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Post by robbiegong on Jun 24, 2017 22:32:29 GMT
Another amazing pole by Lewis, who really seems to be able to turn on the magic mode when he needs it. Tomorrow is going to be a good race with Raikkonen in 3rd behind the two Mercedes. Baku one again gives a stunning sense of speed on its street circuit. Some of the cars were reaching 220mph, pretty sobering with those walls nearby. Yep ! Seems like the pressure is where he really performs, pretty much said it himself - thrives on it
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Post by robbiegong on Jun 10, 2017 22:47:46 GMT
That was a truly awesome duel between Lewis and Seb and set them far above all the other drivers. Giving Lewis Senna's helmet was a wonderful gesture and a truly special moment. No wonder he was speechless. And why I just love Lewis Hamilton. Superb and wish him all the best tomorrow.
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Post by robbiegong on May 28, 2017 22:00:58 GMT
Big shame for Raikkonen, he clearly looked pretty peeved afterwards and trying to be very diplomatic with his response. The talk is that it was set that way in favour of Vettel, although Ferrari as expected have denied that was the case.
The whole Perelli tyres and the whole associated ' getting them to work' 'in the right window' malarky is a pain in my opinion and way too much of a factor - and this is the pinnacle that is F1 ?!?
That aside, Ferrari have at long last put together a great car / package that additionally does seems to get the Pirelli's into that window and stay there a lot better than Mercedes and others at the moment so all credit to them.
Still hope Mercedes can get to the bottom of it in terms of set up and keep a real close fight / battle going to the end.
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Post by robbiegong on Apr 19, 2017 17:52:44 GMT
Absolute scumbuckets! That is an i-sheng power cord, costing £2-3 on Amazon retail. This means they will be paying pence for them before putting their Naim plug on! Of course their special plug will make all the difference ... If that's true then Naim should know better and not be looking to extract the urine out of their customers. ....and so much for regarded and trusted brands which Naim supposedly are
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Post by robbiegong on Mar 26, 2017 14:23:54 GMT
I think even if the pitstop had been ideal, Vettel had the measure of them today. Agreed, Ferrari at this stage have a great car, equal if not slightly better than Mercedes for race pace. BUT, there really isnt much in it so we now have a genuine title battle on this season between Hamilton and Vettel I'd say. This is what the fans want, not a stroll in the park for any one team so bring it on. I cant wait for race two to further gauge difference between Ferrari and Mercedes pace. On the down side the harder to overtake, follow etc is a pain as a result of the changes, strategy and race position will be vital going forward as we've seen today.
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Post by robbiegong on Mar 25, 2017 15:45:56 GMT
Yes, the Ferraris are always good at the start and I'm rather hoping Vettel gets off well, as that will truly set up a battle. Looking juicy
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Post by robbiegong on Mar 25, 2017 13:38:32 GMT
Good to see Vettel splitting the Mercedes pair in Qualy. Now the big question is: how easy is it to overtake with the new cars? Indeed, and the start will be very interesting too with the Ferrari looking so close in terms of pace now. Also we know Vettel will fancy his chances off the line. If he gets away first we'll have a race and a half as Hamilton will only chase and push push push
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Post by robbiegong on Mar 24, 2017 16:39:13 GMT
Hamilton continues to do the business, fastest in both P1 & P2. www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/39376752I do feel for Alonso though, a talent that is wasting. Give the man a decent car McClaren Honda
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Post by robbiegong on Mar 10, 2017 22:00:24 GMT
Hi Andy, Hope you are good - welcome aboard.
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Post by robbiegong on Mar 2, 2017 14:05:36 GMT
The changes this season are proper and needed. Hamilton says this is definately the fastest car he has ever driven in F1 and that is obviuosly saying something. It will seperate the men from the boys. Take a look at the second video in this clip during testing www.aol.co.uk/sport/2017/03/01/hamilton-like-a-kid-on-a-rollercoaster-on-board-new-mercedes/ the noise the speed ! Rosberg said during his visit that all the drivers were aching and hurting due to the physical demands of the new cars. It's gonna be a tough season for them all. I just pray that whilst we have the obvious speed, that the additional size doesn't completely hinder overtaking and that we dont have any 'serious' crashes.
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Post by robbiegong on Feb 27, 2017 21:22:51 GMT
Hi Jules, Not an expert but in terms of 'sound better' then tonearms are subjective like most components in this hifi game. Everything has even a bit of a character therefore one mans meat ...... That said, I do know that a decent fairly non resonant tube is a good start and decent bearings will make a difference. Just to muddy the water, Some are all over the very well engineeered SME's as they are a quality item BUT I've also read someone expressing a dislike for their 'sound' so there you go ............ Oh! there are also different pivot types, some prefer certain ones. I dont know the technicalities of the various pivots types though
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Post by robbiegong on Feb 23, 2017 15:11:00 GMT
Thats sad, for him and the family I sincerely wish them well and that things somehow improve
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Post by robbiegong on Feb 23, 2017 14:04:01 GMT
The new Mercedes has been previewed today. It does look good. www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/39063786Yes indeed, looks great, got me pretty excited when i saw this on the net earlier today. I'm really looking forward to the new season. I reckon Hamilton will be right up for it, he always is.
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Post by robbiegong on Feb 20, 2017 13:32:56 GMT
Nice one Jules, Love it ! Trying new bits / changes is a buzz. Like you, Have had some big changes and a couple more to come. All will be revealed including piccies etc when everything has come together. By the way you cant beat a tall rack so good on you fella. Keep us posted !
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Post by robbiegong on Feb 18, 2017 15:20:34 GMT
What you really really want. Or what you really really got. . I give you........ In a beautiful working near mint cover. The pink rim Island issue. Thanks to my missus and her deep pocket ! I've looked for a good one for more than 30 years. And I've found only tatty rotters ! Till last year. . so....... your holy grails anyone ? Another thread I've only just spotted. Snap ! I have one of these too. UK Original Zippo - ILPS 9241. Both cover and vinyl in fab near mint order. Couldnt believe it when I nailed it at £112. Been a massive Marley fan from day one, my all time #1 musical hero - period. The only thing I dont have and would like for it is the original baby blu insert (the vinyl sits in a MOFI anti static sleeve, cut to size) . I'd like to get hold of the original insert though one day, even if I have to buy a knackered original for it .
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Post by robbiegong on Feb 18, 2017 13:43:05 GMT
Would add that which ever way you go (Rega or Project), I wouldn't use the 2M Black. It is a stunning mm in my experience and really deserves a good arm with importantly easy vta adjust. It is very fussy regards set up and nailing vta / sra with it is critical otherwise it just wont sound the stellar cart it is.
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Post by robbiegong on Feb 18, 2017 12:02:48 GMT
Only just seen this.... We used to go out but stopped that years back. So, She woke up to a nice card and 12 red roses after I'd left the house. In the evening, she done us a lovely rib eye steak each with tasty fries ( I dont like big fat proper chips, find them too filling), mushroom, baby corn and other veg with a few glasses of Prosecco. Desert was M&S trifle for me - lovely ! and vanilla cheesecake for hers truly.
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Post by robbiegong on Feb 13, 2017 14:11:37 GMT
Yeah, give it time Jules as I've found that some upgrades can be very subtle, at the same time worthwhile
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Post by robbiegong on Feb 13, 2017 13:44:41 GMT
I was always taught that ceramics are great in radio applications but not in audio. I would tend always to use silver mica. I wonder what those transistors are? It's unusual if you can't find a reasonable match elsewhere in the catalogue. Not sure Martin, this might shed some light maybe ? www.thevintageknob.org/sansui-AU-919.html
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Post by robbiegong on Feb 13, 2017 13:09:48 GMT
Hi Jules, Not home yet but the re-cap has been done- Yippee !! Upgraded from 4 x 15,000uF to 4 x 20,000uF what ever that means. Angus is just sorting a few bits then It'll be home with daddy lol How#s your power supply settling by the way ?
Hi Martin,
I've copied a few posts from on-line that might give further insight...
The AU-919 definitely requires a very knowledgeable tech, and as said, at a minimum the black flags need to be replaced. As a part of that "minimum refurb" I would also replace the power board caps.
There are several techs who frequent and have the skills to rebuild your 919, and I believe that you would find the expense to be worth every penny.
One of those techs describes the 919 as follows:
There's been a dozen threads about the 919, and instability problems arising from what I call the 'Black Flag' ceramic caps. There are numerous values (3pf to maybe 100pf? Too lazy to look at the moment) that need to be replaced with new caps (I use silver mica).
The 919 is a very fast amp...(kinda like owning a '79 Ferrari 308 GTB. Would you expect that car to go 40 years with no maintenance?)...and like many fast things, it is always running on the ragged edge of self-destruction. The 'Black Flag' ceramic caps do NOT hold their value, and this can (and does) lead to the amp going into oscillation and burning itself up & destroying the output devices. On most amps it isn't such a big deal...fix it and move on. But the 919 has some very special superfast output transistors that are a part of the reason for it being such a special amp. And there's no replacement for these transistors...they've been out of production for many years.
So the goal with that amp is to make sure that it is as rock-solid stable as possible, to protect those Über-rare output devices.
I've owned many good amps over the years. An AU-919 ha been at the heart of my main system for four years now, and I have no interest in considering anything else.
Good luck with it. And
Values, 3pF to 33pF they are square and black, hence the nickname. They have since been confirmed as polystyrene dielectric (not ceramic). They are used all over the amplifier to prevent instability, but... they are unreliable, even more so after 40 years. After being initially identified by a member as a source of trouble, a much later follow up by another member with some revealing work on these capacitors proved that they are easily subject to failure and are thus unstable.
The capacitors themselves were probably specially commissioned by Sansui, values that low in polystyrene are pretty much NLA now - so ceramic or silver mica replacements is the way to go.
I have reconditioned 2 AU-919's, one with silver mica capacitors, and one with ceramic capacitors to replace the black flags - I compared the two after they were finished and couldn't tell the difference. Mine is the one with silver mica - that amp is staying with me forever.
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