge can sound until you try the Mint. There are reports that this tractor is a PITA to use but, after following the (very clear) instruction steps, I found it a breeze. But it is more time consuming than the Graham - allow at least 15 to 20min after you are familiar with the adjustments.
KAB Speedstrobe, a brilliant tool for setting turntable speed
Disc Doctor Miracle Record Cleaner and Quickwash
Nitty Gritty 2.5 vacuum record cleaner
Zerostat Antistatic gun
Magic Eraser used for stylus cleaning
Digital pocket scale and
Shure SFG-2 stylus force gauges
Denon 103R (14 ohm DCR): Active stage - 100ohms; SUT - ~184ohms* (using 1:16 taps on Cinemag SUT), ~60ohms* (using 1:28 taps on Choir Audio/Hashimoto SUT)
*Note: SUT reflected impedance = Rload/N2
The audio equipment has a separate 240VAC mains spur, run straight from the fuse box to behind the equipment rack (a distance of about 12m). Conductors in the spur cable are 6mm2(~9AWG).
Power cords are Bob Crump's 'Asylum' recipe for the turntable/SDS, Chris VH's Flavor 2 design on the pre/power amps and VH Audio Flavor 3 on the digital sources. The DIY F2/F3s can be used with many different connectors available from Chris' parts list. I chose the Furutech FI-11Ag IECs and the FI-11Cu male plugs. All power cords have been made a similar length to help maintain a star earthing scheme. It boggles the mind, but power cords and receptacles seem to have a much greater effect on system sound quality than interconnects and speaker cables. In fact I now consider power connections to be of fundamental importance (right up there with speaker positioning and room acoustics). Prior to installing the VH Audio power cables and Hotboxes, I'd been using an API Power Wedge IIe line conditioner (high current filtered outlets and isolation transformers for low power gear) and the generic cords supplied with the equipment. I could scarcely believe the improvement that occurred when I substituted the Hotbox/Crump/VH Audio cords. Every aspect of the sound improved: soundstage height/width/depth, transparency, transient definition, focus, bass power, dynamics, detail - the sound became more open, vivid and robustly realistic. I'm talking BIG improvements here, of the kind associated with a major component upgrade!
Note: As a control measure, I tested a basic arrangement prior to swapping in the DIY power cords/Hotbox. I substituted the API power wedge for a generic plastic (unswitched) power board and used the stock (unscreened) power cords. This arrangement sounded shockingly bad!.......lifeless dynamics and flattened, shrunken soundstaging. Much worse than using the API with the stock cords.
Compared to the Crump cords, the 'Flavor 2s' produce a more dynamic, transparent and detailed sound. Increased bass tautness is very apparent. Reproduction of space/ambiance and depth is more resolute.
Power fuses in the Audio Research SP16/VS55 pre/power and the Cary 302 phono amp have been replaced with HiFi tuning 'Supreme' silver/gold fuses. Bass power and tautness is enhanced (NOT subtle) along with improved clarity throughout the audio range. I'd used the HiFi tuning 'Silverstar' fuses in my previous Plinius (solid state) equipment to similar effect - but the gains made with the 'Supreme' fuses in my current valve equipment are even greater. It's baffling why these fuses effect such a great improvement. They are a 'must have' IMO.
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The main equipment rack is well past its use-by date (15 years old), but I keep working around it rather than
face the inevitable - building/buying a new one! It was originally built as a support
for the TNT and, if I were doing it again, I'd have used cross bracing for
more rigidity.
The rack is constructed of square section steel with MDF shelves. The main
supports are sand filled to damp ringing and vibration. Top and bottom of the
main supports are terminated with adjustable steel spikes for levelling and
clean vibration transmission. The top platform is a slab of granite. The Cary
Phono
preamplifier currently sits on this platform (It was
originally used for turntable support, but ultimately I didn't favour the
sound for that purpose). The shelves are spaced widely apart to help prevent
interference between components.
VH
Audio Hotbox - photo linked from VH Audio
(Chris's photo is much nicer
than my crappy camera skills can produce.....but picture NOT showing the Furutech
plug/receptacles - see above)
Equipment Isolation
I use a DIY
The
amazingly light-weight
VH audio DIY silver interconnects
provide inherently good mechanical decoupling
between components. The interconnect lengths are arranged such that they hang
between components to prevent any unnecessary pickup of vibration. To help
lower vibration intrusion to components through the more massive/rigid power
cords, I've inserted
Vibrapods
under the cords and Hotboxes where they would otherwise contact the
(vibrating) floor.
For a long time I had my speakers facing down the long dimension of my
old rectangular listening room and this seemed satisfactory.
My new room has a timber floor secret nailed to
battens over concrete and 13mm plaster walls. The
two internal and external walls are insulated brick+stud to improve isolation
(particularly to the rest of the house) and the fourth wall (facing the garage) is simple insulated stud construction.
The ceiling plaster is fixed to resilient mounts and the music room shares
its (skillion) roofline with the garage only. The external window is double
glazed, which further reduces outside noise. This room is much quieter
than the one in my previous house - and this benefits resolution.
Speaker stands are are 510mm (20") high,
constructed from four square section steel pillars with steel plates top and
bottom and filled with sand and lead shot (very heavy). They place the
Harbeth tweeters at ear level. The C7's are secured to the stands with four
small blobs of Blutack. Speakers are positioned about 1.25m from the front
wall and 1.7m from both side walls. They are spaced about 2.6m apart and
~2.8m to the listening position (all measurements from the centre of the
front baffle).
Although I originally had the C7's 'toed-in' to
fire directly at the central listening position, they are now angled
such that the left/right speakers face slightly either side
(respectively) of the central listening position - ie there is a fair amount
of cabinet visible on the inner sides of the speakers. This gives the optimum balance of transparency, air,
focus and soundstage width/depth in my setup.
The Daruma 3II isolation bearings:
Speaker positioning and room
Some further reading revealed that several speaker manufacturers (including Thiele, Wilson,
Audio Physic and Dunlavy)
recommended that speakers face across the narrow dimension of a rectangular
room.
I decided to experiment with this placement and found focus and instrument placement is dramatically improved,
probably due to less room interference. Fine detail and ambiance cues are
also much more apparent and there is a notable decrease in artificial
coloration of the music.
The room size had to fit basic design constraints - odd shapes would be
difficult to analyse and expensive, so basic rectangular construction was
chosen.
Dimensions are: 6m length, 4.3m width and 2.7m height. The dimensions of the
room started by following Sepmeyer's 1 : 1.6 : 2.33 ratios and was
slightly adjusted using basic spectrum analysis of room modes.
The corners behind the speakers have
DIY Bass traps built to Jon Risch's
instructions. There are
four DIY absorptive panels behind the speakers.
The panels are a slightly simplified version of JR's panel recipe. A slimmer
DIY acoustic panel is placed behind the listening position.