The Bigblog!

Do it. Do it now.

Oli have you thought about completely screening the SSD in metal enclosure but leave it on the metal base you have used already. Also use the shortest SATA cable possible and screen this aswell.

SSDs radiate lots of RF/EMI so can inject noise into wifi networks.

Well "tomorrow" was not interesting for all the reasons i though it would be, yesterday. See post above.

In fact, it was interesting for a whole bunch of other reasons.

You see, when Simon visited, we played a piece of vinyl that was white in colour. It was like a matt white too. Upon lowering the needle, i felt the cartridge was riding a little lower than it should be. I thought nothing more of it at the time but after chatting with Angus about the stuff he's up to, we eventually ended up talking about the work he's had done to his Ortofon Vienna and the worth of having the Kb "Vienna'd"

I decided to check my setup today and see whether my Kb was riding low, or whether the surface of the White vinyl just mate it look closer due to the lack of reflection on the surface.

Everything was spot on, as i expected it to be and i couldn't 100% swear that there was any difference in ride height either. My obvious fear being that maybe the suspension was on the wain.

I played a few tracks and everything is fine, but this got me thinking......what happens when it is?

Do i start saving? What cart would i get? Could the Kb be rebuilt?......you get the picture.

Angus had eluded to the difficulty in finding a proper step up the chain from the Kb, for sensible money. "How can you buy a better cartridge for less than £500"

He was suggesting Vienna modding my Kb was the most cost effective way of improving an already superb cartridge and making it an effectively brand new cart at the same time.

I decided to look deeper into what could be done.

Looking around the Web, the cheapest Kb for sale is $649 (£500ish) so, if i price my Kb at £500 and in all likelihood i'd put £500 in to the pot, it would give me £1k to spend on a new cartridge. This is where it started to get tough. Sure, there is the Hana ML, Cadenza Red, ATart7 & 9 etc, but i'd been there with the AT's and wouldn't pick them over the STD Kb.

The Hana could be great, but it i dont know that without selling off my 2nd favourite cartridge of all time and buying the Hana.

Am i prepared to do that? No. And herein lies the end of that idea. I just wouldn't want to part with the Kb. I recalled Alan paying peanuts for a Lyra Clavis a little while back......It was defo around the £500 mark.

I pondered, maybe go used? Get a spare cartridge and take some of the load off the Kb?

A Lyra Clavis in trustworthy condition is now £1k plus!!!

Seems the price of cartridges has been rising and i've not noticed because i havent been looking. "Thats it" i thought. I will get my Kb Vienna'd

So thats the plan. I will make the necessary arrangements via Angus, because he knows what he's doing lol

The Kb, is off to become the VKb.

Wide Range Damping (WRD) system
FGS stylus, akin to the Ortofon Replicant
Field Stabilizing Element (FSE)

Will all be added to the existing coils, cantilever and tie wire of the Kb.

These mods put the Kb on the same playing field as MC Windfeld, MC A90, MC Anna, Xpression and MC A95 cartridges, as all the parts being fitted come in Ortofons top cartridges.

So £500 suddenly looks like a bit of a bargain to me.

In all honesty, i have wanted to get it done for a while but when the Kb sounded as good as it has, i have been very reluctant to mess with it. But now is the time.

By the end of what should have been a quiet year for me, i'll have three new phonostages, New SSD storage, Rebuilt and upgraded cartridge, Upgraded PMAT1010 arm and SP10 probably and god know what else lol.

Yes Jim. He's the only fella i would trust.

He's done a number of jobs for Angus and if Angus says he's the man.....he is the man.

I have a feeling you maybe in for a revelation.

Oli your cart will have some of the characteristics of the higher end Ortofons but it will still be housed in an older design body which is significantly more resonant than the more exotic ortofon offerings.

Were the 880s in New Zealand? Sorry I could not download the link.

I may not have to do anything. If I am lucky the room may do all the upgrading...

Any serious upgrades will depend on if there is any dosh left over and the house we are viewing next weekend will put using negative dosh!

You are correct in that should funds become available some of the items I purchase maybe along similar lines to yourself 

The Paradise I am sure will be end game and stunning. I only heard one once and that was enough!

www.trademe.co.nz/electronics-photography/home-audio/speakers-and-stands/floor-speakers/listing-2526784544.htm

Yup NZ

Bugger

No, it's expensive but they are unbelievable speakers lol

I'll be happy with it, as it's not gonna come back sounding worse off for the treatment, and I love the Kb so seems sensible.

I felt exactly the same mate when I sent the 2M Black off for the same treatment and I am sure Rob felt even more anxiety with his Cadenza  Black which is 3 times the price.

This is how I felt after.

I have always been a massive fan of the 2M Black cartridge and have used this now for 4 years. I have tried many other cartridges but have decided that in my system the 2M Black has excellent synergy and a dynamic detailed resolution that can match the quality of many MC cartridges I have listened too. I have replaced the stylus once in the last 4 years at a cost of £360 and as I have not heard anything better, either MM or MC I decided that I would keep this cartridge as my daily driver for some time yet and just keeping changing the stylus.

However sometime back Rob (RobbieGong) tweaked my curiosity when he had his Cadenza Black upgraded by Holistic Audio with a new stylus. I thought this was a brave and leftfield decision considering the Cadenza Black is already a stunning MC Cartridge with an excellent Stylus. This upgrade paid off for Rob and took his cartridge to another level so I decided to contact Holistic audio to ascertain if they could improve on the 2M Black MM cartridge. After some communication with Kilian at Holistic Audio I found that indeed they had an upgrade "recipe" for the 2M which included a Fritz Gyger S stylus replacement for the line contact stylus and some internal cartridge work which included an upgraded damper and checking of the coil poles alignment for better channel separation.

So I decided that I would have the work done but wanted to keep my existing 2M in original condition as I wanted a benchmark to hear what the upgrade bought to the party and also wanted to preserve the sound I already had. This necessitated the acquisition of a donor used cartridge which was acquired at a reasonable price. I sent off the cartridge to Holistic Audio and must say had excellent communication from Kilian during the whole process.

The process actually started with a thorough detailed technical inspection in order to ascertain whether my cartridge was suitable for the upgrade and it was. About a week later it returned.


THE SOUND

The upgraded 2M Black was not meant to be changed beyond recognition but just subtly enhanced and some of the negative areas of its design improved on. Obviously changing the stylus from a line contact Shibata to the Fritz Gyger was quite a significant change and this is one area the 2M Black has become a cartridge which has divided opinion. The Shibata stylus is notoriously difficult to set up and for some notoriously difficult to like as it can have an etched top end and digs out every flaw on your record. I have never had any problem with this stylus in my system apart from the difficulty in setting it up and the edgy top end!

The Upgraded 2M Black with the Fritz Gyger bought a calmness to the proceedings along with the upgraded damping. Actually the cartridge did weigh a little more compared to the standard 2M when I set it up so something significant must have been added.

The sound was much more full bodied and smoother with a very solid stereo image. The original 2M could sound a little fragile in this respect. Not only was the sound fuller but the soundstage depth in particular was hugely improved, I could hear very deep into the recorded material now and the rendition of acoustic detail was much clearer. In particular space and the acoustic environment the vocalists or instruments were recorded in was greatly enhanced which gave you the impression you were hearing a lot more detail. This extra depth gave the sound a wonderful 3 dimensional quality.

The SP2 speakers I use are highly transparent and excel in their presentation of midrange material especially vocals and here you could evaluate the much greater quality the Fritz Gyger bought to the proceedings. The level of micro and macro detail bought vocals up to a level that made you sometimes feel you were listening to a different recording. My two favourite vocalists, Agnes Obel and Aldous Harding were sublime. The FGS stylus revealed tonal colour and detail in their voices that presented them so lifelike and real in the room. It must be remembered this stylus , or a version of it, is used in the very top MC cartridges Ortofon manufacture so you are getting a taste of the very highest level of cartridge design.

To say the upgrade was a huge success would be an understatement. For me it has bought about a level of analogue sound in my system I never thought possible and revealed and presented well known recordings in a manner that makes your jaw drop. I have had a few spine tingling moments with this new version of the 2M black which take me back to my early days when I started listening to my system. So I would say the Upgrade is an unqualified success which leaves me with one issue, I now have to upgrade my other standard 2M to the same level as going back to listening to it will not be easy!

I would just like to say thanks to all those who have influenced me in making this happen and especially to Kilian at Holistic Audio who is an extremely talented cartridge technician and someone who is an absolute pleasure to deal with..

I think when you upgrade any component it is an anxious moment as you don't want to loose what you have but as you have already proved this is the only way you move forward...taking a risk.
I am sure its a small one though with the Kb as Killian would not suggest doing anything to it if it did not improve on the original.

It's all boxed up and ready to go...

I'm told it takes about 1 week? How long did your 2M take?