5 minutes ago, pine weasel said:

That looks great

 

Would you be able to let me know which company made that for you , as I'd like to get one made for my TT?

 

Cheers

 

http://cityplastics.com.au/home/

 

Hi crisis

 

Thanks for that

 

Cheers

 

 

So this arrived

 

 

Audio Technica VM540ML

 

 

and this is coming

 

 

Origin Live Structural upgrade.

 

I am also finishing of my RG213 speaker cable. Just a matter of getting some time to put it all together now.

Finished these today. Am going to have a test tomorrow. Listen to a few tracks with the existing figure 8 Bunnings 14G and then swap them over. My son thinks I'm an idiot so that should provide the impartiality. I am fairly cynical about cables anyway so it should be interesting. Then to attach the Origin arm weight which I will be interested to see what, if any, results are evident. Finally the cartridge which is the component that should show the most difference. I'm hoping improvement. It has been well reviewed on Stereo.net and also here.

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/two-moving-magnets-and-a-moving-iron/

 

21 minutes ago, crisis said:

I'm hoping improvement.

Don't hold your breath!

Don't spoil his anticipation Russ .

52 minutes ago, soundbyte said:

Don't hold your breath!

You have some experience with the Audio Technica VM540ML ?

VM540L?

 

Still, don't hold your breath!

 

 

I bet it will sound great.  The origin live upgrade is a fine tweak.

1 hour ago, soundbyte said:

VM540L?

 

Still, don't hold your breath!

 

 

What is a VM540L?

 

10 hours ago, crisis said:

You have some experience with the Audio Technica VM540ML ?

Not sure, you brought it up?

Hence my post.

 

15 hours ago, crisis said:

 Finally the cartridge (Audio Technica VM540ML) which is the component that should show the most difference. I'm hoping improvement.

 

15 hours ago, soundbyte said:

Don't hold your breath!

 

14 hours ago, crisis said:

You have some experience with the Audio Technica VM540ML ?

 

14 hours ago, soundbyte said:

VM540L?

 

Still, don't hold your breath!

 

 

4 hours ago, soundbyte said:

 

Not sure, you brought it up?

Hence my post.

Yes. It doesn't make sense.

Do you have some experience with the Audio Technica VM540ML ?

9 minutes ago, crisis said:

VM540ML

None, but why should changing the speaker cable make a large difference to the sound from a cartridge?

Maybe there are two parts, one the cartridge with added weight and two the speaker cables?

 

2 minutes ago, soundbyte said:

None, but why should changing the speaker cable make a large difference to the sound from a cartridge?

Maybe there are two parts, one the cartridge with added weight and two the speaker cables?

I see our problem. That's not what I meant.

16 hours ago, crisis said:

Am going to have a test tomorrow.  I am fairly cynical about cables anyway so it should be interesting.

Not really expecting a significant change or improvement from the cables on their own although I appreciated and partly understand the reasoning behind why they might provide some advantage over non shielded cable. They are an inexpensive if somewhat tedious experiment.

16 hours ago, crisis said:

Then to attach the Origin arm weight which I will be interested to see what, if any, results are evident.

I have read all of the reviews both professional and some from owners and they are enough to justify a small (in the context of new arms etc), outlay and it seems to be a fairly straightforward task to undertake. I am not expecting my jaw to drop to the ground but one can hope there is some advantage.

16 hours ago, crisis said:

Finally the cartridge which is the component that should show the most difference. I'm hoping improvement.

 

The VM540ML has had some favorable reviews and cartridges in my limited experience do sound different. I am hoping this one sounds better than my Goldring 2100 which itself doesn't sound too bad in my humble set up.

 

So I'm not expecting the cable to make a difference to the sound from the cartridge. Hope that clears that up. ?

Well. As I have actually managed to install everything this afternoon  I will make an amateurish attempt to provide a subjective review.

First the disclaimers.

1. I will not be using the following words in my review:

• Musical
• Musicality

2. My current system represents the best equipment I have ever had but is in comparison to most here, very modest. My exposure to top end equipment is not extensive although I have heard some excellent equipment and systems throughout my life.

 

3. There was no scientific process applied to the "testing" and it was not blind tested. It is purely subjective, although I am fairly cynical of pretty much everything, so while I would like to hear "improvements" ( I was going to include that word in the list of words I wasn't going to use) I wasn't entirely expecting them, except perhaps with the cartridge.

 

Equiptment tested with -

CD player: Primare CD22

Turntable: SRM Arezzo

Arm: Rega RB220

Amplifier: Primare I32

Speakers: Monitor Audio Sliver 8s

Speaker cable: 14g figure 8 (Bunnings)

 

Music -

CD

Islands: Scott Cossu

Love Over Gold: Dire Straits

Gaucho: Steely Dan

 

Vinyl -

Sky III: Sky

Arc of A Diver: Steve Winwood

Boston Half Speed Master: Boston

 

 

RG213U cable

On 09/09/2018 at 10:50 AM, crisis said:

Not really expecting a significant change or improvement from the cables on their own although I appreciated and partly understand the reasoning behind why they might provide some advantage over non shielded cable. They are an inexpensive if somewhat tedious experiment

Two pieces I regularly use to audition are from the Scott Cossu CD, Islands. Ohana and Oristano Sojourn. They are instrumental and very percussive with piano, bass, drums, flute, and a variety of percussion.

Not really expecting a signification change I was surprised how crash cymbals were portrayed. They sounded less splashy and sibilant. Sibilance of closing hi hats is something that obsesses me. This seemed to be mitigated also much to my pleasure. The piano sounded clangy which sounds bad but its a bad description. The piano could be heard, not just the hammers on the strings, but the body of the piano contributing to the overall sound. This was not as overtly evident before. Its how I have wanted piano to sound on my system. There seemed to be more low level detail also. On Ohana there is a synth sound that is hard to distinguish from the bass guitar in that it could be a bass guitar. It was easier to distinguish between these two instruments also.

 

The Love Over Gold CD is a remaster. Love Over Gold  (the song) again highlighted the pianos attack and decay. the sound of the drum stick head hitting the ride and high hat sounded real. It was all about detail here. There was also less spittiness in the sibilance. S's were sibilant but not unnaturally so.

 

Babylon Sister from Gaucho (this is a 1984 vintage CD) the differences werent as profound. Again there was less sibilance and the clarinets appeared to have more of a pronounced rasp.

 

So while I was most cynical about what beneficial changes the cable could make I was pleasantly surprised. And relieved given the laborious process and time it took to make it. I would recommend anyone coming from low end cable to give this a try if they didn't want to fork out "component" type amounts of cash on cable.

 

 

Origin Live Structural upgrade.

Quote

I have read all of the reviews both professional and some from owners and they are enough to justify a small (in the context of new arms etc), outlay and it seems to be a fairly straightforward task to undertake. I am not expecting my jaw to drop to the ground but one can hope there is some advantage.

What you get in material terms for your money is a few lumps of metal, one bit chromed, and a bunch of various screws. It doesn't look all that impressive (except the shiny chrome bit) not particularly over engineered.

the instructions are basic but you get the idea. Inserting the "plug" into the rear of the arm takes a bit of thought but it wasn't too bad. I did apply a bit of electrical cleaner and lube to the thread as it was not really pristine.

Setting the tracking force requires a set of scales as the counter weight and stub are not threaded. The counter weight is held in place by a grub screw. Frankly this is a pain in the arse however it is deliberately designed this way to decouple everything in traditional HiFi style.

 

Chiropode No.1 by Sky opens with a solo acoustic guitar. From the opening first strums the guitar sounded much , cough, warmer.

I'm not necessarily attracted to the idea of a warm sound but this wasn't a dull sound. There was plenty (actually noticeably more and cleaner) detail but there was also an effect I can only describe as warm. Probably because I have read too many HiFi equipment reviews..

It sounded like I could hear the body of the guitar better. The song is very clearly recorded and detailed but this sounded less clangy than before the weight was fitted.

 

I've probably heard More Than A Feeling by Boston more times than any song. Its the song for me.

This also exhibited that "warmth" (sorry). It sounded classy, detailed, yet full. OK hopefully that's as vacuously subjective as I'm going to get. It really did sound like my vinyl system had gained something quite desirable in the hifi sense though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio Technica VM540ML cartridge.

 

Quote

The VM540ML has had some favorable reviews and cartridges in my limited experience do sound different. I am hoping this one sounds better than my Goldring 2100 which itself doesn't sound too bad in my humble set up.

 

Unpacking this cartridge does not fill one with a sense of pride of ownership. It looks pretty cheap and plasticy. I am not one who is adverse to compromising on the luxury bling if the money and effort is spent on the Raison d'etre, in this case sounding good.

It was no picnic installing it.

First impressions when the needle hit the groove were in complete contradiction, as I guess where the results of the previous components, to my expectations. Where I wasn't expecting the cable and counterweight to render significant changes I was expecting the cartridge to sound different at least. Nothing really hit me. It is however suggested cartridges need to be "run in" so I persevered.

Skys Chiropodie No3 this time didn't really sound noticeably different from the spin it had just had with the Goldring. I let the LP play a couple of songs.

More Than a Feeling seemed to reveal a bit more detail and I took the opportunity to compare it to a CD. The CD didn't seem to have as much sharp detail which surprised me but I came to suspect this was because the vinyl didn't have as much bass.

I checked the VTA and it seemed ok but perhaps a little angled down toward the counterweight end. I removed the mat and tried a few more songs form Boston. Whether this helped or the cartridge was running in I don't know but there seemed to be more bass. The hi hat and ride cymbals sounded more detailed than before also and the bass guitar had more definition. None of this was significant though and in isolation one wouldn't point to any of this a significant characteristic of the cartridge.

I put on a second hand copy of Alan Parson Project Best Of Volume 2. Higher Ground was very cleanly detailed and the bass guitar sounded very good. You could easily distinguish the sound of the bass strings as opposed to just a bass sound. This LP has a lot of either scratches or static and this cartridge picks this noise up more than I noticed with the Goldring. I guess I need to try to address the static issue and at least see if it was the problem.

Overall the character of the cartridge seemed to change more noticeably the more I played it but I haven't really given it a good run. Unfortunately the most noticeable characteristic on vinyl exhibiting background noise is it is more noticeable.

 

So an interesting afternoon and the most significant and interesting "upgrades" I have added to my system since I bought it.

I would definitely give the RG213U a go if you have the patience and have bog standard cables. 

 

The Origin Structural upgrade seemed to do something positive for my system and its not prohibitively expensive considering I was originally going to go all out for a new tone arm.

 

The VM540ML needs a little time so I will take that on notice.

 

 

Edited September 10, 20187 yr by crisis

Nice honest write up mate. Well done.

Had a brief chance to try some classical this morning.

Dream of a Witches Sabbath ends fairly dynamically and wow. The bass, or dare I say, slam  is there.

Well that didn't go so well.

Currently sitting here with no Phono amp. Sold the Mani when I saw a Primare R32 on special at a Melbourne dealer. Tried to order the Primare on line and got an error message. Was subsequently informed the Primare is out of stock and "would you like any other phono preamp instead?" Sorry we are out of chicken would you like the steak?...

I replied asking if they were going to be "back in stock" and have received no reply. Checked the website just now and they are still being advertised at the "reduced price!". Is this ethical much less legal?

 

Try the Lifestyle store in Sydney they often have specials on Primare gear.

 

Actually if you are prepared to haggle they have really good specials on just about everything. The guy I used to buy from there was Brenden, hopefully he is still there.

 

cheers Terry

Edited December 16, 20187 yr by TerryO

7 hours ago, TerryO said:

Try the Lifestyle store in Sydney they often have specials on Primare gear.

 

Actually if you are prepared to haggle they have really good specials on just about everything. The guy I used to buy from there was Brenden, hopefully he is still there.

 

cheers Terry

Thanks. They don't have the R32 listed but I have sent them an email. I am beginning to think it may be discontinued as it is not on Primares web site any more...

Well its encouraging to see that hifi sales are so healthy. I have received no answer from the store in question as to whether they are expecting more stack. On top of that I have emailed three other dealers inquiring into price and availability and received not one answer. I realise it does not represent the kind of sale they can all take their xmas bonuses out of but its an easy sale. Give me a price and I give you an order.

In any case I am going to revert to plan B which actually was the original plan A before i saw the Primare on sale. Arcam rPhono.

So no replies from any of the dealers I wrote to however good service still lives. I bought my SRM from Grooveworks almost exactly a year ago and have been extremely satisfied with my purchase. I updated my cartridge and had to adjust the VTA and had been using some washers that came with the bits and pieces in the box. I was looking at the instructions for it recently and saw that it was supposed to have spacers for the arm height adjustment. After all this time I contacted Peter and received them in the mail the following week without question. ?

So after all my whining this arrived.

I did receive a reply about the Primare from one dealer however the horse had bolted. It is not situated ideally and I will have to engage some muscle (son) to move the cabinet out so I can rearrange the power cord  hierarchy but it has been in service.

I don't know how much "running in/burning in" it requires (if any) but there are some noticeable differences from the Mani that preceded it. On its maiden outing, Thursday evening, the following observations were made.

Bass. ✔

Bass is more noticeable. I'm not sure if its actually deeper but it seems to be. This has not come at the expense of dynamics. In fact dynamics and attack are noticeably more pronounced. In music I know well the jolt in some passages catches me by surprise.

Highs are not as noticeably different from the Mani. The overall sound seems more transparent as in I can hear more silence in the recordings. This may be a result of the amp being a little more quiet than the Mani however I never experienced any of the "noise" from the Mani that some others have complained of. There was a hint of sibilance on one record however it wasn't present on any of the others so I will take that on notice and see if it presents elsewhere. 

It has an overall quality that manifests as "smooth" (dynamics notwithstanding). Or perhaps its just "quality". I'm not one who desires "warm" in musical presentation because to me that has always translated as colored. This manages to sound more luxurious than the Mani while losing none of the detail I so jealously covet.

 

Last nights session was carried out while I was under the influence of several xmas break up beers so my judgment would have been somewhat impaired. I just enjoyed it.

 

What I was looking for more than anything else was to be able to hear the instruments in the same way my CD player represents them. That is the sound of the components ie the hammer on the string of a piano and the subsequent sound of the piano cabinet. The rasp of the reed in reed instruments and the resonance of the body of a guitar. The things that make instruments sound distinctive as opposed to just a guitar sound. This amp has helped my vinyl system move closer to this objective.

 

At this point I would say it has demonstrated differences from the Mani in several areas which while not objectively "improvements", sound better to my ears and delivered some benefits that suit me.

 

This thing is three times the price of the Mani but not three times better. I guess HiFi doesn't work that way so I didn't really expect that. It is, in a way, an endorsement of the Mani as that amp remains extremely good value by comparison. It has, perhaps, reignited my desire to upgrade my cartridge, again, at some stage.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 21, 20187 yr by crisis

On 16/12/2018 at 2:58 PM, crisis said:

Well that didn't go so well.

Currently sitting here with no Phono amp. Sold the Mani when I saw a Primare R32 on special at a Melbourne dealer. Tried to order the Primare on line and got an error message. Was subsequently informed the Primare is out of stock and "would you like any other phono preamp instead?" Sorry we are out of chicken would you like the steak?...

I replied asking if they were going to be "back in stock" and have received no reply. Checked the website just now and they are still being advertised at the "reduced price!". Is this ethical much less legal?

 

It is called 'bait advertising' and is unlawful under the Trade Practices Act.  Bait advertising takes place when an advertisement promotes certain (usually ‘sale’) prices on products that are not available or available only in very limited quantities.

On 09/09/2018 at 7:23 PM, crisis said:

I would definitely give the RG213U a go if you have the patience and have bog standard cables.

I made up some RG213U about a year and a half ago. I have been positive towards experimenting with cables for close to 40 years and have a/b'ed a lot of highend cables.

Not having the money for these I have played around with cables, cross sectional area, different typologies etc and have found the RG213 to be that good, it has been in my system for 18 months or more. I compared it to Ocoss ,Flatline, DNM and Supra and found it to be superior to the lot.Only thing I found slightly negative was that it sounded like **** initially. After a couple of days of running, it got very good. Bill's single ended interconnect is another cable I can thoroughly recommend if you are on a budget. Still in my system after a year.