The Hi-Fi discussion thread

KDS

viz said:

KDS said:

Turntable: Rega Rp-10 Aphete 2 cart
Phonostage: Rega Aria
Musical Fidelity Cd 5.5
Musical Fidelity amp: 5
Speakers: PMC Fact 8

want to change amp some point in future, impressed with the high end Rega amp..... but curious to hear the valve options, really like to demo some hifi valve amps, anybody here got any recommendations?

I would say maybe for your preamp but definitely not to power those Fact 8s.

Rabbit hole moment...... the amp is weak link, but it does sound good, I had lengthy demos with the A5 with different speakers. I tend to update something every 5 to ten years, but buy the best I can afford with the kit I’ve got. New amp at some point will be on the menu. Any recommendations? Rega amp sounds the ‘safe’ bet I did some demo’s with the Aethos.... which were impressive but switched over to my MS5, as I wanted to hear speakers with my system

viz

KDS said:

viz said:

KDS said:

Turntable: Rega Rp-10 Aphete 2 cart
Phonostage: Rega Aria
Musical Fidelity Cd 5.5
Musical Fidelity amp: 5
Speakers: PMC Fact 8

want to change amp some point in future, impressed with the high end Rega amp..... but curious to hear the valve options, really like to demo some hifi valve amps, anybody here got any recommendations?

I would say maybe for your preamp but definitely not to power those Fact 8s.

Rabbit hole moment...... the amp is weak link, but it does sound good, I had lengthy demos with the A5 with different speakers. I tend to update something every 5 to ten years, but buy the best I can afford with the kit I’ve got. New amp at some point will be on the menu. Any recommendations? Rega amp sounds the ‘safe’ bet I did some demo’s with the Aethos.... which were impressive but switched over to my MS5, as I wanted to hear speakers with my system

Well if you like your music honest and unadulterated, which the pmcs excel at, then go for amps that add zero colour or distortion - that way you can turn them up and get the fullest from your speakers. You can get pretty high wattage too and do no harm. 

If you want to warm it up, as they are so very lean, then go for something more romantic.

To me, that’s a bit like turning up the artificial colour on your telly. I’ve gone the former way and I just love it. The music sounds totally realistic, my records spring to life with zero flabbiness or unnatural colour. 

TheMarlin

viz said:

KDS said:

viz said:

KDS said:

Turntable: Rega Rp-10 Aphete 2 cart
Phonostage: Rega Aria
Musical Fidelity Cd 5.5
Musical Fidelity amp: 5
Speakers: PMC Fact 8

want to change amp some point in future, impressed with the high end Rega amp..... but curious to hear the valve options, really like to demo some hifi valve amps, anybody here got any recommendations?

I would say maybe for your preamp but definitely not to power those Fact 8s.

Rabbit hole moment...... the amp is weak link, but it does sound good, I had lengthy demos with the A5 with different speakers. I tend to update something every 5 to ten years, but buy the best I can afford with the kit I’ve got. New amp at some point will be on the menu. Any recommendations? Rega amp sounds the ‘safe’ bet I did some demo’s with the Aethos.... which were impressive but switched over to my MS5, as I wanted to hear speakers with my system

Well if you like your music honest and unadulterated, which the pmcs excel at, then go for amps that add zero colour or distortion - that way you can turn them up and get the fullest from your speakers. You can get pretty high wattage too and do no harm. 

If you want to warm it up, as they are so very lean, then go for something more romantic.

To me, that’s a bit like turning up the artificial colour on your telly. I’ve gone the former way and I just love it. The music sounds totally realistic, my records spring to life with zero flabbiness or unnatural colour. 

A rebuilt Leak Stereo 20, or Radford STA25 will sound spectacular, the Radford being a slightly better amp, but way more expensive. 

Expect to pay £900-£1k for a properly rebuilt Leak, by a respected restorer. £1300-£1500 for similarly restored Radford. 

I have modern monoblock power amps I paid close to £2K for. I also have a restored Leak Stereo 20. 

You’re welcome to come hear the Leak wipe the floor with the more modern more powerful amp. 

Worth every penny. 

Match either valve amp with a quality passive Pre amp for best results. 

viz

So The Marlin, are those both valve power amps? Don’t answer that - I checked  

My question is, would they put out enough power to drive the fact 8 speakers?

KDS

Excellent information and advice on here, thanks guys

mburekenge

I just listen on my ATC scm50s. Love them. Also love old school dual concentric tannoys, but dont have any now, sadly

TheMarlin

viz said:

So The Marlin, are those both valve power amps? Don’t answer that - I checked  

My question is, would they put out enough power to drive the fact 8 speakers?

Yes.  Valve power output Vs transistor power output is not a direct correlation. 

The Leak has massive power transformers, so they deliver poke in an impressive way. 

My British built 70w monoblocks which i paid a pretty penny for are truly embarrassed by the humble Leak Stereo 20. 

You’re welcome to come have a listen. 

viz

TheMarlin said:

viz said:

So The Marlin, are those both valve power amps? Don’t answer that - I checked  

My question is, would they put out enough power to drive the fact 8 speakers?

Yes.  Valve power output Vs transistor power output is not a direct correlation. 

The Leak has massive power transformers, so they deliver poke in an impressive way. 

My British built 70w monoblocks which i paid a pretty penny for are truly embarrassed by the humble Leak Stereo 20. 

You’re welcome to come have a listen. 

Love to. Incoming

Fuengi

Recently upgraded my Rega Planer 2 turntable. I have had an intermittent fault in the left channel which I strongly suspected was the wiring in the old R-200 tonearm, or possibly the Sansui AU-317. The table is a lovely early 80s walnut plinth with smoked cover in excellent condition which I'm very fond of and don't really want to change. 

A new wiring loom for the R-200 is £90 on eBay. The anti-skate / bias also appeared to be knackered and that is widely considered to be virtually unrepairable. It's pushing 40 years old so it has done a reasonable turn. 

Decided to opt for a new Rega RB220 tonearm as a replacement, this decision was aided by my attraction to the Audio Technica VM95 range of cartridges which seem to suit the RB220 but (according to popular forum opinion) not so much the R-200. The 220 also has manual anti-skate. 

After a little more research I also decided to get a Rega Neo PSU power supply. The old model (which is identical in function and internally) is still available at an end of line price of £189 (full price for the new version is £260).

So, tonearm replacement was pretty straightforward, just some careful alignment of the new tonearm and the pilot holes for the three point fixings (which do not accurately align with the Rega template!) and it went in nicely. I chose the AT-VM95E cartridge to get me going, it seems.like a good starter option and a decent template to hear the upgrades through. 

Because i can't stop tinkering I also got a new felt mat to replace the original plastic thing and made some cork isolation feet to act as shims for levelling.

The Neo PSU has a big impact on the background noise even with the old R-200 arm. It provides for a much blacker background allowing for the music to be revealed clearer. It also has a micro adjustment for speed which I found really useful to set the turntable at exactly the right speed using an RPM App. There is a single switch to change between 33 and 45 rpm. Useful.

The tonearm and cartridge are a nice combo. The music is now much more toe-tapping and rhythmic, more detail revealed and I can hear longer decays on the percussion. Even at lower conversational volume the music is far more engaging. 

I think there is only so far I can push the system on the environment I have it. It's a dinner table listening setup mostly, but I push it a little more after dinner sometimes. Need to look at cables again at some point and the better cartridges in the VM 95 range are tempting, but happy that each upgrade seems to have paid a reasonable return. 

octatonic

octatonic said:

I have a Denon AV receiver and some Denon speakers that is controlled via an iPhone/iPad app or a Logitech Harmony remote.

Pretty much everything streams to the living room via Apple TV.

I also have a TIVO box, Xbox & DVD player attached.

Most critical listening is in the studio, where I have Apogee Symphony and Dynaudio BM6a Mk 1 monitoring.

Things have moved on a bit since my first post in 2013.

Now most of my listening is done on ATC SCM45A's plus a PSI A255M sub in the studio, with Trinnov room correction.
I have an Audio Technica AT-LP140XP turntable in that room.
Digital converters are Avid MTRX and monitor controller is a Grace M905.

For general listenin one living space has a Rocksan Attessa with B&W 606's.
I am very impressed with the Attessa- the only problem is it is fiddly with universal remotes.
Another room has a Denon AVR-X2600H plus B&W 685 S2's.

The studio sounds much better but that is more down to the acoustic treatment and the Trinnov.
The other rooms aren't appropriate for that.

richman6100

My current setup:

Music...
McIntosh SACD player
McIntosh pre-amp
McIntosh power-amp
Michell Engineering Orbe SE turntable with Benz MC cartridge
Harbeth Super HL5+ speakers
Various SONOS boxes around the house

Don't think I could improve on this setup in my compromised listening room (i.e. my lounge), although I'll probably add a decent music streamer at some point.

AV...
Marantz universal disc player
Marantz AV amp
B&W FPM rear and centre speakers (paired with Harbeths as front L&R using pre-outs from AV amp to McIntosh power-amp)
BK Electric XXLS400 subwoofer

blobb

Not enough pictures in this thread

TheMarlin

My current setup.  I have two. Wife and I don’t watch a lot of TV, preferring music. 

First Audio Copper Classic - passive Pre amp. 

Rebuilt Leak Stereo 20

Denon DP 55 K direct drive turntable with Origin Live Encounter 3c tonearm and Koetsu Black cart
Tom Evans Grove MK2 MC phono
Bluesound Node 2i with power mods and upgrade power supply
Audiolab 6000CBT cd transport
Topping D90SE DAC
Tannoy SC3000 speakers and Rel Subwoofer. 

(Currently packed away pending room refurb). 

Second system

Homemade turntable. Rega geometry. Perspex construction. Delrin bearing, machined aluminium sub platter, 3kg Delrin platter.  Michelle Texhnoarm 2 with wiring upgrades. Nagoaka MP500 MM cart. 

Rega 24v motor, and Neo power supply. 

Motor isolated from the turntable via isolated sub platter. 

Ear (clone) valve powered MM phono stage, heavily upgraded, and power supply separated out into second housing. Had it specifically tuned to my tonearm wiring and cart output. 

NVA P90SA Pre amp. 

Heavily upgraded Belles A150 (dual mono) power amp. Had extensive component upgrades and power supply replaced with Toroidal unit. 

Bluesound Node 2i with power mods and upgrade power supply

Denon 3910 CD/Sacd/DVD player, used as a CD Transport 
Topping D90 DAC 
Frugalhorn XL speakers, subwoofer. 

I have another 4 sets of Tannoy Dual Concentric speakers. I swap them around from time to time. 

Also have a set of NVA M300 monoblocks I keep as spares. 

Too much gear really. 

I also have a third system in my garage, waiting to be installed at a friends house.  Still not got around to that (system is a gift). 

TheMarlin

Fuengi said:

Recently upgraded my Rega Planer 2 turntable. I have had an intermittent fault in the left channel which I strongly suspected was the wiring in the old R-200 tonearm, or possibly the Sansui AU-317. The table is a lovely early 80s walnut plinth with smoked cover in excellent condition which I'm very fond of and don't really want to change. 

A new wiring loom for the R-200 is £90 on eBay. The anti-skate / bias also appeared to be knackered and that is widely considered to be virtually unrepairable. It's pushing 40 years old so it has done a reasonable turn. 

Decided to opt for a new Rega RB220 tonearm as a replacement, this decision was aided by my attraction to the Audio Technica VM95 range of cartridges which seem to suit the RB220 but (according to popular forum opinion) not so much the R-200. The 220 also has manual anti-skate. 

After a little more research I also decided to get a Rega Neo PSU power supply. The old model (which is identical in function and internally) is still available at an end of line price of £189 (full price for the new version is £260).

So, tonearm replacement was pretty straightforward, just some careful alignment of the new tonearm and the pilot holes for the three point fixings (which do not accurately align with the Rega template!) and it went in nicely. I chose the AT-VM95E cartridge to get me going, it seems.like a good starter option and a decent template to hear the upgrades through. 

Because i can't stop tinkering I also got a new felt mat to replace the original plastic thing and made some cork isolation feet to act as shims for levelling.

The Neo PSU has a big impact on the background noise even with the old R-200 arm. It provides for a much blacker background allowing for the music to be revealed clearer. It also has a micro adjustment for speed which I found really useful to set the turntable at exactly the right speed using an RPM App. There is a single switch to change between 33 and 45 rpm. Useful.

The tonearm and cartridge are a nice combo. The music is now much more toe-tapping and rhythmic, more detail revealed and I can hear longer decays on the percussion. Even at lower conversational volume the music is far more engaging. 

I think there is only so far I can push the system on the environment I have it. It's a dinner table listening setup mostly, but I push it a little more after dinner sometimes. Need to look at cables again at some point and the better cartridges in the VM 95 range are tempting, but happy that each upgrade seems to have paid a reasonable return. 

There are loads of upgrades you can get for Rega turntables.  You can get snake oil bearing lubricants, especially coloured silicon belts, blah blah blah. 

The best upgrade (IMHO) for the Reg Plannar 2 is this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/273799797499?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=BZZGX6cSTMe&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=3gw4Mp6ER2O&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

It’s an SRM tech silent base. It’s a Perspex platform (black or clear) that sits below the Rega turntable. You take the motor off the turntable, and mount it in the platform. I built my cousin a turntable, and installed this beneath it. 

You need to carefully extract the motor, cut the wires, and install in the silent base, and add a bit more wiring if you want to use the switch in the turntable.  I removed the wiring, and put a jumper across the PCB so turntable was always on, and used the Neo to turn the turntable on and off. Cutting the wiring and twisting the end together is an easier option. 

The end result, zero noise between songs, no rumble sound, inky blackness, and way more detail from the songs. 

That and a Delrin bearing, and you have a noise free turntable. Helps extract every detail from your vinyl. 

Fuengi

There are loads of upgrades you can get for Rega turntables.  You can get snake oil bearing lubricants, especially coloured silicon belts, blah blah blah. 

The best upgrade (IMHO) for the Reg Plannar 2 is this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/273799797499?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=BZZGX6cSTMe&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=3gw4Mp6ER2O&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

It’s an SRM tech silent base. It’s a Perspex platform (black or clear) that sits below the Rega turntable. You take the motor off the turntable, and mount it in the platform. I built my cousin a turntable, and installed this beneath it. 

You need to carefully extract the motor, cut the wires, and install in the silent base, and add a bit more wiring if you want to use the switch in the turntable.  I removed the wiring, and put a jumper across the PCB so turntable was always on, and used the Neo to turn the turntable on and off. Cutting the wiring and twisting the end together is an easier option. 

The end result, zero noise between songs, no rumble sound, inky blackness, and way more detail from the songs. 

That and a Delrin bearing, and you have a noise free turntable. Helps extract every detail from your vinyl.

I've not seen those. I'm guessing they do a similar thing to the Neo PSU in a different manner?

The Neo seems to clean up the supply by moving the 'dirty' wave away from the plinth and supplying a cleaner supply to the 24v motor - my Planar 2 had a new 24v motor freshly fitted when I bought it.  

Listening to Parallel Lines by Blondie last night, I really noticed the black background on Fade Away and Radiate as never before. I put this down to the Neo supply.

 

Fuengi

blobb said:

Not enough pictures in this thread

Cambridge Audio P50 & T55 in the office with a Marantz CD player and B&W DM4 speakers on self made brackets using turnbuckles. 



This amp is 50 years old this year. It looks and works like new. 

Fuengi

I've been down the rabbit hole with tweaks and upgrades over the past few months. Cables, tonearms, cartridges and styli, speed adjustable power supplies.... 

The latest addition might be the most impactful though; have added a REL T5x subwoofer to my B&W DM4 speakers and my word what a game changer. 

As well as filling out the lower bass (which the DM4s do lack) lt has smoothed out the midrange, given more separation, and massively improved the timing. 

The REL is really fast, drum rolls are a whole new thing and there is real grip in the bass. Sounds great with the beautiful midrange and top end of these vintage monitors..