I do this on every installation I make and yes, it's a matter of Tune Dem'ing the tightness. If you have done it once on a particular fastener - say the treble unit on Ninka - you can start very close to the perfect value the next time you tighten an identical fastener.
It differs very little between two identical fasteners, so the treble unit on your Katans will have almost the same value. But the bass unit is another type of fastener and will have a different optimal tightness.
ThomasOK's System
Moderator: Staff
Thanks Fredrik.
It never ceases to amaze me how these little tweaks can effect your system. I tried the plug fuse of the extension block the other way around recently. It was already the best way round, but you wouldn't want it the other way. Apart from Tune Dem being worse, the sound became slightly cloudy and weak.
As you've said before, they all add up and my system has benefitted greatly, both in terms of Hi-Hi and musically. Often I can't be bothered and am happy to leave everything as it is, but sometimes I'm in the mood for a tweak and there always seems to be something else that I can try. :)
Do you think I should try the fuses in the Linn units the other way around or does the factory always check them?
It never ceases to amaze me how these little tweaks can effect your system. I tried the plug fuse of the extension block the other way around recently. It was already the best way round, but you wouldn't want it the other way. Apart from Tune Dem being worse, the sound became slightly cloudy and weak.
As you've said before, they all add up and my system has benefitted greatly, both in terms of Hi-Hi and musically. Often I can't be bothered and am happy to leave everything as it is, but sometimes I'm in the mood for a tweak and there always seems to be something else that I can try. :)
Do you think I should try the fuses in the Linn units the other way around or does the factory always check them?
Linn never check fuse direction, so you should try it. You will find that for a given fuse brand and type, it's always the same direction. For example; the fuses I use in Kinki and Slipsik should have their numbers (230V 100mA) towards the power cable.
Fuse directionality is probably one of the most laughable audio tweaks around. Most people shake their heads and dismiss you as a moron before they actually hear the difference themselves. I have no explanation for the effect other than that the sound difference it produces is very similar to what you get when you reverse the direction of a mains cable (power cord or a piece of cable inside a machine).
One reason why fuse directionality appears silly could be that it's so small. People tend to think that since the piece of wire inside the fuse is so short, the possible directionality should be close to nonexistent. But the thing is that directionality, in my opinion, does not increase with the length of a wire. Reversing a short wire makes about as much difference as reversing a very long wire.
Fuse directionality is probably one of the most laughable audio tweaks around. Most people shake their heads and dismiss you as a moron before they actually hear the difference themselves. I have no explanation for the effect other than that the sound difference it produces is very similar to what you get when you reverse the direction of a mains cable (power cord or a piece of cable inside a machine).
One reason why fuse directionality appears silly could be that it's so small. People tend to think that since the piece of wire inside the fuse is so short, the possible directionality should be close to nonexistent. But the thing is that directionality, in my opinion, does not increase with the length of a wire. Reversing a short wire makes about as much difference as reversing a very long wire.
On the question of torquing the drivers Fredrik is quite right. I have found that the torque settings for a Ninka tweeter will be very close whether the tweeter is in a Ninka, an Espek or a Keltik. Since all torque screwdrivers vary, and even different units of the same model are specified to be within some margin like 6%, posting torque specs really doesn't help that much as you have to determine the proper settings for your particular torque screwdriver. As I have found (and Fredrik and Paolo have verified) you can hear torque changes of as little as one or two hundredths of a Nm! My experience is that any fastener where torque makes a difference - be it in a turntable or a speaker (or even in an AC plug) - you will find that differences of two hundredths of a Nm will make an audible difference. The torque screwdriver I use (as does Fredrik) is a Sturtevant Richmont Cal 36/4. This covers pretty much the full range needed from .2Nm to 4Nm (I have only found one torque setting outside the range) and is available both by itself and in kits with a set of bits at reasonable prices. You can often find them used on eBay (but make sure it is the adjustable version and not the fixed one) and they are also sold by Sears in the US. Here is a link for more info:
http://www.srtorque.com/tamatsd.html
When setting the torque on speaker drivers I would recommend starting at around 1Nm and going up from there as long as the drivers have metal baskets or faceplates (tweeters with plastic faceplates, for instance, might be distorted by that much torque - try starting at .4Nm instead). You also want to make sure the bolts holding the drivers in go into something solid like the T-nuts Linn uses - drivers fastened by screws going into MDF or particle board will strip out at that high a torque - I would again try about .4Nm and go up or down from there. With drivers that are solidly attached: Linn, Sonus Faber, ATC and others I have found most drivers end up somewhere between 1.2Nm and 1.6Nm but the array on the Artikulat and Akurate should be tightened a slight bit above 2.0Nm. Interestingly, Linn recommend 2.0Nm for the array when doing a service replacement but I have yet to see one come out of the box anywhere near that tight. And even if they did they would not have the level of precision needed to get the best performance. As always YMMV and I take no responsibility for broken anything caused by using the above techniques! In other words torque at your own risk. :)
On the question of fuses, Linn definitely do not always get that right. From what I've seen I'd say they don't pay attention to it at all. I found a fairly random mix of right and wrong on the Linn components I have checked. I guess I didn't mention it in my system listing but all of the fuses have been oriented properly using the tune-dem method as have the internal power cables. And yes, it all helps. I just Vidared my Revelation II power strip and torqued the electrical outlets and both of these made further small improvements to the musicality of the system.
http://www.srtorque.com/tamatsd.html
When setting the torque on speaker drivers I would recommend starting at around 1Nm and going up from there as long as the drivers have metal baskets or faceplates (tweeters with plastic faceplates, for instance, might be distorted by that much torque - try starting at .4Nm instead). You also want to make sure the bolts holding the drivers in go into something solid like the T-nuts Linn uses - drivers fastened by screws going into MDF or particle board will strip out at that high a torque - I would again try about .4Nm and go up or down from there. With drivers that are solidly attached: Linn, Sonus Faber, ATC and others I have found most drivers end up somewhere between 1.2Nm and 1.6Nm but the array on the Artikulat and Akurate should be tightened a slight bit above 2.0Nm. Interestingly, Linn recommend 2.0Nm for the array when doing a service replacement but I have yet to see one come out of the box anywhere near that tight. And even if they did they would not have the level of precision needed to get the best performance. As always YMMV and I take no responsibility for broken anything caused by using the above techniques! In other words torque at your own risk. :)
On the question of fuses, Linn definitely do not always get that right. From what I've seen I'd say they don't pay attention to it at all. I found a fairly random mix of right and wrong on the Linn components I have checked. I guess I didn't mention it in my system listing but all of the fuses have been oriented properly using the tune-dem method as have the internal power cables. And yes, it all helps. I just Vidared my Revelation II power strip and torqued the electrical outlets and both of these made further small improvements to the musicality of the system.
Just a quick word of agreement on Fredrik's last post - which he was apparently concocting at the same time as I was typing mine :) Whatever the conditions are that make wire directional they do make ALL wire directional. I have also found that the length of the wire seems to have little or no effect on the changes brought about by directionality. Try doing a direction comparison with both a one meter and a two or more meter cable of the same type and you will find the differences due to direction are the same.
I imagine if you tried you could make a cable that was not directional by having half the strands run one way and half run the other but you would then have a cable that is always compromised so it makes little sense to do so.
I imagine if you tried you could make a cable that was not directional by having half the strands run one way and half run the other but you would then have a cable that is always compromised so it makes little sense to do so.
I just wanted to make a little update here that I have recently put a custom made Movingui plinth made by Chris Harban on my LP12SE and it made an unexpected musical upgrade. I will not go into it much here as I am writing another post on it for On the Inside. But I wanted to list it here as an update and post a photo of the turntable - the plinth is really gorgeous!
Here is a photo of it:
Here is a photo of it:
Now that I have the hang of the photo posting thing I thought it was about time I posted some photos of my system. As my digital camera is an older model there is some grain in a photo or two - especially the whole system photo. But it gives you a good idea of my system and setup. Of course, the LP12 now has the plinth shown in the photo above.
I bet your system sounds wonderful Thomas. I'm very curious to hear those great looking ATCs in particular - they even look like they're going to sound great. I see why you want to keep everything in the LK boxes as it looks very neat. The new LP12 plinth must stand out a bit, but there is no doubting that your priorities are in the right order.
PS Happy Birthday for last week by the way!
PS Happy Birthday for last week by the way!
I think you must have fine tuned everything you can think of Thomas. I can't tell from the pictures if you have hardwood flooring ONLY under your system or if it's a rug covering the rest of the room? To clarify, I'm wondering if you had hardwood flooring laid under the system because it's better than carpet.
There is some kind of acoustic wedge in the corner - how does that help?
I'm considering an alternative rack for my LP12. I'm presuming you must prefer the Archidea table over your Quadraspire. I've entered their name into Google and can't find a website - do you have it as I would be interested if they have any UK dealers?
Fredrik thinks the Harmonihyllan Mimer is the best he's come across, but having contacted them, they don't have any UK dealers. Mine is currently an Isoblue and a bit of an unknown quantity because I've only compared it to an Ikea coffee table. It might be very good, so I don't want to spend money on a replacement unless I can first prove it would be beneficial.
There is some kind of acoustic wedge in the corner - how does that help?
I'm considering an alternative rack for my LP12. I'm presuming you must prefer the Archidea table over your Quadraspire. I've entered their name into Google and can't find a website - do you have it as I would be interested if they have any UK dealers?
Fredrik thinks the Harmonihyllan Mimer is the best he's come across, but having contacted them, they don't have any UK dealers. Mine is currently an Isoblue and a bit of an unknown quantity because I've only compared it to an Ikea coffee table. It might be very good, so I don't want to spend money on a replacement unless I can first prove it would be beneficial.
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Plenty of low cost flights between UK and Gothenburg...Charlie1 wrote:Fredrik thinks the Harmonihyllan Mimer is the best he's come across, but having contacted them, they don't have any UK dealers. Mine is currently an Isoblue and a bit of an unknown quantity because I've only compared it to an Ikea coffee table. It might be very good, so I don't want to spend money on a replacement unless I can first prove it would be beneficial.
It's all about musical understanding!
Hi Charlie,
To answer your questions, the entire room has a hardwood floor with a large rug covering most of it. There is about 1/2 meter to a meter of bare wood around the outside of the rug with the system on one part and the sofa on the part opposite. There is no acoustic wedge, that must be some kind of optical illusion. It is just a bare corner. Next to the left hand speaker is the edge of my record cabinet. It is an Expedit from Ikea and has 25 - 13" cubes and is nearly 2 meters square (how do you like the way I jump back and forth from metric to imperial? :)). I glue wood strips on the back edge to keep the records lined up. Since the edge of the cabinet is (purposely) behind the plane of the front of the speaker, the records should help to break up the first reflection.
I find the whole turntable stand situation to be more complex than it should be at this time. You will have a very hard time finding any information on Archidea stand and an even more difficult time getting your hands on one. If I have my history right (which I certainly don't guarantee) there was an Italian company involved with Linn that made a stand for the LP12 called the Audiotech (also hard to find) and some matching equipment racks. Later on some or all of the people involved in Audiotech formed another company and made the Archidea stand. To my knowledge neither company has been around for a fair number of years. Both stands were made of square section metal tubing but the Archidea was taller yet lighter due to the removal of 4 cross braces. Both had the same light shelf on top of 4 spikes. If you look at the photo I have the LP12 on the Archidea stand and on the other side of the central rack is the Alesis MasterLink on an AudioTech stand. Unfortunately, in part due to the slow down of the turntable market in the late 1980s and early 1990s, many of the companies who made turntable stands either disappeared or stopped making them.
I have tried a Quadraspire reference stand, although not the Acrylic version, and it did not sound as good as the Archidea. I also tried usind a Quadraspire Acrylic shelf o top of the Archidea and I wasn't happy with that either.
Now there seem to be new turntable stands and hi-fi racks springing up from Linn involved companies. Some, like Fredrik, swear by Harmonihyllan and others say great things about the TimeTable stands (check the thread on Equipment racks for links to these companies). Unfortunately, neither of these companies has wide distribution so trying to find out which is best is likely to be an expensive proposition and involve a fair amount of travel! :( I would be glad to put myself forward to do a comparison of the Mimer and TimeTable - somebody just has to send me the stands postage paid.
To answer your questions, the entire room has a hardwood floor with a large rug covering most of it. There is about 1/2 meter to a meter of bare wood around the outside of the rug with the system on one part and the sofa on the part opposite. There is no acoustic wedge, that must be some kind of optical illusion. It is just a bare corner. Next to the left hand speaker is the edge of my record cabinet. It is an Expedit from Ikea and has 25 - 13" cubes and is nearly 2 meters square (how do you like the way I jump back and forth from metric to imperial? :)). I glue wood strips on the back edge to keep the records lined up. Since the edge of the cabinet is (purposely) behind the plane of the front of the speaker, the records should help to break up the first reflection.
I find the whole turntable stand situation to be more complex than it should be at this time. You will have a very hard time finding any information on Archidea stand and an even more difficult time getting your hands on one. If I have my history right (which I certainly don't guarantee) there was an Italian company involved with Linn that made a stand for the LP12 called the Audiotech (also hard to find) and some matching equipment racks. Later on some or all of the people involved in Audiotech formed another company and made the Archidea stand. To my knowledge neither company has been around for a fair number of years. Both stands were made of square section metal tubing but the Archidea was taller yet lighter due to the removal of 4 cross braces. Both had the same light shelf on top of 4 spikes. If you look at the photo I have the LP12 on the Archidea stand and on the other side of the central rack is the Alesis MasterLink on an AudioTech stand. Unfortunately, in part due to the slow down of the turntable market in the late 1980s and early 1990s, many of the companies who made turntable stands either disappeared or stopped making them.
I have tried a Quadraspire reference stand, although not the Acrylic version, and it did not sound as good as the Archidea. I also tried usind a Quadraspire Acrylic shelf o top of the Archidea and I wasn't happy with that either.
Now there seem to be new turntable stands and hi-fi racks springing up from Linn involved companies. Some, like Fredrik, swear by Harmonihyllan and others say great things about the TimeTable stands (check the thread on Equipment racks for links to these companies). Unfortunately, neither of these companies has wide distribution so trying to find out which is best is likely to be an expensive proposition and involve a fair amount of travel! :( I would be glad to put myself forward to do a comparison of the Mimer and TimeTable - somebody just has to send me the stands postage paid.
You are right Thomas. Audiotech was the company who first distributed Linn and Naim in Italy, since the beginning of 80s. They did break about ten years later into two companies. One called Archidee took the distribution of Naim, while the other (who initially maintained the name of Audiotech and later became simply Linn Italia) held the distribution of Linn.ThomasOK wrote: [...]there was an Italian company involved with Linn that made a stand for the LP12 called the Audiotech (also hard to find) and some matching equipment racks. Later on some or all of the people involved in Audiotech formed another company and made the Archidea stand.
I still have one Audiotech LP12 table and two wall shelves and they are indeed very good. The Archidee stand was considered to be still better (it was born as an evolution of the former and the "open" structure was said to control better the vibrations) but they are indeed very rare to find today also in Italy. It's a pity I didn't buy one but I was a student at that time and I had some better ideas to spend the few money I could save than experimenting with different stands :lol:
Paolo
You've got that right. My copy, however, was apparently pressed in France. Fredrik is sending me one of the originals that were pressed in Sweden. The other records are Stadium Arcadium by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Full House by Wes Montgomery and Lifeline by Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals. I highly recommend all three.Per A wrote:I recognize the album down to the right! Its one of Recut records Beethoven. I remember the label was somekind of joint between Stockholm Linn dealer and Linn recutting Decca material with Linn's gear. :mrgreen:
Your REL B1 subwoofer
Thomas,
did you compare your ATC100 with the new subwoofer versus the ATC150 without subwoofer?
Regards
matthias
did you compare your ATC100 with the new subwoofer versus the ATC150 without subwoofer?
Regards
matthias
Re: Your REL B1 subwoofer
Hello Matthias,matthias wrote:Thomas,
did you compare your ATC100 with the new subwoofer versus the ATC150 without subwoofer?
Regards
matthias
I have not had the opportunity to hear the ATC150s at my house or at a dealership. I have been told by a friend that he feels the 150s are better. Considering how big they are I don't see any way my room would accommodate them - the 100s already fill up the room quite fully. In addition the 150s are a LOT more expensive than the 100s.
There are good reasons why a subwoofer might be a preferable way to go but I don't have time to go over that right now. I am planning to post my experiences with the REL B1 soon but I wanted to do a couple of more comparisons before posting my findings. I will say that I am happy with the results so far.
By the way, I don't remember posting anything about the REL here. Did you notice it from my signature on the Linn forums?
As readers of the Linn forum have likely noticed, I made an upgrade to my system a little while back that has further improved the tunefulness while adding a bit more depth and power. I have added a REL B1 sub-bass system to my stereo setup. It fits into the left corner behind the ATC100 and I was able to find a very good position there.
When I first hooked it up I was unable to do it optimally and though I thought there was an improvement I wasn't sure there weren't some drawbacks. Now that I have been able to hook it up properly I am quite pleased with the improvement it has made in my system and would find it hard to live without it. I have put a more detailed post under a new topic "Adding a Sub-bass System to a Stereo" in the Hi-Fi section explaining my theories on why it works so well and how I hooked it up.
When I first hooked it up I was unable to do it optimally and though I thought there was an improvement I wasn't sure there weren't some drawbacks. Now that I have been able to hook it up properly I am quite pleased with the improvement it has made in my system and would find it hard to live without it. I have put a more detailed post under a new topic "Adding a Sub-bass System to a Stereo" in the Hi-Fi section explaining my theories on why it works so well and how I hooked it up.
I have been promising to update my system info for some time but the scope of the undertaking (I am somewhat known for lengthy prose) and being busy with other things (including writing poetry for Fredrik) has caused much delay.
The last time I updated this thread was in the very beginning of this year when I added my REL B1 subwoofer. My system has undergone a fair bit of updating since then and most of the changes occurred around the same time so I can’t necessarily comment on each change separately. I have also posted my findings on several upgrades under their own topics so I won’t repeat much of that here.
Late summer, as regular readers will know, I upgraded my LP12 with a Radikal and Urika. These upgrades continue to impress me every time I put on a record I haven’t played with the new setup (and even those I have played). There is so much more going on in the grooves than I ever imagined before. You get much more appreciation for the abilities of the musicians when you can hear the subtleties of their playing with this degree of clarity and the musical message comes through so beautifully. Easily the biggest musical improvements I have ever made to my system – with the Radikal being responsible for the lion’s share of the improvement. But the Urika is also no slouch – easily better than two Lintos - it gives the kind of upgrade you hear from the KK/1 upgrade: lower distortion and noise floor leading to a clearer rendition of the subtleties of playing, more tuneful, better flow and quieter. I also picked up one of the latest version outer platters and optimized the orientation of my outer platter both of which made subtle improvements, but improvements nonetheless.
Speaking of the KK/1 upgrade, I was finally able to sell my original Klimax Kontrol (after almost a year of trying) and get a new one with the KK/1 audio board in it. As luck would have it the very day I received payment for my KK was the day Linn announced to dealers that the were making a number of Klimax products in the black anodized finish that sold out so quickly on the 10th Anniversary Special Edition versions. As I have always preferred black and they are the same price as the silver ones I couldn’t resist. So I am now the proud owner of a black KK/1 and it is truly quire stunning with the chrome buttons set off quite nicely by the otherwise black face. There is no question that the new audio board is a substantial improvement over the original. It is definitely easier to hear what the musicians are doing and what was already an extremely quiet preamp is even quieter and clearer. These descriptions start sounding repetitive after a while but I believe it is because all of Linn’s recent upgrades seem to be doing the same things: lowering an already low noise floor and reducing further the already low distortion. This quieting of the background allowing more layers of the music and details of intonation to come through giving a more real feel to everything you listen to is, to me, the heart of the upgrade presented by the Radikal, KK/1 audio board, Urika, Dynamik and in essence the Keel and Ekos SE as well. All of these also improve the dynamics of the performance as well, due in part to the lowering of noise and distortion already mentioned and partly to better control of the louder parts of the music. This aspect is particularly apparent in the Dynamik upgrade when done to power amps (I’m sure, in great part, due to the increase in power output of the upgrade). But I also find the Ekos SE and Keel and the others to improve this aspect as well. Everything now just holds together better and sounds more at ease and effortless regardless of the volume level of the instruments on the recording.
A couple of months after receiving the KK/1 (did I mention that it is Black?) I installed the Dynamik upgrade into it which was announced a couple of weeks after I ordered the KK/1 but didn’t become available until a while after that. The Dynamik did the same as everyone else has reported: further clarified the intentions of the musicians, further removed a slight background noise I hadn’t realized was there and made for a truly more dynamic and lifelike presentation of the music. I have to say that the Radikal and Urika combined with the KK/1 upgrade and the Dynamik together with my already fine playback combination of the ATC 100s and the REL B1 make music with a clarity and beauty that I have never heard before form reproduced music. It really is a joy to listen to, I just wish I had more time to just sit in front of it and enjoy. And it is not just the records that have benefited – everything played through the double-updated KK sounds more musical and inviting. I confess that I had seriously contemplated selling my Pekin as I just listen to radio so rarely. But since upgrading the KK I find the radio much more enjoyable. That combined with a local radio station that plays classical during the day and jazz at night and puts out a quite nice signal has made me decide to hold onto the Pekin – I’ve even contemplated the idea of a Kremlin!
But that isn’t the end of the changes. After waiting for Linn to get the DS products straightened out I have finally jumped on the DS bandwagon. My decision was made easier by the free Dynamik promotion and the news that Cara was going to finally bring full support of the DS units to the Mac platform (although I note that it is still not quite there yet). The full support of iTunes formats - AIFF, ALAC and AAC – (which I told Ivor was a necessity when the DS first came out) combined with a Konfig program that runs on the Mac and the upcoming Kinsky Desktop for Mac makes the DS a much more attractive proposition for my many Mac based customers – and for me! The abundance of attractive control solutions, that were absent when the DS were first introduced, also make things simpler and more useful.
Since I have fourteen years of experience in the computer industry, including an Apple Service Technician certification, I am certainly not an example of the typical customer. But I have the skills necessary to get it working so I felt it was now far enough along in development that it was time to get into one for myself, both as a musical upgrade to the digital source in my system and as a way of learning firsthand what works and what doesn’t and how to make it all work. While there is no question that the DS products are revolutionary from a musical standpoint, I still feel the DS platform has a ways to go before it is easy enough to use to really replace CD players for those who are not computer savvy.
So a couple of months ago, at the end of the original Dynamik promotion, I purchased a Majik DS with Dynamik (and a free Dynamik for my KK/1). Having it at home has definitely been an eye opener (or rather an ear opener). For starters, listening to a CD ripped rather simply to my MacPro through the Majik DS/D compared to the same CD on my very-late model Ikemi there is no comparison. The DS stomps my Ikemi into the floor and three feet under the ground! Before I did the comparison with the DS I felt that the Ikemi was one of the best digital sources I had heard and would have described it as musical and non-fatiguing without giving up musical detail. Comparing it to the DS left it sounding like what it is – a dreaded CD player. The Majik DS is so much more musical it isn’t funny. Music sounds much more like good analog: it flows more smoothly and effortlessly, doesn’t have any sense of the hardness and congestion in the highs that the Ikemi does by comparison, and really lets you hear what is going on musically in a way I’ve never heard from any digital source before. (Some of that low level noise and distortion reduction obviously going on here as well.) The improvement is such that there really was no going back – I just didn’t want to listen to the Ikemi any more. So I have sold my Ikemi and it shipped to its new owner early this week. When you see the photos I took a couple of weeks back you will just have to imagine the Ikemi missing from the rack.
I am only in the beginning of my DS journey so I have little doubt that I haven’t heard all it can do yet. I am currently trying to optimize the signal path going to the DS but I have a ways to go. So far I have only ripped a few CDs using iTunes to rip them so it is probably not the best ripping solution. I am hosting the music on my MacPro using one of the Seagate Enterprise 1TB drives and going through a Netgear GS108 switch both recommended here on the forum. Based on a recommendation from Paolo I picked up a NEC Optiarc AD7200 for CD ripping but haven’t had the time to test it out yet. As I have spent a lot of time optimizing the LP12 down to the last degree I haven’t spent as much time on the DS end. But as I’m finished with the analog end for now I should be able to start experimenting with the DS feed – at least once we get past the holidays!
Questions to be answered:
Is any of the Mac ripping software as good as EAC or do I need to setup Windows (blecch) and EAC in a partition on my MacPro?
How good does the Seagate and my MacPro sound compared to a ReadyNAS NV+ with Seagate drives?
What connection scheme sounds best: using the GS108, using the switch built into the Apple Airport Extreme Wireless router or bypassing the switches and going out the MacPro’s second Ethernet port (if possible)?
Which RJ45 cable sounds the best?
As I find the answers to these I will post them here. As to control solutions I am currently doing something a little different but it is now our highest recommendation at the store. Since there has been so much written on the Linn forums about problems with versions of TwonkyMedia 4 killing ReadyNAS units and Twonky 5 not ready for the NAS yet we have gone a different route for now. What I am now using is SkweezyDS to allow a Squeezebox to control the DS and Squeezebox Server to send the data to it. While this seems like a roundabout way to do things, as you have to have a squeezebox of some type which SkweezyDS accepts the commands from and feeds the same thing to the DS, it has some definite advantages. First, Squeezebox Server is free and has been developed over some time with a fairly elegant way to get at your music. It allows you to play music without creating playlists with selection by Artist, Album, Genre, Year or a number of Random play modes and supports a wide range of plugins for additional functionality including Internet Radio (which I haven’t tried yet). Second, the Squeezebox devices are reasonably priced starting in the $300 to $400US range and they act as the controller as well when using ShweezyDS. Third, it works with iTunes libraries but also streams FLAC and WAV and streams them all at the native resolution of the file. And finally, there is a $9.99 app for the iPod Touch and iPhone to control the Squeezebox Server and players that has one of the best interfaces and easiest to use structures we’ve seen for control of streaming media. It is called iPeng and it is quite intuitive and flexible. Since Squeezebox Server runs on Macs, PCs and most of the NAS units out there I highly recommend this as an option for handling and controlling your music library.
So now to the photos. Here are some photographs of my system as currently configured except that the Ikemi is now missing. I will soon readjust the rack by removing a shelf or two as the replacement for the Ikemi, the DS, doesn’t fit. This brings up my next line of investigation, which is a new rack. Since I have now gone from five LK box units as shown in my old photos to only one (the Pekin) my LK sized Quadraspire rack really isn’t doing me much good. What would make the most sense now would be a single five shelf rack to accommodate the Radikal, Majik DS, Pekin, my Alesis MasterLink (not currently in the system) and my lovely Klimax Kontrol (did I mention it is Black?). I’m sure the Mimer is the most highly recommended here but they aren’t exactly as common as hotdogs in the States. Quadraspire has come up with new versions of their Q4 and Sunoko racks that are supposed to be musically improved too. So I have some investigation to do. (Fredrik, I’ve been meaning to recommend you check out the new Q4 Evo shelf. While I haven’t heard it yet they claim it is musically improved. Since what they’ve done is to take a standard Q4 shelf and routed a number of grooves into the bottom to break up resonances and reduce mass it seems like it might be particularly good under an LP12 on a wall shelf. Certainly worth a try.)
Back to the photos, you can see the REL B1 back in the corner and the DS on the AudioTech stand on the left. The LP12 has the Movingui plinth I showed before in a separate photo and the Radikal box on a single Q4 Midi shelf underneath. And the center stack doesn’t have much left with the Pekin and the KK/1 (did I mention…) the only real audio components left on it. So that is my system until I get the rack situation squared away – and what a system it is!
The last time I updated this thread was in the very beginning of this year when I added my REL B1 subwoofer. My system has undergone a fair bit of updating since then and most of the changes occurred around the same time so I can’t necessarily comment on each change separately. I have also posted my findings on several upgrades under their own topics so I won’t repeat much of that here.
Late summer, as regular readers will know, I upgraded my LP12 with a Radikal and Urika. These upgrades continue to impress me every time I put on a record I haven’t played with the new setup (and even those I have played). There is so much more going on in the grooves than I ever imagined before. You get much more appreciation for the abilities of the musicians when you can hear the subtleties of their playing with this degree of clarity and the musical message comes through so beautifully. Easily the biggest musical improvements I have ever made to my system – with the Radikal being responsible for the lion’s share of the improvement. But the Urika is also no slouch – easily better than two Lintos - it gives the kind of upgrade you hear from the KK/1 upgrade: lower distortion and noise floor leading to a clearer rendition of the subtleties of playing, more tuneful, better flow and quieter. I also picked up one of the latest version outer platters and optimized the orientation of my outer platter both of which made subtle improvements, but improvements nonetheless.
Speaking of the KK/1 upgrade, I was finally able to sell my original Klimax Kontrol (after almost a year of trying) and get a new one with the KK/1 audio board in it. As luck would have it the very day I received payment for my KK was the day Linn announced to dealers that the were making a number of Klimax products in the black anodized finish that sold out so quickly on the 10th Anniversary Special Edition versions. As I have always preferred black and they are the same price as the silver ones I couldn’t resist. So I am now the proud owner of a black KK/1 and it is truly quire stunning with the chrome buttons set off quite nicely by the otherwise black face. There is no question that the new audio board is a substantial improvement over the original. It is definitely easier to hear what the musicians are doing and what was already an extremely quiet preamp is even quieter and clearer. These descriptions start sounding repetitive after a while but I believe it is because all of Linn’s recent upgrades seem to be doing the same things: lowering an already low noise floor and reducing further the already low distortion. This quieting of the background allowing more layers of the music and details of intonation to come through giving a more real feel to everything you listen to is, to me, the heart of the upgrade presented by the Radikal, KK/1 audio board, Urika, Dynamik and in essence the Keel and Ekos SE as well. All of these also improve the dynamics of the performance as well, due in part to the lowering of noise and distortion already mentioned and partly to better control of the louder parts of the music. This aspect is particularly apparent in the Dynamik upgrade when done to power amps (I’m sure, in great part, due to the increase in power output of the upgrade). But I also find the Ekos SE and Keel and the others to improve this aspect as well. Everything now just holds together better and sounds more at ease and effortless regardless of the volume level of the instruments on the recording.
A couple of months after receiving the KK/1 (did I mention that it is Black?) I installed the Dynamik upgrade into it which was announced a couple of weeks after I ordered the KK/1 but didn’t become available until a while after that. The Dynamik did the same as everyone else has reported: further clarified the intentions of the musicians, further removed a slight background noise I hadn’t realized was there and made for a truly more dynamic and lifelike presentation of the music. I have to say that the Radikal and Urika combined with the KK/1 upgrade and the Dynamik together with my already fine playback combination of the ATC 100s and the REL B1 make music with a clarity and beauty that I have never heard before form reproduced music. It really is a joy to listen to, I just wish I had more time to just sit in front of it and enjoy. And it is not just the records that have benefited – everything played through the double-updated KK sounds more musical and inviting. I confess that I had seriously contemplated selling my Pekin as I just listen to radio so rarely. But since upgrading the KK I find the radio much more enjoyable. That combined with a local radio station that plays classical during the day and jazz at night and puts out a quite nice signal has made me decide to hold onto the Pekin – I’ve even contemplated the idea of a Kremlin!
But that isn’t the end of the changes. After waiting for Linn to get the DS products straightened out I have finally jumped on the DS bandwagon. My decision was made easier by the free Dynamik promotion and the news that Cara was going to finally bring full support of the DS units to the Mac platform (although I note that it is still not quite there yet). The full support of iTunes formats - AIFF, ALAC and AAC – (which I told Ivor was a necessity when the DS first came out) combined with a Konfig program that runs on the Mac and the upcoming Kinsky Desktop for Mac makes the DS a much more attractive proposition for my many Mac based customers – and for me! The abundance of attractive control solutions, that were absent when the DS were first introduced, also make things simpler and more useful.
Since I have fourteen years of experience in the computer industry, including an Apple Service Technician certification, I am certainly not an example of the typical customer. But I have the skills necessary to get it working so I felt it was now far enough along in development that it was time to get into one for myself, both as a musical upgrade to the digital source in my system and as a way of learning firsthand what works and what doesn’t and how to make it all work. While there is no question that the DS products are revolutionary from a musical standpoint, I still feel the DS platform has a ways to go before it is easy enough to use to really replace CD players for those who are not computer savvy.
So a couple of months ago, at the end of the original Dynamik promotion, I purchased a Majik DS with Dynamik (and a free Dynamik for my KK/1). Having it at home has definitely been an eye opener (or rather an ear opener). For starters, listening to a CD ripped rather simply to my MacPro through the Majik DS/D compared to the same CD on my very-late model Ikemi there is no comparison. The DS stomps my Ikemi into the floor and three feet under the ground! Before I did the comparison with the DS I felt that the Ikemi was one of the best digital sources I had heard and would have described it as musical and non-fatiguing without giving up musical detail. Comparing it to the DS left it sounding like what it is – a dreaded CD player. The Majik DS is so much more musical it isn’t funny. Music sounds much more like good analog: it flows more smoothly and effortlessly, doesn’t have any sense of the hardness and congestion in the highs that the Ikemi does by comparison, and really lets you hear what is going on musically in a way I’ve never heard from any digital source before. (Some of that low level noise and distortion reduction obviously going on here as well.) The improvement is such that there really was no going back – I just didn’t want to listen to the Ikemi any more. So I have sold my Ikemi and it shipped to its new owner early this week. When you see the photos I took a couple of weeks back you will just have to imagine the Ikemi missing from the rack.
I am only in the beginning of my DS journey so I have little doubt that I haven’t heard all it can do yet. I am currently trying to optimize the signal path going to the DS but I have a ways to go. So far I have only ripped a few CDs using iTunes to rip them so it is probably not the best ripping solution. I am hosting the music on my MacPro using one of the Seagate Enterprise 1TB drives and going through a Netgear GS108 switch both recommended here on the forum. Based on a recommendation from Paolo I picked up a NEC Optiarc AD7200 for CD ripping but haven’t had the time to test it out yet. As I have spent a lot of time optimizing the LP12 down to the last degree I haven’t spent as much time on the DS end. But as I’m finished with the analog end for now I should be able to start experimenting with the DS feed – at least once we get past the holidays!
Questions to be answered:
Is any of the Mac ripping software as good as EAC or do I need to setup Windows (blecch) and EAC in a partition on my MacPro?
How good does the Seagate and my MacPro sound compared to a ReadyNAS NV+ with Seagate drives?
What connection scheme sounds best: using the GS108, using the switch built into the Apple Airport Extreme Wireless router or bypassing the switches and going out the MacPro’s second Ethernet port (if possible)?
Which RJ45 cable sounds the best?
As I find the answers to these I will post them here. As to control solutions I am currently doing something a little different but it is now our highest recommendation at the store. Since there has been so much written on the Linn forums about problems with versions of TwonkyMedia 4 killing ReadyNAS units and Twonky 5 not ready for the NAS yet we have gone a different route for now. What I am now using is SkweezyDS to allow a Squeezebox to control the DS and Squeezebox Server to send the data to it. While this seems like a roundabout way to do things, as you have to have a squeezebox of some type which SkweezyDS accepts the commands from and feeds the same thing to the DS, it has some definite advantages. First, Squeezebox Server is free and has been developed over some time with a fairly elegant way to get at your music. It allows you to play music without creating playlists with selection by Artist, Album, Genre, Year or a number of Random play modes and supports a wide range of plugins for additional functionality including Internet Radio (which I haven’t tried yet). Second, the Squeezebox devices are reasonably priced starting in the $300 to $400US range and they act as the controller as well when using ShweezyDS. Third, it works with iTunes libraries but also streams FLAC and WAV and streams them all at the native resolution of the file. And finally, there is a $9.99 app for the iPod Touch and iPhone to control the Squeezebox Server and players that has one of the best interfaces and easiest to use structures we’ve seen for control of streaming media. It is called iPeng and it is quite intuitive and flexible. Since Squeezebox Server runs on Macs, PCs and most of the NAS units out there I highly recommend this as an option for handling and controlling your music library.
So now to the photos. Here are some photographs of my system as currently configured except that the Ikemi is now missing. I will soon readjust the rack by removing a shelf or two as the replacement for the Ikemi, the DS, doesn’t fit. This brings up my next line of investigation, which is a new rack. Since I have now gone from five LK box units as shown in my old photos to only one (the Pekin) my LK sized Quadraspire rack really isn’t doing me much good. What would make the most sense now would be a single five shelf rack to accommodate the Radikal, Majik DS, Pekin, my Alesis MasterLink (not currently in the system) and my lovely Klimax Kontrol (did I mention it is Black?). I’m sure the Mimer is the most highly recommended here but they aren’t exactly as common as hotdogs in the States. Quadraspire has come up with new versions of their Q4 and Sunoko racks that are supposed to be musically improved too. So I have some investigation to do. (Fredrik, I’ve been meaning to recommend you check out the new Q4 Evo shelf. While I haven’t heard it yet they claim it is musically improved. Since what they’ve done is to take a standard Q4 shelf and routed a number of grooves into the bottom to break up resonances and reduce mass it seems like it might be particularly good under an LP12 on a wall shelf. Certainly worth a try.)
Back to the photos, you can see the REL B1 back in the corner and the DS on the AudioTech stand on the left. The LP12 has the Movingui plinth I showed before in a separate photo and the Radikal box on a single Q4 Midi shelf underneath. And the center stack doesn’t have much left with the Pekin and the KK/1 (did I mention…) the only real audio components left on it. So that is my system until I get the rack situation squared away – and what a system it is!