Ferrites

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SaltyDog
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Ferrites

Post by SaltyDog »

Any one had the ferrite removed from a DS or KK? Easily done and reversible I hear. :roll: Not that you'd want to go back I hear :wink:
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Post by lejonklou »

There is a retailer who've been known to crack these ferrites in all products that he sells. Terrible policy, as it can ruin your warranty!

I haven't tried this mod in a DS or KK, but I have in the Unidisk 1.1. The result was a more nervous sounding 1.1, which performed worse than with the ferrite.
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Post by SaltyDog »

The ferrite can be easily removed without cracking it. And replaced. The connector to the PCB just has be freed, then the pins released with a paper clip, then slip the ferrite off, reinsert the pins, and reconnect. Like dynamik to my ears, I've heard;)
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Post by lejonklou »

Please be more specific, Salty. Have you compared with and without, and think that it performs musically better without?
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Post by Charlie1 »

I would also be interested but only if it is indeed more tuneful and also reversable. Some photos would be ideal :D
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Post by SaltyDog »

Everything below is hypothetical and is not being recommended by me. or my lawyer.

Sorry no photos, it's all put back together for now. Night and day. Takes only seconds to be sure. Very worthwhile. To my ears it's as good as the the dynamik upgrade in the KK. I don't have anything else to compare it to do to lack of dealer demos available in my neck of the woods.

The hardest part is releasing the pins in the connector. The one side of the connector has two slots. The empty slot is where you can insert a bent paper clip and release the wire with the pins. Just push in and gently pull the wire out. If there is any resistance just wiggle the paper clip a bit. Pay attention to which wire goes where. Pull the ferrite off. reinsert the pins and reconnect the connector. The only thing that might be damaged is the paper tag on the cable that the ferrite has to slip over, if there is one.
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Re: Ferrites

Post by Tony Tune-age »

SaltyDog wrote:Any one had the ferrite removed from a DS or KK? Easily done and reversible I hear. :roll: Not that you'd want to go back I hear :wink:
SaltyDog, how did you discover this process :?:
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Post by SaltyDog »

Tony, A PM from another forum. Someone with a similar setup and who's ears/preferences have been in agreement with mine on quite a few issues.
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Post by Tony Tune-age »

SaltyDog wrote:Tony, A PM from another forum. Someone with a similar setup and who's ears/preferences have been in agreement with mine on quite a few issues.
Thanks for the information SaltyDog. I was just curious how that was discovered...by accident or design therory 8)
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Post by sommerfee »

lejonklou wrote:The result was a more nervous sounding 1.1, which performed worse than with the ferrite.
Same with a Linto and a Wakonda. Without ferrite it sounded more "open", "clean", "detailed" and "impressive", but also nervous and bright, and worse in terms of tune-dem. Especially the brightness was confusing for me since all classical instruments sounded wrong to me.

There was a discussion in the German Linn mailing list about that, and AFAIK none of the supporter was using the tune method, and they confirmed that a Linn gear without ferrite will sound brighter but argued that one does not know what brightness is the "right" one.

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Post by Charlie1 »

Useful post Axel. Having read your comments, I'd want confirmation KK is better using tune method in order to spark my interest again. Even then, my system is really singing now I've finished fine tuning so motivation is low - even for a free upgrade.
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Post by SaltyDog »

Just a cleaned up and more realistic presentation. No loss of tune.
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Post by Charlie1 »

So it's better then? :D - I can't imagine it would be exactly as tuneful :wink:

Please you raised the thread by the way - it's been on my own radar some time and few people seemed interested to discuss before - i.e. there was a thread on the Linn forum some time ago.
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Post by SaltyDog »

With no way to do a direct comparison due to the time it takes make the change, I can only say that I am sure I prefer the change. It's not much of limb to go out on to try it yourself.
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Post by Charlie1 »

Very true. Thanks again for feeding back what you think of it and how to remove it.
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Post by jiddu_k »

Hi all,

I´ve heard comparisions of both ADSes and KDSes with and without ferrite cores and each time I preferred the ones without. In both situations the music became much more rhythmic and dynamic - much more "alive" one could say. It didn´t become nervous at all - provided that one compared it to the level of rhythmic and dynamic tension in live music (in my case: Jazz). I didn´t mind the much smaller sonic differences - but this might be different when it comes to classical music.
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Post by Tony Tune-age »

jiddu_k wrote:I´ve heard comparisions of both ADSes and KDSes with and without ferrite cores and each time I preferred the ones without. In both situations the music became much more rhythmic and dynamic - much more "alive" one could say.
Interesting, I'm always learning something new on this forum :!:
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Post by lejonklou »

I feel just like Charlie; I won't invest time in trying this mod until I get a report from someone who's made a thorough comparison, using the Tune Method.

The easiest way to make this comparison is probably to use two units of the same type, that are initially compared to see if they perform equally well. In a good system, it's likely they will be found to differ at least a little. Then the ferrite can be removed on the worse performing unit, to see if this makes it perform better than the other. Choosing the (ever so slightly) worse sounding unit to apply the change on is a precaution I use myself all the time. If it does change the order of which unit performs best, it's can probably be considered a worthwhile mod.

That the presentation becomes more dynamic is an expected result, as this always happen when one decreases filtering of a power supply. Even changing to a very short power cord (like my no longer available Power One 1m) has a similar effect, as the length of the power cord adds some filtering of the mains power before it reaches the power supply. But more dynamic isn't always better.

All power supplies need a certain amount of filtering to perform well. It's a matter of finding the optimal balance, and my guess is that Linn have done that job correctly. Of course, I don't mind being proven wrong in this assumption!
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Post by SaltyDog »

One can only be convinced by their own ears. I am convinced. Using anything other than my system makes no sense to me. (First time I've disagreed with Fredrik). Going back and forth would be a waste of time to me as it is so clearly better. I have not gone back to listen to my ADS since getting the KDS. I know I could tell the difference. It is just as clear in this case. There has been no loss of tune.

Can you not tell the difference between two pianos without having them in the same room. Only when the difference is small. I've just recently been to see Patricia Barber in solo concert (or as she called just her and the piano duet) playing the same Fazioli piano she used on her "The Cole Porter Mix" Album. I'm sure it was the best sounding piano I've ever heard. I don't need to compare it to the Baldwin in my living room to know the difference. Some things are obvious.

Anyone wishing to send me a KDS to do further evaluation please feel free to do so. I'd return it....really.
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Post by Tony Tune-age »

SaltyDog wrote:Anyone wishing to send me a KDS to do further evaluation please feel free to do so. I'd return it....really.
There's a unit being shipped to you for official evaluation this very minute...(he-he-he) :lol:
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Post by jiddu_k »

I think Fredrik raises a very important point when saying that it is necessary to find the right balance of filtering. I have tried both lenghts (about 1 and 2 m) of his Power One power cord in my system and the shorter length makes the music sound more dynamic.
The only thing I tried that made the music sound nervous was when I listened for the correct phase. In my system the stronger phase sounds more dynamic (more alive) on some albums, but on others, especially if the music has a lot of rhythmical drive, it gets nervous and the band starts to fall apart as if everybody were trying to outrun the rest of the band.
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Post by Charlie1 »

lejonklou wrote:I feel just like Charlie
I offer my sincere sympathies to you.
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Post by lejonklou »

Charlie1 wrote:I offer my sincere sympathies to you.
:lol:
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Post by lejonklou »

I recently tried removing the ferrite on an Exotik upgraded with Dynamik. It just needed three seconds of listening to confirm it was worse performing. More noise but less music.

With the 1.1 and Exotik both performing significantly worse without the ferrite, I have no reason to suspect the results being different on other units powered by a low power Dynamik.
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Post by Music Lover »

Just found this on the linn forum
"I would clearly prefer the SneekyDS without a ferrit core, over a KlimaxDS, where it isn't possible to remove a ferrit core anymore. The SneekyDS gives the better musical reproduction"

Please discuss :mrgreen:
It's all about musical understanding!
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