Tony Tune-age System

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Ron The Mon
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Magnum Dynalab ST-2 and Linn Ekos SE

Post by Ron The Mon »

Tony Tune-age wrote: 2019-09-13 23:34 I'm still deciding which antenna to purchase. Ultimately, it will depend on which one fits into my music room the best, and how much cable will be required. However, this project has recently taken a back seat temporarily.
I've had an ST-2 for 26 years and it has been one of my best hi-fi purchases. I don't regret buying it ever. I originally used it in an apartment living room as I couldn't mount an outdoor aerial. I zip-tied the tip of it to the top of my window blind frame, behind the vertical blinds. All you could see was the coax cable running along the floor. It sounded really good too.

When I moved into a house I was able to mount it at the very top of my TV antenna array, about 45 feet high. It was outside for about 15 years and shows no sign of corrosion. I took it down and stopped using it for a couple years as I rarely listened to FM after discovering Spotify.

I have now repurposed it on my boat and it sounds great listening to FM through the stock "car stereo".

When I had it mounted on my roof, I compared it against several other FM antennas and the ST-2 always sounded best.
I'm upgrading my Ekos SE tonearm for the Ekos SE/2 tonearm.
Are you sure it's not (the unofficially named) Ekos SE/1? Unless there is an even newer version?
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by ThomasOK »

Unofficially named? Really?

Image

I'm not sure what it takes to be official but this normally counts for me.

But, yes, there is no Ekos SE/2 that I am aware of. Credit the confusion to Linn changing their nomenclature from mkII to /1, etc. a number of years back.

Interesting info about the ST-2 sounding so good. I've been thinking of mounting my big, multi-element TV antenna up on the roof for years so I could really hear what the Kremlin can do on those few times I listen to radio. Installing the ST-2 would certainly be a hell of a lot easier and I already own one. Maybe I should try it.
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SE/1 and ST-2

Post by Ron The Mon »

ThomasOK wrote: 2019-09-14 18:28 Unofficially named? Really?
OK, you got me on that one. How about have Linn officially admitted the Ekos SE/1 is better sounding than the Ekos SE? :})

I've been thinking of mounting my big, multi-element TV antenna up on the roof for years so I could really hear what the Kremlin can do on those few times I listen to radio. Installing the ST-2 would certainly be a hell of a lot easier and I already own one. Maybe I should try it.
It is always a bad idea to use a TV antenna for FM; it never sounds good or gets as good reception as a simple FM-only model.

I have read many recommendations of the Ron Smith aerials over the years providing the best sound quality but have never read of a single person comparing them directly to the ST-2. Many in the radio business argue the only way to improve sound quality of FM is to increase the signal strength. My personal experience shows the ST-2 (which often has mediocre reception) sounds better than highly directional optimized outdoor antennas, with higher signal strength.

The best, shortest, cable is important too to sound quality. RG6 properly terminated is best. The best sounding cable I used was what Dish Network was/is using and recommending. I am reminded of folks saying ethernet cables can't possibly affect the sound; the same is true of FM.

The best sounding FM I've ever heard was a Naim NAT-01 fronted by an ST-2. I've never heard a Ron Smith aerial but have many years experience climbing roofs and trying just about every American made dedicated FM antenna.

The ST-2 is also plug and play. Years ago I was having trouble receiving TV and radio channels broadcast from the highest tower in Michigan which was less than two miles from my house. I emailed the engineer at the broadcast facility and he advised since I was so close, I had to adjust the azimuth of the antenna, which I never needed to do before. That meant tilting the antenna (for that tower only) up about 18 degrees. It increased my reception from 79% to 100%. An ST-2 is vertical, so doesn't suffer from that problem.

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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by ThomasOK »

I've always wondered about the Ron Smith aerials too. Now you have to get one and let us know how they compare! ;-)
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Hmmmmmm!

Post by Ron The Mon »

ThomasOK wrote: 2019-09-17 23:03 I've always wondered about the Ron Smith aerials too. Now you have to get one and let us know how they compare! ;-)
Tom,
I was going to respond "this will never happen", but occasionally odd items come up used at low prices.

Who knows?

I will report back.

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Magnum Dynalab Antenna and Ekos/1

Post by Tony Tune-age »

I would like to thank everybody on this forum that provided a comment or an opinion, regarding FM antennas (especially the Magnum Dynalab antennas). It was greatly appreciated, and the information played a role in my final decision. And as it turns out, I will be ordering the MD ST-2 antenna.

Thomas, thanks for providing clarification on the Ekos SE, and Ekos SE/1 tonearms. I was still thinking about the original Ekos and Ekos II tonearms.

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Ekos SE/1 Status Update?

Post by Ron The Mon »

Tony Tune-age wrote: 2019-09-13 23:34
(over four weeks ago.)
I'm upgrading my Ekos SE tonearm for the Ekos SE/1 tonearm. In addition, I'm upgrading my Akurate Radkal for the Klimax Radikal as well. I'm hoping this project will be completed within a week or two. Details and pictures will be provided.
Any progress or are you still hoping? I am interested in the sound differences between the Ekos' and Radikals. Are/were you able to do just that or is/was the tonearm and Radikal changed at the same time?

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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tony Tune-age »

Good evening Ron,

Yes there is progress, although the logistics did take a little longer than expected. I should have various details, along with pictures posted next week (providing I can remember how to post images). There will be direct comparisons between both tonearms, and each Radikal power supply.

Plus, it will be an opportunity to hear the new Lejonklou mono phono preamplifiers.

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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tony Tune-age »

Well, it looks like I can't post images or pictures through Photobucket anymore. They want to charge a monthly fee for the bandwidth usage. So until I find an alternative for storing images and pictures, I won't be posting any for a while.

Earlier this week, Thomas O'keefe switched out my Ekos SE tonearm for the SE/1 version. And as such, I was able to hear each tonearm through his Lejonklou system which included the Singularities. Overall there's probably not much I can say, that hasn't already been said. We listened to the original SE first, and needless to say it did sound great. And after listening, I wasn't sure how much better the SE/1 could really sound, but I kept an open mind.

Once the original SE was removed, Thomas then installed the SE/1 tonearm. When the needle touched the vinyl, I knew immediately the SE/1 was a better sounding arm. Overall the music was more realistic and natural sounding. It's hard to believe the SE/1 version is the same price as the original version, considering the vast difference in performance. But that's a good thing because original SE owners can sell their arm, then use that money towards the new SE/1. And that should reduce the amount of money needed to make up the difference (perhaps by 50 or 60%). But in any case, getting the SE/1 for the exact same price as the original is a real deal.

We then listened to my Akurate Radikal for a while, before switching to the Klimax Radikal. Once again I heard an improvement with the Klimax power supply over the Akurate power supply. And this was a bigger improvement to my ears, than switching to the newer tonearm. But the Klimax Radikal is way more expensive than the Akurate Radikal too. However, the two upgrades combined is a really big jump in terms of overall sonic performance. This was a worthwhile upgrade for my system, and with no negatives either.

And now I would like to provide just a few thoughts about the Lejonklou Singularities. Thomas played a wide variety of music from Frank Sinatra, George Benson, Traffic, Rhiannon Giddens and other musicians. Perhaps the most impressive aspect to me was the vocals. It sounded like Frank Sinatra was standing in front of the microphone just a few inches away from our seats. Simply put, these phono preamps have an extremely musical and realistic sound. They are a great match for a fully loaded Sondek LP12.
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by ThomasOK »

Thanks for the report. I'm glad you are pleased with the upgrades, they do allow a more direct connection with the music.

I gave up on Photobucket long ago. I was particularly ticked off when they said I needed to start paying them or the photos I had already put up there would no longer be viewable. Sure enough none of the photos I posted on here from them are visible now. I switched to Imgur and it is working well for me. It took a little but to figure out how to efficiently post the images, but it's nowhere near as difficult as posting a movie from Dropbox, which I seem to have to refigure out each time I do it.
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tony Tune-age »

You're welcome Thomas, and thanks for mentioning Imgur. I'll give it a try and see how it goes.

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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tony Tune-age »

Both tonearms side by side comparisons:

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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tony Tune-age »

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Re: Tony Tune-age System

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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tony Tune-age »

I have another question regarding the Magnum Dynalab ST-2 antenna, has anybody mounted the antenna bracket to an interior wall? Because that might be how I will have to place my antenna.

Thanks
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tony Tune-age »

It can be a fast moving world in audio land sometimes. Just found out I might be getting the new Lejonklou Entity moving coil phono preamplifier soon. Of course that means some other changes as well. But it's all good as they say! Further details and pictures will be provided...

Cheers for now
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tendaberry »

Tony Tune-age wrote: 2019-12-13 19:07 I have another question regarding the Magnum Dynalab ST-2 antenna, has anybody mounted the antenna bracket to an interior wall? Because that might be how I will have to place my antenna.Thanks
A friend of mine has his ST-2 horizontally on an inner wall. It is worthwhile to try a bit, which position offers the best sound and signal strength.
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tony Tune-age »

Tendaberry wrote: 2019-12-14 11:46
Tony Tune-age wrote: 2019-12-13 19:07 I have another question regarding the Magnum Dynalab ST-2 antenna, has anybody mounted the antenna bracket to an interior wall? Because that might be how I will have to place my antenna.Thanks
A friend of mine has his ST-2 horizontally on an inner wall. It is worthwhile to try a bit, which position offers the best sound and signal strength.
Thanks for the helpful information Tendaberry, it's much appreciated.

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Entity Update

Post by Tony Tune-age »

Thanks to ThomasOK, the Entity is officially a part of my system now.

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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tony Tune-age »

Additional pictures...

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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by V.A.MKD »

Nice pics Tony, must sounds excellent, especially after fine tune of LP12 and Entity ... :)
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tony Tune-age »

V.A.MKD wrote: 2020-01-14 14:38 Nice pics Tony, must sounds excellent, especially after fine tune of LP12 and Entity ... :)
Thanks V.A.MKD, it sounded really nice out of the box. I'll be listening more this weekend after a few days of warming up. Also when time permits, ThomasOK will be conducting a listening test using an individual Entity on each channel to see if that could be an affordable alternative to SINGularity.

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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by V.A.MKD »

That will be good … 2 x Entity … SINGularity alternative.

If I may ask … Have you check Power Cords as suggested here …

From the pics I see that you are using different than suggested here … I'm in process of changing all power cords and power strips so your opinion will be welcomed.

All the Best
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Charlie1 »

Looking very smart as always Tony.
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by OscarH »

Very nice!

Just looked closer at the ‘periferals’ (though I admit it’s a poorly chosen word for the actual music as that’s what’s it’s all about at the end of the day): Coincidently I listened to both ‘Drama’ and ‘Exile on Main St.’ last night.
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