Turntable addition....

[JohnMichael]

Thanks shaggy,

I've received my Zupreme headshell. Unlike Brandon, I haven't noticed any noise reduction. But this for certain, bass has improved dramatically. Since my speakers are 2 way monitor with 7' woofers, I havent noticed any deeper bass, but music has more weight and sounds very fast/crisp.

Great little headshell.

JRA

Nothing better than a good tweak.

[jrhymeammo]

Ah, nothing like sweet music after a hard day.

I'm pretty sure I'll be getting a mk2 with mods. I really dont need 6grams of anti-skate, and I'll probably be able to make finer adjustment with offered 3g.

NP: Calexico - The Black Lights.
Great album!

[BRANDONH]

Thanks shaggy,

I've received my Zupreme headshell. Unlike Brandon, I haven't noticed any noise reduction. But this for certain, bass has improved dramatically.

Great little headshell.

JRA

Interesting maybe it depends on the cart.
The surface noise reduction it what I noticed most.

But also the factory POS head shell I had before was not exactly square to the record surface either..another thing I like about the Zupreme that too can be adjusted where the Technics is fixed.

at least there was some improvement on your system I guess it just depends.
I would have really hated myself if there was none.

[jrhymeammo]

Well, a correct/proper VTA helps reduce surface noise in my case, and this tonearm mount allows that on a fly. I just love it.
I couldn't get a solid answer on the web, but do you know a maximum cart weight this tonearm can handle with Zupreme?

JRA

[BRANDONH]

Well, a correct/proper VTA helps reduce surface noise in my case, and this tonearm mount allows that on a fly. I just love it.
I couldn't get a solid answer on the web, but do you know a maximum cart weight this tonearm can handle with Zupreme?

JRA

its hard to say with this head shell I had to use the Auxiliary weight that screws in at the counterweight end of the tonearm.
manual states:
including factory head shell weight 7.5 g
3.5-13 g without auxiliary weight
9.5-13 g with auxiliary weight
You really need to use the auxiliary weight with the Zupreme.
If you no longer have it Keven stocks them.
but it your getting a new Table soon from him it should come with the new table you may want to confirm that with him though.

[jrhymeammo]

SL-1200mk2
Fluid Damper
PS-1200
Cardas rewire with RCA
Strobe Disabler

Could this be the best $1K TT ever? I shall find out.

What's great about this is that I still have my SL-1200 mk2 so I can compare it's sound side by side. Also, I can always disable Fluid Damper, PS-1200 and Strobe Disabler so I can find out if those mods were actually worth it.

Hope to be spinning with a new deck before end of August.

JRA

[BRANDONH]

SL-1200mk2
Fluid Damper
PS-1200
Cardas rewire with RCA
Strobe Disabler

Could this be the best $1K TT ever? I shall find out.

What's great about this is that I still have my SL-1200 mk2 so I can compare it's sound side by side. Also, I can always disable Fluid Damper, PS-1200 and Strobe Disabler so I can find out if those mods were actually worth it.

Hope to be spinning with a new deck before end of August.

JRA

way way cool dude
double snaps lol

[emaidel]

I'm not going to discuss the merits, or lack thereof, of the Technics SL-1200, nor do I mean any disrespect to the posters on this thread: it's a good turntable that's been around for decades, and will likely outlast its owner due to the high level of quality of its manufacturing. I do however, have serious misgivings about the claims from KABusa on a number of items, especially the cartridges he claims to be "KAB exclusives," and passes off as "audiophile" products.

Not that long ago, he took the Stanton Groovemaster cartridge body and placed a severely butchered Pickering XUV-4500Q replacement stylus in it, and callled it an "Audiophile Exclusive." The Groovemaster (and I know this , as I was working for Stanton at the time it was developed) is a plug-in DJ cartridge that was designed to compete with the Blue DJ plug-in then offered from Ortofon, both of which plugged into the Technics SL-1200, and other "universal" tonearms, as they were called. The Groovemaster had a deliberatedly pumped up bass response, as this was a major selling feature for DJ's, but was totally wrong for an audio purist.

Since the Groovemaster used a moving magnet stylus assembly (albeit, a stiff, and far more rugged version than on any of the company's consumer, or "Hi-Fi" models), and the Pickering XUV-4500Q (as well as plenty of other models from either Pickering or Stanton) was also a moving magnet design, its stylus would work in the Groovemaster body, though, due to its physical design, wouldn't fit too easily. The audible results also would be far from anything either Pickering or Stanton engineers ever wanted in the first place.

Since all the consumer models had (and still have) large, plastic "handles" on the stylus assembly (to allow the consumer to hold onto those assemblies for insertion and removal), that prohibited their insertion into the Groovemaster body, KAB quite literally butchered the assembly by removing the handle entirely, and then splaying apart the tip of the metal tube that goes into the cartridge body so that it wouldn't just fall completely inside. This allowed for a great degree of error, in that it could easily twist - something the plastic handles prohibited from happening..

As there are no more styli availalble for the 4500Q, KAB has now made another "exclusve" model for gullible customers: it consists of a Stanton 890 body, and a Pickering stylus assembly (handle included) of undetermined origin, or model number. It could be either a genuine, factory original, or a knockoff. It's impossible to tell from the picture on the KAB website whether or not this stylus assembly once had the "Dustamatic Brush," which would give a better indication as to its origin (the stylus assembly for the XSV-3000 had a brush, and would work quite well in the 890 body, but that combination would basically be a "run-of-the-mill" XSV-3000 when all is said and done, and not a "KAB Audiophile Exclusive."

KAB has also made the claim that the Technics SL-1200 "has no peer." I think that's a bit of a stretch, as there are many, many far better turntables out there, and even Technics themselves wouldn't claim their 1200 to be the "best ever." I love the turntable I own (the Dual CS-5000), but I'd never dare to say it "has no peer."

Everyone in this business/hobby is free to have his, or her, own opinion about anything, but when a retailer makes blatantly false claims about products he's selling, everything else he says then is subject to question.

Just wanted to illustrate a bit of truth.

[E-Stat]

KAB has also made the claim that the Technics SL-1200 "has no peer." I think that's a bit of a stretch, as there are many, many far better turntables out there, and even Technics themselves wouldn't claim their 1200 to be the "best ever."

The SP-10 was somewhat better as was the SL-110 I owned back in the 70s. Great tables, but as compared with the best available today? Not a very objective perspective.

rw

ps: I get a chance to hear this puppy in a couple of weeks. A reviewer friend has it for a while. Geez, the thing weighs more than my motorcycle.

[basite]

ps: I get a chance to hear this puppy in a couple of weeks. A reviewer friend has it for a while. Geez, the thing weighs more than my motorcycle.

wow,

let us know how you like it...

I wonder how it compares to a Transrotor Artus, or to a Gravita...

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

[emaidel]

ps: I get a chance to hear this puppy in a couple of weeks. A reviewer friend has it for a while. Geez, the thing weighs more than my motorcycle.

Isn't the price tag on that "puppy" a mere $150,000? It better sound good!

[JohnMichael]

E-Stat I look forward to reading your impresions of the turntable. Should be fantastic. Let me see if I start saving...........

[jrhymeammo]

I "has no peer."

That's statement no manufacturers should ever make, but in a $1K category? I hope to find out very soon. I'm very impressed with a stock unit. If it's going to improve that it already does, then I'll probably keep it for more than a year. Now that's something.

Hey 'Stat, be sure to keep us posted with your experience and its associated gear.

JRA

[emaidel]

That's statement no manufacturers should ever make JRA

Actually, it was KAB who made the statement, and not Technics. My initial posting on this thread was to take issue with some of the marketing ploys used by KAB, especially his use of Stanton DJ cartridges and mangled Pickering replacement styli, and calling the end product an "audiophile exclusive." Such nonsense, as well as his claim that the Technics SL-1200 "has no peer" has brought, at least to me, much of his marketing into serious question.

[jrhymeammo]

Hey Ema'

I imagine you know ALOT about Marketing, but since audio is a very subjective hobby, would it be wrong for a manufacturer/reseller to make a claim such as "Has no Peer"?

BOSE, Solid State, and Digital gear "Has No Peer". Even I can't argue with that.

[emaidel]

Hey Ema'

I imagine you know ALOT about Marketing, but since audio is a very subjective hobby, would it be wrong for a manufacturer/reseller to make a claim such as "Has no Peer"?

BOSE, Solid State, and Digital gear "Has No Peer". Even I can't argue with that.

I think it is wrong, though it's also a matter of symantics. Stating, "Has no equal," might be a better piece of advertising hyperbole. Even those who hate Bose (which is just about everyone here at AR) will agree that Bose may have no "equal" and are quite satisfied that it doesn't - who needs more overpriced, overmarketed stuff like most Bose products anyway?

On the other hand, to state that Bose (or anyone else) has no "peer" is to make the claim that it is the best of its kind, and that's just not so.

[E-Stat]

Hey 'Stat, be sure to keep us posted with your experience and its associated gear.

I will. Fortunately, I have a bit more time this trip - three full days. I think he has the Goldfinger on the table with an ASR phono pre. Line stage is a C-J ARTIII if I recall driving a pair of VTL Siegfrieds into Scaena line arrays. Digital source is an EMM Labs CDSDse. First time I will be auditioning the Nordost Odins. Should be interesting!

rw

[musicoverall]

I will. Fortunately, I have a bit more time this trip - three full days. I think he has the Goldfinger on the table with an ASR phono pre. Line stage is a C-J ARTIII if I recall driving a pair of VTL Siegfrieds into Scaena line arrays. Digital source is an EMM Labs CDSDse. First time I will be auditioning the Nordost Odins. Should be interesting!

rw

...would go to audition a turntable/cartridge combo this expensive and comment about the cables!

Actually, I'd be curious how they stack up against the Valhallas.

[emaidel]

I think he has the Goldfinger on the table with an ASR phono pre. Line stage is a C-J ARTIII if I recall driving a pair of VTL Siegfrieds into Scaena line arrays. Digital source is an EMM Labs CDSDse. First time I will be auditioning the Nordost Odins.

rw

Man, do I need to get out more! I have NO idea what you've said here, but I guess it must be all good stuff.

[BRANDONH]

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary
Main Entry: peer
Pronunciation: \ˈpir\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French per, from per, adjective, equal, from Latin par
Date: 13th century

1: one that is of equal standing with another : equal; especially : one belonging to the same societal group especially based on age, grade, or status
2 archaic : companion
3a: a member of one of the five ranks (as duke, marquess, earl, viscount, or baron) of the British peerage
b: noble 1
— peer adjective

[E-Stat]

1: one that is of equal standing with another : equal;

Exactly. It is most certainly NOT in equal standing with a host of other turntables, not to mention a host of other tonearms. When I had the slightly fancier SL-110a back in the 70s, I used different arms with it.

Don't get me wrong - its a nice, reliable unit. So is a Honda Accord. Neither, however, represent the current SOTA when it comes to performance.

rw

edit: Here's a link to a pretty comprehensive list of turntables. There's a pic of the Clearaudio Reference I will be hearing in there.

[jrhymeammo]

That's where I hope Fluid Damper will improve its tracking.
Arm any arms should, Technics' arm tracks fairly well. I shall see if it will allow music to flow more freely and seamless.

Will report with experience, and not assumption. I hope to have positive experience.

JRA

[E-Stat]

Man, do I need to get out more! I have NO idea what you've said here, but I guess it must be all good stuff.

Good? Is the pope Catholic? Here are some references to illuminate:

Statement turntable / Goldfinger cartridge

Darn frames don't allow me to link directly. Click on the Union Jack center left for the English version. From products, choose turntable or cartridge. Each is at the bottom of the respective list.

ASR Basis Battery powered phono preamp

Conrad-Johnson ART

Note this review was for the first generation. There was later mention of the ART II that I've heard. There was a version III as well.

http://www.vtl.com/pages/Amplifiers/Siegfried/

Hearing the predecessor to this beast (the Wotans) was the reason I bought the smaller 450s. If you like to see naked pictures of gear, then you'll like this:

Siegfried undressed

Note the massive 780 joule power supply! For a SS amp running 70 volt mains, it would be equivalent to using 318,000 uF capacitance for each amp. Can you say stiff?

Nordost Odins

It is difficult for me to imagine how good a $14k pair of ICs or $20k speaker cables can be!

Scaena speaker

These represent the evolution of the Pipedreams. Note the review (despite the fact that it was done by TAS. It is THAT system I will be hearing)

rw

[jrhymeammo]

And I take the room is as good as gear you have mentioned above?
You are one lucky man.

[E-Stat]

And I take the room is as good as gear you have mentioned above?

Very neutral indeed.

You are one lucky man.

Dumb luck. I was introduced to Dr. Cooledge (JWC) and his college friend HP when I was Basite's age. They have been incredible mentors over the decades.

rw