Slipsik 8

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Re: Slipsik 8

Post by lejonklou »

The American distributor decided not to change the price list. It's still the most expensive market to export to, because of shipping, insurance and customs.
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Re: Slipsik 8

Post by ThomasOK »

lejonklou wrote: 2022-02-11 23:00 The American distributor decided not to change the price list. It's still the most expensive market to export to, because of shipping, insurance and customs.
As Fredrik mentioned there are a number of factors having to do with getting the equipment here that makes it more expensive. The same thing occurs to North American gear going to Europe and the UK.

There was a small cost increase to me on the Slipsik 8 but I decided to absorb it rather than pass it on to dealers and customers. I like the price the Slipsik is at right now so Slipsik 8 remains the same price over here as the 7.1 was.
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Re: Slipsik 8

Post by lejonklou »

A rare issue has come to our attention.

Sometimes the servo circuits of Slipsik can become stuck when it's powering up. It's appears to be a rare occurrence and so far I have only been able to reproduce it on North American (120 Volt) versions.

What happens when the servo circuits become stuck is that the sound of your Slipsik will be compressed and distorted. The technical reason is rather mysterious, but can be traced to an integrated circuit from Texas Instruments, which I have been using with the exact same configuration and well within its specified parameters since 2006 with zero problems until now. So something appears to have changed in this circuit, but there is no information of any change. I also find that the circuit sounds better than it did before, which could be the result of a change of production plant or technology used - details that doesn't normally result in any change to the technical specifications.

To ensure that the servo circuits are operating normally, please follow these steps:

1. Leave your Slipsik permanently powered on. It comsumes less than 5 Watts, so it's not expensive.

2. Before powering up your Slipsik, connect it to your turntable and your amplifier. Have the system powered up and set the volume to a low or moderate level.

3. Connect Slipsik to the mains power. Then unplug it and wait for three seconds. You will hear a slight "PLOP" in the speakers as Slipsik powers down. Now reconnect your Slipsik to the mains power.

Steps 2 and 3 above ensures that the servo circuits operate normally.

Every Slipsik 8 will from now on be shipped with a note in the carton to inform about this.
I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.
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Re: Slipsik 8

Post by Charlie1 »

Took delivery of a Slipsik 8 yesterday. I'm so pleased with it and it just keeps getting better. It's working great in both systems with VM95ML. Thanks Fredrik for designing and making this. I love it.
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Re: Slipsik 8

Post by lejonklou »

Charlie1 wrote: 2022-10-19 08:53 Took delivery of a Slipsik 8 yesterday. I'm so pleased with it and it just keeps getting better. It's working great in both systems with VM95ML. Thanks Fredrik for designing and making this. I love it.
Thank you Charlie1!

I consider it a victory if you’re still loving it six months from now. You are not easy to impress!
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Re: Slipsik 8

Post by Spannko »

lejonklou wrote: 2022-10-19 12:15 I consider it a victory if you’re still loving it six months from now. You are not easy to impress!
Ha ha! True!
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Re: Slipsik 8

Post by Charlie1 »

:)
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Re: Slipsik 8

Post by matthias »

Matt

MBP / Exposure pre + power (both modified) / JBL3677
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Re: Slipsik 8

Post by tby »

Considering his post of other phono stages he has in for review I'm looking forward to seeing him (hopefully) post some comparison notes.

Here's the list of the others he has in for review:
Schiit Mani 2
MoFi StudioPhono
Aurorasound VIDA Prima Phono Stage
Hegel V10
EAR Phono Classic (MM/MC w/volume)
Manley Chinook SE MKII
Parasound JC 3+
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Re: Slipsik 8

Post by nostinkingloops »

hi frederik. enjoying the entity immensely, and have now begun upgrading a turntable in a second system.

this is a technics 1200G equipped with the venerable denon 103 MC cartridge. currently, i'm running that through the auditorium SUT into the MM input of my phono-stage. based on the pleasure i'm getting from the entity, i wonder whether the slipsik 8 is worth considering as an alternative for this system.

what do you think? does the slipsik feel like the right application here?

thanks in advance - stevan
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Re: Slipsik 8

Post by lejonklou »

Hello Stevan!

I’m very happy to hear that you are enjoying Entity.

Denon 103 will need a Step Up Transformer to fit Slipsik. I know some people who love this combination and I tried it myself (SUT+Slipsik, not the 103). It was really good but I think Entity is even better.

Of course I haven’t heard every SUT out there, but they seem to have something in common and I think that a really good active input stage is better. But I may be wrong!
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Re: Slipsik 8

Post by nostinkingloops »

thanks for your quick response frederik. i'm pretty happy with the 103+auditorium 23 SUT, and i'm not *unhappy* with the phono-stage i'm currently using (modwright ph9.0x), but i'm always open to experimenting with alternatives, especially (in this case) given my very positive experience with the Entity in my other system. there is something uncannily magical about this little box you've made. i begin to suspect the operation of occult powers ... :-)
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Re: Slipsik 8

Post by ThomasOK »

Since you already have the Entity (with it's occult powers) in your other system the sensible thing to do first would be to try the Entity in the second system with the DL103 and see how it sounds. I haven't tried this combination and it may turn out not to be a good match but it also might work fine and give you sublime musical reproduction. If it turns out that the DL103 really doesn't work well without a SUT then a Slipsik 8 and your SUT of choice would indeed be a very workable and musical combination. I have a few dealers who have sold that kind of combination from time to time. One dealer sold an Entity one week and two weeks later sold a Slipsik 8. With the order he informed me that the Slipsik 8 was going to be used with a Koetsu Rosewood and an Auditorium Hommage T2. So I see no problem with you running the DL103/Auditorium 23 into the Slipsik 8 and getting very musical results. But I would certainly try the Entity first.
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Re: Slipsik 8

Post by ThomasOK »

A new and really nice review of the Slipsik 8 will be published tomorrow on the Twittering Machines website. I found the draft a very enjoyable read and will publish the link once it is up.

Here is the link to the review:

https://twitteringmachines.com/review-l ... ono-stage/
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Re: Slipsik 8

Post by Arjen »

ThomasOK wrote: 2023-03-22 23:15 A new and really nice review of the Slipsik 8 will be published tomorrow on the Twittering Machines website. I found the draft a very enjoyable read and will publish the link once it is up.

Here is the link to the review:

https://twitteringmachines.com/review-l ... ono-stage/
Slipsik (8)” A master of the intimate” after playing Adrienne Lenker. She’s is a favorite of mine. The reviewer is right to start with her, singer/songwriter of Big Thief. I ‘m experience the same with my 7.1 when playing an older solo one of Adrienne Lenker. And Miles too, Slipsik delivering music “with a golden hue”. Good review indeed by Michael Lavorgna!
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Re: Slipsik 8

Post by nmakowsk »

Well I finally encountered the rare issue that Fredrik mentioned and printed proper startup procedures for the Slipsik 8. I had disconnected the system power strip (cablepro) before an electrical storm came through and when I reconnected it I didn't think anything of it. I was playing some LPs that were Columbia House record club pressings so I wasn't expecting anything extraordinary in the sound quality. Also I was sorting records so not really paying much attention to the sound. Eventually I played a UK pressing Lp by Re-Flex that usually sounds really good only to discover some popping sounds coming from the Isobarik woofers. This doesn't sound right I told myself since I wasn't playing with very much volume. Its a bass heavy record on some tracks like the politics of dancing. It was similar to the sound of clipping from the tundra but only the woofers not any other drivers. So I lifted the arm off the record and turned the Giella Pi gain knob up just to hear the background and work the knob a little bit. At the 12:00 position a hum started that was very noisy. Below 12:00 there was no hum. I thought maybe the Giella Pi needed a restart but that didn't solve the problem either as the hum remained. I remembered the slipsik 8 instruction page because I was careful to plug it in correctly the first time I installed it. I wanted it to continue to blow away my Slipsik 7.1 as it did during demos. The proper sequence startup fixed the issue completely and then I enjoyed how much better every record sounded till midnight when I had to call it a night.

All of this lead me to wondering also if the Entity has a system like this that can get stuck during startup? Fredrik will know for sure but the answer is probably no or he would have likely discovered it by now. I was just so relieved to have the distortion gone and return to the sound quality I was used to. So from now on no shortcuts when it comes to powering up the Slipsik. It was a good opportunity too because once I heard the power down "plop" in the speakers I could plug it into a different slot of the cablepro. I was able to nail down my favorite spot for the phono stage then.
LP12/Kar/ARad1/Kore/Ekos SE1/NOKTable/Adikt/Slipsik 8.0/Giella Pi 1.2/Tundra Stereo 2.2/1992 Briks
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Re: Slipsik 8

Post by lejonklou »

Thank you for reporting, nmakowsk!

This is a really strange issue that I've spent a lot of time with but I still haven't figured out an optimal way to solve it.

* It only affects Slipsik. No other products have that servo part, which doesn't always start correctly.
* I only know of about ten North American units that behave this way. Those that do start incorrectly about 25% of the time when the unit has been completely powered down (all the internal voltages have gone to zero, which takes about 20 minutes). So it's quite easy to identify.
* Texas Instruments have been very helpful in suggesting various remedies, but the problem is that I've tried them all and they involve a small loss of sound quality. I refuse to go down that route. They have not admitted to the part being faulty, which leaves me unsure of whether this is due to the part having changed specifications permanently (then it will happen again), whether it was a bad batch (then it might not happen again) or whether it's an odd and one-time phenomenon (then replacing only the affected parts will solve the problem).
* I have a few old stock of this part that always start correctly - like they all used to for more than a decade! - so it's possible to fix the few units that have the problem. But first I'd prefer to figure out whether it will happen again. If so, I need to make a permanent change. And that change need to result in as good or better musical performance. I've already tried some alternatives, but they don't sound quite as good as the original Slipsik 8.

(Updated some details above)
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Re: Slipsik 8

Post by lejonklou »

The issue of intermittent incorrect power up on Slipsik 8 has now been resolved.

Once I had analyzed exactly what happens when the servo stumbles, I tried all the permanent cures I could think of. One of them had close to zero negative impact on the sound, so that's the one I chose.

If anyone who has identified this problem in their Slipsik 8 (only a few units have it) is bothered about the dual start-up procedure, the cure can be installed free of charge. Please contact me or my North American distributor Nokturne Audio.
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Re: Slipsik 8

Post by JoDeKo »

Hi,

I am looking for an opportunity to test a Slipsik. It's not that easy here in Germany. Unfortunately, there aren't that many dealers.

A pre that focuses on MM would be ideal, as I have an Urika in my LP12 and I'm looking for an MM pre for my second turntable.

Let's see where and how something turns up. Maybe I'll take a trip to Holland ;)

Best regards,

Jo
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Re: Slipsik 8

Post by Arjen »

Hi Jo,
I think you might contact Marco at Hexagon Amsterdam for a listening session.
If not, try a private person to test a Slipsik. i myself play very happily with a 7.2.
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Re: Slipsik 8

Post by JoDeKo »

Thank you, Arjen.

Yes, I have had already contact with Marco in the past. I will contact him.

Jo
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Re: Slipsik 8

Post by JoDeKo »

To close the loop, I have now ordered a Slipsik and am very excited. ;)
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Re: Slipsik 8

Post by Charlie1 »

I'm sure you'll enjoy it - it's a great phono stage!

What turntable are you using it with?
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Re: Slipsik 8

Post by JoDeKo »

Thank you, Charlie. I have a LP12 with Urika 1 and Radikal Klimax, but I will will use the Slipsik with a Thorens TD-403DD and LINN Adikt.
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Re: Slipsik 8

Post by Charlie1 »

Very nice too.
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