Driving yourself mad with auditions.....

[maxg]

In my case I have just picked up a replacement phono stage to try out. The old unit was the Project phono box and the new one is the Project phono box SE.

I suppose I wasnt expecting a big change and there isnt one - but there is something subtle there.

The problem is that each time I listen to an album I think - my god - did I hear that before, or, didnt that sound different before and then I switch back to the old unit and retest.

This is not a simple process, not because of the actual plugging and unplugging of the unit (that is relatively simple but a pain) but then I have to re-cue up the TT leaving myself enough time to get back to my listening position, sit down, get back into the mood....

By the time I have done all of that I generally forget what it was I was listening for in the first place.

Anyway after about 3 hours of fairly fruitless analysis I gave up and just slung on DSOTM and listened.

Overall, with the new stage I enjoyed it more so I think I will keep it.

Unless of course I was simply so tired with all the getting up and down that I would have enjoyed a mono radio by that point.

As ever with me - these things generally come down to a leap of faith - if only my audio memory was better.

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My System: http://aca.gr/pop_maxg.htm

[mobile homeless]

Max, I hope you got a trade in on the other unit. At this stage, you are almost ready for a serious phono stage, and while the Project boxes are ok, there are much better offerings that might not provide such a subtle difference.

kh

[maxg]

I got the project box free - a friend upgraded so I picked his up.

This is not going to be my final stage by any means, but first I will be upgrading my TT as soon as my new business takes off.

Right now there is lots of money going out and none coming in so all actual purchasing is on hold.

[mobile homeless]

Which turntable are you going with for this upgrade? Lord, you barely broke in your old TT! heh...

kh

[maxg]

The much mentioned (by me) acoustic-solid from Germany. My friend (Tony) who upgraded the project has it now (and comes from the very same Project RPM 4 that I did - in fact we bought them together).

The re-seller here makes a phono-stage himself for that particular TT that is supposed to be extraordinary. I havent heard it yet but Tony has and spent an hour gushing to me on its merits on the phone.

The great debate here is over the cartridge:

Tony is running the Denon 103 at the moment as that was all he could afford right now. When the money starts flowing we plan to upgrade his and get mine.

The main candidate is the Shelter, either the 501 or the 901. Both are supposed to be superb at their relative price brackets but the 901 is really pricey at a minimum of $1300 direct from Japan.

A few words on the Acoustic solid. Visually it is a stunner and it weighs in at over 60 lbs. Apparently it is a sucker to setup - so the distributor does that for you (about 4 hours). Once rolling however it is another world sonically.

We spent an afternoon at Tony's listening to the thing (actually called the machine or the edition depending on the model I choose - tony has the machine) and it is truely fabulous. The direct to disk recording that we both have of wild child butler was something else - in fact Tony wrote a somewhat poetic post about it on the ACA site:

Links:

Acoustic solid Edition

http://www.acoustic-solid.de/html/edition.html

Review of the acoustic solid one

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0402/acousticsolid.htm

Tony's gushing

http://www.aca.gr/paper27.htm

Review of the shelter

http://www.21stcenturyservices.com/audio/Shel_901.htm

Another review of the shelter

http://www.high-endaudio.com/RC-Cartridges.html

Think that will do for now!!

[edster00]

maxg,

I have experienced the same thing trying to remember exactly what it was I was listening for to compare. I started taking notes. With CD's it is easier because you can look at the time display to get it pretty exact!

Who says vinyl is better??? J/K I am not going there!

[mobile homeless]

Interesting. It appears for all practical purposes that the SUPPORT is extremely important with this table (as is most tables) but perhaps even more with this. As I remember, a proper turntable stand in your system was the top of a DVD player! heh.... I got on you then about that and hoped you found a better solution.

With the new Acoustic Solid, it is obviously going to be critical, this based on the design, basic TT needs, and the troubles experienced by Thorsten.

DId you opt for a dedicated stand?

kh

This message has been edited by mobile homeless on 09-05-2002 at 08:34 AM

[maxg]

You are right my TT was on top of the DVD player but is no longer - now it rests directly on the stand.

I made space by removing the Accuphase entirely and shifting the Cd layer and the DVD player to the bottom.

Rather than getting a seperate stand for the TT I plan to by a marble top for the existing stand. A 1 inch thick item should do the job nicely I think. I tried to check with the manufacturer of my unit to find out what the maximum weight it can stand is - could get no answer - so I got a friend who is about 200 Lbs to sit on the top of it - no problem (other than him being a little unsteady and nervous).

The step after this, you will be pleased to hear, will be to evaluate (finally) some set amps. Arco has 2 "spare" amps - one 300B and one 2A3 which he is willing to sell. Once I get those I will also get marble bases to isolate them properly.

At that point I think I will be just about finished. I am already well beyond the sound I thought would be possible and I think the law of diminishing returns will start to set (no pun intended) in big time.

Of course I have said this before..

Now all I need to do is to earn the money!!