[robert1325]

A couple of weeks ago I bought a second hand SB2 with a bolder basic PS , I had it sent to Bolder for the analog mods ( GEn2 /Platinium) and some mods to the PS.   

Wayne , was great to communicate with, he was very clear about everything. He did a great job on the PS, he told me he rebuild the whole circuit....       He even lowered the value on the forms, for the customs.  ( They believed it to!)            

Yesterday I received the package, and ofcourse, The box wasn't layed to rest first but opened right away.
Wow that platinium squeezebox looks better than expected,  The PS , looks... well   basic.  But ok, it's there to serve another purpose.    I like the feet tough...   

Hooked it up to my cambridge/B&W setup, after some fiddling around with firmware updates ( It updated to 28, but I wanted version 15) I got it working.     First impressions:

PRo's      :   WOW this thing is dynamic
                 Very neutral , no coloration
                 Seperation is very good
                PRAT!!!   It reminds me of Vinyl, The bass, is also very vinyl like.

Cons :     Treble is very grainy
             Bass isn't "there" yet
               Imaging is not perfect

But I am sure the cons will dissapear in a couple of weeks,  After last night's burn in ( 20 hours) it already sounds much smoother, and the LOw-end is a lot clearer and louder !   

It's an excellent match with my CA/B&W,    My CA -cdp is out    ,   I really can't be happier,  I decided to keep my amp and get some nice cables (anti-cable) because what I'm using now is sh*t compared to my dad's nordost.  My dad hooked the SB2 up to his  300B valve amp/ B&W 801 setup , It sounded very musical but didn't match as good.   ( he really needs a pre-amp )     He uses a Wadia 23 , it's quite old now , but it creates a huge soundstage,  the SB sounded a bit smaller compared, a month's burn-in might make a difference....

Grandaddy's - the sopthwar slump sounds very nice now 

Thanks a lot Wayne!     

PS. Here's some pics ( Hope they work)

[robert1325]

WOWIE,  this thing is getting better and better,    listening to the Grateful dead, Live ,    and my speakers dissapear,  I've never had this with my setup!   And the BAss,  unbelievable,  bass guitar, drums everything!     

[robert1325]

It's unbelievable how the sound constantly changes,   the one minute it sounds awsome, next moment it sounds super grainy with lack of dynamics....  I am not patient enough....       Looking forward to changing my cables,   I think the SB would benefit a lot from a bit off mains conditioning, and the nitro DC cable ...     Ps.   Boards of canada sounds great

[mcgsxr]

Having been through it, you are right on the money, it does change rapidly, but eventually smooths out perfectly!

I have the Nitro cable, and use a DIY Felicia balanced power unit, both add marvelously.

[Wayne1]

Robert,

You are hearing capacitor break-in. Which for some reason a lot of people don't think happens 

The Black Gate caps in the SB internal PS section, The new caps in the external power supply and the Teflon caps in the coupling position of the SB are all going through changes as current flows through them.

The Black Gates take about 400 hours of constant use to get most of the break-in done. The Sonicap Platinums can take up to 1,000 hours to settle down.

I do feel a good balanced power conditioner will improve things a bit more. You may also want to try different AC cables into the SB PS. I do suggest you wait about a month for most of the caps to form before you start changing things.

The power supply I updated for you can now use the Nitro or Summit DC cable. Either will also improve the sound of the SB.

You also may want to move the SB away from your amp. The magnetic field from the AC transformer might be effecting the SB. I suggest some type of wooden shelf.

[yo2tup]

WOWIE,  this thing is getting better and better,    listening to the Grateful dead, Live ,    and my speakers dissapear,  I've never had this with my setup!   And the BAss,  unbelievable,  bass guitar, drums everything!     

does this mean the imaging has improved?

i'm considering the analog mods, and imaging is something i look for

[robert1325]

Well, yes the imaging has already improved, but as wayne says, it needs some time to settle, ( did I spell that right?)      It changes a lot, but the sound is very musical and enjoyable.... I don't think you can go wrong with this for the money...     You have to consider the limitations of my amplifier and cables to.   I never heard a soundstage like this on my stereo,  You can point you finger and say: that's where the guitarist is playing!      But this imaging is nog consistent,  it sometimes dissapear completly,   I think this has to do with the burn-in effect.

The first thing on my list are, speaker cables and IC's.  My current cables consist of sonic link speaker wire, vdhull d102 mk3 interlinks.    Second thing on my list is the power, I'll get a special conditioner from china , It got some good reviews and is very affordable and I'll probably get some powercables from the same shop as it's very cheap to get it from there.

 I might get a Nitro power cable but I'm sure about the DC cable, it will be upgraded to Nitro....    I can't afford summit...    Did I read somewhere , you could get the nitro cable a bit cheaper when you owned a Bolder PS?     

Ok, I'll try to put the SB somewhere else,  Not sure where,   I could make some hooks on the bottom of the top shelf,  to get it a bit further away from the amp.    I know these things can  really matter, Last week I raised my speaker cables from the floor ( as you can see in the picture) And it gave a clear improvement. 

Thanks for the comments, I'm enjoying the SB and It's running 24/7 ( just to get it burned in faster)

Robert

[tdangelo]

Hey Robert,  what conditioner from China are you talking about?

Thanks

Tony D.

[beatdownvictim]

Wow, that's weird! seeing my old stuff in someone else's rig.  I can understand how people cry when they see their kids moving out or growing up.  Robert, I have NO doubt in my mind that Wayne's mods are going to make you happy.  Wayne's a brilliant modder and he knows good sound.  I'm glad you're enjoying the combination, and i'm happy that Wayne improved on the original SB2.  I could have sworn, I just sent that thing 2 weeks ago, next thing ya know, Wayne's worked his magic on it and it's already sent over to you.  Damn..... I'm just happy that the SB2 and PS have a new home.  Cheers to Wayne for his great work and fantastic service.

Carson

[robert1325]

Carson,  thanks a lot for the SB and the PS,   you shipped it very fast...  I like the platinium color .

and Good luck with your audio adventure 

Tony D:   http://www.ornec.com/product/EU/100307/      There has been a powerbuy on a dutch home theater forum, and it worked out just fine...       someone preffered it over the isotek conditioner...   Keep the shipping costs in mind,  if you order 11 kg or 21 kg and over , you get a discount on the shipping costs.     

I just hookep up one of my dad's MIT powercables to the SB PS ,  and everything is much more focused.   The bass is fuller to.

[Wayne1]

Robert,

As you narrow the search for cables, I suggest you try to make sure your choice includes some with Teflon insulation. In my comparisons, I have found that most cables that use PVC sound "bloated" or "slow" in comparison.

[robert1325]

I will keep the teflon suggestion in mind,   

The SB2 has had 24/7 burn-in from the day it arrived   ,  about 180 hours on the clock right now.   

The thing is still improving a lot,  it sounds very full now, the high's are smooth and the low-end is very tight.    I love the combo with my cambridge,   sounds like there's some tube -gear in the signal path...

I hookep it up to my dads system, and compared it to his wadia cd23,    The squeezebox sounded a bit clearer,  but It's output is a bit to low for his 300B mono's, so it misses the dynamics of  the wadia.
 The difference between the two is very small.

Thank you again for this great piece of gear,   I'm loving it more and more every day.


Robert