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Post by jandl100 on Feb 4, 2015 16:35:48 GMT
Yup, thanks - I've seen that one!
Do the Google Translate thing and you'll see that it is no longer available.
However, a semblance of sanity has been restored .... I went back to my previously-beloved Orty MC25FL moving coil cart today - and I am back in lurv with it! So the GAS mm seems to be retiring to spares status. It is damn good, though, and runs a good mc cart seriously close!
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Post by julesd68 on Feb 4, 2015 16:40:47 GMT
You're getting through some very interesting gear there Jerry. I'd be interested to know what prompted your vinyl renaissance ... ... a treasure trove of charity shop mint classical vinyl.
Luckily it started to turn up before I managed to sell my LP rig!
Must be 50%+ LP listening at the moment.  How wonderful! Ebay is very pricey now for good quality classical vinyl and I find myself buying less and less there, especially with the postage costs ... I find charity shops can of course be very hit and miss in terms of quality and prices for vinyl but my local Oxfam is very good indeed for classical vinyl - their stock changes regularly and I can find near mint lps for only a pound or so ... Give them a scrub on the RCM and it's happy days! |
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Post by ChrisB on Feb 25, 2015 7:16:13 GMT
How did the Jasmine Audio phono stage stand in the great scheme of Jerrythings, Jerry? Any good in the longer term?
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 27, 2015 6:38:37 GMT
Yep, still using it Chris.
A system update is required I see ....
Recent arrival.
Linn Asak cartridge retipped by VdH.
A bit of a booger to set up :
Non-standard pin size - why?  - necessitating 4 gentle squeezes with needle-nose pliers
& what a shallow cartridge this is! - a couple of spacers twixt cart and headshell needed and arm height at minimum.
But, the sound - well, really pleasing. Exceptional midrange clarity and very quick and clean on transients. Powerful dynamics with good heft and control in the bass. Very fine 3D imaging.
The low output (0.2mV?) does challenge my Jasmine phonostage a bit even with its 70dB gain on MC with a bit of hum starting to creep in when the wick needs turning up. It's acceptable, but I do also have an A&R H10 vintage active gain doodad which sorts the issue nicely and sounds a tad better, too.
Overall the effect is definitely very enjoyable and is mounting a distinct challenge to my fave Ortofon MC25FL !
Asak's have a rep for not being the best at hugging the grooves, but the VdH tip seems to track AOK on music, so I whipped my Hifi Sound test LP out and it tracks the lower level modulation grooves fine (12 dB lateral and 8dB vertical) at 2g, and loses it a bit on the higher level tracks, but just a bit of tizz, not gross.
Does this make me a Flat Earther?  
Marco on AOS recommended the old Lentek MC stepup as a great match for the original Asak, so I invested in one of those, too.
Seen here with the pretty lass, aka Jasmine
Marco is right - super-duper. Bucketloads more presence, clarity, dynamics - and, ooo, the bass. Sounds like it's dropped another half octave and is strong and taut.
The Lentek was a little thin-sounding from the off, but got into its stride after 30 minutes or so.
Yum, an excellent upgrade, that Marco dude has good ears! |
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Post by ChrisB on Feb 27, 2015 6:57:59 GMT
An Asak! A friend of mine recently bought one from Barry (member here and at AoS) and he's using one of the Ifi phono stages with it. He's struggling with the settings to find a result he likes. He borrowed my LFD phono stage for a while and loved the combination.
It's great that you like the Jasmine.
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Post by julesd68 on Feb 27, 2015 9:42:13 GMT
The Lentek was a little thin-sounding from the off, but got into its stride after 30 minutes or so.
Yum, an excellent upgrade, that Marco dude has good ears! I'm looking forward to trying my Lentek when a suitable cart comes along... |
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 27, 2015 9:46:56 GMT
An Asak! A friend of mine recently bought one from Barry (member here and at AoS) and he's using one of the Ifi phono stages with it. He's struggling with the settings to find a result he likes. He borrowed my LFD phono stage for a while and loved the combination. It's great that you like the Jasmine. Hmm, strange. Tastes differ maybe - I just popped the VdH-Asak in, dialled in 250 Ohms on the Jasmine (I had been advised around 300 Ohms is optimum, but that was the nearest Jasmine could get, bless her) and it was great! Then along came the Lentek fixed at 100 Ohms. That's even greater! Maybe I am just easy to please.
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Post by MartinT on Feb 28, 2015 8:40:43 GMT
The Lenteks are getting on a bit now. I wonder if a re-cap would get a little more performance still from yours?
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 2, 2015 8:39:24 GMT
Yes, Martin, I might look into getting the Lentek refurbed .... but it sounds really good at the moment, so I'm not that fussed, and I wouldn't want to do without it while it was being sorted.
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Post by MartinT on Mar 2, 2015 10:22:05 GMT
Buy another one as a spare?  |
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 9, 2015 18:03:13 GMT
I bought this monster a few months ago - Rotel RA1412 - 'untested' on eBay, so of course it didn't work.  But I only intended it as an ornament anyway. I think it looks amazing.  -- a few button and switch covers missing, and only one meter light works - but hey, at my vintage I'm not exactly 100% either. But recently I wanted my big NAD amp checked out, so I took the Rotel along to the hifi doc as well to see if anything could be done .... .... 1 week and £84.70 later it is back home and sounding WONDERFUL !!  There's excellent clarity, superb bass control and a simply magisterial sense of power, and while not tonally neutral it has a 'musical' rose-tinted colouration that is very enjoyable. This is now my headphone amp, and I am sure it will be driving my speakers now & then as well. I'll now be taking the beast to the Wigwam's Scalford show this year, along with the NAD S300 amp - come and visit us - Syndicate 2, 1st floor.  |
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Post by ChrisB on Mar 9, 2015 18:30:50 GMT
He-heh! And you didn't want a big 'un like the Sony receiver!
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 9, 2015 22:08:25 GMT
Well, maybe I didn't want two bigguns!  |
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Post by ChrisB on Mar 9, 2015 22:20:29 GMT
Wimp!
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 10, 2015 7:29:47 GMT
Whoa! - really clicked last night - there's a magical synergy between the Rotel beast and my vintage Technics SL-P1200 CD player.
The Techie had been languishing for months, unloved unwanted  - but no longer!
Accurate? - no, not especially, I suspect - but the combo just latches on to the emotional content of the music like a crazed thing! In-room presence and focus in spades.
I think I'll just throw my modern high-end electronics gear in the tip - who needs it?!
And the bass - mygawd, the bass from the Rotel amp. Quite astonishingly powerful and well controlled.
And the imaging - wow - hugely atmospheric and enveloping, but somehow it still remains well focussed.
Yeah, I'm in love - again.
This setup really is hugely entertaining - I'm re-discovering my music collection - again!
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Post by ChrisB on Mar 10, 2015 7:51:38 GMT
Sound like an experiment that paid off.
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Post by MartinT on Mar 10, 2015 8:01:21 GMT
I remember that about the Technics - when it worked!
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 10, 2015 8:53:58 GMT
Yes, you were unlucky with your Techie cdp, Martin - or maybe I am just lucky with mine. It's never missed a beat and it gives me remote control of volume with the ancient Rotel amp! I've had it advertised for months but, boy, am I happy I didn't manage to sell it!  Now definitely not for sale. |
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Post by MartinT on Mar 10, 2015 11:09:21 GMT
Ah, good to hear. A good one is definitely a keeper |
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 11, 2015 7:22:05 GMT
Much more listening yesterday .... Curious findings vis a vis the Techie cdp and the Rotel amp .... The Techie SL-P1200 cdp does the spacious-focussed imaging thing in spades, which is great for classical and acoustic music of most sorts; very enjoyable in-room presence and believability - but when I really want to get down and boogie my Wyred4Sound DAC1 just blows it away in terms of sheer hi-rez precision and slammy power - it makes the Rotel amp sound to have much more than its rated 110wpc - Dream Theater is wall-flexingly awesome!  I shall be keeping both digital sources for the nonce. |
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There's excellent clarity, superb bass control and a simply magisterial sense of power, and while not tonally neutral it has a 'musical' rose-tinted colouration that is very enjoyable.
- but no longer! 
Now definitely not for sale. 