New member- Hopeful new WTA owner soon

jshefik · « **on:** 12 Apr 2012, 03:08 pm »

I recently got back into vinyl after buying an Ortofon 2M black for my 10 year old Music Hall 7. The new sounds coming from my records got me excited about audio again. I added on the cruise control 2.0,and built a sandbox to tame some of the feedback issues. Things solidified even more. Still at volume (I sometimes crank it ) it loses it's composure and gets a bit hard in the mids. I have a Plinius 8200 integrated with built in phono,and was going to either go to a Grado or look at a phono stage, till a little extra cash came my way. That is when I re-discovered WT and the Amadeus.

I have an audition next Friday at Pitch Perfect and cannot wait! This seems like a nice road to go down...

Anyone here use an Ortofon 2M black? Any sandbox users?

jsawyer09 · « **Reply #1 on:** 17 Apr 2012, 04:12 pm »

Let us know how the audition went!
As for the 2MB, I hear mixed reviews, though mostly positive (sorry, I've only heard it personally in a friend's system, and that was a couple of years ago; my impressions were good, I believe, but it didn't so-called knock my socks off like a DV-20XL did in the same system...mind you, synergy and equipment differences and all that aside).

If you sprung for the WTA, I'd look into a Dynavector cart, as they have excellent synergy with the WT 'tables; or perhaps double your budget and do some research on other carts (MM or MC...whatever you can afford, though it looks like you'd probably rather stick with MM and not have to dump more money into ancillaries if I'm guessing right), as I believe the WTA deserves the best cart you can afford — you'll notice the difference, for certain.

Anyway, let us know where you're headed. IMO, the WTA is by far the singlemost greatest and significant equipment purchase/upgrade I've ever made in my system, other than once going from a Cayin A-70T integrated to a Naim SuperNait — now THAT was an upgrade. Sadly, both are gone (loved them both, but I downgraded much of my system this past year for both money and simplification purposes, but the WTA will forever stay).

SteveFord · « **Reply #2 on:** 19 Apr 2012, 03:15 am »

For what it's worth I have two of the earlier Well Tempereds and use 2M Blacks on both.
I have no complaints with the sound quality.

jsawyer09 · « **Reply #3 on:** 19 Apr 2012, 04:14 pm »

Quote from: SteveFord on 19 Apr 2012, 03:15 am

For what it's worth I have two of the earlier Well Tempereds and use 2M Blacks on both.
I have no complaints with the sound quality.

Perfect! Then you won't have to go through the hassle and trials of finding the right cart.

Oh, also, the footers on the Well Tempered 'tables are quite effective; I wouldn't think you'd need any type of sandbox. Ultimately, though, that would be up to you. I've read on some forums people trying out different isolations, and wound-up scraping them because they affected the sound or performance in some way or another when compared 'nude' (or original form).

roscoeiii · « **Reply #4 on:** 19 Apr 2012, 04:22 pm »

I agree with jsawyer09 about possibly not needing the sandbox. Unless you have very springy wood floors. That's the only instance that in which I felt my WTA needed more isolation. And in that case you may be better off with a Ginko cloud or Townshend Seismic Sink.

jshefik · « **Reply #5 on:** 21 Apr 2012, 05:30 am »

I got to audition the Amadeus GT today with a very different setup than I am used to, and very interesting to get a taste of. Shindo amplification ( 10 watts) and DeVore Fidelity speakers. I currently have a plinius 8200 integrated amp (150 watts) and Nestorovic 5as mkIII speakers, circa 1990, very dynamic and powerful . We started out with a Jimi Hendrix Electric Ladyland import I have had for over 30 years. The system was spookily quiet and I was getting used to the sound and just noticing things till Jimi started singing after a long Jam. I was really overwhelmed by what I was hearing. So real and alive. Next I threw an old Billy Cobham solo album cut from Total Eclipse to see the dynamics. Again, I think what was lacking was not turning it up to 11 to get the visceral effect I like from that cut.

I liked the look and fit and finish of the table and the only thing that stopped me from buying one right on the spot ,was a killer speaker deal came up that I could not pass on. As good as the Nesty's are, the mids had been sounding a little strained and bass not tight enough. I have a pair of Usher Mini Dancer 2's on a truck to my house at this minute. Hope to get them Wednesday. I also picked up a Musical Surrounding Nova Phonomena to get a taste of MC cartridges. Hopefully a cartridge I can mount on the Music Hall, then switch to the Amadeus, as time and money allow.

jshefik · « **Reply #6 on:** 3 Jul 2012, 11:05 pm »

I am now a new Amadeus owner! Have been learning a bit today, patience is key. In the past month I added the new Phono pre(Nova Phonomena) and just a few weeks ago a huge addition, the Dynavector xx2 mkII based on this forum. That cartridge is a great step up from my Ortofon 2M black.
I was expecting the same kind of leap after getting the WTA. I recieved it yesterday and started spinning this morning. Underwhelmed at first, reading all I have read, I know this will take a bit of time. Noticed a bit of wobble in the platter, posted here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iuzv_7-_U6w&feature=youtu.be

Don't know if this is too much wobble or not, have e-mailed Mike and the dealer I bought it from.
Next I added more arm goo, I guess I am at 1/3 up the ball now, it helped.
I also have the DPS, which I just determined is adding a bunch of hum??!!! I have switched to the wal wart which adds no noise.

An interesting beginning, expectations can be a funny thing. I thought it would torch the Music Hall MMF7 right out of the box. If and when I get it to as big a step up as the Dynavector was to the Ortofon, I will be a happier camper.

SteevA · « **Reply #7 on:** 4 Jul 2012, 12:14 am »

Any wobble is too much wobble. Your video shows too much wobble.

I have found playing with vta, tracking weight and the damping fluid depth to be very beneficial when setting up the Versalex (also with an XX2 Mk2). I don't imagine the Amadeus will be any different in this regard.

It is a bit of a circular exercise as changing one element often effects the setting of one, or both, of the others. I ended up tracking at about 2.05g with the back of the arm about 1mm higher than the front and the goo about 1/3 of the way up the golf ball.

Don't get any hum from the DPS now that I have earthing sorted. You need to experiment with earthing.

Steve

vortrex · « **Reply #8 on:** 4 Jul 2012, 12:53 am »

Something is definitely wrong if it doesn't stomp all over the 7.1. The ball looks really high in the cup to me. Where in the relation to the top edge of the cup is the tube going through the ball? Mine is even with the top of the cup. Also, definitely should be zero wobble.

SteevA · « **Reply #9 on:** 4 Jul 2012, 02:10 am »

I don't think the absolute height of the cup is material to performance as long as the arm has sufficient clearence above it to move without hitting it (found to be a bit of an issue of the OOTB Versalex - at least the two I have had contact with) and the goo level is correct in relation to the ball.

Steve

vortrex · « **Reply #10 on:** 4 Jul 2012, 03:45 am »

Its not the height of the cup I would worry about its the total amount of goo in the cup and the distance from the bottom of the ball to the bottom of the cup. To have that ball seemingly sitting so high up, and still having the ball 1/3 submerged, the cup must be almost full? Probably best to set it up like the manual says and how all the pictures on the net show, at least as a starting point. Also, having the horizontal tube level with the top of the cup greatly helps to set azimuth quickly by visual inspection.

jshefik · « **Reply #11 on:** 4 Jul 2012, 05:44 am »

The tube is horizontal with the top of the cup. If anything I am on the low side of 1/3. Hard to tell where the ball is in relation to the bottom of the cup. The height of the cup is a few mm under the recommended 40 and the arm is spot on the 95mm suggestion.

threadkiller · « **Reply #12 on:** 4 Jul 2012, 02:55 pm »

It's your wobbling that concerns me. That's saying your platter is not sitting correctly in the bearing. Good to hear you contacted Mr P, he'll get you sorted.

And don't have too much goo on the ball. Some newbies start out bathed in fluid, ending up with an overdamped dull sound.
Set up correctly, which yours is not, it will cream a Music Hall by a country mile, or probably most any table you've heard.
Good luck and report back with your progress.

jshefik · « **Reply #13 on:** 5 Jul 2012, 05:05 am »

Threadkiller, Mike saw the video link and said it was within the 1mm spec.

Glad I had the 4th off to get this table singing!!! It definitely is a highly changeable sound, Went back and forth with goo level and VTA and stylus pressure. Got it sounding good, then remembered I had the xx2 mkII loaded at 100 ohms for the MMF 7(loading did not seem to do much on it) resetting it to 53 ohms for the WTA was a dramatic change for the better. I am now hearing what I have been reading about for the past few months.

I wound up with the ball 1/2 in the goop, still have a lot of great extension and not at all dull, good bass and rhythm that slays giants

Thanks to all here and ofcourse Bill Firebaugh for thinking way out of the box...After adjusting the Amadeus all day and getting used to it, it all makes so much sense. Bravo!

Erocka2000 · « **Reply #14 on:** 5 Jul 2012, 06:49 pm »

Congrats on your new Amadeus! I'm glad you got it sorted out. Though having the ball half-submerged sounds like it may be a bit too much. Also, combined with your setting of 53 ohms on the XX2, it would seems that the sound should be pretty closed-in and damped. But if it sounds good to you, that's all that matters in the end.

jshefik · « **Reply #15 on:** 5 Jul 2012, 09:16 pm »

Definitely not over damped or closed in! I am back to about 1/3 goo level with a even VTA as opposed to a little +VTA before. The bridle length was a bit more than the 25mm it shows in the manual, not much I can do about that and sounding good so...

roscoeiii · « **Reply #16 on:** 5 Jul 2012, 10:37 pm »

I began the thread below in hopes that folks who felt like their WTA was really well-dialed in would post measurements that could help new WTA owners in their set-up (as starting points at least). No one ever took me up on the sugestion (and I didn't have enough TT experience to feel confident offering my measurements). Anyway, my suggestion:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=102552.0

As a helpful starting point at least...

drubin · « **Reply #17 on:** 5 Jul 2012, 11:17 pm »

It's this kind of stuff that gets me thinking about buying a Rega instead of a WTA.

roscoeiii · « **Reply #18 on:** 5 Jul 2012, 11:22 pm »

May not quite be at the Rega level of set it and forget it. But this stuff doesn't take too long to get sorted out. And I'd far rather mess with these types of things than digging out protractors for proper cartridge alignment.

But of course, what would be ideal is to compare a comparably priced and properly set-up Rega and a properly set-up WTA side-by-side...

vortrex · « **Reply #19 on:** 5 Jul 2012, 11:38 pm »

Quote from: drubin on 5 Jul 2012, 11:17 pm

It's this kind of stuff that gets me thinking about buying a Rega instead of a WTA.

What a horrible decision that would be. Rega is garbage. If you can't handle the oddness of the Amadeus at least get something like a VPI Classic. My tricked out Rega P5 was by far the biggest disappointment of any piece of audio gear I've had.