Spencer

The speed control system is near perfection.  I played a test tone and hear no w&f.  Speed drift is a thing of the past with the Roadrunner tachometer.  My iPhone app shows the same speed every time which also correlated to the Tachometer readout.  

The sound of this new table is excellent.  Perhaps it will have some break in improvement but already the improvements over my old Star are more clarity in the mid bass and the bass.  The highs are sweet.  Cymbals have a delicate sound with every detail from the stick hitting the metal to the decaying shimmer.  Older analog recordings make hearing cymbals a whole new experience.

Sound stage is a bit bigger than before and images even sharper in focus.  I think the  speed control is responsible for the improved highs and imaging.  This new Turntable looks almost the same to the casual observer.  The only notable difference over my Star is the now two silver buttons on the motor cover.  The turntable now starts/stops and toggles speed between 33 1/3 and 45 rpm by pressing the large black button which used to be the speed adjustment.  Now turning that black knob does nothing.  The two silver buttons are used to adjust speed.  One bumps the speed up in small increments and the other down.  These are only needed if someone wants to run the platter a bit fast or slow.  The Condor controller locks in the speed at 33 1/3 or 45 rpm.  The road runner tachometer uses a speed sensor under the platter to feedback speed to the Condor.  It can make small fine adjustments to compensate for speed drift due to temperature changes, etc.  One thing I noticed is that I could put my finger against the side of the platter to induce some drag but the speed did not change.

The Nova VI also features a new suspension system.  I don't have the details but one thing I did was to place a small mirror on the subchassis by the tonearm and bounce a laser beam off of it to the wall.  The multiplier of the lengths was about 30 to 1 and yet I could detect no movement of the laser spot on the wall.  This is very impressive.  That means the subchassis is not being moved as the motor pulls on the platter.  This is a big improvement over my Star.

I have heard the ARC Ref 160m amps.  Very nice and quite a looker.

I see a Pass 350…. Then a couple of Newer Pass x mono blocks… what was the difference.

I switched from my Pass x350 to an Audio Research REF 160s. Just for fun my dealer dropped off a set of ARC REF 160m mono blocks. 

I also have learned much about isolation over these past couple of months.  Springs isolate while rubber dampens.  I didn't fully realize that concept until recently- and I'm an engineer.  Rubber like Sorbathane, which I have used for years under components dampen but not completely isolate the component from external vibrations.  And since rubber dampens it can add coloration.  Springs when tuned properly completely isolate a component from external vibration.  Tuning the springs is more quickly done with some math.  The goal is to get the spring mass system (The component is the mass) to have a resonance point at around 3 Hz.  I used this formula to size springs for my Amps, Subs, Speakers and everything on the front end.  And guess what- the Sota Turntable Suspension is already tuned to 3 Hz.  Here's what happened.  The bass is no longer muddy or boomy.   I didn't know my bass was muddy until I heard the Wilson Alexia 2 Speakers in Atlanta.  Well, now my Thiels sing. The bass is crisp and clear.  Not quite Alexia 2 caliber but very good now.  Imaging improved.  Images are sharper and crisper now.  Detail went through the roof.  In fact, I have so much more detail in the music now that it was distracting or overwhelming at first.  I almost want to go back to how it was before.  But the genie was out of the bottle.  After a few days I grew used to the added detail and now I enjoy it.

Being retired and putting in the time to experiment and learn this past year has been fun.

Using a vibrometer app on my iPad I could see the difference this isolation makes.  Resting the iPad on top of the speaker and the speaker directly coupled to the floor as I have had them for years, I tap on the speaker cabinet and I see not just a pulse but ringing for a short moment.  The vibration waves are reflecting back through the speaker cabinet.  I saw exactly this on videos online. When I tap on the floor I see the same response and ringing just like tapping directly on the speaker cabinet.  After decoupling the speakers with the springs the difference is amazing.  Tap on the speaker cabinet and the app shows the spike but it doesn’t ring.  Tap on the floor and the iPad app shows nothing- complete isolation.  You might think that the speakers would rock back and forth with the music.  They do not.  It’s a 165 lb speaker that the cone drivers are pushing against.  It doesn’t move.   

I showed a picture of my system to Alan at HiFi Buys last Spring in Atlanta.  He now has the same lamps in one of his showrooms.   I saw them in his store in August when I picked up the Niagara and Hurricane.  I also heard Leonard Cohen (10 New Songs) for the first time in his store.  Love that album now.  

Happy Listening!

Well, today I brought home an AQ Niagra 5000 power conditioner and a AQ Hurricane power cord.  Quite expensive but effective.  I heard a bigger soundstage right off and after some hours of playing music the highs are much smoother.  That’s how I would describe it.  The wood floor made the sound more lively and now the highs are calmer with the new power conditioner.  End result is crisper sound with very clear bass but no shrill or head drilling highs. 

This power conditioner is likely a keeper.   Why does the good stuff have to cost so much?

I gave up on the contractors and finally installed the wood floor myself.  500 sqft of flooring.  I did it it in two days and lost 10 lbs.  I was sore, stiff and angry that I ended up doing it myself.  All that went away with the first song that I played.

Note the rugs on the floor.  I am still tuning the room with rugs.  My family and friends of course asked me why I am putting rugs on my new wooden floor.  I try to explain that the new floor improves the acoustics and the rugs allow me to tune the room to taste.  They don't seem to get it.

I also added dedicated power lines to the amps and front end.  The amps really benefited from the dedicated power and the AQ NRG outlet.

I have wanted to do this to the room for several years now.  It was a worthwhile effort.

FYI, QRD on front wall in my room separate instruments and increase focus like you can not imagine. It is very similar arrangement.