Topic: Dimfer's

[dimfer]

Belated Holiday Greetings & Happy Chinese New Year to all.

I had been a bit busy lately kaya pasilip silip lang sa favorite forum sites, but will post updates soon.

[dimfer]

just sharing a few videos

http://youtu.be/AOPfG8PvTDg

http://youtu.be/E3yAopZd5P8

http://youtu.be/lK-uj2cypAo

[lithium_deuteride]

Nice.  Indoor fun while the roads are snowed over?  Ding, what is that racing wheel you are using?  Looks like it doesn't need a carseat to work like the Logitech G27.  Am a racing sim fan as well and like you I dream of driving the Nordschleife one of these days, hehe.   

[dimfer]

Thanks John.

It's a Thrustmaster 430 Scuderia



I used to have a Logitec wheel, but my wife does not appreciate the wires running across the room. This one is wireless... not perfect as it does not have vibration feedback, but works well for me.

[dimfer]

Posted At WS Dec 31, 2012

here we go again.. I am typing this year end update for posting at a website whose local time zone is 2013 already 

we attended the 5:00 pm mass, had dinner at my in-laws' place and then I volunteered to drive my Mom back home to have time to type this up. My wife was having a grand time with her parents and the rest of the family.. I promised my wife I'll be back right away..

Just me and my mom at home right now, so I am playing Madeleine Peyroux's Half The Perfect World rather loud. Perfect...

I decided to let go of my beloved Accentus A101 last spring to make room for another pair of Von Schweikert speaker. The buyer was from Toronto area, he said he heard the Accentus A101 on his first trip to Salon Son Image Montreal Hi Fi show when he was 14 years old and he was so smitten by it. He said he went to all the shows in the following years, and never heard any other speaker that he liked better, and now that he is professionally employed and building his first audiophile system, he made sure the A101 is his first purchase. I held the transaction for a month so that he can save up for my asking price. I am very glad that the speaker went to somebody who genuinely like the Accentus sound.

I ordered a pair of VR35 and a Shockwave V15 from Albert. The VR35 went to my main level system, partnered with the Trodt 6c33c-b amps, Trodt battery powered pre and fronted by Modwright Platinum Transporter. This is a very capable budget combination. As good as the VR35's can be, I still missed the A101, the VR35 sounded dry compared to the A101.



I had a long discussion with Albert how the addition of a powered subwoofer and a pair of ribbon tweeter module can elevate the VR5 to a level very close to VR9 (all VR5's components can be found in VR9), but I somehow cannot convince myself to fork out the money AVS is asking for the tweeter module ($10k retail). He said the cabinet alone cost $3k because they are made in small batch. Well, I was curious to make my own box, and readi up about high pass filter. With the help of a few WS friends, I marched on. I bought a pair of Aurum Cantus G1 tweeter from ebay, a pair of capacitors, Obbligato and other necessary parts from partsconnexxion and some more abubuts from partsexpress..why cheap obbligatto you ask? I have a friend here who is a capacitor nut, and he has almost all the popular capacitor brands you can name in the values he need for is Sonus Faber speakers (highly modified), and he very much favored Obliggatto for use with tweeters. I heard the difference between Obb & V Caps and thought I could live with the cheaper brand. I spent a Saturday making the box, sanding, painting etc. I made the box out of 3/4 plywood, and made it as small as possible diameter wise, but made it 12" deep. I first crossed it at 2khz as Aurum Cantus suggested, but it changed the sound too much. Jack said AVS crossed the VR9's ribbon tweeter at over 10khz - so that's what I aimed for. Instead of totally eliminating 2khz, I added a toggle switch, so now I can choose 2k or 10k. Vr5 like the 10k setting better, Vr35 seem to sound better at 2k.



I also communicated with Sam Laufer & Mark Porzilli regarding my Memory Player. These guys work very hard to continiously improve their product. This is the beauty of software based system - you get you updates/upgrades online  :geek: MP is still not a popular choice among traditional audiophiles, but it does an excellent job for me. There are so many much more expensive servers out there right now, so a $20k server does not make people jump anymore. But there is still resistance to fully embrace computer based hardware, no matter how good it can be.

With the addition of the powered sub (Albert said one should be more than enough for my room) and tweeter, something became more and more obvious to me.. I have to rearrange my system. Since my 2 channel rig is in the middle of our basement family room (not a dedicated room), it required me to do a lot of negotiating with the one who must be obeyed. One day, I placed the foam seats of our backyard swing in the wall behind my speakers. The effect was convincing enough, she finally budged. woohoo. These is also an obvious bass null (suckout) in the spot just behind the VR5 where I originally parked the V15, so I decided to place it center, and forward. My wife said I have to make sure it looks good, otherwise she will rearrange it herself. I thought I will also take the opportunity to move the 2 channel electronics away from the middle. My second daughter entertain her friends in our HT/PS3 setup a lot, and I was worried about my carts when they play rough.

One of the challenges of the GM70 amp based system is it's sensitivity to electrical noise. I had a few amps that passed through my living room, MR's GM70 is the most challenging of all, all the while I thought there was a design error. MR rigged me an isolation transformer, which helped by did not totally cure the problems (low pitch tube noise much like an aquarium pump sound and EMI/RFI noise as well). This contributed to my desire to move the 2 channel stuff away from HT stuff. This also forced me to change most of my cables (DIY) and stick to shielded design/parts. Happy to report - my system now is very quiet.



Funny, one day I was calibrating the powered sub with the sound meter. When I played the low frequency test tones, the basement wall literally started to vibrate, my daughter who was in her bedroom ran out really spooked, thinking there was an earthquake  I was worried too that my aquarium would burst, so | had to stop and do it another day. The black rack in the middle is also a DIY project  :devil: , strong enough to carry a pair of Lamms (or Trodt GM70) on the top shelf  :emo:


the 2 channel electronics were moved closer to the aquarium, I moved the wall decor and replaced it with 4 pcs of wooden diffusers. I also decided to be more serious in analog department - picked up a Dynavector DRT XV-1S and now both my Dynavector carts have upgraded Soundsmith stylus/ruby cantiliver. I also picked up over a hundred lps and same amount of digital music this year (2012 pa).

How's the sound - full range. I worked hard so that the additions do not call for attention, but when you take them out you can tell the difference right away.

[dimfer]

Update March 2013

fertile mind (or pregnant na ba?) won't rest just yet 

I think I was hanging out at audio fora too much, kung ano ano tuloy ang pumapasok sa kukote. I thought just for the heck of it, I will build myself a cheapo DIY cable lift and hope that it will elevate my system's performance. While we were preparing for our daughter's debut, I went with my wife to Michaels', a mega craft store. I looked at different materials, and ended with two packages of this rubber thingies,  some paint and a bottle of glue.


I don't see myself selling turntables, so adding a turntable line to my product offering is out of the question. It is no secret in this forum that I had been curious about the Lenco L75.  Remember my first attempt to buy a Lenco at fleabay? Unfortunately the bidding war ended with somebody taking home probably the most expensive Lenco sold at ebay  at that time. Hell no, as much as  I like the table, I am not spending megabuck on it on it's original form. At about the same time, a guy was selling an Artisan Fidelity restored unit with ruby bearing upgrade ($800) at agon for $3,800 including an Ortofon tonearm, I came very close to buying that unit because it was a good deal considering Chris Thornton sells it for $6.5k. I decided to let things cool off a bit and wait around. I looked at other candidates like the SP10, TD 124 or maybe a 301 again. I am now focusing on vintage tables thinking that if I take good care of it, it's value will only go up in time (the $350/pair 6SN7's I bought a few ago are now regularly offered at $650/pair). And while it may not have the best sound of the megabuck systems like the Techdas Air Force One or Wave KInetics NVS, a properly sorted direct drive is good enough to make me happy. I exchanged emails with Chris a few more times and came really close to ordering one, then a couple opportunities showed up a Canuck Audio Mart. A restored L75 with a nice plinth from a guy in Quebec for $575 and a restored Bogen-Presto (L70 equiv) with a nicer plinth from a guy in British Columbia for $480, as per the recommendation of Mr TAS Lenco - I pursued the L70.

The unit itself is in relatively good shape, the previous owner buy, recondition and re-sell Lencos, and he has already done all the necessary rebuild jobs including the installation of damping materials in the back of the chasis. He sent me pictures of the plinth build process and looking at his wood clamps alone, I was convinced he know what he was doing, built in alternate layers of MDF and baltic birch plywood using the same philosophies popularized by J Nantais. It is cheap enough that I could employ some more of the tweaks I have in mind without too much financial exposure.



I coated as much as I could


including the plinth. I did two thick coats and sanded lightly just to make it look nicer.

Around the same time I was working on the Bogen-Presto, an opportunity to buy a classical record collection came. I was told by the seller that it originally belonged to his wife piano teacher - an 80 year old former music professor at the University of Alberta Conservatory of Music, who regularly ordered records from Europe when she cannot buy them in North America (pre e-commerce era). I asked the classical music afficionados at WBF what to look for and went to the seller's house with a list of composers (Britten, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven etc) and only intended to buy maybe a couple of hundred lps. When I saw the lot, I was impressed with the condition of the records/covers because most of them looked like they have only been played once or twice. Most of the composers in my list are still there, the seller has a collection of more than 2,000 classic rock/popular music lps and has no interest in classical music. His wife picked 400 records that she personally liked and they decided to sell. Well, I got brave and offered a price which the guy hesitantly took, and with the agreement he will deliver to my house. Man, transporting 1200 lps from the guy's basement, to the main floor, to the front door, into his truck, from his truck to the entrance of our house proved to be a good workout. Once we brought all the boxes inside our house, I led the guy to my basement and we played a few tracks in my system while enjoying some refreshments. The guy was awestruck with my aquarium and we ended talking about the aquarium for the next hour or so (nothing new here, almost all audiophiles who come to my house forget about audio once they come to my basement). Suddenly the guy realized he has to pickup his wife from work, so I was left alone to haul the 12 heavy boxes to my basement. Boy, my arms were sore for days after that weekend.








Of course, my wife is not happy, she said "saan mo na naman ilalagay yang mga junk na 'yan?" But of course, as understanding as she is, she agreed to let me use one of the spare rooms, and helped me buy and put together a couple of bookcases from Ikea. As you can see, may lugar pa  I originally told her that I will only pick the ones that I like and sell the rest, but I think she has now realized that they are here to stay for a while  :emo:



will it harm/warp the records if I leave the box sets stacked flat like this?


classic rock underneath the aquarium, jazz etc on the shelf to the right


dvd collection remained small, there's Netflix. I also have a few stored in 2 tb external drive. Btw, the room where I have the records is quite away from the TT, at the end of this hallway, door to the right.

So with the spring fast approaching,  I finally finished my audio related projects. My wife helped me wrap the Bogen in carbon fiber look vinyl one evening. Isn't it handsome?


I DIY'ed cork platter mats for the two tables - I was surprised by the improvement in the sound. The Acos Lustre arm, with Dynavector 10X5 with Soundsmith ruby cantiliver and stylus upgrade.


The Cocobolo arm pod looks ugly in this picture, but is very beautiful in person. Arm is still the Audiocraft AC4000MC, with Dynavector XV-1S also with Soundsmith ruby cantiliver and stylus upgrade.


mounted in the back is the FR64FS with Ortofon MC20Mk2




also finished the G1 tweeter module, hard to take nice picture


my DIY stand turned alright, I think. Also showing is the 2500 watt Trodt copper shielded Iso Trans, damped with layers of high temp silicone and dampening paint


screen down. sources are HTIB, PS3, Shaw digital cable box with 1tb pvr, and karaoke system (for the wifey)


Trodt GM70 in vacation mode muna  baka naman magalit na si Vladimir kung si MR pirmi ang kakanta


rest of two channel electronics. I will put the Trodt battery powered pre (on top of Lamm LL2 deluxe) on commission when I put back the GM70 into action.
The 4tb external drive beside the Memory Player has my backup files and will eventually contain a folder of my favourite cds upsampled to 32/192


listening position


view from behind right channel


screen up. notice the front port of VR5?


and lastly,  the multi colored foam became black cable lift.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy_Ua94Smqk&feature=share&list=UUgjQVskDahkJWYel57pHSxg
music pls 

[endrik35]

I love your diy cable lift! If that's my system, I'll hang up my gloves for sure! very Nice!:)

[Pandidoy]

Wow nice setup sir 

[synchro_01]

Dimfer

Congratulations on your KILLER set up. I'm sure that the enjoyment that you get from it is only second compared to the that monster that is parked in your garage. How's the über Cayenne going? I remember recommending you to our Canada branch for maintenance parts a couple of years back.

[qguy]

Hi Dimfer,

Did you disable the original tweeter of the VR or you just added the G1 tweeter ?

[dimfer]

I love your diy cable lift! If that's my system, I'll hang up my gloves for sure! very Nice!:)

Thanks Doc.. I am done for the most part, just tweaking to keep things interesting.

[dimfer]

thanks guys for the  nice comments

Dimfer

Congratulations on your KILLER set up. I'm sure that the enjoyment that you get from it is only second compared to the that monster that is parked in your garage. How's the über Cayenne going? I remember recommending you to our Canada branch for maintenance parts a couple of years back.

The Cayenne offers a different kind of high, I am lucky to enjoy both. It has been very solid and reliable, I am just out of the warranty - might take you up on your offer one of these days. I have done most of my mods on it too, the only thing I have left on my to do list is the ECU tune. For $1k, 25 hp and 30 tq gain - but supposed to make the vehicle a lot more exciting to drive. I waited until my warranty runs out, so I will probably do that this year. That and the Sprintbooster, which I have already.

here's the sound of the 4.8L naturally aspirated V8, I recorded this last spring
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiPAKbhkbrg&feature=share&list=UUgjQVskDahkJWYel57pHSxg

[dimfer]

Hi Dimfer,

Did you disable the original tweeter of the VR or you just added the G1 tweeter ?

I did not. Same as the VR-9, mine has both now. I have the option (via toggle switch) to cross the high pass filter of the G1 tweeter at 2khz or 10 khz. Per recommendation of Albert Von Schweikert, I plugged the port in the bass module to bump it to around 80hz, and crossed the powered sub around there. As Albert said it, I basically have a baby VR-9 now.

[dimfer]

After I took home my haul of 1200 classical lp's a couple of months ago, I went to our storage room to find my Nitty Gritty record cleaning machine, only to discover that my wife decided to store a gallon of record cleaning fluid on top of it - sideways. All the contents of the bottle had leaked into the Nitty Gritty and had totally destroyed it. I was a little ticked off.. but also half glad because now I have an excuse to DIY one 

The idea of record ultrasonic cleaning machines seems to be cool, and according to what has been described in various forums - they work with great result. I know a lot of guys use the $3.5k Audio Desk Systeme, which I think is a well engineered system. I don't consider myself analog hardcore enough to spend that kind of money on a record cleaning machine, so I gathered info and started with my build. BTW, my DIY projects sometimes take a long time to complete (on my 3rd year in building a simple tonearm), and this one is not an exception. I begged an ebay to sell me a 1.5 gal Crest Ultrasonic machine much cheaper than his asking, but made the mistake to have it shipped to Canada and clear customs via UPS, so all my initial savings magically disappeared.

My design goal - simple to build, easy to use. I had seen many DIY ultrasonic rcm projects at diyaudio.com and it helped me a lot, it helped me eliminate a lot of wrong ideas as well. I want to be able to work on batches of 3 - 4 lps at a time, with minimal interruption in between batches. The ultrasonic unit sat in my office for a while, but I finally got started working on it a couple of weeks ago, doing stuff on my lunch break. I would sometimes draw something and let our shop supervisor do the actual fab work.

One of the joys of DIY'ing is hunting for parts at unlikely sources, and converting it into something that could work for your specific need. I want the record clamp/holder to be easy to tighten/loosen. I picked up a few of this aluminum spacers (1/4" bore) and 1/4" thumb screws and made them rod stoppers.


rod stoppers will keep the records in place during the cleaning process


we had a rush job last week, while some of my staff were working overtime, I stayed a little late to circle cut some .032" type 430BA stainless steel, to be used to cover the record labels (4"). I haven't worked much in the shop in the last 20 years, needless to say I had a few cuts in my fingers and palm by the time I was able to do 6 discs (stainless steel is very hard to work with).. And man, do they look ugly.  My shop foreman was laughing at me when he saw it the next morning, he hurriedly made me better ones



I picked up some 1/4" dia. steel rod from our waste bin and cut them up to lengths required. I inserted this to the shaft coupling that will mate to another coupling in the motor shaft.


ok, I won't make this thread very long - because it is not that complicated. motor is 1 rpm, sourced from ebay



the crooked disc was made by me the nicer one was made by Joey don't worry, I will make sure it look nice when I'm done.

I guess by now you get the drift. I will have three holders. The idea is to load 3 or 4 lps, let it clean for 6 minutes. While it is cleaning, load another batch on holder two. When batch one is done, move batch #1 to the Dimf's Record Dryer (another project), load batch #2, and then start loading on holder # 3. Simple as that.

Most of the work is done, I just have to cut more rubber spacers, fix the wires and brush/polish the aluminum to make it nicer.

As a true audiophile product, this machine works best when used with your audiophile power cord

[audiojunkie]

WooW! Great Idea and Work...! 

wish I could find parts to do the same.... 

[timber715]

Very nice work, might be time to play around with a tig welding machine... Perfect for aluminum. Hehehe

[dimfer]

Very nice work, might be time to play around with a tig welding machine... Perfect for aluminum. Hehehe

thanks! I am not that daring (yet) Bro    hanggang rivet muna tayo. Having said that, we have a Can Man welding machine in our shop that welds just about anything , it's just a matter of getting the right wire.

[remington]

swavehhhhhhhhhh ang set up! kaka inggit! Sarap siguro mag audio marathon sa set up nyo sir dimfer!

[timber715]

thanks! I am not that daring (yet) Bro    hanggang rivet muna tayo. Having said that, we have a Can Man welding machine in our shop that welds just about anything , it's just a matter of getting the right wire.

I have a tig machine but no tank for argon yet, can't seem to have the place for it since wood and welding don't go well together.... But you, since you have it and have someone who knows how to use it is something... Give it a try, metal working is fun too especially aluminum since you wouldn't smell as bad as working with steel.

[dimfer]

ang ambisyon ko is to have a small bench type metal lathe machine in my garage or basement one day, so that I can turn my own audio related parts, like footers and tonearm parts. I actual almost bought one last year kaya lang marami pang mas priority na projects.

[timber715]

ang ambisyon ko is to have a small bench type metal lathe machine in my garage or basement one day, so that I can turn my own audio related parts, like footers and tonearm parts. I actual almost bought one last year kaya lang marami pang mas priority na projects.

Nice! I've always dreamt of having one since I was a kid... It was one of those things that I was fascinated on trying. Grew up and found one, a little beyond my budget so I didn't pursue. I now want a lathe but it just might be fore wood applications since it is where my passion now belongs. But who knows, no one knows what happens in the future...
Good luck on your projects, they have always been above par...
Cheers

[dimfer]

DIY stuff  percentage on my setup is on the rise... and I think will keep on rising. It keeps me more involved and interested. The reward of hearing and seeing your creations is simply priceless. I think I am slowly finding my spot in audio, and DIY'ing is the best way of individualizing your system. If I were in the Phils. and close to gifted (and affordable) builders like Mang Rod, Rene, Andrew, Jojo & the likes, I know my system will be more tailor made to suit me. As much as I would like to, but spending P50k just to ship a pair of amps can affect my decision making sometimes. Kung pwede nga lang ampunin ko muna si MR for 6 months 

I am happy to report that I (think) I have successfully integrated my DIY stuff with the respected names in audio

[timber715]

Nothing compares to the feeling of accomplishment, its just like giving birth (I guess, never given one). Certainly the knowledge acquired out of the build is a worthwhile thing to learn, it brings us closer (or further, depending on the patience and skill given to the build) to what we want/need or think we want or need... Hehehe.
Looking forward to more of your builds...
Cheers

[bher2]

nadokleng ako sa ganda at bagsik ng setup! 

[dimfer]

my latest project was these: Neotech (cables and connectors) based power cords, complete with voodoo rituals and snake oil     It took me a while to complete because I can only work on it during full-moon   

These Neotech stuff are supposed to be very dynamic and among the best sounding DIY components, but I'd say they are poorly engineered. The clamping system on the AC plugs are really bad, I actually had to send one back to partsconnexion because it was won't hold the wire. The shiny looking foil finish of the cover is too fancy for my taste, actually making it look cheap (they're not - at $70 each).

For the record, I have no ambition to get into cable business, but decided to label them just for the heck of it... para hindi halatang nagtitipid. I even used the term Reference, parang mag mukhang mamahalin   

.

the DIY RCM & Drying Unit is almost complete. I want to finish all my audio related projects before we start spending all our free time outside (summer).

[dimfer]

2013 was the year of tweaking for me.. most of the main parts remained but IMHO my system's performance improved considerably this year because of the tweaks and small changes that I did.

One thing that I wanted to do the past couple of years was to replace all the Virtual Dynamics Nite 3.0 cables. I don't have much to complaint about it sonicaly, but they are stiff and a pain to work with and the back of my systems always looked like a snake pit. When the Trodt GM 70 came, it introduced some problems in my system. Yes, the GM70's sounded really good but it's design nature (matched with rather sensitive VR5 Annis) picked up even the smallest noise in the environment. A number of amps had gone through my system and it remained very quiet, but not with the GM70.

I once had a long chat with David Beetles and he told me that's an issue DHT lovers will have to live with. He said even with all the innovations Kang Su Park introduced in the design of the $32k Allnic H5000, he could still sometimes hear himself in his system when he is on the phone  In the previous update, I moved the 2 channel electronics and replaced all my interconnects already, now I took it further. Mang Rod rigged me a much bigger copper shielded isolation transformer (2,000 watts capacity I think) and I replaced all the power cords.

I read and read about the options available in the DIY power cord world. I considered the various VH Audio recipes, and Acrolink but ultimately decided with the Neotech stuff, which was partially mentioned in my May 2013 update. I've had some issues but it turned out great.

Started with a shipment from partsconnexion






I also replaced my first DIY speaker cable (twisted UPOCC terminated with Furutec rhodium) with matching Neotech cables and connectors


Op kors I did not just slap them together. My brain had been preconditioned by Ban Hoang of Anti Vibration Magic and Rick Schultz of Virtual Dynamics (or now High Fidelity Cables).. that vibration is an enemy. AVM has become too rich for my blood, and with the total footage of cables I want to do I could spend $1k on AVM before I'm done, sa poor man's version tayo  :geek:  Silent Running. My design goals - start with good quality parts, dampen as much as I could and shield it with all the way with aluminum foil tapes. I only used AVM on the connections points. This endeavor proved to be very labor intensive, I did  at least 4 coats of dampening paint then wrapped it really tight with electrical tape. David Schulte  of The Upgrade Company became controversial in some audio fora for using AVM (or dampening products) and aluminum foil tape in some of his upgrade works, but hey a lot of people swear that his upgrades bring a lot of improvements. And yeah, para hindi halatang nagtitipid, I labelled my stuff and used the term  "Reference" para mukhang high end 






here they are, finished and inserted to my system










My original cable lifters were not as good as I hoped for in the beginning because the material is too light and they flip to their side too easily. I added footers made of bent .32" aluminum strips. Now they work perfectly and has taken my cables to new heights  :geek:  .



While I was shopping at pcx, I also grabbed some audiophile fuses.. for the Lamms and the GM70, damped them too before inserting to my system. I was tempted to try Audio Magic Nano Liquid Fuses but since this is my first venture into this tweak and not sure about it's merits, I held back and wen for the (a little) cheaper alternative. I think they work, YMMV  :hai:

[dimfer]

so dimfer, you busted your ass doing all sort of stuff - how's the sound? I say GREAT. It was a little harsh and grainy in the beginning but as they bedded in, the sound balanced  and the harshness went away. From the beginning, I noticed that the noise was mostly gone, I say 95% or more. I can hear no noise at all from the listening position, and the only noise I can hear is the the slight vibration from the iso transformer, but this becomes totally negligible when the music start playing. Compared to the VD Nite 3.0 days, my system reveals a lot more information but the image became more focused at the same time. The human voice is more palpable and alive.

I have a local customer whom I did not realize in the beginning to be a cable junkie. While waiting for his VR35 & Masterbuilt cables, he asked to borrow some of my cables.  I told him most of my cables are now in use, but I have a spare pair of DIY bi-wire speaker cables. Upon realization that he is a cable junkie, I was hesitant to lend him any of the cable that I made, but then I thought heck it is about time I let somebody else hear my DIY stuff in a different environment. Thinking that if he says it sucks, I could say "yeah, that's my first gig and I have replaced that one already". I told him, ok I will lend you my first DIY cables and my only condition is for you to give me your honest evaluation, if it sucks I want to to know how it sucked. If it lacks something, I want to know what it is. He picked them up from my office. The next day I came to work, I was told that this customer called already, so I phoned him in his office. The moment he got on the phone he told me right away how great they sounded... fast and very holographic, full of body yet quite balanced. He was complaining that the bass is a little bit muddied in some recordings, but does not mean it has bad bass, just not at par with the rest of the spectrum. He continued on to say it is much better than his expensive Cardas, Kimber and Audience stuff. Now he is questioning his decision in ordering the Masterbuilt Standard bi-wires (langhya, pera na magiging bato pa) - so I had to assure the Masterbuilt will sound better, and if it doesn't, I will help him re-sell those. Now he want to hear my other cables, but then I don't want to disturb my system, wala naman akong balak mag negosyo ng cables. So I lent him my first DIY powercords (2 sets of Belden wires with Marinco termination, also damped with Silent Running & AVM) and my Mogami 2534 terminated with Switchcraft stuff. I told him the IC is the one that I don't like the most among the 4 that I built (the one terminated with WBT sounded best to these ears) so I won't be surprised if he won't like them at all. The next day, I received a very enthusiastic email from the guy detailing the attributes of my cables. He said he directly compared the Beldens with the new Shunyata model he has on demo from a local dealer and my cables blew them (shunyata and another brand I forgot) out of the water. He said "Fernando, seriously, you should start selling your cables". Since I already told him my formula, he dug his old DIY cables (DH Labs stuff etc) from his closet and almost begged me to treat them for him. I told him I will do one, if he hears an improvement, I will do more. So I did, and now I have done a few pairs of interconnects and power cables for him and his other expensive cables are now for sale. I delivered his Masterbuilt cables last December 3rd, but has not returned my DIY.. haven't spoken with him lately, but the last time I spoke with him, tumatabla  daw yung MB but he is not yet sure if he want to keep it. I once mentioned to him that my current sets of treated Neotechs are better than the set he borrowed and want to borrow it, pero hindi ko ipinahihiram for fear of having to sell the Masterbuilt  :angel:

Recabling my system improved my system's performance (to my ears) and my wife is happy because it looks a lot neater now. Re-reading my above, parang nagyayabang na yata si dimfer ah.. heck wala namang bayad magyabang  lubus lubusin na :devil: .. but seriously, I try to be as honest as I could when updating this journey.

Another highlight of my audio related journey was our trip to Newport Beach Show as reported here. I was smitten by Magico this time around at nagtangkang maging  Magician pero 'di na ako pinapasok kasi meron nang dealer sa Calgary. Inaakit ko na nga si Irv ng order ng demo unit ng S5 ayaw pa rin. Magico sound very different from VSA, both are excellent speaker manufacturers.

It took me a while to get my Memory Player running again as I had to gut everything out of the box to replace the motherboard, hard drives etc.


Happy to report that the upgrade was completed and as Mark Porzilli said, I now have the best Memory Player 64 in existance. The old hardware cannot keep up with the software upgrades and at one point the player would stall when doing the 64 bit playback. I am now playing all my files at 64/48 wav (2822 PCM) as per Mark's recommendation. Even high res downloads, I convert to this format.


When I started typing this update, I was comparing the Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances 24/192 I purchased from HDTracks to the re ripped 64/48 version and I prefer the latter. So, I have no reason to question why Mark prefer it that way. Besides, he is the smart guy (one of the few recorded with IQ of over 200 in America) and while he is still being ridiculed at various fora I just bite my tongue when people make snide remarks about a product without listening to it. When something is above their head, they call it marketing gimmick (ignorance is a bliss). I don't expect a true genius like him to build stuff like everybody else would. Mark believed that digital audios problem is software related and the best way to address it is through a software, not with more complicated dac with lot's of parts (he actually went the exact opposite way with D2D).. Mark believes that even the highest resolution DSD or 2xDSD can still benefit from the technologies he implemented with the MP64. Common assumption is hi-res downloads are not jittered, but as Mark explains downloading splits data and reassembles it, that too result in jitter. Jitter free bits cannot be accomplished by playing data directly after downloading from the internet. We spent a good amount of time talking about this while we were together in California, and I believe that the guy truly believe in what he is doing, and everything is not just a marketing ploy. I think he gave up in convincing the audiophile crowd and became deeply insulted by this. He once told me that he want to be remembered with what he did/accomplished with MP64 because it is his pet project (not Scaena, not Melos, not Pipe Dreams). I am more than convinced that my front end is one of the best available and my systems performance will only get better with the improvements in associated equipment. I have heard the highly regarded Playback Design MPS-5, Light Harmonics, 4 stack DCS, EmmLabs & a few others (hoping to hear the $37k Trinity Dac and the similarly priced TotalDac in Munich 2014) but can live happily with what I have. The YFS server was priced similarly but IMHO, the MP64 sound better, way better. The MP user interface may look backward compared to JRiver or  Amarra etc but Mark is doing it this way for a reason - he believes having too many plugins and sharing too much power degrade the sound performance, but having said that Mark heeded to the request of some MP users, JRiver is now available in MP64.

Another project I completed was the DIY finger lift for my AC4000MC tonearm.. the original lift had to be taken out when I switched to the XV-1, and as you know it, a pain  (and risky) to operate without. Also made of aluminum



My only remaining DIY project is the isolation base/footers. Here's some pictures, more details later

I spent a few hours machining rubber hockey pucks



to this



dampened (ugly) to this


I added a lot of titles to my collection in 2013, both in analog & digital. now that download sources like HDTracks and Music Direct are open to Canadian buyers, hires materials became very accessible to me..  :rock:


till the next report.

[remington]

dream set-up kaka inggit   congrats sir!

[Superman]

Nice one Ding! Happy New Year!

[jh@meeh]

Ganda ganda... ...ang pogi..



Type ko yung speakers, parang Salk Speakers