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  1. sefischer1

    Any Bergmann "Galder" owners here ?

    I would place the pump housing on the floor and not the rack shelf. While it is very quiet and low in vibration, there is still some. I have mine way away on a carpeted floor where it is not noticeable or taking up valuable real estate.
  2. sefischer1

    Any Bergmann "Galder" owners here ?

    I wanted a dual arm solution without the awkward positioning at the front. I designed and had Johnnie fabricate this elegant solution which places the surface mounted VPI at a 45degree position. The mount is a sliding key slot locked disk which allows for distance and orientation adjustment over...
  3. sefischer1

    To SUT or not to SUT?

    An SUT provides additional gain for very low output cartridges, but no RIAA equalization. The latter requires a standard MM phono input or stage. You can't use an SUT by itself to feed a regular line level input. I
  4. sefischer1

    To SUT or not to SUT?

    It depends on how the rca to xlr is wired. If it is an adaptor made to apply a signal to 1 phase and ground the other, then it won't work properly. These would tie the rca outer and inner contacts to pins 1 and 2, and short 3 to 1. I believe there are adapters (or cables) which tie the rca outer...
  5. sefischer1

    To SUT or not to SUT?

    At the moment, I have access to the similar, but excellent, Air Tight Opus 1. I first tried it with the Ortofon ST90 (24 db gain about 16 turns ratio) which is the best match, among my several options, for my Ortofon Anna. It was not a great match for the Opus 1. I then used the Luxman EQ-500...
  6. sefischer1

    To SUT or not to SUT?

    A 10x transformer will provide 20dB of step-up or 5mV rating, which when coupled with a basic MM input of 40dB will provide a total of 60db of gain. The transformer will also transform down the 47K MM input resistance to 470 ohms which will be a good match for the MySonic cartridge.
  7. sefischer1

    I am sick of failing amplifiers

    I get it, some of you love tubes. Unfortunately, amateur designers are pushing these devices and circuits way beyond practical limits without experience of the trade offs and complications until you call them to tell them about them. Product design? That's a whole other can of worms. Let's see...
  8. sefischer1

    I am sick of failing amplifiers

    I've owned a long series of amps which have all been reliable even when bought used: Harmon Kardon Citation 19, Marantz MA 30 (4), MA 22 (4), Levinson 27.5 (2), 331 (2), Threshold T400, Accuphase A50 (2), Classe CT-500 (2), CA-5100, BAT VK150se (2), Luxman M 800a (2), Pass XA-60.5 (2)...
  9. sefischer1

    Zero Distortion: Tango Time

    Multiple TTs are great just because there are so many to love. But on a practical note, the ability to support multiple arms with different cartridges is a huge benefit. Rather that choosing on a track basis, I've found each record has a recorded personality that often favors one arm/cart combo...
  10. sefischer1

    Paul McGowan Prefers Digital

    I'm not blaming the Koetsu at all. On the contrary, it, along with my Anna, is my go to cartridge for symphonic or large scale or dense music. Similarly I like the Transfiguration Proteus for chamber and small ensemble classical, jazz etc. In this case, unexpectedly, the Ashkenazy just didn't...
  11. sefischer1

    Paul McGowan Prefers Digital

    I like both but for the last many months listen to analog mostly. Opened a new copy of Ashkenazy doing Rachmaninoff concertos and found the sound with the Koetsu Onyx way too warm, thick, dull. Atypically for a symphonic recording, my Transfiguration Proteus stepped up and sounded much better...
  12. sefischer1

    Paul McGowan Prefers Digital

    OMG! There's 36 pages of this.
  13. sefischer1

    Nagra Rip Off?

    I have a Nagra VPS which can be run off of a battery pack which is an option in the Nagra MPS which goes for several thousands. I found a 6000 mAh battery pack on Amazon which has a 12V output connection. I simply bought 2 of them and used a Y adapter to connect them in parallel for a total of...
  14. sefischer1

    Nagra Rip Off?

    The price represents not just the batteries but the product design, case, circuit boards, connectors etc. The ripoff is trying to sell a whole module rather than a new battery pack to plug in. He muses just such a thing.
  15. sefischer1

    Azimuth adjustment the easy way...

    Looks good. What I was trying to describe is that the above is a solid technique but can only resolve to an acceptable solution it the cartridge diamond mount and generator are properly aligned. Tilting a diamond tip won't correct poorly manufactured devices.
  16. sefischer1

    Azimuth adjustment the easy way...

    A better way would be to plot each channel's output level as angle is tilted. Such a plot will show a peak at a certain angle, I would think that both plots would result in an optimum output at a given angle unless the diamond edges are at different angles relative to the cantilever/coil...
  17. sefischer1

    Wilson Audio Maintenance

    I suspect that's not the case when folks are suggesting regular "refreshing". But if it is, the device is broke, so of course it needs replacement. What's interesting is that because of the way resistors, and other parts, are rated and or selected, they have some interesting tolerances. You...
  18. sefischer1

    For those with the cojones...and chequebook to match!

    I sold Levinson in the early 80s. Then, an ML 7a preamp was $5500. It was built to mil standards but was single ended, using the beautiful CAMAC connectors. I beleive, based on Honda Accord price increases and others, that would be about $17K today. Make it balanced and we're pushing $20-25K...
  19. sefischer1

    TechDAS Air Force Zero (real final photo)

    Didn't David Lee Roth say: "Money can't buy you happiness but it'll buy a big-ass yacht that'll pull up right along side it." Or something like that? I don't agree but It does make me sarcastically chuckle.
  20. sefischer1

    TechDAS Air Force Zero (real final photo)

    Yeah! Louis spent it on Marie Antoinette and look how they ended up. ;)
  21. sefischer1

    For those with the cojones...and chequebook to match!

    If you're willing to pay for it there will be.
  22. sefischer1

    TechDAS Air Force Zero (real final photo)

    I recall interest rates in the mid 80s of 13-17% but wasn't of age in the 60s to be able to recall. According to the FreddiMac site, they were between 7.3 and 7.7 in 1971 rising steadily through the 70s.
  23. sefischer1

    TechDAS Air Force Zero (real final photo)

    I worked in a TGI Fridays kitchen (no tips) for $5/hr while in college. That would been I needed 2 hrs of work for each 10 record. Today, that might be a $15/hr job (after the recent min wage increases in CA) which means up to $30 per record would be equivalent. Other states, folks only make...
  24. sefischer1

    TechDAS Air Force Zero (real final photo)

    Skip the federal tables for inflation rates. They're BS. Simply look back on what you can remember (it you're old enough) for a host of items. That will give a more realistic picture. There is much writing on how the indexes have been manipulated over the years to avoid appropriate increases in...
  25. sefischer1

    TechDAS Air Force Zero (real final photo)

    You're not suggesting $20 is too much for an LP? In the early 80's I was buying Polygram imports at a "good" price of $10 per LP. We've had real inflation of about 3-4 fold since then which means those LPs (when their were a lot more sold) would be 30-50 today. So $20 for a Blue Note is...
  26. sefischer1

    Recent Concerts You've Enjoyed

    After reading the back and forth between Ron and others, I'd be interested to see his response to your suggestion that he should try more esoteric pieces such as Bartok or fall back to appreciate the versions by prior masters. If we're taking your suggested route to classical appreciation, I...
  27. sefischer1

    Barclay Digital - the biggest scam of the 90s ?

    This is an example of why I'm still holding onto my Levinson 32. Its' functionality was and is still SOA, its' build quality and engineering were second to none. I find its' SQ still rates well when compared to current models from other vendors. (The amps of the period were perhaps over...
  28. sefischer1

    Wilson Audio Maintenance

    You're making the mistake of assuming that Ohm's law explains all you need to know. The DMM will only measure DC resistance which won't tell you everything about the device across the range of operation frequencies and load. A network analyzer will give more details but only at a low power...
  29. sefischer1

    Wilson Audio Maintenance

    I'm with you. If this was something to worry about, you'd want to start refreshing all those large resistors in your power amp periodically. Perhaps the application as a pseudo fuse is stressing them and in the process altering them?
  30. sefischer1

    Wilson Audio Maintenance

    Most tube preamps will use a coupling capacitor which pretty much eliminates any DC at the output, unless the cap has failed as a short which would likely be pretty obvious. Solid state designs, on the other hand, are often DC coupled and quite capable of having a DC offset at the output that...

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