My Little Barn
- Thread starter dcc
- Start date
When I tested several carts on the linear tracking arm, I used some MSL headshells but I preferred the Phasemation ones.
I found that the sound was a little bit "sharper". The comparison was performed with several cartridges and particularly those that I own: Transfiguration Proteus D, MSL Signature Platinum and Phasemation PP-2000.
I got the TP-1000 tape deck mounted on a 19' rack. I purchased a set of Hemingway Audio Z-core Alpha power and XLR interconnect cables as well. I will do some comparisons with my two other tape decks in the coming days.
Yes. I needed a good set of cables for my new tape deck.
I already acquired two pairs of Hemingway Audio Z-core Beta loudspeakers cable as well when I purchased the Steinheim Reference Ultime Two. I also got a Z-core Alpha power cable for the Studer tape deck. I had the chance to listen to a full loom of Z-core Alpha on my secondary system (power, loudspeakers and interconnect) and they were quite convincing as being on par or even better than my current cables.
I got the cables on loan and compared them against two other sets from Hemingway Audio: Indigo and Pro but the Z-core Alpha were better though more expensive as well.
Two weeks ago, Jean-Pascal Panchard, the CEO of Stenheim came to visit me.
He brought bespoke jumpers made by Nordost to replace the stock ones of my Reference Ultime Two loudspeakers. I could not believe the difference we obtained by just replacing the jumpers.
Jean-Pascal also advised me considering connecting the cross overs to ground boxes. The new versions of the Alumine 5 that were presented at the Munich show are now coming with a dedicated connection to ground boxes. For the Ultime 2, it was just a matter of replacing one of the screws by a longer bolt with two washers so I could hook the filters to two spare Entreq Olympus Ten boxes. Again, the improvement was noticeable.
But the biggest improvement of all came from the fact that I commissioned Stirling Trayle of Audio Systems Optimized to set up the loudspeakers.
Roy Gregory came along to help Stirling moving these heavy loudspeakers. Roy kindly asked whether he could write a piece about his visit and this has been published on his blog https://gy8.eu/blog/tempting-fate/
Roy has comprehensively described the process followed by Stirling as well as the differences before and after. Suffice to say that Stirling has donne a stellar job and I wholeheartedly recommend his services.
He brought bespoke jumpers made by Nordost to replace the stock ones of my Reference Ultime Two loudspeakers. I could not believe the difference we obtained by just replacing the jumpers.
Jean-Pascal also advised me considering connecting the cross overs to ground boxes. The new versions of the Alumine 5 that were presented at the Munich show are now coming with a dedicated connection to ground boxes. For the Ultime 2, it was just a matter of replacing one of the screws by a longer bolt with two washers so I could hook the filters to two spare Entreq Olympus Ten boxes. Again, the improvement was noticeable.
But the biggest improvement of all came from the fact that I commissioned Stirling Trayle of Audio Systems Optimized to set up the loudspeakers.
Roy Gregory came along to help Stirling moving these heavy loudspeakers. Roy kindly asked whether he could write a piece about his visit and this has been published on his blog https://gy8.eu/blog/tempting-fate/
Roy has comprehensively described the process followed by Stirling as well as the differences before and after. Suffice to say that Stirling has donne a stellar job and I wholeheartedly recommend his services.
What a beautiful inspiring report. Many thanks for it.
I share your opinion on aligning the speakers in the room with millimetre precision. I've only now come up with the idea of applying this to height and tilt. Although it is obvious.
I think I moved into a medium sized house. Scale is really up to perspective. My place is.probably 3000 feet. I bought it for the guest room over the garage and tha 5 acres of sunny land. Huge organic garden and large poultry area.I never considered that having a large house was a matter of status symbol. It is a question of personal convenience. I used to live in London and Paris prior moving back to my homeland at the time I bought the house so I know what a small apartment means. Everything is relative. The cost of real estate in my area is everything but inexpensive. Many young households are not able to settle in the communities where they grew up as kids.
The little farmhouse was just love at first sight and the love affair still continues. My two kids are in college and I see many of my friends selling their large house now that their kids have moved on. I plan to peacefully retire in my house and enjoy the system in my little barn.
There is also something unique at the end of my street (these are the true colors - it is not photoshopped). For the avid cyclist that I am, riding through the bike paths is priceless. It is like a sailor having his house along the ocean or a golf player living on a golf course.
The air is clean. When Seattle says AQI 60, its about 17 to 20 on the island. I do wonder how much the water acts as a filter stripping dust that would bounce on land.
There are a lot of Mt Bike trails on the island. I may have to swap my gravel bike for something more agressive. Possibly battery assist as a lot can be climbed trails. And the local bike shop seems to sell a lot of battery assist with shock suspensions. Seems to be the choice for the area. I do have a good path to downtown for a bike. But most of the other roads have no shoulder.
The impacts are not small. My brief to Sterling was to bring me between the 5th and 7th row of a medium size concert hall (my personal references being Studio 1 and Studio 4 at Brussels Flagey and the currently closed for renovation Brussels Conservatoire concert hall).
Sterling has achieved this by getting the soundstage higher up but also filling the whole space in front of me. The outcome is just staggering.
Instead of considering acquiring a new power cable, I would definitely recommend calling Sterling for dialling in the loudspeakers.
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