[Vinnie R.]

Vinnie,
  Sorry I missed you. I was going to drive down from up here in Wyoming to say hi, but woke Sunday a.m. to snow and icy roads, so stayed home. I am still thrilled with the 30.2 and the Sony discman and Ken's battery pack for it. Sounds great. I was going to bring the discman down to see how it sounds through the Isabella. That would have been interesting. Have you tried it? I also wanted to hear the WLM speakers. Best of luck with them and all your gear.

Randy

Hi Randy,

You did the right thing by staying off those roads - even meeting such a "cool" guy like me is not worth the risk! 

Yes, the D25 discman works great feeding into the Isabella and add much more tone and depth to the sound.  I wish that player had a digital output like some of the other discmans used to feature, as it would have been fun also trying it out as a transport.  It is really well-made (early 90s from Japan, metal enclosure, solid) and its an excellent little player.  I'm glad that Ken at ALO found a small NOS stash of them..

Sorry I missed you at RMAF - I'm sure I meet you next time...

Welcome back home, Vinnie, and 'grats on the show.

Sadly, I was unable to make it this year.  I am planning to come next year, however, and look forward to finally meeting you (if you are there) and the many other AC'ers .

As I type, my iMod is spinning some gorgeous tunes thru the 30/30.2 and the MaxHemps.

Thanks, Michael!  The iMod + 30.2 -- another portable source feeding the 30.2 that sounds awesome, with awesome speakers to match!  Have you tried the ALNICO 8" Hemps yet?  They remain one of the best sounding single drivers that I have heard and it was well-worth it for Louis to have them special made for him and his cabinets.

Hey Vinnie -  I was great to meet ya face to face for the first time!  You had some good sound in the room!  Congrats on the success - here's to hoping we will talk again soon! 

Hi Zero,

Thanks so much for visiting and it was great to meet you in person finally!  I'm glad you had a fun time at the show!

Vinnie,

An idea for the phono stage:  How about a power plug for the Scheu TT DC motors?  At least as an option for those folks who have an appropriate table?

Does the Cello have an optional DC motor too?

Once again, I was really impressed with that analog setup.

-- Jim

Hi Jim,

This is a great idea - glad I thought of it! hahaha

Seriously, I really like the idea.  The DC turntable motor draws so little current once the table is spinning, and adding a power output jack is easy and I believe people would like this.  That is one less battery enclosure and charger to need to be concerned with...

Thanks!

Vinnie

[Randy]

Vinnie - I also wish the D-25 had a digital out. I probably would spring for an Isabella if it did. I will never get into computer driven music, so what I need is a battery powered CD transport. (As far as I know, none exist.) Anything I have to plug into the wall (other than chargers) is a deal breaker for me. I will never go back to the grid.  There were times before when I could barely hear the music through the AC grunge.(I tried many power conditioners.)  For me, the 30.2 was the solution to years of dirty, noisy AC, and a life saver.
Randy

[Vinnie R.]

Vinnie - I also wish the D-25 had a digital out. I probably would spring for an Isabella if it did. I will never get into computer driven music, so what I need is a battery powered CD transport. (As far as I know, none exist.) Anything I have to plug into the wall (other than chargers) is a deal breaker for me. I will never go back to the grid.  There were times before when I could barely hear the music through the AC grunge.(I tried many power conditioners.)  For me, the 30.2 was the solution to years of dirty, noisy AC, and a life saver.
Randy

Hi Randy,

There are actually quite a few portable CD players that have optical digital outputs.  These are not being made today, but there are plenty of them on the used market (e..g. ebay, Headfi, and others).  On www.headfi.com, I have found many threads regarding "portable CD players with digital outputs."  They were made by companies such as Sony, Phillips, JVC, and quite a few others.

Their optical digital output is usually "mini Toslink."  The Isabellina dac uses standard Toslink for the optical input.  However, a cable like this is all you need:

http://www.ramelectronics.net/audio-video/audio-cables/digital-audio-optical-toslink-cable//prodPOFT3MR.html

or you can use a standard Toslink cable and get one of these adapters:

http://www.ramelectronics.net/audio-video/audio-cables/digital-audio-optical-toslink-cable/toslink-adaptor-sfc-mt-9901/prodSFCMT9901.html

I will never go back to the grid.

You and me both! 

Take care,

Vinnie

[Randy]

Thanks, Vinnie. I will look into it. Thanks for the links.

Randy

[Vinnie R.]

Does the Cello have an optional DC motor too?

Hi Jim,

I apologize for forgetting to responsd to your question.  I was so excited about your idea of adding a DC output on our phonostage to feed a DC motor (such as the Scheu motors) that I missed your question:

The answer is YES - the Cello uses a 12V dc motor that is built into the table as one of the legs.  The Scheu Cello is an amazing value in turntables!

Best regards,

Vinnie

[jrebman]

Vinnie,

Thanks for the info.  When those royalty checks for the drive motor tap on the phono stage idea start rolling in, maybe I'll get myself a Cello

Sounds like a cool design on the table.

-- Jim