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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2019 7:39:15 GMT
Those Townsend things are so expensive it's almost cheaper to move house! or in your situation, convert the garage...  Haha, yes they are! They did work though so not snake oil, just very expensive |
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Post by antonio on Aug 28, 2019 8:40:02 GMT
Buzzing tonearm cable, get it sorted Oli.  It would appear my old ears have not been deceiving me regarding Townshend speaker bars.  I would get you speakers sorted first before even thinking of these. Only my opinion of course. Pleased you had an enjoyable time the pair of you. |
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Post by dsjr on Aug 28, 2019 9:04:08 GMT
It was my experience going back to a situation thirty six years ago that the SLIGHTEST hum on a MC stage kills the sound in terms of reverb reproduction and general 'ease' of listening. What convinced me was placing a HiCap close to or under a Naim 32 preamp. The hum is actually very slight and only 'audible' with the volume control fully up (noise is abundant too with this preamp used flat out).
So PLEASE forgive me if I'm a bit ambivalent about the above report currently. Get rid of the hum and I swear the sound opens out no end and if you can hear this slight constriction on an old noisy band-limited Naim, you *should* definitely hear it on a modern higher resolution system.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2019 9:07:19 GMT
Buzzing tonearm cable, get it sorted Oli. It would appear my old ears have not been deceiving me regarding Townshend speaker bars. I would get you speakers sorted first before even thinking of these. Only my opinion of course. Pleased you had an enjoyable time the pair of you. It was the RCA socket IMO rather than the cable. The AECO have a tighter fit and that's where the difference was made. My cables don't buzz!!! 🤣 Tbf, I have seen that happen before and the second I heard the noise I knew what it was. Neutrik RCA socket in the Avalon. I tried an MPS plug too and that was slipping straight off without much help at all. Yes, I won't be buying anything for the speakers until such time as I am settled. Funnily enough, talking to Angus this morning, I said to him that the new plinth is having the same kind of effect as the speaker bars just not 'as much' of it. |
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Post by dsjr on Aug 28, 2019 9:17:34 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2019 9:18:29 GMT
It was my experience going back to a situation thirty six years ago that the SLIGHTEST hum on a MC stage kills the sound in terms of reverb reproduction and general 'ease' of listening. What convinced me was placing a HiCap close to or under a Naim 32 preamp. The hum is actually very slight and only 'audible' with the volume control fully up (noise is abundant too with this preamp used flat out). So PLEASE forgive me if I'm a bit ambivalent about the above report currently. Get rid of the hum and I swear the sound opens out no end and if you can hear this slight constriction on an old noisy band-limited Naim, you *should* definitely hear it on a modern higher resolution system. Did you read all of the post Dave? The hum was removed entirely when we changed from cables with KLE plugs and replaced them with AECO plugs and removed the ground wire. There was no noise whatsoever after this and at full rotation on the DCB1 there was very impressive low levels of noise. Only then did we even attempt to critically listen to it. My opinion is based on what I heard AFTer the removal of the hum. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2019 9:23:04 GMT
RD and I had a civil conversation once about the use of RCA sockets and plugs and for once we were in agreement that they were shite compared to what else was available. His opinion, and mine was that BNC could be the answer. When I am ready, I intend to fit BNC sockets between a couple of components and see whether there is any audible benefit. If there is, I'll convert them all. If not, it puts that theory to bed for me. The only drawback is what wire could be used but I have a plan for that |
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Post by dsjr on Aug 28, 2019 10:05:45 GMT
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Post by antonio on Aug 28, 2019 10:19:29 GMT
I've got WBT connectors on my digital cable, hate buggering around with the things. Better to have something you can slip on and slip off. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2019 10:40:35 GMT
I've got WBT connectors on my digital cable, hate buggering around with the things. Better to have something you can slip on and slip off. I'll test them eventually just to satisfy my inquisitive nature |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2019 11:58:01 GMT
Had a little listening session with Firebottle this morning. He been sent some interesting kit to add some foo to. A Sondex amplifier and a Croft Preamp. Pics of both:     We calibrated our ears to the current rig of DCB1, BigBottle and 686. We then swapped in the Croft Preamp. The croft has a Khozmo inside, Zfoils, Silver ZCaps and a fair old amount of foo. Wbt RCAs, the whole 9 yards. Alan has fettled it and ironed out a few wrinkles in the phonostage section so it's safe to say it's in the best condition of its life! The opening bars of 'Nublado' were very promising. No loss of detail and the sound stage seemed to be larger than with the DCB1 but when the track got busier, even Only slightly, I felt the crofts presentation was like loads of explosions going off all over the place. It was a bit slow in the bass and seemed to have overhang which just muddied the performance. There was a definite loss of instrument placement in the image. In fact, I felt like I was being hit in the face with the instruments, rather than listening to a performance. We pulled it, and put the DCB1 back in and put the Sondex amplifier in to sse how that faired. I'm not sure what Alan has done to this but it was very good in the bass "for a valve amp" said Alan. Personally I felt it lacked a little sparkle at the top and maybe seemed a little flat but bass was surprisingly quick. Uninspired by either piece Alan suggested putting them in together. SO out came the DCB1 and the 686. Straight away, it sounded better. The absolutely manic sounding croft and the slightly laid back Sondex began to compliment each others strengths. The sound stage was equal to that of DCB1 and there was far better imaging going on but still, I wasn't captivated what was going on. We took out the BigBottle and went into the MM phonostage in the Croft. We used Alan's K&K SUT. FINALLY! This was where the synergy was. The performance was now far more controlled, had depth to the soundstage and instrument placement was really good too. Lots of detail and sounded very solid. Believability was better too. The madman that is the croft was being tamed a bit by the Sondex and the slightly overhanging bass of the croft was being tightened up too. I like it when valves sound this good. We listened and we didn't talk over it. That's always a good sign. I enjoyed what I heard and thought that owner of these pieces will be very happy indeed with the combination. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2019 12:19:41 GMT
Those Sondex 'S100' are good amps, in fact everything Sondex did was good.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2019 17:18:34 GMT
Those Sondex 'S100' are good amps, in fact everything Sondex did was good. Had a good tone about it. The two parts, the croft and the Sondex complimented each other really well. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2019 17:26:05 GMT
If you see a Sondex 'PCU-1' passive that might be worth giving a go with it.. Just trying to think, i dont think they made an Active Pre amp.. The Radford 'SC-25' could be a cool partner..
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2019 7:15:27 GMT
If you see a Sondex 'PCU-1' passive that might be worth giving a go with it.. Just trying to think, i dont think they made an Active Pre amp.. The Radford 'SC-25' could be a cool partner.. I'll keep my eyes open. I like the old stuff. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2019 18:50:14 GMT
Why do I keep saying 'yes' to the offer of auditioning gear lol. Big thanks to Nigel for the loan of his Beast! And his Valab MK2 phonostage. No listening done yet, too busy today but I'm chomping at the bit!   With the arrival of the 'mini beast and the Valab, I thought I'd better get a bit of listening done. However, upon plugging the Valab in, I remembered why Ive been avoiding the system a little bit over the last few days. The 6800uf caps in the DCB1. Suffering with man flu and not feeling even remotely interested in removing the caps and putting the originals back in, I decided to take the DCB1 out of the loop altogether. 5 minutes later, and that's exactly what I have done. I am now running a Khozmo based passive preamp. Plugging it in and playing the first track was very interesting. It was as I remembered the DCB1 sounding before I'd changed the caps except it wasn't quite as fast. The drums don't quite match the enthusiasm of the DCB1 and I can definitely tell the buffer is gone BUT apart from that, it tells me that the buffer is not adding or subtracting anything from the music tonally. Transparency is what I have claimed and that's what I got from the DCB1. I played a fair few albums tonight via the Valab and about half way through I switched to the cheaply Rotel phonostage I have here. 95% of audiophiles would overlook this due to its plain box and Japanese name but it would be a mistake. It's balanced, insightful, has good channel separation and doesn't hit you with a SS signature at all. I really like it. I need to experiment a bit more with the Valab because based on tonight's listening, Its not doing what I remember from last time I auditioned it here. There is a hump in the mid bass which is a little distracting and imo is overwhelming the rest of the frequencies. It may just be that the Valab isn't setup right, there are a varied amount of gain and impedance settings so further listening is definitely required. Anyway, the Khozmo has been described by some as edgy or etched when used in a passive. In my system today, I couldn't think of a better way to make a passive amplifier. A Khozmo, a Elma rotary switch and a bit of wire and you have an utterly superb passive pre. |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Sept 18, 2019 19:15:39 GMT
Why do I keep saying 'yes' to the offer of auditioning gear lol. Big thanks to Nigel for the loan of his Beast! And his Valab MK2 phonostage. No listening done yet, too busy today but I'm chomping at the bit! With the arrival of the 'mini beast and the Valab, I thought I'd better get a bit of listening done. However, upon plugging the Valab in, I remembered why Ive been avoiding the system a little bit over the last few days. The 6800uf caps in the DCB1. Suffering with man flu and not feeling even remotely interested in removing the caps and putting the originals back in, I decided to take the DCB1 out of the loop altogether. 5 minutes later, and that's exactly what I have done. I am now running a Khozmo based passive preamp. Plugging it in and playing the first track was very interesting. It was as I remembered the DCB1 sounding before I'd changed the caps except it wasn't quite as fast. The drums don't quite match the enthusiasm of the DCB1 and I can definitely tell the buffer is gone BUT apart from that, it tells me that the buffer is not adding or subtracting anything from the music tonally. Transparency is what I have claimed and that's what I got from the DCB1. I played a fair few albums tonight via the Valab and about half way through I switched to the cheaply Rotel phonostage I have here. 95% of audiophiles would overlook this due to its plain box and Japanese name but it would be a mistake. It's balanced, insightful, has good channel separation and doesn't hit you with a SS signature at all. I really like it. I need to experiment a bit more with the Valab because based on tonight's listening, Its not doing what I remember from last time I auditioned it here. There is a hump in the mid bass which is a little distracting and imo is overwhelming the rest of the frequencies. It may just be that the Valab isn't setup right, there are a varied amount of gain and impedance settings so further listening is definitely required. Anyway, the Khozmo has been described by some as edgy or etched when used in a passive. In my system today, I couldn't think of a better way to make a passive amplifier. A Khozmo, a Elma rotary switch and a bit of wire and you have an utterly superb passive pre. I like the look of the Transcendent |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Sept 18, 2019 19:18:21 GMT
Is your Rotelman RQ970BX? They look really nicely built internally.
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Post by sq225917 on Sept 18, 2019 19:22:27 GMT
The khozmo is just a resistor voltage divider how on earth can it sound etched. Maybe they mean let's the grainy sound of their system come through...
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2019 19:23:01 GMT
Is your Rotelman RQ970BX? They look really nicely built internally. Yes, I think so. RIAA isn't 100% accurate as it has a little rise in the bass but with a fettle it can be sorted. It's not mine though, it's been left here lol |
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Post by Bigman80 on Sept 18, 2019 19:58:29 GMT
The Khozmo didn’t work,with my NVA amps, but I guess there are so many variables such as cables etc. When I say it didn’t work, I guess I mean the NVA s were better with an NVA preamp, so maybe synergy too?
Anyone else tried a Khozmo? I was impressed with the build quality.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2019 20:18:41 GMT
The khozmo is just a resistor voltage divider how on earth can it sound etched. Maybe they mean let's the grainy sound of their system come through... I think you are spot on, Simon. By design its very clean so I can only imagine that the experience of actually hearing their system was unpleasant lol. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2019 20:21:15 GMT
The Khozmo didn’t work,with my NVA amps, but I guess there are so many variables such as cables etc. When I say it didn’t work, I guess I mean the NVA s were better with an NVA preamp, so maybe synergy too? Anyone else tried a Khozmo? I was impressed with the build quality. The Khozmo didn't work because of the amps imo. Not hating on the NVA amps of old, but the Khozmo in passive guise adds nothing and subtracts nothing. I've said before that the NVA of old needed it's own accessories due to the deliberate tuning that took place. No harm in it, just easier to get synergy with the same brand in that instance. |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Sept 18, 2019 21:11:46 GMT
The Khozmo didn’t work,with my NVA amps, but I guess there are so many variables such as cables etc. When I say it didn’t work, I guess I mean the NVA s were better with an NVA preamp, so maybe synergy too? Anyone else tried a Khozmo? I was impressed with the build quality. The Khozmo didn't work because of the amps imo. Not hating on the NVA amps of old, but the Khozmo in passive guise adds nothing and subtracts nothing. I've said before that the NVA of old needed it's own accessories due to the deliberate tuning that took place. No harm in it, just easier to get synergy with the same brand in that instance. Funnily enough I’ve disliked every other passive I’ve heard bar the NVA with NVA. They just lack life to me. Never heard a TVC but always wanted to. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2019 21:16:24 GMT
The Khozmo didn't work because of the amps imo. Not hating on the NVA amps of old, but the Khozmo in passive guise adds nothing and subtracts nothing. I've said before that the NVA of old needed it's own accessories due to the deliberate tuning that took place. No harm in it, just easier to get synergy with the same brand in that instance. Funnily enough I’ve disliked every other passive I’ve heard bar the NVA with NVA. They just lack life to me. Never heard a TVC but always wanted to. Yep, the lack of urgency or drive is what stops me using passives but the DCB1 bridges the gap. |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Sept 18, 2019 21:23:32 GMT
Funnily enough I’ve disliked every other passive I’ve heard bar the NVA with NVA. They just lack life to me. Never heard a TVC but always wanted to. Yep, the lack of urgency or drive is what stops me using passives but the DCB1 bridges the gap. Yep that’s a good description. Worst passive ever was the Moth 30 series. Utter trash using crap bits badly put together. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2019 21:27:27 GMT
Yep, the lack of urgency or drive is what stops me using passives but the DCB1 bridges the gap. Yep that’s a good description. Worst passive ever was the Moth 30 series. Utter trash using crap bits badly put together. Tvcs give the impression of drive but the slagle I had was easily bested by the DCB1. |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Sept 19, 2019 14:47:58 GMT
Lots of stuff I haven’t tried, despite so many years of box swapping, Neslon Pass stuff still intrigues me though
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2019 14:53:46 GMT
I was always interested in Tube Technology stuff but never tried any
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2019 16:01:54 GMT
Lots of stuff I haven’t tried, despite so many years of box swapping, Neslon Pass stuff still intrigues me though Pass gear is mega money |
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I would get you speakers sorted first before even thinking of these. Only my opinion of course.
