My Little Barn
- Thread starter dcc
- Start date
I love the room, Sir. Looks an uplifting place to listen to renaissance, baroque and early classical 
Thank you
I love the room, Sir. Looks an uplifting place to listen to renaissance, baroque and early classical
I guess that Ked briefed you about his short visit back in early May
The first days of Autumn with a sharp drop of temperature. It was about time to put the listening place on fire and to open a bottle of red wine. This is going to be good weekend.
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Latest upgrades to the A80 tape deck – Part 1
I got my tape deck back after an overhaul and a series of upgrades.
The overhaul comprises:
- New gold XLR connectors from Neutrik;
- New bearings for both spooling motors as well as new brakes;
- The replacement of all out of specs components on the transport control cards (few IC, capacitors and resistors).
I got my tape deck back after an overhaul and a series of upgrades.
The overhaul comprises:
- New gold XLR connectors from Neutrik;
- New bearings for both spooling motors as well as new brakes;
- The replacement of all out of specs components on the transport control cards (few IC, capacitors and resistors).
Latest upgrades to the A80 tape deck – Part 2
The upgrade comprises:
- The installation of the tape tension amplifiers from MTSL/Todor Dimitrov;
- The enhancement of the bespoke stabilizer card;
- The modification of the VU-meter bridge. The switches are bypassed by high quality relays installed on custom designed PCBs. Four new high precision potentiometers from DACT are replacing the old ones. New Vu-meters were fitted as well and a small circuit board was added which delays the start of the VU-meters until the power supply is fully stabilised. This prevents the VU-meter needles from swinging when firing up the tape deck;
- The bypass of the output transformers by a fully balanced circuit which is installed on a custom made audio card. The new circuit is much more linear than the original design.
The upgrade comprises:
- The installation of the tape tension amplifiers from MTSL/Todor Dimitrov;
- The enhancement of the bespoke stabilizer card;
- The modification of the VU-meter bridge. The switches are bypassed by high quality relays installed on custom designed PCBs. Four new high precision potentiometers from DACT are replacing the old ones. New Vu-meters were fitted as well and a small circuit board was added which delays the start of the VU-meters until the power supply is fully stabilised. This prevents the VU-meter needles from swinging when firing up the tape deck;
- The bypass of the output transformers by a fully balanced circuit which is installed on a custom made audio card. The new circuit is much more linear than the original design.
Latest upgrades to the A80 tape deck – Part 3
Finally, larger castors are replacing the original ones. This has enabled to increase the clearance below the trolley so the Tenor Audio power amp and its dedicated pneumatic Stacore platform could fit beneath the tape deck.
The sonic improvements are not marginal. My tech has delivered beyond my expectations. The sound is more linear with greater transparency and enhanced dynamics.
Finally, larger castors are replacing the original ones. This has enabled to increase the clearance below the trolley so the Tenor Audio power amp and its dedicated pneumatic Stacore platform could fit beneath the tape deck.
The sonic improvements are not marginal. My tech has delivered beyond my expectations. The sound is more linear with greater transparency and enhanced dynamics.
DCC, absolutely fantastic. We also bought an old building, our 1861 chapel, and it too was love at first sight. In London, it would have cost 5x what we paid fot it here, 80 miles from The Smoke. Cycling is great around here, and being next to water is pretty therapeutic. You couldn't get me to move back, even though in effect I've taken a pay cut to end up here, and feeding this beast of a building means my heavy lifting components upgrading is kinda behind me. I'm glad to see you're able to keep servicing this crazy hobby of ours!
One Q, was there any alternative to you siting yr gear on the front wall?
Could you have gone for side wall siting, or even behind you, a la Audioquattr?
Congrats on Stacore rack, for me the Advanced I have under my tt is in top 3 of most dramatic changes in my system and has both saved and revitalised my lps enjoyment. Pivotal change here just doesn't do the Stacore justice.
One Q, was there any alternative to you siting yr gear on the front wall?
Could you have gone for side wall siting, or even behind you, a la Audioquattr?
Congrats on Stacore rack, for me the Advanced I have under my tt is in top 3 of most dramatic changes in my system and has both saved and revitalised my lps enjoyment. Pivotal change here just doesn't do the Stacore justice.
Hi Mark,
My barn is really small compared to Audioquattr's listening room. This was the only possible arrangement for the system. The Stacore rack and platforms are indeed fantastic products.
Kind regards,
Denis
Cathedral roof/30° eaves really works here too, despite mine starting much lower than yours. I'd always imagined this would not work re eaves related reflections. But our experience says otherwise.
My only other suggestion to you would be to consider adding diffusion to your door.
My only other suggestion to you would be to consider adding diffusion to your door.
Yes but I am sometimes lazy and I often forget to install the panel. I just did it this early afternoon.
Great work on the A80! Can I ask what were the ICs that were out of spec?Latest upgrades to the A80 tape deck – Part 1
I got my tape deck back after an overhaul and a series of upgrades.
The overhaul comprises:
- New gold XLR connectors from Neutrik;
- New bearings for both spooling motors as well as new brakes;
- The replacement of all out of specs components on the transport control cards (few IC, capacitors and resistors).
I just checked as my tech gave me all the parts he replaced and I found one little IC among all the capacitors and resistors. I will need to ask him on which transport control card it was located.
DCC, maybe you can advise me. I'm struggling a bit w the SMT website, hopefully their products create a clearer result than my search LOL.
I'm looking at a potentially serious application of panels in my room, and have whittled contenders down to GIK, Accustica Applicata, Tube Traps and SMT.
How did you decide on them, and then go ahead? I have a potential 14x6 area of front wall I can apply diffusors to, plus the usual corner traps and side walls reflection points.
I'm looking at a potentially serious application of panels in my room, and have whittled contenders down to GIK, Accustica Applicata, Tube Traps and SMT.
How did you decide on them, and then go ahead? I have a potential 14x6 area of front wall I can apply diffusors to, plus the usual corner traps and side walls reflection points.
Hi Mark,
I reckon that the SMT website is confusing and not up to date.
My listening room is also the living room. The treatment had to be stealthy. The large acrylic diffusers from SMT were somehow the obvious choice as they are not too visually intrusive.
Flyer, who is a close friend and a member here helped me in the process. He has a fully treated SMT room. He made all the measurements and interacted with Mats, SMT’s boss, who validated the contemplated options.
Kind regards,
Denis
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