[rydenfan]

my Truth TP review should be posted by this weekend on SonicFlare...

cheers,

Danny

Sweet! I cannot wait to read it. Care to share any advanced thoughts? 

[modwright]

Thanks Danny, I look forward to reading it!

Take care,

Dan W.

[Bigfish]

I received my ModWright Transporter on Friday and was finally able to open/connect it into my system yesterday due to a travel schedule.  I wanted to thank Dan and his team for the quick order response time and to say a word about the excellent packaging job!  It was packaged as securely as anything I have ever purchased.  I think a UPS Truck would have had to run over the box to cause any apparent physical damage to the unit.

My comments so far:  It sounds very good out of the box and rates 10 stars out of a possible 10 for cool looks.  I plan to play the unit non-stop for at least 500 hours before critically listening or rolling tubes.

Ken

[NickS]

Congrats, BF... when did you place your order with Dan?  Curious because I entered his production cue recently.

Also curious as to what sources that your new TP will replace.

[Bigfish]

Congrats, BF... when did you place your order with Dan?  Curious because I entered his production cue recently.

Also curious as to what sources that your new TP will replace.

Nick:

I placed my order just prior to Dan's announced date to raise the pricing on the ModWright Transporter.  I think the ship date after order placement was approximately 3 weeks.  Pretty darn quick considering that Dan was in Europe for an Audio Show during my waiting period.

My system consists of:

Odyssey Mono SE Amps
Odyssey Candela Preamp with Amperex Bugle Boy Tubes
Modwright Transporter replacing a basic analog modded S3 with Platinum Caps and modded Elpac Brick PS. (note the S3 was connected to a stock Burson Buffer and from the Buffer to the preamp).
SP Tech Timepiece 2.1's (all 3.0 upgrades with exception of wooden face)
Grover S ICs (Graphite Color)
HT Pro 9 SCs
Black Sand Silver MKV PCs to the Amps, Preamp and ModWright Transporter
Squeezecenter 7.1 running on a AMD powered PC

Ken

[ted_b]

Wow the Club/Owners Circle is getting larger every day.

Congrats Bigfish!!!  Take your time and break-in slowly, but listen to music...cuz unlike some digital it sounds great outta the box.   

[RockRobster]

Well, I got mine last night.  I wanted to echo BigFish's comments about packaging.  Got back my original box inside a much larger box with several inches of peanuts between them.  Very impressive.  A small detail to be sure, but engineering is all about the details.  I was impressed.

Got it hooked up last night.  Agree with Ted.  Right out of the box it sounds great, but it got better during the evening.  It has been running all night and, the plan is like BigFish's; to run it non-stop for break-in, and then see what we want to do with the tubes.

Speaking of break-in, how long is this process?  Tubes are generally settled in by 100 hours, but there are some nice new caps in there that will probably have a longer break-in period.  Does anyone have any good numbers.



That is one serious transformer in there.  The unit weighs a lot more that it did when it left.

Rob

[rydenfan]

So great to see more people by the day enjoying this great product. 

The tubes need about 75 hours or so and the caps probably 200-300 hours.

[RockRobster]

Some of the posters have included pictures with their posts.  How does one do this?  My intent is to upload them from my hard drive, not provide a link from a website,

Thanks,

Rob

[ted_b]

Some of the posters have included pictures with their posts.  How does one do this?  My intent is to upload them from my hard drive, not provide a link from a website,

Thanks,

Rob

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=54753.0

[RockRobster]

Thanks, Ted.

That's what I needed.  Let's see if this works.



Rob

[NickS]

OK, so to pass the time until Dan gets finished building my new TP, I install Squeezecenter, learn all about lossless ripping and convert my entire music collection to indexed files onto a network storage drive.

Tick, tock, time begins to pass slowly... then it occurs to me -> since I would like to have a Squeezebox Controller-> why not go ahead and buy a Duet?  That would let me test out the system in advance of the MW TP and then relegate the black box to a second room upon TP's arrival. 

Brilliant!

The Duet shows up yesterday and leaps into action in a remarkably short amount of time.  I hook it up leading its digital output to a Cullen Stage 4 modified PS Audio DAC III.

Hmmm, it sounds pretty good.  No, it sounds very good.  Hell, it sounds excellent.  Well, what would you expect with a decent foundation system and the awesome postprocessing capabilities of the Cullen modified DAC?

One niggling issue keeps surfacing from the depths of my consciousness whilst I listened critically to musical pieces that I have heard hundreds of times:  there is clearly more "there" there, it just doesn't seem able to produce the holographic soundstage and image that has so addicted me to with my tube CD player.  What a conundrum; both are great in their own, but very different ways, but neither does it all.

I could rock on most happily through the balance of my audiophilic life with this system in its present configuration.  The couple of pals that I've had over to hear it have left slackjawed, muttering insensibilities.  Curious thing is, it REALLY whet my appetite for deploying the forthcoming TP.  It is also pretty cool to be able to compare the various configs (following appropriate break-in of the new TP, of course).

So tonight, with a headfull of excellent sounds, I go to my computer to catch up on my emails and...

W O O   H O O . . .  I receive a tracking number indicating that my TP has shipped.

When, once again, I find myself in the presence of my wife, I wonder, why is she is looking at me funny?

To be continued...

[ted_b]

Nick, great post.  I think you'll find that the 3d holographic soundstage returns magically when...um...UPS/Fed Ex arrives.   It may take a little bit of tube rolling (and about 200 hours of cap break-in) but it's pretty special.  It will be very interesting to hear your comparos of the TP and the nice Cullen-modded PS Audio DAC (no slouch whatsoever).  I think it might be a classic SS vs tube thing.

[CometCKO]

Hey Ted_b, has your system stabilized yet?  Seems you were simultaneously fiddling with speakers, tubes, IC's, power cords, etc.? 

My real question: have you had time to try out the Reflektor 6H30-DR's yet?  I'm thinking of buying a set, but was waiting to hear how you liked them, and with which rectifier you prefer them?

I'm bidding on some more rectifiers (GZ32's and GZ37's), so I'll keep you posted on my explorations.  Still using the 6N1P's, and occasionally some RCA 6CG7's that work better with some of the rectifiers I've tried.

thanks!

Frank

[CometCKO]

<CLIP>

then it occurs to me -> since I would like to have a Squeezebox Controller-> why not go ahead and buy a Duet?  That would let me test out the system in advance of the MW TP and then relegate the black box to a second room upon TP's arrival. 
<CLIP>

When, once again, I find myself in the presence of my wife, I wonder, why is she is looking at me funny?

To be continued...

Great post Nick!  I still find my old Thinkpad is a great audio controller for the Transporter.  I like to build playlists on the fly, based on my mood.  How are you finding the Duet as a controller for the TP?  I'd like to get one for my bedroom, as a source for my old (1959!) Eico HF-81.

Keep us posted on your Transporter experience. aa

Frank

[ted_b]

Hey Ted_b, has your system stabilized yet?  Seems you were simultaneously fiddling with speakers, tubes, IC's, power cords, etc.? 

My real question: have you had time to try out the Reflektor 6H30-DR's yet?  I'm thinking of buying a set, but was waiting to hear how you liked them, and with which rectifier you prefer them?

I'm bidding on some more rectifiers (GZ32's and GZ37's), so I'll keep you posted on my explorations.  Still using the 6N1P's, and occasionally some RCA 6CG7's that work better with some of the rectifiers I've tried.

thanks!

Frank

Frank,
The 6H30's as stock tubes (the Sovtek Ep or PI versions) were a poor to fair tube in the TP but a nice stock tube in the LS 36.5 preamp.  Well......the Reflektor DR's I bought from Parts Connexion arrived last week and I let them settle in on the TP for about 48-72 hrs.  Then I gave them a listen (with the Philips GZ32 rectifier).  Holy Sh$t....what an incredible difference.  Night and day, really, compared to the regular 6H30's, and easily (yes, easily) the best signal tubes I've yet to hear in the TP.  The dynamics, 3d soundstage and the bass, my gosh the bass!  I listened for two straight nights and couldn't believe how a pair of signal tubes could make such a difference.  But I remembered that some folks like David (rydenfan) liked them even more as the 6H30 replacements in the LS 36.5.  So the next night in the went, and another 24 hrs of settling.  Well......drum roll pelase....they lose NOTHING in that position, and gain the flexibility of adding/rolling different tubes in the TP.   I've settled on my Raytheon Black plate 6CG7's in the TP, with the DR's in the pre.  It's a wonderful sound and one that I could live with forever.  Of course, i'm gonna continue to tweak, but the DR's aren't moving.  They stay in the pre!  Forever.

Net/net, run out and buy them, either for the TP or the 36.5 (and yes, I'm tempted to buy another pair and do both, but something tells me it will be a case of less is more).  They are like steroids, and I'm not sure a double dose is called for.

[CometCKO]

Hey Ted, you convinced me!  Your description has me excited!  I've just now ordered a set... 

I'll keep you posted on my results.  I've got another seven or eight varieties of rectifiers coming, including some 1944 Osrams, some early RCA's and early CBS 5U4's.  Lots of stuff to keep me busy.

Hope you have a great holiday weekend!  thanks for the tips.

Frank

[NickS]

 How are you finding the Duet as a controller for the TP? 

Hey Frank, although I've never been much of an iPod guy, the controller interface is really excellent and makes access to music a joy as opposed to a chore.

Funny thing happened this morning though...  I went to use the Controller and it was dead as a doornail.  After roosting in the charger for several hours there was still no joy.  Then it occurred to me that the damn thing probably just timed itself out and had to be restarted.  A quick gape at the manual and I was back in bidnuss.  Turns out you have to depress the "home" key to get it to power on.

In short, after using the controller for only a couple of days, I heartily recommend it for use with the controller.  Seeing the album art on the display is hugely helpful for withdrawal from physical media.

[NickS]

 Well......the Reflektor DR's I bought from Parts Connexion arrived last week and I let them settle in on the TP for about 48-72 hrs.  Then I gave them a listen (with the Philips GZ32 rectifier).  Holy Sh$t....what an incredible difference.  Night and day, really, compared to the regular 6H30's, and easily (yes, easily) the best signal tubes I've yet to hear in the TP.  The dynamics, 3d soundstage and the bass, my gosh the bass!  I listened for two straight nights and couldn't believe how a pair of signal tubes could make such a difference. 

Well, Ted, NOW I am stoked...  I have a pair of Reflektor DR's just sitting here listening for the UPS driver's knock on the door.  Also picked up a NOS Sylvania 5U4G rectifier as well.  Oh, and I didn't think the party would be ready to start without a couple of RCA cleartop 6CG7's. 

So many tubes, so little time...

What other tubes should I be taking out the AMEX for???   What is the concensus on best rectifiers for the TP so far?

[rydenfan]

My two favorite rectifiers are the GZ32 and the Tung Sol 5U4GB

Ted, gets all the love for the DR's