Your alltime favourite source...?

OK, just out of interest, I'd like to see everybody's alltime favourite source component. It's personal thing and I'm not really interested in what you are using now but what was your alltime favourite. Also, why did you sell it on...?

For starters, mine was an Alphason Sonata fitted with an Alphason MC100SMCS tonearm and a Kiseki Blue cartridge.

Reason for sale... stupidity...!

 

Did you say sauce...?

OK, I know this is coming so I'll get it out of the way... HP Brown sauce.

 

...now some might laugh as a lot of people slate these, and I don't know why as I have had nothing but a great listening experience. I really liked my Transcriptors Hydraulic Reference Turntable with a silver rewired ex-BBC SME3009 mk2 tonearm and goldring 1042 cart / OM40 cart. Great combo. Very smooth bearing and high rotational weight.

I have been through a lot of turntables, supposedly trying to build on the sheer rhythm and liveliness of the sound I first had with this bit of eye candy, and by large have failed despite some serious exotica.

I could also cite the Trilogy VTi valve integrated as probably the best integrated amp I have ever heard, and certainly the coolest, very contemporary, standing on a built in carbon fibre tripod.

Reason for sale: looking for the holy grail, and being darn right fickle.

 

for lp ....got to second the sonata nothing else has come close [at an price]....I was burgled !

cd/digital ...just cant beat the squeeze box and dax decade
for accessing my entire cd collection ...might not be as good as my single disc player but that does only ever only play one disc !

 

Garrard 301 with SME 3012, and I still own it

 

Revox B77,lovely sound and the music just kept on playing.sold to raise cash so i could go walkabout for a few months

 

Gotta be what I have now, i.e. SB+ feeding a digital output to my Thule PR250 AV processor (acting as a DAC). Similar to Zanash, all my CD collection available via my remote, linked to one of the best digital sources I've heard. Yes, I've heard better, but an Esoteric X01 is way out of my price league.

 

The turntable I use now - I've never sold it on (and probably never will) - I might build another, we shall see. I've posted a pic before.

 

For convenience or sonics?

 

Hi all. first post here!

Difficult question but I'd have to go for sentimental reasons mostly, the technics 1210 Mk2 TT. I had an NAD C541 CDP at the time and the technics killed it every single time. I think actually, It let me enjoy the music so much I wasn't thinking about hifi at all. Whearas nowadays I've been listening to the hifi as much as the music....

 

I would just love to build my own turntable but would not know where to start. I guess I'd start with a slab of slate but I'd be a bit nervous drilling it full of holes...! I have no idea were one would get a bearing from.

Now that would make a great project for next year...!

 

It's pretty much only been steps forward for me, certainly as far as sources are concerned, so all-time favourite is my current TT - VPI SSM

 

How difficult the task is depends on your intention. Many are happy to just make something of their own; others want to make a copy of an existing (but expensive) product (less easy). If you want to develop your own ideas and attempt the 'state of the art', things are obviously a bit more complicated.

By far the easiest way to start is to buy a deck that you can dismantle and use the main bearing and motor from - The Thorens TD160 is a good bet, others have used Rega's (not so easy in some respects). Although superficially simple constructions, turntables are surprisingly complex systems in which practically every element interacts and every material and construction method chosen impacts on more than one element.

Personally, I have no interest in copying other ideas and the design challenge is where all the fun is (for me). I started (when I was a school boy) by taking my Thorens to bits and rebuilding it using my own ideas and different materials. Over the next few years I gradually modified it and experimented. Eventually my ideas had developed to the point that I built another MK2 version that incorporated the things I had learnt from my experimentation. This MK2 became a MK3 and this was eventually modified to include my magnetic bearing etc. You never stop learning, developing and refining ones ideas.

 

My best Love

My Oracle Delphi mk4 Turntable with Eminent Technology arm and Lyra Clavis Cartridge, Ear Head step up, stunning and magical. I sold the arm, last time I was out of work(and to someone who didn't appreciate it), one of my biggest regrets( in audio). I still have the TT. The system then was an Audio Innovations S 500, Pro-ac Super Tablets Mk 1 a Marantz cd 94 mk 2. Mana ref table, Nakamichi Cr5, Revox b760 tuner. And my bedroom in my parents house( I list this because the system and the room worked together like a musical instrument). Cabling was Deltec Black Slink, Audio Note ANV and ANS, Speaker Cable XLO type 6.

Sorry to list this all but it was all magical. And I still have it all. I part with very little. I am to sentimental.

Regards D Louth77

 

Turntable project for 2009

I guess it would make a lot of sense to build a brand new heavyweight plinth for my Linn Basik. This could be a good place to start. A huge slab of laminated hardwoods would be nice.

What do you think...?

 

Nice idea if they're from sustainable sources (of course)

 

my current syd s9. just wonderfull. it got even better when i put the slate and marble plinth on still points.

 

I have to say that every time I've heard a VPI, it was bloody brilliant. If I had any vinyl, or wanted to get into it, that's the route I'd be taking.

 

Has to be my Voyd turntable, with reference platter, Helius Cyalene arm and Audionote IO cartridge. Simply magical organic sound.
Sold it when I moved into central London, and no longer had room for this, and the 700 LP's, so got rid of the lot. Do I regret it? Probably.
Replaced it with a Wadia 6 which did some things a bit better (tighter bass, more drive) but which didn't quite have the same magic.

 

Voyd .5 with reference psu sme 310 arm with LV cable and the music maker cart, fabulous sold it to pay towards a mortgage and cental heating, now using a Tech 1210