[JakeJ]

Hi All,

While I am not a newbie to audio I am a newbie to forums and after having done considerable lurking here at AC I decided to join. There is a great sense of camaraderie and a genuine sense that honest information is the primary goal of the participants, both private individuals those from the commercial world. I am interested in other forums and if you have one you like post or PM a link and I will do some lurking there as well.

I am a “Boomer” and I consider myself a “blue-collar” audiophile as I have always worked for an hourly wage and never made much over $50K in my best years, and those have numbered few since escaping the kitchen and going back to school. (Kudos to you, Mr. Babcock, for making the same decision!) This has led me to shop primarily in the used market as this allows me access to a broader range of products. I have purchase very few items new simply because I can’t justify the “off-the-lot” depreciation that comes with buying new. That’s the way it is for cars too, never bought a brand new car.

Over the past few months I have learned one major new lesson in audio here: if it sounds reasonable, try it! I recently had my SOTA Sapphire’s motor fail and so I sent it off to SOTA for repair. During that time I noticed that several areas of the main chassis (plinth?) had quite a bit of resonance in three areas on the top and all four sides. So I squished Plast-I-Clay onto the underside of the three top areas and stuck Soundcoat on the side panels as the clay would have interfered with the suspension. The result was a definite improvement in lowering the noise floor. A much darker background and thus a greater sense of resolution. I also bought an AT 440MLa for $95.29 shipped the very week the price increase was announced. Thanks TCG!

I also have always had hum problems when using my Ortofon T-3000 step-up. After reading various threads on the Hagerman Technology circle I bought and built a Piccolo, my hum problem is completely gone. There is a slight loss of detail and perhaps the overall image is reduced just a bit, the bottom line is no more hum. I am now spinning vinyl almost exclusively.

I love to DIY and rebuilt my Dyna Mark III amps using Curcio premium kits. Currently have a pair of butcher block amp stands in the works and a wall-mounted turntable shelf on the drawing board.

My next issue is room acoustics. I need lots of help there and I will post my questions in the appropriate circle.

Thanks and looking forward to conversing with many ACer’s in the future.

JakeJ

[loki1957]

Welcome, and nice system.

[JohnR]

G'day Jake Would love to see some pics and hear more about your modded Mk IIIs. I have a pair waiting for me to get around to putting the Triode Electronics PSU upgrade board into them.

[JakeJ]

Hi JohnR-

I'd love to upload more photos but am too stupid to figure out how. I know, I got the first one uploaded to create the album but I do not seem to be able add to the album.

I decided on the Curcio Audio Engineering premium mod and went the full boat, i.e. driver boards, regulated SS power supply, and under-the-chassis PS cap board. So all that remains from the original amps are the trannies, chokes, chassis', and some hardware. My amps were born in 1957 and 1960 so I lucked out on some vintage iron.

JoshK, I apologize as there are now two copies of the filename DynaMk3_062.JPG floating around on the server somewhere. I did a search and found some info on FAQ's but didn't see any real straight forward instructions on how to do it. When I am in my gallery and logged in I do not see any of the following buttons
[add photos] [new nested album]
[captions] [sort] [rebuild thumbs] 
[slideshow] PEBKAC!

I guess I'll go spin some vinyl and wait for some help and a thorough tongue lashing. 

JakeJ

[TheChairGuy]

Hey Jake - welcome to AC - what took ya' so long 

If you have at least 0.5mv output from your cartridge, and hi gain elsewhere in your system (as you might with tube electronics) and a reasonably efficient speakers at your disposal...ditch the step-up altogether.  If you can produce enough listening db's for your pleasure - you might find vinyl benefits from less phono amplification than you might want or need. 

That extra 20 or so db gain in your step up is also stepping up the noise that much and creating another set of lousy IC's and rca's for the feeble voltage to jump over. 

Less is often more with vinyl....as it is so involved from the start (the tweeks, equalization, added gain, isolation issues and the like)

John / TCG

[JakeJ]

Hey TCG!

Thanks for the advice. When I got the ALD-1 back from Steve McCormack the phono section did not have anywhere near enough gain even with the jumpers correctly set to high gain. I built the Piccolo to help figure out how much additional gain was needed and Steve sent me a diagram indicating which resistors to change out with suggested values. Actually the Piccolo is dead quiet and after I get the ALD-1 dialed in I'm gonna try it out with my Quicksilver full function pre as it definitely ain't got the cojones to fly solo. The Piccolo's sins are only those of omission not addition, in that respect I prefer it over the step-up transformer.

My main cart is a Lyra Lydian Beta and I want to build up a small harem of carts to play with as I'm sure you know they can change the flavor of the whole system just like tubes. 

[TheChairGuy]

Jake,

Yes...I have a Quicksilver Full Function preamp (the 2 rectifier version), too, it's got lots of gain.  I haven't tried it with my low output cartridges yet (the Pickering XLZ-7500S being the lowest at 0.33mv).

Good luck on that one, Jake 

[Double Ugly]

Welcome to AC, Jake.  If first impressions count for anything, I think you'll fit in just fine here.

And I mean that in the best possible way.   

[lonewolfny42]

Hello Jake....

Nice to see you have de-lurked...posting is more fun.
As for posting photo's...take a look at this link....

Any further problems....there's always someone around to help...just holler.
Nice system....happy listening...

                           Chris

[JakeJ]

Thanks, lonewolfny42, I got the insert an image within a post figured out now (see below).
My problem is I can't figure out how to add photos to my gallery/album. I created my system and uploaded the "Big Rig" image and linked the two then figured out how to place a link to my system in my signature. I think I created my gallery incorrectly thus cannot add photos or create nested albums. Cart before the horse syndrome?
 
Here ya go, JohnR!


Complete "frame up resto" including a paint job as my chassis' had some minor pitting. Full boat CAE premium mods w/ SS rectified/regulated PS. These have been in service for over a year now and there is so little bias drift that I only check it every other month or so, and then I think that's because I'm a techno-geek and find the need to fondle my meter on regular basis.

TCG-
The Lyra is a half millivolt cart and when I tried it direct into the Quicksilver I had to crank the volume past 12 o'clock just to get about 60-70dB output. Just could not go to rockin' volume with this configuration nor was there much punch or weight to the music. The T-3000 has tons of hum with both preamps, perhaps there is a something wrong with it. However I have zeroed in on the resistor values I need to apply to the ALD-1, just need to get them.
On a side note: "2 rectifier version"? Mine has a 5AR4 full-wave rectifier tube in the PS and I am under the impression that this was the latest update available for it. Enlighten me, please.

DU & loki1957-
Thanks! loki- does the 1957 have a significance? Does for me.

[TheChairGuy]

TCG-
The Lyra is a half millivolt cart and when I tried it direct into the Quicksilver I had to crank the volume past 12 o'clock just to get about 60-70dB output. Just could not go to rockin' volume with this configuration nor was there much punch or weight to the music. The T-3000 has tons of hum with both preamps, perhaps there is a something wrong with it. However I have zeroed in on the resistor values I need to apply to the ALD-1, just need to get them.
On a side note: "2 rectifier version"? Mine has a 5AR4 full-wave rectifier tube in the PS and I am under the impression that this was the latest update available for it. Enlighten me, please.

Okay, was worth the try (running straight into the Quicksilver).

The (single) 5AR4 were the last models of the preamp...the earlier vintage, twin 6X4 rectified units were reported to sound better....but, at the expense of shorter lifespan of the rectifiers.  I talked to Mike about it at Quicksilver, but he said as long as I'm not eating a lot of tubes (it hasn't needed re-tubing in the 9 months I used it), then leave it be.  Pretty refreshing guy he is 

Turns out now I like tube amplification and (dual-mono architecture) SS pre-amplification (noise and bass heft issues predominate with that decision for vinyl, in particular)...so my Quickie has sat idle for a while now in the closet 

It was spectacular when used with SS monoblocks a year + ago 

John / TCG

[Rob Babcock]

Welcome to AC, Jake!  Hope you enjoy the site.

[JakeJ]

Hi Rob!

Thanks for the welcome. I, too, made the decision to leave chefdom and pursue a different career. Having managed kitchens I got a good look at the bottom line and saw it wasn't pretty. Also watched a few friends start their own small restaurants and become so absorbed by them that they excluded all other stimulus in their lives, I knew I didn't want that.

So I went to school and got into Industrial Automation & Process Controls and have been much happier ever since. Just as challenging and more rewarding both in terms of emotional satisfaction a well as monetary.

Sorry, a bit OT but I can relate to Rob's current choices and challenges and wanted give him special shout-out. I still enjoy cooking and have a lot of fun making special dishes for potlucks at work. Best of luck and don't give up, you will be rewarded well in the long run.

Regards,
Jake