[WEEZ]

does AVA use in their reference system?

I am sure I'm not the only one who's curious. It would be interesting to know the cartridge (Longhorn?) ; arm; table. Also the CD transport.

Care to share?

thanks,

WEEZ

[avahifi]

The turntable is an antique (now) Harman Kardon T-30 belt drive unit with the main platter bearing running in Moble One synthetic oil, and the arm bearings running in 1000 centastroke liquid silicon (it has the feel of greased glass - no play, no slop, and no friction).  The original power supply was removed and replaced with an external 12V DC supply that is very very stable.  This removes all AC fields from the turntable so that AC hum fields do not exist and the unit is very very very quiet.  It is sitting on a Sonus rack along with about 300 pounds of other equipment pretty much glued to a concrete floor (feedback is not an issue).  It cost me about $100 20 years ago and is still running strong.  The cartridge is our current model Longhorn Grado of course ($129 with a 30 day satisfaction guarantee).

The CD player is a ten year old Harmon Kardon single play unit with a coax digital output.  It has been absolutely reliable with no trackability issues with any CDs in my collection.  We use it with either the OmegaStar or Transcendence R-DAC.  I also use an older Philips CD player as a backup.  We can hear no differences between them at all when used with our DACs.
Hey its just a transport, reading ones and zeros, analog issues simply do not exist with the transport.  Claiming that you can hear differences in transports (ahead of the D to A converter) is like claiming that memos you write and store on your computer come out with better spelling and grammer depending upon which disc drive they are stored on.

The industry is so full of foo foo dust that it is like crabgrass squeezing out the real engineering.  Do engineers know everything there is to know about audio?  Of course not.  But they do know a few things for sure, and that analog issues do not apply to digital transports is one of them they do know for sure.

Frank Van Alstine

[WEEZ]

Interesting, thanks for the post.

I've owned several tables over the years. Currently, a VPI HW-19JR w/ MKIII platter & clamp upgrades; Audioquest PT-9 w/ Cardas Cross DIN; Grado Reference Sonata cartridge.

(Cartridge is 4mv; capacitance on cable is 26.4 pf/ft x3.25ft.)

Grado makes a .5mv version (Statement Sonata) that still likes a 47k load and is rumored to sound even better than the Reference version.

Question: Would the AVA phono inputs accept a cartridge with this low  output? Would a separate step-up device be needed? If so, would this change the 47k impedence?

(Appreciated the comments re: cd transports too.)

regards,

WEEZ

[avahifi]

I see no point in using a low output cartridge (which will add noise or require an expensive step up device) when our Longhorn Grado is only $129 and likely will outperform any stock Grado.  Frank

[Tonto Yoder]

Frank,
since you're already on the topic of the Longhorn cartridge, do your modifications to the Grado get rid of the Grado dance (the wild wiggling motion of the stylus in the groove when it hits a resonant frequency)???

I realize that you warn on your site about using the Longhorn with unshielded motors, so I assume that the Grado hum issue is "solved" by just avoiding the problem.

Thanks,

[WEEZ]

You know, I've used Grado cartridges off and on for 30 years- and I've never experienced the Grado "hum". ( At least to the extent that it's been talked about in the audio chatrooms ).

Yeah, I've had some hum in some cases but I have always been able to solve it - and the hum has not always been w/ Grado carts.

Frank, it's interesting that you think the low output cartridge would have more noise. Would this still be true with 56 db of gain in the phono stage vs. the 35-40 db in a typical phono amp?

I've owned cartridges from numerous makers over the years; admitedly in many different arms & 'tables; but I have always enjoyed the Grado's best. There's just something about that midrange and 'full-bodied' sound that keeps me loving vinyl.

I assume that the Grado's are synergistic w/ AVA phono stages?

regards,

WEEZ

[avahifi]

When you increase the gain of a circuit, you increase the residual thermal noise of the parts in the circuit too (the circuit is dumb, does not know what to amplify, amplifies everthing there is to amplify.  You can reduce noise with feedback, but that increases transient distortion too.  No way to win.

Regarding the "Grado jiggles".  Since the Longhorn stabilizer bar adds about 3 grams of mass to the cartridge, it will likely move the resonant frequency of the arm - cartridge system out of the stylus resonant point and solve that problem for you.  Note that the styus assembly is damped too, and that the torsional inertia of the damped stabilizer bar improves mechanical stability too.

If you simply want musical naturalness rather than hi-fi hype and exotic high prices, try our Longhorn Grado, its been working great for 20 years now and still is only $129.00.

Frank Van Alstine

[WEEZ]

Thanks for the input.

As always, AVA cuts thru the bs and gets to the basics. And I like that.

regards,

WEEZ