savoy014

Day 1 Toying with the idea of buying a new turntable to complement my existing one (Bluenote Piccolo / Rega RB300 / Ortofon MC15II). The present turntable sits in my bedroom system and it would be nice to be able to spin my records in my main setup. The present setup is decent but not awe inspiring. A frantic search on the internet ensues. A list of suspects is formed, Rega, Pro-ject, etc. Day 4 A visit to the Pro-ject dealer, House of Turntables is made during lunch. The friendly duo at the House of Turntables  let me listen to the Pro-ject RPM 5.1 with Denon DL-160, as well as the Pro-ject 2 xperience Acryl with the Sumiko Blackbird. Both setups are mindblowing and definitely better than my Bluenote (I believe the MC15II is on its last legs). Payment is made for the 2 xperience as well as the Pro-ject Phono Box SE II and Speed Box II, and following that, is 5 excruciating days of waiting. Day 8 An evening trip is made to Ikea to buy a chopping board to use as ...

The TAOC Tite-13GS is tiny, especially compared to its much larger and heavier siblings in the TAOC range. Picture from TAOC's official website Measuring just 25 mm in diameter and 10 mm in thickness, each piece weights 30 grams. Sold in a set of 8, their primary use is to act as an isolation disc in between the base of bookshelf speakers and speaker stands. Apart from that, their use is limited only by your imagination. The local dealer suggests that you can also use them as equipment footers to support very small equipment (like USB/SPDIF converters, power supply boxes etc), or on top of equipment to damp chassis resonance. I tried a single piece each on top of my Audio-Gd DAC-19 and Kingrex PSU-MkII. Initial results were not encouraging, with the tonal balance simply feeling a bit unnatural. After some experimentation, they ended up close to the transformers. Interestingly, they sounded better off center, rather than directly over the transformer. In typical TAOC fashion, there ...

Introduction The Proac Response D1 is the successor to the Response 1SC. The 1SC was quite popular in this part of the world. Given that our listening rooms are typically quite small (3x4m being about the average size of a bedroom here), there is a big market for high performance speakers that can perform well in smaller acoustic spaces. Physically, the D1 is a compact (30.5 cm high, 16.8 cm wide, 26 cm deep), but heavy (9 kg) bookshelf speaker. Available in a wide variety of real wood veneers, the D1 has exemplary finishing and would not be out of place in a picture spread of a home interior magazine. The D1 in Cherry veneer - Pretty as a picture ! The D1 is a larger speaker than its predecessor, especially in terms of depth. The tweeter drive unit seems similar (a custom Scanspeak silk dome model), while the bass / midrange unit has been changed. The 1SC woofer has a transparent cone with cooper phase plug model, while the D1 has a black glass fiber cone with acrylic phase plug. ...

Quick Comparison Table Model               Price     Gauge        Conductors       Shielding        EMI absorbing cord 7N-P4020III    $90/m    Medium     0.26mm x 37    Copper tape  Yes 6N-P4030        $160/m  Large        0.26mm x 100   None            Yes 7N-P4030II     $200/m   Large       0.26mm x 100   Copper tape  Yes For purposes of a fair comparison, all cords mentioned were terminated with Oyaide P-004/C-004 connectors, which are the matching plugs for the Oyaide R-1 AC outlet used. 7N-P4020I...

Singapore Audiophiles do not really have much choice in installing audio grade UK wall outlets. Most make do by buying special US outlet faceplates that fit on our existing UK back boxes. This is of course in violation of local electrical codes. Furutech is one of the few manufacturers to offer a solution - at a price. They make a single or dual outlet UK receptacle, with a choice of gold or rhodium plating. The base metal of the contact points is pure copper and treated with Furutech's proprietary alpha process, which involves both cryogenic and demagnetization treatment. Featured here is the gold plated duplex model, FP-1363-D(G) Plain cardboard box (with a bit of sticker shock, according to Mrs. Audiophile) The plate is rigid and far less resonant than the stock outlet commonly used A close up of the terminals. No problem with the beefiest of cables A few pointers when installing these outlets. The faceplate is slightly longer than a standard socket. Measure carefully if install...

DIY your own balanced interconnects with Mogami Neglex 2534 ! Neutrik XLR plugs, Mogami 2534 cable, paper cutter, Kester 44 solder and Teflon plumbers tape The Mogami Neglex 2534 is a flexible shielded star quad cable, i.e. separate shield and four individually insulated conductors. I have used this cable in both single ended and balanced applications, and this cable really shines in balanced form. Singapore readers can get this cable from Team 108 in Macpherson. You can have a look at their website for contact details and opening hours,   http://www.team108.com/ Once you have cut your cable to length, slide the rear plug housings on to the cable. I have lost count of the number of times I have soldered cables happily only to realise that I forgot the backshell ! Strip the cable and conductors, and twist the same coloured conductors together, i.e. form two conductors by twisting the clear cables together, and repeat with the blue cables. Bundle the shield wires ...

Here is a quick comparison of new 12AX7 tubes tried recently. All new tubes had at least 20 hours of burn in time on them. From left, RCA 5751, Sovtek LPS, Tungsol re-issue, Psvane, GE Triple Mica Black Plate 5751. My morning cup of coffee just happened to be there.  Tungsol re-issue (steel pin) Following from my review of Tungsol's 6SN7, a quick audition of its 12AX7 brother suggests that New Sensor is going for a particular house sound with Tungsol re-issues. Predictably, the 12AX7 sounds smoother, richer, with more bass emphasis compared to its EH cousins. The Tungsol has a creamy smooth midrange with a weighty and slightly rounded bass. The trade-off is comparatively less open highs. Brass instruments and the shimmer from ride cymbals have noticeably less rasp and decay. This also affects the retrieval of fine acoustic space. The lower register weight helps Piano notes though which have impact and good timbre.Resolution and dynamics are mediocre. BTW, like the Sovtek LPS, don...