Thanks for the many kind comments Steve. I was occupied all day since your post so if I may respond, in no particular order, to some very wonderful and thoughtful comments,
Steve and Ked. Puhleeze. You both know no system is perfect and mine is far from it. The deviations from "perfect" can take up too much of my thinking on occasion but then again, that's what the hobby is all about. Yes, I can think of a few things that can be improved. Taming the vertical comb filter effect has been an effort whereby I think I have more to do. Its a limitation of the speaker's line source approach using the 4 wide-band midrange drivers. The line source design also has tremendous advantages, but that comb filter thing can be better engineered. I also have to remember the speaker is nearly 10 years old and component technology has changed, particularly in capacitors. Do I want to change out my caps to Dueland or Mundorfs?? Will that matter? Perhaps so, but I’m not crazy about taking this project on.
Steve, what you are seeing is not the turntable motor. That is in the table itself. What you see is an industrial B&K low noise, low ripple power supply. I threw away the Goldmund piece of crap that was basically a simple diode half wave rectifier years ago. The B&K PS is an important key to excellent image stability. (BTW, I was delighted to visit David K and see that he too, uses mostly industrial power supplies for his gear. I honestly don't know why more audiophiles don't do this. They are inexpensive and often far better than what comes with "hi end" gear. )
Steve, post #11. Holy crap. I have got to clean my damn volume control. I’m embarrassed but in my defense, I rarely see it in bright light! Thanks a lot for making me vomit at my own system…….
Microstrip. I used the auto tuning feature of the Gotham v2. In fact, you only have two choices, turn it off, or use it according to their calibration. I believe their engineering is very effective. I’m generally very sensitive to low frequency performance that isn’t relatively linear and smooth. Sometimes, horrible notches or augmentation results. This occurred even though I had precise control with my previous TacT unit. With the v2, the bottom is refreshingly linear, suggesting their 18 point dsp EQ system works quite well.
Mike L. You know I love you buddy but we will have to respectfully agree to disagree on the rhodium vs gold issue. However, I want to be clear about any implications regarding my preference as it applies to other systems. Remember, Steve did not do the actual experiment of flipping between R and G outlets in my system. Rather, he did a change on one set of outlets in his system (and his considering changing more). In my own system, my preference remains for G based on many switching experiments repeated for weeks and which are easily accomplished. But as we all know, what may work well in any system may be largely due to the associated gear that is used and the sonic signature that is sought. I have no doubt some folks may prefer one over the other. In the scheme of things high end, making changes like these are relatively cheap. It will be easy for anyone who wishes, to do the experiment in their own system. The other comment I would make is that the plastic covers are intentional. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to use metal over non-conductive material but perhaps that’s just me. One might argue that if the entire casing were a Faraday cage, that could be of benefit. But other than that, I just don’t get the attraction to metal covers.
Steve, that is NOT the Camina Burana I played (That may be what Shazam turned up in error). Rather it was this one with Eugen Jochem conducting the Berlin Opera Orchestra and Chorus.
You cannot hear this and fail to grasp why many considered Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau one of the greatest baritones whoever lived. The recording quality, the imaging and the dynamic range are indeed truly spectacular.
Davey F. Totally agree about the Benz Ruby II. To be honest, I’ve had an LPS sitting on my shelf for about 6 months because I’m afraid of losing the sound I have with the Ruby II. I think all audiophiles have had the experience of getting their system to the sweet spot, only to lose it with some small change that for the life of you, you can’t get back, sometimes for a long time; and sometimes, never! That’s what I am up against at the moment. But suspect I will take the plunge shortly.
Marty
