Over the years I've had plenty of different hobbies and interests but few have lasted the distance. Music and Hi-Fi however, have always been an important part of my life and depending on how much disposable income I've had, I've always strived to get the best hi-fi I could afford.  In the early days I used to pay a great deal of attention to the ramblings and recommendations of magazines like What Hi-Fi but these days I'm much more sensible and use my own judgement based on the opinions of "real" people and auditioning. How many people were suckered into placing a sheet of pure white paper underneath their components because hi-fi mags said there was a sonic improvement?

Over the years I've really struggled with the need for true fidelity during playback of music and the desire for the big movie experience. I tried AV processors tied in with "proper" hi-fi and then I tried full blown AV amps and switched backwards and forwards until I was dizzy - never happy with the idea of playing music through AV amps and never happy that my movie experiences were lacking when I didn't have an AV amp.

Eventually, I realised that most of my misgivings about using an AV amp were based on what other people thought about it. Who cares about other people?? So I sold my pre/powers and bought a Yamaha DSP-AX757SE UK

The big Yamaha has a "PURE DIRECT" mode which bypasses all the electronic trickery of the DSP, leaving a big, punchy, clean and musical sound. Apparently, this model was designed purely with the UK listener in mind and it shows. When fed with a decent source such as the Linn LP12 or the Marantz CD-17KI, it really shines. It handles the B&W P6 speakers with complete authority and control.

Right from being a young lad, I was always hankering for a Linn LP12. They were always pie in the sky for me because there was a family to look after, cars to run, house to keep, etc, etc. But now that I'm older and have a little more disposable income, I have been able to buy one. It's a mint Valhalla model fitted with a Basik Plus arm. When I got it, it had a Rega Elys cartridge which sounded awful, so I installed a Goldring 1042 which totally changed things.

Because the turntable has to be located about 4 metres away from the amp, there was an audible hum due to the long cable run. Luckily, I was able to overcome this completely by installing a high-grade Van-Damme cable with Neutrik connectors. This completely eliminated the hum. You get what you pay for!

The Linn signal was fed into a Lehmann Audio Black Cube Phono Stage. Note that this is the new 2006 model which has an improved PCB with much uprated components. Additionally, it has an XLR connector between it and the power-supply which makes upgrading to their PSX incredibly easy (if you can find the money to do it).

Although the LP12 sounded good, I could tell there was something more to be had from it without too much effort. The Valhalla power-supply was upgradable in a number of ways but all the Linn options were incredibly expensive, so looking elsewhere, I came across the Hercules Mk2. This is basically a copy of the Valhalla supply but much more up to date and uses much higher-spec components. Additionally, it provides a 45rpm option without the need to fit adaptors - it's controlled through the switch! Neat.

I bought a Hercules II from Stamford Audio and set about fitting it. Installation was a breeze and took no more than 10 minutes.

While I had the deck stripped down, I decided (with some reluctance and anxiety) to replace the suspension with new. Although this deck had been to House of Linn in Manchester earlier in the month for a checkover and reset, upon scrutiny I began to wonder what they'd actually done for their fee. The armboard (I'd not really noticed before) was up at one end, down at the other and leaning to the right. The oil in the bearing cup was horrible and looked like it had just come out of an Austin 7. My mind was made up - I was gonna tackle the job myself.

I printed off the Setup Guide in the VE FAQ section and studied the chassis and suspension. I had always thought that setting up the suspension on a Linn was always done by specially gifted men who were paid vast fees for their services (yes, Linn dealers). But when you get down to it, it's really quite logical.

When I'd finished, the armboard was perfectly level with the plinth from all aspects. Tapping the platter vertically produced a nice bounce with no lateral movement at all. It seemed to be correct - the proof would be in the pudding!

I reassembled everything, plugged the deck back in and played a hi-grade copy of Steely Dan's Aja. 1st track - Black Cow.

WOW!!!! It sounded magnificent! Pity really that I changed the power-supply and the suspension at the same time, cos I don't know which job had the most impact on the sound. Anyway, who cares? It sounds fab! And I'm a very happy chappy.

Soon, the Linn will be fitted with a beautiful Afromosa plinth and will be mounted on a wall-stand attached to a load bearing wall to provide complete isolation. Next upgrade might be an Ittok tonearm, although right now, I'm thinking money would be better spent on buying more vinyl and enjoying the sound I've already got!

Now wall-mounted and sounding great!
Doesn't look it from here, but it's perfectly level.
 

3/Nov/07     Beautiful Afromosia Plinth now fitted

Audio Technica AT-OC9ML/II

The AT-OC9ML/II is an audiophile, low-output, Moving Coil cartridge and is one of those upgrades that really does make sense!! An amazing difference between it and the Goldring 1042 which was previously tracking the grooves. Needless to say, a cartridge like this needs a top quality phono-stage and that's where the Lehmann comes into play. I reckon you'd have to spend one hell of a lot of money to significantly better this cartridge. And if you did go down that path, it would be useless without an equally expensive tonearm upgrade. Where do you stop?

Luckily, I'm more than happy with the LP12 in its current configuration. The AT-OC9ML/II works well with the Basik Plus tonearm although it would obviously be better with an Ittok. It tracks superbly, but I must admit the miniscule stylus looks worryingly fragile - boy, it's like a strand of hair!! The sound is a little on the bright side, which suits me quite well. I'd much rather it was like that than it being recessed and dull.

Recently took the outer-platter to be polished. Looks great!

SACD is my most recent area of interest and although I was (and remain) sceptical about multi-channel music, I could see the benefit of Super Audio CD in a 2-channel format so I bought the wonderful Marantz SA7001.

The beauty of this machine is that it's not only superb with SACD discs, but also with regular CD's. It really does have that Pace, Rhythm And Timing that gets you tapping your feet to the music.

The speakers in my hi-fi kit are B&W P6 fronts, B&W P5 rears and B&W LM-1 and a Mordaunt Short centre. For a subwoofer I use the amazing REL Strata III (although thats purely for movies).

The B&W P5's used to be my main speakers in a stereo setup and are without doubt a superb set of speakers. When I upgraded to the P6's I should have sold the P5's but they were so good I didn't want to let them go, so are now my rears in the AV setup. the LM-1's are mounted high up on the front wall in what I believe is called the "presence" position.

I should point out that the midrange drivers and tweeters on the B&W P5's have been replaced with new ones a couple of years ago. For those people who have had their speakers for a long time, you need to remember that these are mechanical devices with coils that get "tired" after years of activity. It happens over such a long time that it goes unnoticed, but when you change those drivers - WOW!!!! Then you'll notice!
 

For night-time listening, I use AKG's top of the line K701. For the last 20-odd years I've remained loyal to Sennheiser but recently fancied a change so I sold the HD600's and bought some Stax Electrostatics, Audio Technica AT1000 Woodies and Beyer DT880's. They were all fine headphones but they lacked "something" and the 701's seem to have it. So for now I'm an AKG man :-)

Reviews of the AKG's can be found HERE and HERE
 

In addition to listening to music through hi-fi which I simply bought new, I have also had a dabble with plinth-building. Someone on Audigon suggested that for a pittance you could build an audiophile turntable using the Goldring Lenco GL75 as a platform.  I tried this and certainly enjoyed the creative part of the project, but ultimately, I wasn't rewarded with an audiophile sound. There's a very detailed website HERE showing mine and other's work. Here's a few pix...

That baby weighed a TON!!!! Even with a Rega RB250 tonearm, I couldn't get it to sound as good as it looked and eventually I sold it. Like I said, despite the sonic disappointment, I got a great deal of pleasure from actually building it.

Click To See

MEMORY LANE

I often spot old hi-fi that I used to own on Ebay and here's a selection of my dark past.

Click HERE if you dare!