Altmann Demo Tour

Brad · « **Reply #20 on:** 6 Feb 2007, 03:43 am »

I have a 12 volt car battery charger if I need it.
I also can go pick up a battery.

I'll let Fred and the HAS guys know they'll probably have the Altmann for their meeting.
My Hawthorne baffles that Fred did most of the work on are the backup plan

miklorsmith · « **Reply #21 on:** 6 Feb 2007, 04:56 am »

Nice backup! Not sure that wouldn't be my primary plan.

Altmann recommends an Optima Red Top car battery. I'm just using an SLA like Vinnie uses for his stuff. Charles has only used the Red Top and says different batteries will sound different. I'm perfectly happy with the littler SLAs. Plus, the shipping bill to the 8 stops will be much cheaper!

I've got an extra of Vinnie's chargers laying around that will get shipped to Brad tomorrow. This one has a "charging complete" light that should take any guesswork out of the charging process. I've soldered some alligator clips onto the wires where now the leads are soldered onto the battery terminals. Overall, this should be a sleeker setup which also will be easier to remove should we have further battery problems. I've included another set of alligator clips so the power supply for the DAC itself can be reconfigured with a similar system very easily.

My fingers are crossed everything will come together for your meeting.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #22 on:** 6 Feb 2007, 06:28 am »

Seminarian.....Nice review !!

Quote

There is one demo track that I must comment on. "Keep the Bugs of Your Glass and the Bears off Your Ass" by The Bad Plus (whatever that is). I am guessing this is a demo track for the purposes of demonstrating bass reproduction. Well the Altmann just smokes the SN on the bass lines. It was actually a bit scary. A growling drive I never heard before.

The Bad Plus are a Jazz group signed to Columbia Records. That track is on their "These Are The Vistas" cd.....the Rave uses it for demonstrating bass reproduction.

RoadTripper · « **Reply #23 on:** 6 Feb 2007, 06:47 am »

LW, you are one of the guys whose impressions I want to hear. Especially as the Altmann compares to the Paradisea DAC. Looks like you have a bit of a wait. Especially if they all take as long as I did. Sorry.

And I am now going to be picking up a CD or two from those Bad glass bear guys.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #24 on:** 6 Feb 2007, 06:58 am »

Quote from: Seminarian on 6 Feb 2007, 06:47 am

LW, you are one of the guys whose impressions I want to hear. Especially as the Altmann compares to the Paradisea DAC. Looks like you have a bit of a wait. Especially if they all take as long as I did. Sorry.

And I am now going to be picking up a CD or two from those Bad glass bear guys.

I have no problem waiting....I asked to be last.

I'll compare the Altmann with the Paradisea and my main dac, the EA modded ECD-1. Even have a few others "hanging around".

Jon L · « **Reply #25 on:** 6 Feb 2007, 07:02 am »

Quote from: Seminarian on 6 Feb 2007, 06:47 am

LW, you are one of the guys whose impressions I want to hear. Especially as the Altmann compares to the Paradisea DAC. Looks like you have a bit of a wait. Especially if they all take as long as I did. Sorry.

And I am now going to be picking up a CD or two from those Bad glass bear guys.

I just read your review. Which "Scott Nixon" DAC do you own, and what mods were done to it by Vinnie? Is it TubeDAC+, but that thing is AC-powered

rajacat · « **Reply #26 on:** 6 Feb 2007, 07:19 am »

Hmmmm.... It would be interesting to compare the Altman/Bolder Digital SB to Bolder analog SB. By most accounts the Bolder analog SB compares favorably to the digital mod version even using high end dacs.

Raj

RoadTripper · « **Reply #27 on:** 6 Feb 2007, 07:20 am »

My SN is not the TubeDac+. I don't really know what the mods were except that the SN is now battery powered.

Loftprojection · « **Reply #28 on:** 6 Feb 2007, 12:24 pm »

Quote from: lonewolfny42 on 6 Feb 2007, 06:58 am

Quote from: Seminarian on 6 Feb 2007, 06:47 am
LW, you are one of the guys whose impressions I want to hear. Especially as the Altmann compares to the Paradisea DAC. Looks like you have a bit of a wait. Especially if they all take as long as I did. Sorry.

And I am now going to be picking up a CD or two from those Bad glass bear guys.
I have no problem waiting....I asked to be last.
I'll compare the Altmann with the Paradisea and my main dac, the EA modded ECD-1. Even have a few others "hanging around".

Ho YESSSS, that will be a good review. I have the Paradisea and it was a tough decision, I was really tempted by the Altmann. Since I could not test out either before buying, I decided to go with the cheaper mostly based on a review in 6moons or enjoythemusic, I don't remember. If you can do a direct comparison between the two I will be ever grateful!

Harmon · « **Reply #29 on:** 6 Feb 2007, 01:52 pm »

What charger is used to recharge the Optima Red Top car battery? Also, I believe there are 3 Optima batteries that have red tops. Thanks

miklorsmith · « **Reply #30 on:** 6 Feb 2007, 03:42 pm »

Hey, nice review Bruce! Thanks a lot, that was EXACTLY what I was hoping the tour would generate.

On the charger situation, the main instructions by Altmann are for the Red Top car battery which will run 200 hours between charges. So, unplugging that beast is necessary AND not that big of a deal.

When I decided to go with the smaller battery, I wrote to Charles Altmann about using the 500 mA charger, plugged in all the time and he said not to worry about it.

Once it's all set up, this system is no more difficult than one of Vinnie's to run. It's less polished but also more flexible, as you can choose whatever 12 volt SLA you want, from a little 5 hour unit to a giant car battery. Maybe a 300 lb. marine battery? Now THERE'S some cranking amps for ya!

Brad · « **Reply #31 on:** 13 Feb 2007, 03:52 pm »

The Altmann arrived Friday
It didn't make it to the HAS meeting due to a funeral Saturday morning.

I got everything hooked up Sunday night and listened for about an hour.
I finally had a good long 3 hour listening session last night.

I'm starting to get a pretty good feel for what the Altmann does.
It definitely falls into the hair shirt category

I have had no issues with the battery/charger I let the RatShack battery I bought charge for a day before the Altmann got here.
My car charger has a 2 amp/deep cycle setting that worked pretty well. Mike's charger worked a little better for a fill-up Sunday night.

I plan on shipping to MGalusha next Monday (It'll go out 2 day air, with Miklorsmith's charger)

I'll post full review hopefully Sunday night.
Comparisons will be:

Using Altmann as DAC with modded SB2 as transport
Using Altmann as DAC with modded Toshiba universal player as transport
vs SB2 analog outputs
vs SACD output from Toshiba
vs Vinyl

Thanks again Mike

miklorsmith · « **Reply #32 on:** 13 Feb 2007, 04:25 pm »

Hey, thanks! Glad the sucker's working!

Loftprojection · « **Reply #33 on:** 14 Feb 2007, 12:17 am »

Quote from: Brad on 13 Feb 2007, 03:52 pm

The Altmann arrived Friday
It didn't make it to the HAS meeting due to a funeral Saturday morning.

I got everything hooked up Sunday night and listened for about an hour.
I finally had a good long 3 hour listening session last night.

I'm starting to get a pretty good feel for what the Altmann does.
It definitely falls into the hair shirt category

I have had no issues with the battery/charger I let the RatShack battery I bought charge for a day before the Altmann got here.
My car charger has a 2 amp/deep cycle setting that worked pretty well. Mike's charger worked a little better for a fill-up Sunday night.

I plan on shipping to MGalusha next Monday (It'll go out 2 day air, with Miklorsmith's charger)

I'll post full review hopefully Sunday night.
Comparisons will be:

Using Altmann as DAC with modded SB2 as transport
Using Altmann as DAC with modded Toshiba universal player as transport
vs SB2 analog outputs
vs SACD output from Toshiba
vs Vinyl

Thanks again Mike

Would you mind mentioning either here or in the review what are the mods on your SB2? I have a RWA modded SB2 and a Paradisea DAC so your comparison combinations are very interesting to me!!!

playntheblues · « **Reply #34 on:** 14 Feb 2007, 01:43 am »

Hey guys where is the review I can't seem to find it

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #35 on:** 14 Feb 2007, 01:45 am »

Quote from: playntheblues on 14 Feb 2007, 01:43 am

Hey guys where is the review I can't seem to find it

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=36765.0

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #36 on:** 21 Feb 2007, 05:57 am »

Brad....

Your first review.......wow !

You did a nice job on it.....

Chris

Loftprojection · « **Reply #37 on:** 21 Feb 2007, 01:29 pm »

Brad, great review.

I also have an RWA Squeezebox as my source so I was really happy to read your review. If I may suggest, specially since your wallet seems to be a bit like mine

, you might want to check out the MHDT Paradisea DAC. From what I've read in your comparison with the analog out versus what I feel the Paradisea is improving for me I think you might be very happy with it at about a third of the price of the Altmann.

Brad · « **Reply #38 on:** 21 Feb 2007, 02:42 pm »

LoftPJ - I've been keeping an eye on both the Paradisea and the Constantine among the NOS dacs.
(And the Derek Shek).....

If it wasn't for the darn kids wanting FOOD and CLOTHES and TOYS and A ROOF OVER THEIR HEAD all the time I might spend a little more

miklorsmith · « **Reply #39 on:** 21 Feb 2007, 02:48 pm »

Thanks, Brad. Super job! It seems the battery/charger dilemma is taken care of. I had a super time on Friday, it was really nice to meet you. Glad you liked the fish!

Mike