[JohnR]

I think you'd like Australia......

Especially if you visit Sydney as well.

 



(J/K Hugh! - friendly inter-city rivalry for those who don't know )

[kyrill]

OK i understand Didn want to suggest a thorough approach, but I see yr point
and especially Sydney..

[JohnR]

In all seriousness, I am well overdue to visit Melbourne again. Ah... if only it were just a few hours down the road.

[AKSA]

John,

Likewise, wiseguy........  (the words of the immortal Groucho   )

Kyrill, buy that ticket early, next quarter Tapis crude will be $150 a barrel!

Cheers,

Hugh

[LM]

Hi Kyrill et al,

Been away with work (including Sydney) so haven't posted for a bit but happy to register an interest in any upgrade and especially fascinated by the Solens possibilities.  Currently looking at adding a stepped attenuator so I might talk through all of my options with Hugh following his excellent 07 May summary post.  Unfortunately, I am most definitely a follower rather than a leader when it comes to hifi experimentation and to this point I have been thrilled not only with Hugh's design, but the Platinum update to it.  So providing I can find room in the case, I'm very interested.

Re Sydney rivalry, just to risk getting us totally off track.  As a born and bred and enthusiastic Melburnian, albeit having spent a large chunk of my working life in the Sydney environs, the last few days up there have reminded me just how bad Melbourne drivers are in comparison.  It's hard to believe that driving in two cities in a largely common Australian culture could be so different.  Still, if one can stay off the roads as much as possible, the restaurants and theatre etc are great here and better still, Aspen is just up the road.

[curly joe]

Hi all, my first post here. My GK-1 just recently celebrated it's 1st birthday and received the platinum upgrade to celebrate the occasion. I just went with the 1µf Sonicap at C1 as it seems that most agreed this offered the greatest BFYB.
While I was at it I also swapped the the pot for a DACT stepped attenuator, and converted the input switching to reed relays instead of the Lorlin switch. I've only had one night of listening since the upgrade but I can safely say that I'm rapt with the result, It sounds superb.
Many thanks to those who spent their time so these upgrades are available for us lurkers. I'll be watching to see what the outcome of the changes to C4 and C7 is, might try that one next.


Cheers
CJ

[LM]

Hi curly joe and welcome.

Did you research/compare the DACT with any other attenuator or just take a punt?  Does it have good feel (torque) in the switching action etc.?
 

[whubbard]

Hi Curly,

Sounds like you’re having a great experience with your Gk-1. I personally went all the way with a TKD pot bypassed by vishays, but from what I hear the DACT is great! RonR is doing us all a huge favor by comparing the caps, and once he is done, I'm going to set up a group buy for whichever one he chooses. I'll make sure to give you a heads up when that comes around. 

On that subject...RonR...anything on the comparison yet?

-West

[curly joe]

Hi LM,

No, I didn't do a lot of research, other than a quick google search to get some feedback from other users. It  all seemed positive so that was good enough for me.  I also chose the DACT as it was available locally, through soundlabs group and looked easy to integrate into my pre. If I was going to get fussy I might have gone for a ladder type attenuator rather than the series type but I'm happy with the DACT. It's also a lot more compact than  some of the other units which made easy to fit in, not a lot of spare space available.

The feel of the unit seems fine to me, it has a smooth action, the steps are obviously noticeable but definitely not cluncky. It's a bit "lighter" to rotate than the supplied blue alps pot (which felt very nice in operation). I've only been using it for one night but happy with it's performance so far. It also seems well suited to the Gk-1 with my usual listening volume positioned just below the 12 o'clock position and fine enough adjustment to get volume set where I wanted it.

It's the first stepped attenuator I've bought or used so take that into account when reading the above, but I'm certainly happy with it.

http://www.soundlabsgroup.com.au/p/DACT-CT2-2/DACT+Stepped+Attenuator+-+Stereo

Cheers
CJ

[curly joe]

G'day whubbard,

Yes I had a grin from ear to ear while listening last night, very much enjoying what the pre does for my system. I didn't realise how much I'd missed it until it was reinstalled.
Thanks for the offer of a heads up on any group buy, id definitely be interested, much appreciated.

Cheers
CJ

[andyr]

RonR is doing us all a huge favor by comparing the caps, and once he is done, I'm going to set up a group buy for whichever one he chooses. I'll make sure to give you a heads up when that comes around. 

On that subject...RonR...anything on the comparison yet?

-West

Me too, please, Westy.  (I too have a TKD'd GK-1!  )

Regards,

Andy

[kyrill]

Spread the word, spread the word

[RonR]

I thought it was about time I reported in on the testing so far, so here's the (lack of) Progress report on C4 + C7 mods:

WIMA Caps were installed in the SS section of my GK-1, and left to burn in for 4 days.
Solen caps were then installed, and left to burn in for 4 days.

Unfortunately, during the Solen burn-in I contracted a heavy bout of Man-flu, so any attempt at a comparison between caps in my current blocked-up state would be pointless.
Hopefully I'll be over this in the next few days, then the testing can begin!

In the meantime, I'm open to suggestions for CD tracks to test with. Ideally, I'd like something with lots of fine detail in the background, and a mix of styles, instruments, acoustics, etc.

My short-list so far:

Steely Dan - Two against Nature
Eagles - Hell freezes over
Delius - Summer night on the river - Beecham / RPO
Nirvana - Nevermind
Nitin Sawney - Beyond skin

All suggestions gratefully received.

Cheers,

Ron

[kyrill]

on the Sheffield XLO  test record (CD) are fine tracks unless you dont have it
wish you a fast recovery

[VYnuhl.Addict]

Hi Ron,


    If you can get into some Cuban, Buena Vista Social Club, st, all live off the floor and superb in the room realism . But ultimately best I find to cover all styles like you suggest when testing a tweak or new design , from some good heavy rock, metal to light jazz, bluegrass, haha,the only catch is obviously finding something VERY well recorded of course as many can attest to. I have noticed that the better the resolution gets the more I really enjoy live recordings much more than their multitracked counterparts unless well done, ala say Al Shmidt, and the guys who still remember how to incorporate Real room ambience that doesnt come from a digital list in Pro Tools .


Colin

[andyr]

In the meantime, I'm open to suggestions for CD tracks to test with. Ideally, I'd like something with lots of fine detail in the background, and a mix of styles, instruments, acoustics, etc.

My short-list so far:

Steely Dan - Two against Nature
Eagles - Hell freezes over
Delius - Summer night on the river - Beecham / RPO
Nirvana - Nevermind
Nitin Sawney - Beyond skin

All suggestions gratefully received.

Hi Ron,

In terms of superbly recorded stuff (as well as yours above):

Dire Straights "Private Investigations" (the recent "Best of" release on Mercury) - particularly "Sultans of Swing"
Mark Knopler "The Ragpicker's Dream"
Jennifer Warnes "Famous Blue Raincoat" - particularly "Joan of Arc"
Jennifer Warnes "The Well" - "The Panther"
Leonard Cohen "Ten New Songs" - "Alexandra Leaving"
Isao Suzuki Trio "Black Orpheus", on Three Blind Mice
"Wagner for Band", on Mercury (Frederick Fennell & the Eastman Wind Ensemble)
Bob Marley "Chant Down Babylon", on Tuff Gong/Island
Bizet/Shchedrin "The Carmen Ballet", on EMI

Looking forward to your report.

Regards,

Andy

[kyrill]

Jens once you made a special disk with audiophile numbers

can you give some titles?

i am fond of Mercury living presence cd's all classic
for piano and its high overtones besides body and wood tones :
Byron Janis  Liszt - Piano Concertos Nºs 1 & 2
especially numbers 10-16 ( piano solo) PM me for tactical details

[RonR]

Great suggestions guys, keep 'em coming....

Kyrill, the Sheffield disc is now on order along with a Chesky "Ultimate demo disc". Although I have the Hi-Fi News test record on vinyl, the only test CD in my collection contained sine, square + sawtooth waves at differing frequencies and phases, not best for testing fine detail!

Ah yes, Jens' CD, I always meant to ask for a track listing for that.

Just had a look through my CDs, and I've added these to the short list:

Buena Vista social club - thanks Colin
Bob Marley - Legend - thanks Andy - I didn't know there was so much emotion in the man's voice until it was played through AKSA gear!
Jazz at the Pawn shop

I'm looking into the others.

Cheers,

Ron.

[AKSA]

Ah, yes,
 

Pawn at the Jazz Shop, always enjoyed the detail in that recording, very nicely done......

Thanks Ron, Kyrill, West, Andy, CJ, Colin and others,

Cheers,

Hugh

[whubbard]

Ron,

I too will put my vote in for Dire Straights. Make sure you listen to Walk of Life!

Andy, I laughed pretty hard when you called me Westy, as that is my nickname. For whatever reason, no matter where I go, people slowly gravitate towards Westy. Luckily I don't mind it at all. (Another common nickname has been 'North'...from all those true comedians out there)

While Ron kindly handles all the testing, I have another question to throw out there into this thread. Has anyone experimented with putting in an ELMA or other rotary switch? Has the difference over Hugh's been noticeable? I know Curly Joe used reed relays, but I would rather stick with a good rotary switch.

-West