My system up in Aberdeenshire
Posted: 2019-09-27 23:02
Good Evening All,
As I have posted elsewhere after a period of almost 20years where my hi-fi interest have very much taken a back seat I'm now 'back in the fold' and trying to catch up on what has been happening in that period.
The cantilever on my cartridge got damaged at some point when my children were younger so I knew that at the very least that I needed a new cartridge.
What did I have:-
1. A relatively early Linn Karik/ Numerik
2. A LP12 with Lingo Mk.I, Ekos MkII, Arkiv, Cirkus
3. Naim NAC 82 c/w Supercap
4. A Naim SNAXO 3/6 c/w Hicap
5. 3off Nain NAP250's
6. Linn Isobariks
I knew all the Naim units were well overdue for a service so this was arranged via Darran at Class A (along with the Karik/ Numerik) and a visit was arranged at Cymbiosis to see what LP12 upgrades were all about.
Listening to various upgrades at Cymbiosis saw me opting for a Akurate Radikal, Keel and Krystal upgrade to the LP12. Peter found that there was an issue with the horizontal bearing in the Ekos along with damage to the arm cable. The arm was despatched to Audio Origami for some fettling and far from cheap silver Ikeda cables fitted.
My Isobariks weren't in the best of health as 3 of the 4 tweeters had suffered from depressed cones and one enclosure had suffered scuffing damage when we moved up to Scotland 19 years ago. I started looking for a replacement pair and was fortunate to find a pair being sold in Huddersfield.
I am still looking for a very late pair of Isobariks with the Kustone modification......
I took the opportunity to listen to a Klimax DS/3 Katalyst when I returned to Cymbiosis to collect the LP12, the sound coming out from this device was quite a surprise.
Where or what next.
I joined various forums and started monitoring various outlets and getting a handle on current market prices for items I wanted and what I might get for selling on what I had.
I've bought a very late Karik with all the modifications and also a late Numerik ( 2 actually). The listening session with the streamer at Cymbiosis caused me to have a complete re-think on the direction concerning CD's.
I have now ripped all our existing CD's and bought a Synology DS218j to store them on. I've bought a Linn Akurate DS/3 Katalyst now and I is interesting to compare the sound of the Karik III/ Numerik playing a CD against the ripped CD played through the streamer. It is surprising how well the CD player sounds against both the streamer and the LP12 playing the same pieces of music.
On balance I've decided that the Karik/ Numerik units I have will be sold.
I'm currently in the process of upgrading the Naim front. I've replaced the Hicap powering the SNAXO with a Hicap DR and the old Hicap has now been sold.
I have now secured a Naim NAC52 c/w a Supercap although it hasn't yet arrived. This means the Naim NAC82 and Hicap DR will, in due course be getting sold on.
Finally I'm getting a Urika II fitted to the LP12. There were a couple of reasons for this. Firstly was a combination of Phil's demonstration of SO at Cymbiosis followed by my own experiments at home having gotten a hold of the Akurate streamer. Secondly was the yes they were/ no they aren't Linn 10% increase threat.
There are some issues with the sonic qualities of the room the hi-fi is in but as it is kind of dedicated I will be adding some acoustic bits from GIK in due course in preference to relying on SO completely.
Within a month the system will be:-
1. Linn LP12 Akurate Radikal/ Keel/ Urika II/ Ekos Mk11/ Krsytal
2. Linn Akurate DS/ 3 Katalyst
3. Naim NAC52 c/w Supercap
4. Naim SNAXO 3-6 c/w Supercap
5. 3off Naim NAP250's
6. Linn Isobariks (Linn K600 cable)
That will be it for a while. Will I look to upgrade the Ekos MkII for an SE, possibly but it would only be a UBG one. The Krystal - possibly after 1500hrs of LP playing.
It would be interesting to hear the effect on the performance of an LP12 of both a Tangerine Audio Karmen top plate and the Stiletto at Cymbiosis. Given the latter is a £4,900 expenditure I would have to consider going down the route of replacing the Akurate streamer with a Klimax.
Regards
Richard
As I have posted elsewhere after a period of almost 20years where my hi-fi interest have very much taken a back seat I'm now 'back in the fold' and trying to catch up on what has been happening in that period.
The cantilever on my cartridge got damaged at some point when my children were younger so I knew that at the very least that I needed a new cartridge.
What did I have:-
1. A relatively early Linn Karik/ Numerik
2. A LP12 with Lingo Mk.I, Ekos MkII, Arkiv, Cirkus
3. Naim NAC 82 c/w Supercap
4. A Naim SNAXO 3/6 c/w Hicap
5. 3off Nain NAP250's
6. Linn Isobariks
I knew all the Naim units were well overdue for a service so this was arranged via Darran at Class A (along with the Karik/ Numerik) and a visit was arranged at Cymbiosis to see what LP12 upgrades were all about.
Listening to various upgrades at Cymbiosis saw me opting for a Akurate Radikal, Keel and Krystal upgrade to the LP12. Peter found that there was an issue with the horizontal bearing in the Ekos along with damage to the arm cable. The arm was despatched to Audio Origami for some fettling and far from cheap silver Ikeda cables fitted.
My Isobariks weren't in the best of health as 3 of the 4 tweeters had suffered from depressed cones and one enclosure had suffered scuffing damage when we moved up to Scotland 19 years ago. I started looking for a replacement pair and was fortunate to find a pair being sold in Huddersfield.
I am still looking for a very late pair of Isobariks with the Kustone modification......
I took the opportunity to listen to a Klimax DS/3 Katalyst when I returned to Cymbiosis to collect the LP12, the sound coming out from this device was quite a surprise.
Where or what next.
I joined various forums and started monitoring various outlets and getting a handle on current market prices for items I wanted and what I might get for selling on what I had.
I've bought a very late Karik with all the modifications and also a late Numerik ( 2 actually). The listening session with the streamer at Cymbiosis caused me to have a complete re-think on the direction concerning CD's.
I have now ripped all our existing CD's and bought a Synology DS218j to store them on. I've bought a Linn Akurate DS/3 Katalyst now and I is interesting to compare the sound of the Karik III/ Numerik playing a CD against the ripped CD played through the streamer. It is surprising how well the CD player sounds against both the streamer and the LP12 playing the same pieces of music.
On balance I've decided that the Karik/ Numerik units I have will be sold.
I'm currently in the process of upgrading the Naim front. I've replaced the Hicap powering the SNAXO with a Hicap DR and the old Hicap has now been sold.
I have now secured a Naim NAC52 c/w a Supercap although it hasn't yet arrived. This means the Naim NAC82 and Hicap DR will, in due course be getting sold on.
Finally I'm getting a Urika II fitted to the LP12. There were a couple of reasons for this. Firstly was a combination of Phil's demonstration of SO at Cymbiosis followed by my own experiments at home having gotten a hold of the Akurate streamer. Secondly was the yes they were/ no they aren't Linn 10% increase threat.
There are some issues with the sonic qualities of the room the hi-fi is in but as it is kind of dedicated I will be adding some acoustic bits from GIK in due course in preference to relying on SO completely.
Within a month the system will be:-
1. Linn LP12 Akurate Radikal/ Keel/ Urika II/ Ekos Mk11/ Krsytal
2. Linn Akurate DS/ 3 Katalyst
3. Naim NAC52 c/w Supercap
4. Naim SNAXO 3-6 c/w Supercap
5. 3off Naim NAP250's
6. Linn Isobariks (Linn K600 cable)
That will be it for a while. Will I look to upgrade the Ekos MkII for an SE, possibly but it would only be a UBG one. The Krystal - possibly after 1500hrs of LP playing.
It would be interesting to hear the effect on the performance of an LP12 of both a Tangerine Audio Karmen top plate and the Stiletto at Cymbiosis. Given the latter is a £4,900 expenditure I would have to consider going down the route of replacing the Akurate streamer with a Klimax.
Regards
Richard