Unveiling secrets of an unconventional hifi system

[beck]

The only thing you can find out with that comparison, beck, is whether your arm is broken or OK.

Your arm is OK. The first clip is better.

+1.
Not to mention that the second clip missed out on the child's voice at the end of the recording when it was clearly there on the first one. ;-)

And thank you for listening ThomasOK. This one is for you! :-)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/l2k53a6c3l9k6 ... 2.mov?dl=0

[ThomasOK]

The only thing you can find out with that comparison, beck, is whether your arm is broken or OK.

Your arm is OK. The first clip is better.

+1.
Not to mention that the second clip missed out on the child's voice at the end of the recording when it was clearly there on the first one. ;-)

And thank you for listening ThomasOK. This one is for you! :-)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/l2k53a6c3l9k6 ... 2.mov?dl=0

Thank you for that, I quite enjoyed it - sounding good! And this was through the system connected to my home computer which is a fair bit better than what I usually listen to these clips on. I may have to start listening here more often.

[beck]

To show just how lucky I am with my reached setup of my system here are two clips from my Beatles collection. It is a first generation digitally remastered vinyl record (so nothing special) I previously would avoid to play loud. Both from the album "Help" recorded at full blast:

Links removed

So my best advice is just to keep on experimenting! :-)

[beck]

Unveiling my system and setup bit by bit will now continue. Nothing about my system was planned in advance, just put together over the years it is kind of weird that it actually gives me what I like.
Have a look at the photo below and tell me what it is. Nothing special but I use two of them. :-)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4hxiazb7sw3h2 ... 0.jpg?dl=0

[matthias]

beck,
what is inside the box in the middle of the cable and why does this cable not provide a ground connection?

Matt

[beck]

beck,
what is inside the box in the middle of the cable and why does this cable not provide a ground connection?

Matt

I do not know exactly but it is a filter of sorts that handles high frequency noise and voltage peaks. Do not know about why it does not have ground but look at the diagram below from a piece of equipment like the one I use:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ow2i2pl00kc93 ... 1.png?dl=0

The filter helps the equipment that uses old time trafos as power supply.

[beck]

Just to make it clear: I am writing this tread because it is fun for me to do. The only thing I hope is that it can inspire others to take a second look at their own system and maybe change a few things to get even better sound. My way is not the highway. It is the weird way! :-)

Back on topic: Because I use the filters above I have made a common ground connection that all my equipment is connected to from the end of their power leads bypassing the filters. I do not use a filter directly connected to the lk100.

[beck]

As stated earlier not much of what I have done has been following a strict plan so when I discovered that my speaker cables needed to be prolonged to avoid touching my heavy stone at the back I found some chord connectors that could do the job.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/r9hydssa12gql ... 7.jpg?dl=0

By tightening them upon the original connectors it gave me the right amount of space to avoid the stone. Now it only started sounding really good when I decided to tighten the screws directly upon the spring? of the old ones maybe making some kind of mecanical vibration filter? Clearly better sound.

So the question is: Can two bad connectors make a good one? Maybe?

[beck]

Now, using a loose Tramp1 and getting the music "in tune" showed itself to be a problem. I had to try to avoid direct contact between the Tramp1 and the tonearm cable and at the same time avoid it touching anything else. I experimented with tape and plastics ending with the setup you see below using what is left when clarinet reeds have been taken out of their holster. The
plastic is almost like the plastic used for my p-clip inside the turntable.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pjvrzbvmhxa6q ... 1.jpg?dl=0

[beck]

I now turn my attention towards the support arrangement for my Sondek. I consider this to be the most important contributer to the sound I am getting and maybe also the weirdest. I will try to show this later via clips but for now I will concentrate on describing what I have used and how.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rexu5wpf596kv ... 7.jpg?dl=0

Have a look at the picture above. At the top we have the Sondek with the Tramp1 loose sat upon my Audiotech shelf. Underneath this shelf is supported by four legs consisting of spare parts from a plastic garden table with four pieces of hard rubber placed on top making contact with the Audiotech shelf.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ck96vvk41yawo ... 4.jpg?dl=0

Each leg is placed inside a "trampolin" rubber pocket of my rubber doormat. The legs do not touch the heavy metal shelf underneath. They are decoupled by their own specific rubber "trampolin". The doormat has contact with the heavy metal shelf beneath via the small rubber feet you can see in the next two pictures. The dust help showing how the arrangement works! :-)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5r4riq0p4lape ... 4.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5r70tlobuuykb ... 0.jpg?dl=0

Why this funny arrangement? Well, when I first placed my Sondek directly on the heavy metal shelf it did not sound right (out of tune) but it did however show up an impressive sound none the less. So I just kept on working with what I had until it finally gave me what I was listening for.

We are talking about a Sondek placed on a metal shelf with the same weight or more as the turntable. My guess is that this whole arrangement somehow forces unwanted vibration to center around the light weight Audiotech shelf as that is what I can feel when playing music.

[Charlie1]

I admire your dedication Beck and willingness to experiment with your own cost-effective solutions.

Time to get that duster out though :)

I agree that the Sondek support can yield big results.

[beck]

I admire your dedication Beck and willingness to experiment with your own cost-effective solutions.

Time to get that duster out though :)

I agree that the Sondek support can yield big results.

I agree about the dust but you should know that most accidents with hifi happens when cleaning! :-)

[beck]

A comment about experimenting with setup. I have experienced more than once that a change can be good even if it at first try sounds wrong. It is often so that a change can reveal problems elsewhere that has to be resolved.

[beck]

So besides using adjustable "feet" from my plastic garden table and a rubber doormat I removed the wheels from a cheap furniture dolly and used the board as my lingo/linto shelf. It is layered, strong and light. The rubber pads that came with the furniture dolly were taken off and cut into smaller pieces and used just beneath my Audiotech shelf. They make a strong connection because they act kind of sticky to the surfaces above and below (Audiotech shelf and plastic table feet).

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rexu5wpf596kv ... 7.jpg?dl=0

The more I have worked with the setup the more convinced I have become that I am dealing with bad vibrations reaching the tonearm via the tonearm cable via the other cables and that I have made a useful platform for my Sondek to stand on and function well together with.

[beck]

Last but not least everything is isolated from my wooden floor by expensive (told so by my big brother who has given them to me) italian bathroom tiles with a piece of cloth underneath. All in all it now adds up to a system that I really enjoy.

The tricky part is that you have to know what to listen for to get it right whatever you use to set your system up with but that is what we are here for.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/yno3hp0orkj4e ... 5.jpg?dl=0

[beck]

One last comment:

When you feel moved by the sad song you are listening to you have done something right.

[beck]

In the last couple of weeks I have tried to pin down what makes the biggest impact of all the above mentioned steps.
It turned out to be almost impossible. All the steps I have taken to improve the sound from my system play an important role.
One step is my use of the filters mentioned above. Here are two clips. The first with filters removed and the second with filter used:

link removed. (without)

link removed. (with filters)

[Charlie1]

I prefer the second clip with filters which seems easier to follow. The first clip sounds more damped too.

What is the product you're using called?

[beck]

They only have the name of the maker (P. Lyngdorf) on them and are not possible to buy anymore (as far as I know). They can be made if one is into DIY following the diagram shown above in an earlier post.
Remember that I have not heard any effect when using them together with newer linn equipment. Only when using them together with equipment using old time trafos.

And remember that includes the Lingo.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/enuo22gt5bxi3 ... 4.mov?dl=0