System of the day

[rlisin]

I have my main rig in the living room that I don't really change much, but my other system (which I do most listening on) changes almost every day. I'm really happy with today's setup:

Turntable: Lenco LRP 5650 DDQ with Grado Black
CD/SACD: Sony SCD-XB790 QS
Files: laptop (optical out) -> Yamaha AP-U70 serving as DAC
Preamp: Harman/Kardon HK 725
Power amp: Stanford Audio Research B 200
Meter: Monacor PLM-106
Speakers: Quadral Rondo

TT, SACDP, pre, power amp and meter:

The Yammy on DAC duty (it's on my desk now):

Quadral Rondos:

Changes I made today:

I connected the Sony player to listen to some SACDs. Until yesterday I used UDCM-M7 CD changer I have conveniently placed on my desk, through the Yamaha's DAC. It needs a DAC, on its own it lacks detail and brilliance. The Sony sounds fine without external DAC. Not great, so I will try another player soon.

H/K pre replaced a Pioneer MA-62 mixer, and I added the Monacor meter. I tried the H/K with Stanford before and it hummed like crazy. So I connected the Pioneer mixer instead and played around with it for a few days. In the meantime it turned out the H/K simply picked up interference from the amp's transformer when it was directly on top of it. When I tried it somewhere else background was nice and quiet. So today I added the Monacor meter as a distance between the pre and power amp, tried the H/K pre again, and hum no more

 

[Rome]

Nice pieces!

Rome

 

[S Levi W]

cool

 

[rlisin]

Thanks!

Well, I thought the next change would be the CDP or maybe trying this set with different speakers, but yesterday I finished working on the TT that I got a while ago. It needed an IC wire, new AC plug, cleaning switches and pitch pot, and speed readjustment - with pitch set to max it was still a tad too slow. I did the cleaning and readjusted the speed with trim pots on the PCB earlier, yesterday I finally soldered in a new IC wire and changed the AC plug. So I put it in the system instead of the Lenco, and I will use it for a day or two to see how it behaves. So far so good

It is a UNIVERSUM FP 895, identical to SCHNEIDER TEAM 6012P. Both these brands are German, but under the hood the turntable is actually a Technics, all parts made by Matsushita. Semiautomatic direct drive (not automatic like it says on the front), it has an Audio Technica AT-70 cart. The thing is a bit larger than standard, 20 inches wide.

 

[rlisin]

Yesterday's change:

I switched to different speakers, Monitor Audio MA 303s. Here's a photo of them when I used them with a B&O Beomaster 3400 few months ago:

They sounded veiled, which was not how I remembered them. So I started experimenting with cables and replaced the IC from pre to power amp (old plain Japanese wire I used because it was short) with a Nordost Solar Wind IC borrowed from another system. Veil gone
Then I remembered reading about using cat 5e wire for audio sat down and soldered together 2 short ICc and tried them. Not sure if it's as good as the Nordost, but definitely much better than the Japanese wire I had used before. So I left the cat 5e ICs in place.

Poor quality wire can certainly spoil the sound, especially if it carries weak signal from pre to power amp. I did not notice such difference when I used the same cable between source and amp. Seems I've found a good place to test cables.

 

[cube-tube]

Pretty kitty! Kind of looks like our Charlie. She likes audio equipment as well.

Also, what sub is that? Looks like it has dual 8's in it.

 

[jhoyt]

Cats are an essential part of the audio experience!

 

[rlisin]

That's Stefan. He's a great advocate of vinyl revival

The sub is a passive Philips 22 AV 1992, part of a set with omnidirectional pyramid mid/hi range speakers 22 AV 1993. Yes, it has two 8'' woofers. Right now I have substitutes in it, the original woofers are waiting for new surrounds. The subwoofer mostly serves as a stand, I sometimes use it with small bookshelf speakers. The whole set looks like this:

There is also a cooler Philips speaker set with this pyramids, it has two separate woofers (22 AV 1994) instead of one. I have that one as well:

The speakers are great for casual listening, they have a very nice tonal balance, and due omnidirectional design they fill the entire room with sound.

 

[rlisin]

And today's change:

I switched meters. I replaced Monacor PLM-106 with Panasonic AG-DA100. The Panasonic is actually a signal distributor (2 inputs, 10 outputs), but I mostly use it as meter or to bring down the signal level of loud sources for some vintage amps that don't like strong input signal. More importantly, it is a bit higher and has thicker cover than the Monacor, so it shields the preamp a bit better from the power amp's transformer. And it has wiper meters

 

[jsg1974]

you have some really cool stuff :thmbsp:

 

[rlisin]

Thanks! Unfortunately, like so many people here, I'm getting to the point of having too much cool stuff. No, scratch that, I'm already there I do my best to sell everything I don't like, but the problem is that I like most of the gear I have. That's one of the reasons I change this system so much, I rotate gear so that it doesn't die from sitting on shelves unused for too long. And catch any issues before they become real problems. Like with that Harman preamp, when I put it in rotation this time it turned out it developed a bad joint on one of the output jacks ground (hellish noise), and the output relay started acting up.
Well, at least I have an excuse to fiddle with my system almost every day.

 

[rlisin]

Today's change:

I finally took out another SACD player, Onkyo C-S5VL and replaced the Sony. I had been using the Sony since I had a quad amp in the system (Sony has multichannel outputs), but for stereo the Onkyo is better.

I replaced pre/power amp with a receiver. At first I used Yamaha CR-700 that got back from my tech (crackling noise in the tuner caused by a faulty transistor) to test it after repairs, but it turned out it has to go back, FM stereo doesn't work. So ultimately I decided to go with one of my favorites, Sonab R3000.

Speakers - still Monitor Audio MA 303. I also kept Panasonic AG-DA100 in the system, this time also used as a source selector and input signal attenuator. The Sonab has sensitive inputs (100 mV/100 k) and channel imbalance at low volume setting. Normally I would replace the volume pot, but there are no replacements for this one, strange pot with a very long shaft. So I use the Panasonic to get the input signal down to the point where I can listen at low volume with both channels at the same level.

The Sonab has an amazingly pleasant sound, very smooth but detailed at the same time. It is a bit brighter than the Harman/Stanford combo. Tone controls are a bit strange: the 'Tone Balance' knob adjusts at 1 kHz (+/- 5.5 dB) and 10 kHz (+/- 4.5 dB). 'Bass Adjust' adjusts at 50 Hz (+/- 14 dB). And there is a loudness filter that's always on (no 'loudness' or 'linear' switch) and variable depending on the volume pot setting. I normally don't use loudness, but Sonab did a really good job on this one, it sounds just right with controls centered.

 

[rlisin]

My tech had a second go at Yamaha CR-700 (two more bad transistors he missed at first) and I picked it up. It's already in the system, FM stereo works now
It's a very nice receiver, from Yamaha's first line. More info and pics here: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=548011

 

[rlisin]

Having tested the Yamaha receiver and listened to it for a few days (everything works fine now), I made another change yesterday: I connected a very interesting German amp from mid-80s, possibly the only one here on AK, Abacus Rieder Amp 50.

Like all Abacus amplifiers, this amp was hand assembled in Germany (it looks a bit like a DIY project), and it has a few interesting features. For example, the balance control does not change overall gain, but distribution, meaning that when you turn it to the left, it decreases the volume of the right channel and increases the volume of the left channel.

There are two line level outputs, each with it's own source selector, independent of the main source selector and active inputs whose buffer stages sit directly on the RCA input jacks. Abacus didn't bother with naming the inputs, there's P for Phono and line level inputs 1-5. The amp has pre out/main in jacks, so it can be used as a power amp only, pre amp only, or with a graphic EQ.

The speaker on/off switch has 4 positions: speakers on without muting, speakers on with muting -20 dB, speakers off with muting -20 dB, speakers off without muting - the latter two for listening with headphones. The muting circuit is in the power amp section, which is a very good idea - it attenuates the preamp's own noise, and it can be used when the Abacus works as a power amp only.

The power amp section itself is particularly interesting. It is based on the so-called Rieder amp: Joachim Rieder's amp circuit in which output signal is taken not from the emitter but from the collector of a transistor. According to Abacus, this makes the amp stable regardless of load, negative feedback does not matter, speaker cables and don't matter (Abacus actually recommend using plain zip speaker cords and consumer-grade interconnects with their amps), and the amp is supposed to "control speakers with an iron grip". Which it does. The amp has better bass control than beefy dual mono power amps with twice the wattage. A very good amp.

The rest of the system is the same for now, Onkyo Onkyo C-S5VL SACDP, UNIVERSUM FP 895 TT, laptop with Yamaha DAC, Monitor Audio MA 303s. Panasonic AG-DA100 is still in the system, but this time only for the fun of jumping meters, connected to one of the amp's line level outputs.

 

[rlisin]

More changes yesterday and today.

I moved Monitor Audio MA 303s to the HT system in the living room. They have better bass and SQ than the speakers I had there, so I made a swap. The other speakers, now in this system, are Kenwood LS 150 F. They're actually not bad, but I don't need them anymore and will sell them first chance I get. Or move them to our summer house for now and sell them in autumn. They were made for Kenwood in Germany in early 90s, and the main reason I bought them in the first place were the Audax tweeters I needed for much better JMlab Laureates. The Kenwoods now have replacement tweeters (Quadral), which work well. In any case, they served their purpose here. But until I sell or move them, I might as well listen to them some more.

And I brought back home another receiver after repairs: Toshiba SA-300L.

It's a 1973 low power receiver (14 WPC into 8 ohms), looks nice and sounds as good as comparable Pioneers, Marantzes and Sansuis. A year ago I gave it to my mother with small speakers. One year and apartment renovation later, the poor Toshiba had half of speaker connectors broken, half of the lamps out, and the FM tuner barely working - distorting and no more stereo. So I replaced it with a BOTL National Panasonic receiver, which is more than enough for my mother (she only listens to talk radio anyway), and I prefer that she kills that one. The Toshiba is already fixed, now I'll have to find it a better home. Sounds really good with the Kenwood speakers, too.

 

[guiller]

Nice gear! Thanks for the sharing.

 

[rlisin]

Thanks! The saga will continue

 

[rlisin]

... and it does.

A buyer came yesterday and I had to disconnect the Toshiba anyway so that he could test the pre and power amp he wanted to buy (and bought), so I made another change.

And now for something completely different: Marantz MR2021 'Layla'. A designer/lifestyle stereo center - receiver with built-in CD player that looks like an induction hob. I bought it few years ago for my Marantz collection and like to play with it every now and then.

The top is made of real glass and all of it is a CD door - when you press the button, it slides a bit to the back and then the front slowly lifts, revealing a toploader mechanism. Very cool.

The 'Layla' has a 20 WPC amp that actually isn't half bad for a 'lifestyle' system and can even take 4 ohms load. People complained about weak bass (when used without subwoofer) and too bassy sound (with subwoofer), but I think that's because this unit was was sold with small speakers that didn't do it justice. I have the speakers too and only use them to test new gear. With good speakers this system still is no match for separates, but sounds really good for a low power receiver that it is.

Yesterday I listened with Quadral Rondos (pic on the first page), today I decided to see how it handles 'adult' job and connected my main speakers: Quadral Aurum 5. Again, no match for separates, but no complaints either

 

[Gnesen]

Wow. I've never seen anything quite like that 'Layla'. You have some very interesting gear. I wonder if a lot of it was only sold in the European market.

 

[rlisin]

The 'Layla' was available in the US (and obviously in Asia), but much too expensive - $1000 for a decent-sounding but low power fashion statement with speakers that were mediocre at best. No wonder it's rare, not many were sold. It doesn't sell well second hand either, mainly because sellers try to get $200-300 for it, and it's worth maybe half that. I got mine cheap (about $65, and that's including new laser for the CDP), but that was lucky.

I think not many Quadral speakers made it to the US. Sonab is rare too, although at least one AKer in the US used to own the R3000. The Universum brand was for German market only (but most Universums have Japanese guts). Some of these things are simply rare (also in Europe) - Beomaster 3400 is one of the most rarely seen B&O receivers I know, the Philips pyramid speakers are rare too. And I could be the only AKer to ever own a Stanford or Abacus amp.

But I do have (and like) more common gear too, like that little Toshiba receiver, so there will be familiar faces