upgrade

At the request of AK member @greymatter, a very nice Sansui CA-3000 was the subject of a complete restoration and upgrade. Part 1: F-2486 Equalizer (Phono) Circuit Board In the CA-3000, the phono stage consists of a pair of F-2486 boards, one for each channel. Signal Path Components The...

Looking to upgrade my current bookshelf speakers. Right now I have Reference Audio R50S. Speakers are to be used as 2 channel setup (plus subwoofer if needed) hooked up to a Yamaha RX-V870 receiver. Used only for music (primarily records) in a small office/music room. Below are my current...

I have an Accuphase 180w/channel already, as well as Marantz 1120 and Luxman R-1070. The Accuphase blows away the latter (being 4x the price etc.) but now I'm looking for a McIntosh to replace the the Marantz and Luxman because I'm looking for an upgrade. I could get another (a cheaper)...

I currently have a set of KEF Reference Model One and I love them. However, I came accross a pair of Reference Model 103/4 on a local listing website that need internal speaker refoam. The price is accordingly (cheap) so I was wondering if it could be a nice upgrade if I buy then refoam them?

I currently have a Technics sl-J2 which sounds almost fantastic to my ears but I do hear some motor noise when things are real quiet (which isn't all that often). I'm considering upgrading but would hate to spend up to $500 to find little improvement. I am considering the new Fluance RT-85...

A little while ago (last summer), a very nice AU-777A was on the workbench for a complete restoration and upgrade. Part 1: HEAD PRE-AMP BLOCK (F-1194) The F-1194 board includes the phono stage (600-series components) and the line level stage (700-series components). A. Phono Stage The...

https://www.muffsy.com/muffsy-pp4.html I saw where someone has replaced the preamp in an HK unit and I thought was an interesting idea for an upgrade for some of my 2200 series stuff. I really like the tunability of the preamp. Even if no, I might do it just because i can right now with the...

I'm looking to upgrade a second system for my kitchen. My main system is running a Thorens TD 160, which is fully manual and I love it. I had a Dual 1257 for my second system, which was "ok", but the auto function stopped working. Well, it didn't stop completely. It pretty much drops the...

After using my surround sound setup for a while and switching to stereo later, I'm looking for something more serious. Something more mature, refined and of quality. But first some background. My first surround sound setup consisted of the following parts: Fronts - Magnat Vector 77 Center -...

IDK has started selling these. That's right...real granite side panels made from stone from the quarries near Sakuragawa City in Ibaraki Prefecture. (The major stone-works center here in Japan.) They sell granite feet / insulators too. The side panels are priced at roughly $800 USD. The...

I recently upgraded my amp and CD player. I had an Onkyo A-9050 amp with a Yamaha CD-C600, which I replaced with a Peachtree Audio Nova Amp, and Denon DCD-800NE CD/MP3 player. The difference was amazing- my Polks woke up from their slumber and started to sing. And though it's a cliche, I heard...

On the bench is a Sanusi AU-555A that was sent in by an AK member for repair and upgrade. The background on this unit: the owner had this unit recapped (approximately a year ago by a tech local to him), but was less than satisfied with the results. Aside from the lackluster sound following the...

Hey fellow AKer's, I've come to you once again for advice. I have the opportunity to purchase an AR XA with the original box, pretty minty shape. I have searched on line for the Mayware Formula 4, MKIII tone arm, but to no avail. Needless to say I have interest in upgrading not only the tonearm...

Hello,I just ordered this Pmount stylus from lp gear and wondered if anyone has any experience with it, says it has carbon fiber cantilever and is "spectra" elliptical.Any thoughts?

At my cabin I have a Panasonic SA-PMX9 micro stereo system that is a few years old. These systems were fairly good and fairly well reviewed at the time they came out (https://www.whathifi.com/panasonic/sc-pmx9db/review). I was never all that satisfied with the speakers though. They were a bit...

Vague question, I know. Are there any threads out there indicating how to determine what to replace, what to replace it with, and how to replace it? I'm completely new to circuitry stuff, so approach as if I know nothing, which is pretty accurate. I'm trying to update a Nikko Alpha 1 and Beta 1...

Hey guys, I'm currently running a Rotel RA-1520 integrated with the digital duties handled by a Chord MoJo and the vinyl routed through a Parasound ZPhono USB. Speakers are JMLab/Focal Electra 926. The Rotel puts out 60wpc and the room is 12x12. I have noticed the NAD C388 and am wondering if...

A very nice Sansui AU-555A was on the workbench for a complete restoration and upgrade. Part 1: Power Supply The stock C001 capacitor (2200µF/63V) was replaced with a 6800µF/80V low ESR type; note that the voltage rating of the replacement was increased to 80V since this capacitor is...

Hi! I'll be picking up my first turntable this Saturday, the Thorens TD 126 MKIII. I have no idea what I'm doing, but it seems to me to be decent. I'm paying 400 for it, and have 2-300 more to spend on upgrades. A friend is giving me new a cartridge to use, so I won't need an upgrade there. My...

I have a pair of Boston Acoustics HD5 bookshelf speakers that I am using as a guinea pig of sorts. I refoamed the woofer over the weekend and much to my surprise, it worked. Hooray! And now, just for the heck of it, I want to upgrade the capacitor in the crossover. Refer to the photo attached to...

Hello Audio Karma, I'm trying to fix an AR-XA that's having tonearm-related issues. There are 2 problems I'm working with. First, I don't have the original headshell and second, the plastic tip of the tonearm is damaged, so it couldn't hold the headship if I did. I'd love to hear...

Hi everyone! I recently picked up a Pioneer PL-510A from a pawn shop that came with a Technics headshell, Shure M97 cartridge, and Shure N97EJ stylus. It's running and sounding pretty good so far. I thought a new stylus would be a good next step before investing in records, so I emailed Shure...

Kind of a long story and wasn't sure where to post. I'm new to posting on the forum (have used it as a resource plenty) and have always used a low budget setup at home. I've had and really enjoyed an HK 730 paired with kef Carlton iii's. Audio is either coming from my technics 1200 mkII or...

Greetings all, In a budget-minded attempt to improve my modest 2 channel system I've managed to take a step backward and could use some counsel on how to proceed from here. I started with an 80's Yamaha A-1000 integrated (not to be confused with the newer A-S1000) boasting 120 watts...

A nice 2270 was on the bench for restoration/upgrade of the power supply, preamplifier, power amplifier and phono stages. Main Power Capacitors The original Elna 9,000µF/55V capacitors were replaced with Kemet 15,000µF/63V capacitors. Note that the original capacitors measured ~11,800µF at...