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First, let me thank You and TNT-Audio team for some really good advices on HiFi. I'm new at this regardless of my age, and have found TNT does a really good job. On the other hand I'm in electrical appliances and installations for 20+ years and noticed that even dedicated engineers are mixing things in that area. To cut the long story short, yes, good grounding/earthing/equipotential bonding (whatever you want to call it) is namely security necessity and then we can see it's benefits it appliance function. As you have noticed at your house and audio system, bad electrical installations can make your life miserable.

What make me raise the alarm is your solution on grounding, separate groundings to be more specific. I want to point you in the right direction to check your grounding, especially after I read you have PV system installed. Problem I try to address is current flowing through the ground at the moment of lightning strike (direct or indirect). And PV arrays are "catchers" of electrostatic discharge, and it doesn't have to be direct one. What will happen is you'll have several thousands of volts difference on those separated rods all connected to different electrical components of your HiFi system that are interconnected. You can guess what will that do to them! And that's the best case scenario, not taking into account you (or someone else) will be touching them at that moment. Those rods, all of them should be directly connected to each other at one spot and then one single wire should enter your house. This way you'll have proper grounding and will be safe.

Please, take some time and watch this guy explaining grounding. Mike Holt, takes approach from American (US) NEC but fundamentally same things apply everywhere on the Globe because it's physics or electricity to put it better. You have spent so much time on self learning grounding, I'm sure it won't be a problem to take some time and go through those videos. And one more thing, we don't want some of our friends audiophiles to get into same situation. Right?

At the end, if I missed something in your article and you had this covered good for you, bad for me and discard this mail. If this helps you I'll be glad and will not ask for any credit, I'll satisfy with doing the right thing.
Best regards & take care,
Marko - E-mail: marko.pribanic (at) gmail.com

MW
Hi Marko,
Thank you for contacting me on this subject and the Ground Force Zero article. Safety is of paramount importance which is why every article we publish about mains wiring or mains voltages, or valve/tube plate voltages, contains strong wording that only a qualified person should undertake any work on electrical installations. The installation of the audio ring was connected up and tested by a qualified UK electrician, and the PV system was installed by a specialist company who employ their own qualified electricians. I strongly recommend all readers employ people who are qualified in the local regulations to undertake any electrical work.

Warning: do not conduct any experiments on your mains wiring.

• Employ a qualified registered professional electrician to make any alterations to your wiring.
• If you change your house wiring your children may be electrocuted and killed.
• Altered house wiring may cause your house to burn down and your insurance will be invalid.
• According to the BBC About 10 deaths each year in the UK are attributed to botched electrical work and fires caused by badly-installed wiring and appliances.
• You have been warned.

Thank you for writing because it gives us a timely excuse to remind readers about electrical safety. You say you are new to Hi-Fi; what brought the recent interest? Was it a particular piece of music?
Happy Listening,
Mark Wheeler

Streamer with storage
Hello,
I've got sporadic problems within my home network: my NAS, where the music is stored, is not always recognised by my home network. So I think that a streaming device equipped with a hard drive, or better 2 that can be configured in RAID 1, could eliminate the network issue and provide without hiccups a feed to my DAC.
The device should be able to play all current audio files (wav, flac, mp3, aac as well as dsf, ie DSD) and be remote controlled from an Android tablet. My DAC can accept up to PCM 24/384 (although my files collection is limited to 24/192) and DSD128 on an usb connector. Therefore the device should have a dedicated usb audio output able to output natively the above mentioned formats.
My current budget is of AU$1000 = US$700 = GBP600 = euros 600. If nothing exists within this price bracket please let me know about more expensive options. I might also consider buying on the second-hand market.
Thanks,
Jean-Christophe - E-mail: jean.xerri (at) adam.com.au

LC
Dear Jean,
any Cocktail Audio device will do exactly what you need, provided you install an internal hard disk for storage, though there are models with built-in HD as well. Some of the older models can also be found on the second-hand market. Other players with built-in internal storage are: Olive 04HD, Naim HDX or Uniti, Melco N1A, Meridian Soloos MC200 or NAD M50.2 but these are pretty expensive even if bought second-hand. Many other network players can be used with your own NAS, perhaps this will cure the problem.
Hope this helped somehow,
Lucio Cadeddu

Doge 7 review
Hello from France,
I have read with great interest your review of the Doge 7 DAC and I may be interested later. I am a great fan of the Doge 8 modded in France, this modification on the Doge made by The valve specialist in charge of the official after sale service of Doge in Europe and approved by the factory which has given birth to the clarity.
I have been told that the clarity was not as good as the original with the tweek and suffered from hum at the beginning. Have you any knowings about this.
Congratulations for your great review.
Kind regards,
Gilles - E-mail: gpgc13 (at) laposte.net

RMcC
Hello Gilles,
Thanks for your email. It is always a pleasure to read that someone has enjoyed a review. I have been a Doge owner for many years and have never heard of a modified Doge 8 unit being offered in France. There has been some erroneous information floating around for years regarding the origins of the Clarity modifications. If you are interested in hearing Doge's version of the facts I suggest that you contact their overseas marketing manager Marc. He lives in France and I am pretty sure that he was with Doge during the time when the Clarity was created. He can be reached at marc@doge.com or info@doge.com.
I personally have had no hum problems with my Clarity unit after about 2 years of use and I have not seen anything regarding such a problem.
Kind regards,
Roger McCuaig

Article on an Overgrown Pathé
Hi, just read the article found here. Great info. Just got three Pathe discs and got them to sound OK using modern equipment. Couldn't get up to 90 rpm, but got the idea what it was supposed to sound like back in the day.
Thanks.
Mattias - E-mail: bwoy (at) hotmail.com

DRH
Dear Mattias,
I'm glad you found the article useful, and even more glad that you are exploring Pathe records. They are lots of fun and sometimes a lot more than that. Thanks for getting in touch and letting us know!
Kind regards,
David Hoehl

Placette Passive
Dear Roger,
I have read your review about the Placette Passive linestage. Do you think it will accommodate into my system? Here is the list of my equipment.

• CD player: Heavily modified Cambridge Audio CD1 (4.2v output)
• Power Amplifier: Image Audio 6Bi (480mV input sensitivity and 8W for full output)
• Bookshelf loudspeakers: Audio Classics Model C (see attachment for details)

RMcC
Hi David,
Based on the information that you provided I think that you should be able to get over 100 dB sound level from your speakers with a Placette unit in your system. Typically more than enough for a bookshelf speaker application. With an output of 4.2 V your CD player is already in the range of a lot of preamps. If you want to get a better idea of what is possible with a passive pre-stage in your system I suggest that you try the Bolero test as described in the Placette review (if you are comfortable doing this test of course).
Kind regards,
Roger McCuaig

Transcriptor Saturn
Hi Mark,
I am restoring an old Transcriptor Saturn that I ran across and carried around for years.... Except for the tonearm, it is in fine condition. There is the original cover as well. However, I do not understand how the tonearm is supposed to work and there is no service manual around. There seems not to be any lateral balance. Any suggestions how I can get this arm balanced again? Any service manual available for the arm? I already refurbished the rest and installed new tone arm cables and a Stanton 881 Cartridge that fits very well.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Cheers from Germany,
Stefano - E-mail: sdm (at) audioscope.net

MW
Hi Stefano,
The Transcriptor Saturn is a fine turntable, designed by David Gammon and now less well known than the Transcriptor Reference. Unfortunately David's son Michael seems to have gone out of business supplying spares and manuals for his father's turntable range. I have, since you contacted me, tried to locate a free to view manual for the Fluid arm, without success. I do know that the 'fluid' refers to the fact that this arm needs silicone damping fluid to work as intended.

From videos like this it is possible to see an arm working at is should:

Happy tinkering,
Mark Wheeler

PGA2311 Preamplifier
Hello,
my name is Gene. I purchased the PGA2311 preamplifier and it came without a manual. The 3 inputs identify on the screen as CD, PC, and DAC. The green button on the hand control toggles from one to the next. The VOL (+,-) indicates change in gain on the screen and the M button seems to work to mute the input. What are all the other buttons for? ie, FL, FR, CEN, SL, SR, SB, TREBLE, and BASS. Do they apply to this unit?
What does CD, PC, and DAC mean to this unit? Is that how the 3 unmarked inputs are identified? Is each input treated the same or differently inside the box? And please, if you have any documentation on this preamplifier, could you e-mail it to me.
I will do some signal testing in my lab before using it in my audio system.
Thank you in advance,
Gene - E-mail: ejnj (at) verizon.net

AN
Hi Gene,
The PGA2311 uses a generic remote control. The CEN, SL etc buttons appear to refer to non-existent surround sound elements and the Treble and bass controls are, I think, similarly redundant. I've spoken to small manufacturers in the past and understand that custom remote controls are prohibitively expensive. CD, PC and DAC are just a way of identifying the three inputs but each could be used for any line level component. I hope you enjoy the preamp. Take care with the connections on the rear of the unit - I found them a little fragile when I used it some while after completing the review.
Kind regards,
Andy Norman

Memory and judgement of audio quality
Hello Mark,
While searching for the lyrics to the song "Happy Feet" by Ager & Yellen I came across a web page written by you that compares sheet music to hifi. There are two images on the page of the sheet music to "Happy Feet." The second image is a page of the music. This page has lyrics for a second verse. Unfortunately it only contains the first 1-1/2 lines of the verse.
Is there any way possible that you could send me the rest of the lyrics for verse 2? I have searched everywhere and your half-page scan is the only place I have found it. It would be whatever comes after:
"Go ‘way blues, let my shoes take you out of my mind Cause they always make me . . ."
Best regards,
Mike - E-mail: michael.folker (at) gmail.com

MW
Hi Mike,
This is absolutely the most musical question I have ever received from a reader; thank you for that, it has made my day.
The sheet music lives in a clip-frame on. the wall because it encapsulates so much of what I believe about music, dancing and audio and about maintaining mental health (my day job). When I took it down to gather the information for you, I'm afraid 2 sections of the bass stave were damaged by the dabs of supposedly removable adhesive I'd used, but it's obvious what the notes should be and I've inked them in for you. They're attached at moderate resolution. I believe the ukulele is having a revival so you might find the ukulele chord charts useful too.

In retrospect, this sheet music would have been a good choice in articles about the importance of rhythm too. The article you found, Mark's Judging System is an attempt to get to grips with the volatility of musical memory.

. I am astonished that such a well known jazz age song is not all over the internet. This sheet music was riding on the success of a Paul Whiteman hit, but I suspect it was more often heard played by small jazz combos. I guess that you are planning to sing it, so do let us know how it goes down.

And finally, now that you've discovered TNT-audio.com, and realised these audiophiles pages are for music lovers too, I do hope you'll return often.
Happy practicing,
Mark Wheeler

Duevel Bellaluna Diamante
Hello I'm in the USA and your Duevel BellaLuna review was informative. Currently I'm in the market for a substantial loudspeaker and I'm considering the Bella Lunas I personally have never heard the Duevel Bella Lunas nor the Duevel loudspeaker line. However, I was considering a purchase without hearing the speakers and go by the reviews I've read and go with a bit of persuasion from the North American distributor of Duevel. Currently I'm using a kt88 based tube amp named Audiomat. Question what you understand and know about the loudspeakers would you purchase sight unseen without hearing them? Just wanted your opinion thank you,
Andre - E-mail: nickelandanail25 (at) gmail.com

LC
Dear Andre,
though it is NEVER a good idea to purchase such an expensive and unusual loudspeaker basing your decision on reviews only, I'm pretty sure you'll be amazed by the Duevel BellaLuna. I can't imagine a music lover who can't fall in love with these loudspeakers. The BellaLuna's are a shock, indeed. They have energy and finesse, 3D imaging and slam, they are transparent and forgiving, you simply can't go wrong. You'll just need to experiment with room placement and you'll be enjoying some excellently reproduced music at home for years and years. The better the hifi system, the better they'll sound so be prepared to upgrade the rest of your components because the Bellaluna's will be there to stay! There's just one possibility that you won't love them: if you're a die-hard audiophile, paranoic with pin-point imaging and the traditional soundstage a direct emission loudspeaker generates. These are omnidirectional beasts (hence, quite different from the rest) but no, they're not Bose by any means! :-)
In my opinion every audiophile should listen to these speakers once in a lifetime.
Keep me updated,
Lucio Cadeddu

BT mains filter
Hi there,
I recently got a new BT mains conditioning unit off eBay. I used it for about 15 minutes with my TV, but it tripped out, was warm and smelt funny too.
I don't know why, would you know?
Thanks,
William - E-mail: wtucker06 (at) icloud.com

MW
Hi William,
I assume that you are in the UK or another 230-240V region and therefore I would be inclined to return it to the vendor for a refund.
A fishy smell often indicates failing insulation but a burning dust smell is likely to be because these are all very old stock. The interior could be very dusty and they can run warm. Have you checked the one you bought has enough current headroom for your TV (and presumably accessories like satellite decoders, ethernet/wifi connection etc) current demand? Try it on a different low current appliance (like an audio source). If it does not trip, it might not be rated high enough for the TV.
If it does trip, return it to the vendor.
I hope that this helps,
Mark Wheeler

P&S Opto-potentiometer
Hello Nick,
I came across a product you reviewed in June 2009: P&S OPTO-POTENTIOMETER OPC-271. I have been trying to contact this manufacturer with no success are they still in business. If so would you have any contact information or not. If you know of any similar product based on Light Dependent Resistors (LDR's).
Thank you
Regards,
William - E-mail: exor739 (at) hotmail.com

NW
Hi William,
Unfortunately, this excellent product has not been available for some time. The Paul Hynes version that I reviewed is also now discontinued. I guess the there were not enough sales for the suppliers to continue production.
I have just done a Google search, and it seems that the LDR attenuator has gone out of fashion, although I am not quite sure why. So your only option would be to go DIY. If you want to try that option, somewhere like the diyAudio forums would be a good place to start.
Regards,
Nick Whetstone

Goldnote PH10
Hi Mark,
I was reading through your review from last year on the Gold Note PH-10 in which I am very interested.

I am sad to read that this unit does not offer variable capacitance loading which is key to using MM cartridges. I am using a vintage AT-15ss from Audio Technica and it's so good, I don't really wish to replace it with a new MC.

I have been using the Clear Audio Smart V2 phono stage which is a $900US unit; not super pricey but still not cheap either. I must say the Clear Audio is a great phono stage and what I love about it is the switch selection input capacitive loading. It makes a huge difference in performance of the MM cartridge.
Not having this feature on the PH-10 would probably be enough to deter me from making a purchase; however I was pleased to read that the guys at Gold Note are considering a MK11 version with adjustable capacitive loading, this would make this unit perfect.
Have you heard the Clear Audio Smart V2? If so, how do you consider the PH-10 to perform in comparison?
Thank you,
Bruce - E-mail: bmarton (at) maine.rr.com

MW
Hi Bruce,
I think there are many readers who might be interested in the same question. My own experience fine-tuning various magnetic cartridges has also led me to believe that capacitance as well as resistance tuning is useful in optimising the frequency balance. So many MM cartridges droop in the mid and have a high treble peak when loaded with 47k and too little capacitance, or droop severely in the treble when the problem lies in the opposite direction. The Gold Note PH10 has a fixed 22pF input capacitance which is at the high end of average and with the capacitance of typical leads (only SME in the days of CD4 and UD4 seemed to put much emphasis on ultra-low capacitance phono leads) this could be too high for many cartridges, especially those that favour 33k or below.

Gold Note also had an upgraded power supply in the pipeline which has not reached me for review yet. Currently there is a QHW Audio The Vinyl phono stage in for review at a slightly lower price and four capacitance options from 47pF to 220pF. However, it does lack the extensive RIAA EQ options of the Gold Note and I have yet to determine comparative performance. I have not heard the Clear Audio Smart as they have not offered it for review to independents like TNT-audio.com.

From your email address I wonder if you are in the Portland, ME area and I'd expect there to be enough audio showrooms to be able to track down a Gold Note PH10 for a listen with your cartridge, it is a big enough sale.
Good luck and happy listening,
Mark Wheeler

Audiophile 5V PSU?
Dear Nick,
I read your review on Ciunas ISO-PS and furthermore found that you have reviewed a number of other PSU's as well. I'm in search of a double outlet PSU (or two separate PSU's) to empower an RPi with the new Allo Digione signature HAT. This combo consists of two parts that are galvanically isolated: A dirty part incl. the RPi and a clean part which finally handles the critical audio signal before the SPDIF output. Both should be fed separately by clean 5V and especially for the clean part Allo suggest a battery supply. So the Ciunas ISO PS seems to fit in here perfectly. Except for it does not opreserve the galvanic isolation. John Kenny says it doesn't matter because any noise will get lost in the large energy storage of the battery and thus not get through to the other outlet. What do you think? Or would you suggest something else, e.g. a Paul Hynes supply? Or a second hand battery supply Bakoon BPS-02 rated at 1A, which would be more than enough at least for the clean side (needs less than 100mA!)? Did you happen to hear anything about Tony Sallis' (Coherent Systems) Super Cap PSU? He seems to have designed it specifically for RPi and Digione. Unfortunately about double the price of John Kenny's ISO-PS.
All the best from Berlin
Stefan - E-mail: stefan_klose (at) gmx.de

NW
Hi Stefan,
What I am going to say to you may come as a surprise from a hi-reviewer. In my opinion, we have now got to the stage with hi-fi that most of the modern stuff is so good that debating which PSU (or DAC etc) is best is almost academic.
You say that you are wanting to power an RPi, and I I have been told by somebody in the business that an RPi is not the optimal solution for best audio quality. So which ever PSU you eventually choose may still leave you without the optimum set-up. But although I hear differences between computer sources, that is only when I am listening for them.
So I am not running the RPi down. It does a very good job, drawing little power, and is cost-effective. I may get one myself one day as part of a low-power system. But I won't be worrying too much over how it is powered. A good clean 5 volts is all that is really needed, but suppliers need to convince potential customers that the extra features in their offering makes it preferable.
In the circumstances, I would suggest that getting a decent PSU, without paying 'silly money' should be your goal, and something like the Ciunas Audio offerings would be a good place to start. Again, to be honest, it is almost impossible to hear if a supply has galvanic isolation or not in my experience. Of course that may vary from system to system. Always remember too that once we turn on our system and press 'PLAY' we shouldn't even be listening to the system (much less the galvanic isolation).
I hope that this helps you make up your mind.
Regards,
Nick Whetstone

Re: TNT AirCoil signal cables
Dear Roger,
I finally found and bought all the necessary materials for build my own TNT AirCoil cables. Just a couple of questions more before starting to work on them.
I well know that you made for you cables with 4 wires and now you suggest to make them with just 2 wires, but, sincerely, what is the difference between cables made with 4 wires and cables made with 2 wires? I have enough wire to make cables with 4 wires but I'm wondering, does it worth the effort? I mean, is it something audible/appreciable? Have you ever compared the two kinds of cables?
Regarding the wire in the tube that acts as a ground drain, where should I connect the part of the cable where the internal wire is soldered, to the source or to the other side?
Practically, if we are talking about a CD player and a preamplifier, should I connect the soldered side to the CD player output or to the preamplifier input?
Many thanks,
Paolo - E-mail: paoloxp79 (at) gmail.com

RMC
Hi Paolo,
Good to hear that you are going ahead with your project. I have compared the 2 vs. 4 wire cables and I really don't find any difference in the performance. The 2 wire version is easier to make so I would recommend that you go ahead with that option. Regarding ground/drain/sheild conductor connection for interconnect cables; my preference is to connect all of them all at the preamp so there is a common point. Some people suggest that the ground end of an interconnect should be connected at the source of the signal. I can't see anything wrong with that idea however I plan to stick with my present method.
I should add that I have never been able to detect any difference based on the direction of connection. I would not however claim that there isn't one, just that I haven't experienced it personally in my system.
Enjoy your project.
Roger McCuaig

MHDT Lab Pagoda review
Hi Nick,
I recently purchased the Pagoda due in part to your review. MHDT Lab has been on my radar for quite some time but I never took a chance on their DACs until the Pagoda. I'm glad I did .. I love this DAC. Thank you!
Best Regards,
Melvin - E-mail: melvinjames (at) icloud.com

NW
Hi Melvin,
Thanks for the feedback. I think that all we reviewers are happy to hear from somebody else that we have got things right in a review. I also still use the Pagoda, and obviously love the sound.
Regards,
Nick Whetstone

78 RPM Turntable
Hello David,
I am an Italian TNT-AUDIO reader, I want to tell you about this turntable for the 78 RPM discs: www.vinylengine.com/library/vestax/bdt-2500.shtml. "...main pitch and fine pitch controls, allow you to set the speed from 16rpm to 98rpm continuously..." !!!
(sorry for my bad english)
Bye
Alberto - E-mail: al.esposito (at) email.it

DRH
Hello, Alberto, and thanks for writing! To be honest, I'd forgotten about Vestax, and I really shouldn't have: a now-departed collector friend used to have one, and I remember how its sleek lines and tinted metal cladding brought me up short the first time I saw it. Alas, Vestax apparently went bankrupt in 2014. Too bad, because the data sheet you linked shows that model, at least, to have enough pitch variability for just about any "78" record, even though apparently it had only 33 and 45 stated speeds.
I vaguely remember my friend's having replaced his not long after he bought it, so there may have been reliability or other issues, but I could be mistaken about that; unfortunately, like Vestax, he is no longer around to ask. If any of our other readers has or has owned one of the Vestax tables, I'd welcome more information.
Meanwhile, again, thanks for taking the time and trouble to write and point it out!
David Hoehl

Russell K Red 50 loudspeakers review
Hello,
I was wondering about the system used to evaluate the Russell K Red 50 speakers?
By the way your writing really transmits how you heard these speakers! Well done!
Regards,
Ihor - E-mail: koolblue2 (at) me.com

LC
Dear Ihor,
thanks for your appreciation of my review of the Russell K Red50 speakers. It is always hard to turn deep listening emotions into words, especially if English isn't your mother tongue. As for the evaluating system I used there's not a precise answer, since I've used many different components, belonging to different price ranges. Solid state and tube amps, different sources etc. For this reason I always consider my reviews to be pretty system-independent :-)
When you use many different components your opinion on the item under review is barely affected by the system used.
Thanks for the feedback, it's highly appreciated!
Lucio Cadeddu

Sennheiser HD650 and HD660S
Hello guys,
I'm an old TNT follower, and in the past I've read with high interest your reviews focused on Senn. HD650 (even higher when I've read about integration with SOLO amplifier). Thank you for your work, first of all.
Recently I'm feeling the need of a headphone-based solution in order to increase my listening sessions' duration (a little bit).I was going to purchase an HD650 but suddenly I heard news about the new HD660S, available at almost the same price (369€). On the data-sheet it seems to be an enhanced version, also more "brilliant" than the 650, thus it would be even better for my taste, in fact I normally like "live" behaviour (I currently own a couple of B&W and i'm collecting money for a future upgrade to Klipsh RF7 :-)).
But... I'm afraid the 660s could have lost the "magic" of the 650 after this upgrade, this is why I'm writing this email, hoping you know also this model and can give me a cle of its behaviour, better if compared with 650's one.
Unfortunately I'm not able to try them with listening session somewhere in my town, thus your help to understand the differencies would help me a lot.
Hope you can help me, thank you in advance for your kind reply.
My best regards,
Luca - E-mail: luca.muro (at) gmail.com

AN
Hi Luca,
you won't like the HD650 if you prefer “brilliant” headphones - my HD650's are great but very dark sounding. But I've not heard the 660S.
Hope this helps,
Andy Norman

NW
Thanks for letting us know James. I hope that you like the headphones.
Nick Whetstone

TB
Hi Joe,
thanks for the feedback!
Todd Bromgard

NW
Hi Gavin,
My listening room is a bit smaller than yours, but I have the speakers about a metre from the wall behind them. I live on my own so this isn't an issue for me. Two bits of technology make getting a speaker sounding 'right' much easier. The Mini DSP stuff enables you to tailor a digital crossover (active) very easily using a computer. And DSP can also be used to correct speakers in the room. I use an old Behringer DEQ2496, and the results are very impressive (when it is set up properly).
Regards,
Nick Whetstone

Tekton Enzo XL
Hi Todd,
Your review of the EnzoXL was fantastic and put the final nail in the coffin holding my doubts about buying Tekton. Thank you very much.
Here's my question: what is the number of the color you selected? I absolutely love it and haven't found it or another I like more than it on the Behr charts. I'm going to order my Pendragons this week and wonder if you'd share the color.
Thanks again for the very informative review.
Regards,
Joe - E-mail: joe.blackett (at) comcast.net

TB
Hi Joe,
Thanks for your email. I love the XLs and continue to use them as my reference speaker. I don't know the number of the sage green color used, I just asked Eric Alexander if he could finish them in "sage green" and he obliged. He is very accessible, if you call or email I'm sure he will consult with you. You might even mention you want the same color as he painted mine. Keep me in the loop and let me know how it goes.
Thanks again for writing.
Todd Bromgard

Yamaha NS-1000 speakers review
Hi Mark,
Loved reading your review of the active crossover and the Yamaha NS-1000 speakers and was wondering what were the replacement of the stock woofers in the picture attached. A sizeable diameter on the voice-coil!!
Steve - E-mail: Steve.Coconis (at) td.com

MW
Hi Steve,
I emailed Gary Hargreaves your question and he replied that the modification was completed years ago for a customer. The bass unit was by a company called Hi-Vi. Gary had to cut 4 ‘flats' onto the cast chassis to drop it into the standard Yamaha rebate. I recall HiVi Research from my days writing at Speaker Builder journal, two fellow writers there were involved with the company. By coincidence, they're partnered with a Toronto based company, Swans, not far from you in Scarborough, ON. HiVi soon garnered a good reputation for solid engineering (including those massive voice coils). They are now manufacturing drivers in Guangdong, China, and sell over 3 million drivers per year and also make Swans complete loudspeaker systems.
There are other manufacturers who make 300mm chassis with clipped corners, but the original driver in the NS100M is worth restoring, if necessary.
I hope this is helpful.
Happy listening,
Mark Wheeler

Euphony Audio Transport
Hi, Nick,
I'm writing to let you know that Euphony has been selling GPL-licensed software (Euphony OS) without following the terms of the GPL license, which requires that Euphony make the source code of any GPL software used in their product available for download. Euphony has been contacted about the matter, and recently claimed they no longer sell any GPL software, even as Euphony OS continues to run on their currently-available server products.
It's possible that you may not care about any of this, but I wanted to let you know in case it does matter to you.
Thanks!
Mr. Gil - E-mail: mrgil23 (at) yahoo.com

NW
Hello Mr Gil,
Thank you for contacting me. However, as TNT-Audio is an independent review site, and not connected in any way with Euphony, I can't see that we can do anything to remedy this situation, if indeed it needs remedying. I suspect that there are proper authorities for dealing with such matters.
Regards,
Nick Whetstone

Gold Note vs AQVox
Hi Mark,
I just found out about your review on the Gold Note PH-10 and something caught my attention (in terms of something missing):
I'm concerned about the RF sensitivity compared to the AQVox (tested also by you), that, in my home, I found it to be one of the most silent pieces of PH stages, however, you had some concerns on heavy-noised environments. I'd like to hear your opinion regarding the PH-10 since I have the opportunity to buy one but I wouldn't want one if it's noisier than the AQVox.
Thanks in advance!!
Kind Regards,
Marcelo - E-mail: marcelo.cinicola (at) gmail.com

MW
Hi Marcelo,
I am very aware of the RF interference problems that many people experience with sensitive phono stages. I once used to get taxi radio breakthrough on a Naim NAC42.5 equipped with K moving coil boards (designed to match the Linn Karma), that had not been affected when fitted with S moving coil input boards (designed for the Linn Asak). The problem was resolved with improved system earthing (grounding) arrangements and a lower impedence mains circuit. Therefore the problem may not be as local as within the phono stage itself. For example, the AQVox 2Ci, reviewed by Werner and me, is a balanced input current amplifier, which addresses the RF problem twice over in that one sentence. Balanced connections, by their very nature, have at least 6dB better RF rejection and a typical local NFB (negative feedback) voltage amplification stage is a good RF detector. The ACQvox is balanced from input to output and the Gold Note is balanced at output only. The Gold Note like most other pieces of domestic audio equipment, is cursed with those dreadful RCA phono connectors, which is the only compromise to domestic audio practice.
My listening room has a dedicated mains electricity supply designed to have low impedance at radio frequencies. Therefore these problems are not revealed in this context. The Gold Note PH10 is a well designed piece of electronic hardware with an aluminium case (eddy currents make great Faraday cages). Therefore one would not anticipate noticeable RF problems. The choice of 'standard' EQ rather than Enhanced EQ (with the Neumann correction) is likely to have better RF rejection (depending where the EQ blocks are in the circuit). If the extra historic EQ curve versatility of the Gold Note PH10 is what you need, I would suggest you try to loan one before you buy it. If not, I would suggest you hang on to the equally splendid AQVox 2Ci and use the money to buy more vinyl LP's.
Happy listening,
Mark Wheeler

Fidelis Audio
Something else you could try for the 78 RPM electronics issue: Fidelis Audio makes a replacement for the unobtanium MN6042 chip (also requires a single resistor replacement – the owner of Fidelis Audio can provide the details) that can give you speed control to the *hundredths* as opposed to the tenths. I was a beta tester for the product, have one in my SP15 and it is fantastic. Paired up with a Sumiko FT-3 arm and a Paradox Pulse-bodied-and-SoundSmith-retipped DL-103r, it's a treat. The MN6042 hip was also used in the Technics SP10 MK2, incidentally, so it can also be used to rejuvenate those tables which may have failing speed controllers.
fidelisanalog.com/product/mn6042/
Derek - E-mail: derek_vanveen (at) hotmail.com

DRH
Hello again, Derek,
That information about the replacement chip is most valuable--good to know a workable replacement is out there. Thank you for writing and telling us about it.
David Hoehl

MW
Hi Clyde,
Thank you for the kind words about my reviews, especially the Tisbury Domino review. I do rely on the good folk of the Plebs' Chorus to try to keep the puns in check.

I am a little puzzled about your question. Both the Gold Note PH10 and the Ifi I-Phono-2 have, as their nearly-unique selling points (NUSP?) a spectacular range of phono equalisation (EQ) curves. Therefore the question between those two would be whether one is more accurate than the other, or one sounds better than the other. In terms of value for money, it depends where you live. Even whiloe the UK is still in the European single market, the standard dollar-for-pound mercantile exchange rate seems to prevail. The Ifi I-Phono-2 is £399 in the UK and $399 in the USA. The Gold Note PH10 is nearly £1000 more.

If you need the range of historic phono EQ, then the Tisbury Domino is irrelevant. I've purposely skipped the headphone question about the Tisbury range because it is important to get your phono pre-amplifier correct before contemplating what comes later.

If you do not need that range of historical LP equalisation curves, the Gold Note PH10 and the Ifi I-phono-2 both have unnecessary features that you will be paying for and that may potentially degrade the signal, however minutely (although I could detect no such degradation, it is theoretically possible). More importantly then becomes the match with your pick-up cartridge. If you have a collection of cartridges, or rare cartridges, the ability to change load and gain easily (preferably by remote control) would be valuable. The Gold Note PH10 can be changed on the fly from the front panel. This allows easy optimisation, although some high end models will allow this from your seat, by remote control.

If you only use one popular cartridge with clear gain and load recommendations, if you own a plinth type turntable (e.g. Linn LP12) there are numerous phono head amplifiers available that fit inside the plinth. Without knowing your turntable and cartridge types, it is difficult to offer ideas with any more clarity.

I hope this is helpful, as far as it goes. Try to get the chance to listen to samples of those you've read reviews about; all reviewers have individual prejudices. I looked up the Ifi and only found one review by a reviewer who has written enough that I'd be able to guess their prejudices and read between the lines. For me, timing and phase performance are very important, as are bandwidth and dynamic range (macro and micro) but other experienced reviewers favour other priorities.
Happy auditioning,
Mark Wheeler

Re: TNT AirCoil signal cables
Dear Roger,
First of all, many thanks for your explanation! You are right, it was difficult to find RCA connectors that fit the Aircom and it's also difficult bend it for connecting the devices but the result is very interesting in trasmitted sound quality.
The Aircom Plus capacity, in fact, is 81 pF/m which is less than the 1nF you stated here. What do you think about the Aircom 50 Ohm impedence? Is it good for audiophiles applications?
See attached more detailed specifications about the Aircom Plus and a picture of my cables mounted on my HiFi system.
I hope to find soon all the necessary components for assemble the AirCoil because I'm curious to compare my cables to yours.
BR,
Paolo - E-mail: paoloxp79 (at) gmail.com

RMC
Dear Paolo,
With respect to the 50 ohm impedence of coax cable, I am certainly not an expert on this topic but I can offer you my understanding of this subject. The characteristic impedence of a coax cable, typically 50 or 75 ohms is a useful value for data communication systems designers. Coax cable was designed for transmission of data in the megahertz frequencies over distances that are much longer than the wavelength of the signal. In such applications there will be no reflected wave at the end of the cable if the load impedence equals the cable impedence. So 50 ohm cables is ideally connected to a 50 ohm load in order to eliminate reflections that can garble data transmission. In the case of audio frequencies the wavelength is much longer than the cable length therefore this design consideration is not applicable. In my opinion, all other factors being equal, using 50 or 75 ohm coax will have no impact of the performance an audio interconnect.
I am looking forward to hearing about the results of your Aircoil tests.
Roger McCuaig

TNT AirCoil signal cables
Hello Roger,
I'm very interested in your AirCoil cables. Do you have pictures or a detailed schema that can help me to understand how to assemble the various cables parts? Can you suggest me where I can buy the Neotech Ultra Purity Ohno cable, possibly in a shop online in Europe?
By the way, I already have coaxial self-made signal cables, made with the Aircom Plus: www.ssbusa.com/aircom.html. Have you ever heard about this cable for audiophiles purpose? What you think about it compared to your AirCoil project?
Thank you very much,
Paolo - E-mail: paoloxp79 (at) gmail.com

RMC
Dear Paolo,
Thank you for your interest in my cable design. Unfortunately I don't have any photos of the Aircoil cable build as it was done some time before I joined TNT-Audio and not with the intention of publishing my DIY project. The following is a brief description of the work that I provided to a previous emailer.
My original project used 4 wires, two on each side. I now recommend using only 2 wires as this works just as well and is easier and cheaper. Start by winding the two wires in a spiral around the teflon tubing. I used a heavy table vice to hold the wires and tube as I wound. Before making the connections I cut off the squashed ends of the wire and tubing. At each end connect one wire to the centre pin of your connector and the other wire to the outside pin of the connector. Do the same at the other end but remember that you have to connect the same wire to the same pin on each end. In other words don't connect wire 1 to the centre on one end and to the outside on the other. If they are different colours that will be easy, if not then you need to identify them in some way before you start or use a tester. If you wish, you can add a wire in the tubing to act as a ground drain. This wire must be connected to the outside pin at one end only. Don't forget to identify in some way the end where the drain is connected. I usually put a piece of heat shrink at each end to support the connections and make it longer at the end where the drain is connected. Also remember to slip on the connector covers before soldering the connections.
There are several Neotech distributors in Europe. The link - http://www.neotechcable.com/dealer.php has a list of distributors. If you contact one of these distributors they will surely be able to indicate the nearest source to your location.
I did a bit of research on the Aircom cable that you mentioned. With the air dielectric and the 100% shield it looks like it has great potential for use as an interconnect however the specs that I found indicate that it has a 2,7 mm solid OFC core. That is the equivalent of #9 AWG which in my mind is way too big and may cause problems with lack of flexibility and difficulty installing RCA connectors.
Hope you have fun with this project.
Roger McCuaig

A night at the Opéra?
Dear David,
Thank you for this reportage from the latest Capital Audiofest. Please believe me, it is absolutely normal not to be able to get tickets for the Opéra Garnier, as they are usually sold out months in advance. No discrimination then :-)
Have a good weekend,
Fabrizio - E-mail: faticadisisifo (at) gmail.com

DRH
Dear Fabrizio,
Thanks for exposing my musings as the vile slander they were, although that still doesn't absolve me from having been a very wet-behind-the-ears provincial American kid at the time. (Now, of course, you can remove "kid" from that; as to the rest, I'll remain studiously silent!).
Thanks, too, for reminding me that I haven't watched that Marx Bros. classic in far too long and that my daughter, only a few years younger than I was back then, has never seen it--time to break out the DVDs.
Happy listening to you!
David Hoehl

Review and reviewers
Hi,
I'm always been puzzled when a reviewer tells you that this guitar player was using a X guitar with Y strings and Z piezo mics. How does he/she knows unless he/she was being there at the recording session?
Take Jimi Hendrix as an example. OK anyone having seen photos of him playing the guitar can identify the guitar brand he was using. But the strings? The piezo mics on the guitar? The effects he used to use on his guitar amp? The effects that were added in post-production? If you weren't there at the mixing/mastering session chances are that you can't know. There are too many parameters which can have changed the original sound for you to identify a string brand or a guitar mic brand.
I've been doing live recording since these last 20 years. Mostly classical and jazz. With classical you cannot cheat as there is no processing. So yes, if the recording is faithful enough and if you have perfect pitch and an extended experience of classical music you might be able to recognize a Stradivarius from a Guarneri.
With jazz it's more towards the rock scene. For instance I use to capture the whole jazz band with a stereo pair. Despite spot micking the bass amp I lose some accuracy and tightness in the lows. Therefore I spot mic the double bass aimed at the f hole, as well as the kick drum, I use a HPF on the stereo pair to get rid of the muddy lows and mix in back the spot micked bass and kick drum into the overall mix. The result is better accuracy and tightness in the lows. But who can say that the bass player was using an X double bass, with Y strings, with a Z amplifier, with XYZ effects, with my own mix of direct bass/amplified bass? Nobody but me.
So how can a reviewer know? As the Who sung it “Don't get fooled again” and don't believe what is not believable from reviewers.
Jean-Christophe - E-mail: jean.xerri (at) adam.com.au

LC
Dear Jean-Christophe,
I mostly agree with your opinion! It is impossible to tell, using an amplified music recording, which kind of instrument/setting has been used for a particular session/track. Too much processing makes this investigation almost impossible. We at TNT-Audio do not make such strong assumptions, correct me if I'm wrong. All you/we can do when judging a component using an amplified music recording is to compare it to a well known reference. For this reason a reviewer's system should be extremely transparent! The component under review should be put in the condition to express itself as clearly as possible. If you compare a 1,000$ loudspeaker using a 10,000$ reference loudspeaker it is quite easy to understand when things go wrong, even with amplified music.
Thanks for your precious feedback!
Lucio Cadeddu

78 rpm turntables
Why on earth didn't you try and find a Technics SP15? A properly working SP15 is fantastic for 78 RPM playback.
Derek - E-mail: derek_vanveen (at) hotmail.com

DRH
Hello, Derek,
Actually, I did buy an SP-15, and not long afterward, in Part III of the series, I wrote about my (then limited) experience with it; see here. Since then, I've played with it some more, although I've now put it aside pending replacement of the Syntec arm with which it's fitted, for which I quickly developed a strong disliking. Be that as it may, on the basis of that trial, you're right--within its speed limits, and bearing in mind some potential electronic problems, it is a fine choice, and for 78s with "speed creep" the best I've tried.
Of note, however, since then I've learned about something that at the time I'd been assured did not exist: software that can do the same thing. That will be fodder for a future article, once I've had a chance to do some further research and personal experimenting. Meanwhile, thanks for writing and seconding my own good impressions of the Technics.
Regards,
David Hoehl

Re: DIY air-tube interconnect cable
Dear Roger,
Thank you for your informative answer including the reference to another interesting design - the TNT Shoestring. After e-mailing you I read about the experience from an audio gear designer, Jim Williams posting at Gearslutz, who claim that Ray Kimber of Kimber cables had a similar design to what you have which included a central ground conductor for balanced interconnection. Apparently this was a non-commercial design used in a studio which turned out to be of great performance.
I will try to use all the interesting information now in my hand to make a balanced cable, and will report back to you if/when I get to evaluate the result.
Best regards,
Marc - E-mail: marcholmstrom (at) icloud.com

RMC
I will try and find some information on the Kimber design that you mentioned. Looking forward to reading about your results.
Best regards,
Roger McCuaig

Just thanks!
Hello,
Thank you so much for your detailed and wonderful writings in TNT-Audio. It is a joy to read. I just started out with your latest part (III ?) in the series about 78 rpm recordings 15 minutes ago, but I to interrupt my reading to write you.
Thanks.
And please excuse me, I have to continue reading :-D
Best Regards,
Per - E-mail: nakfan (at) gmail.com

DRH
Dear Per,
Thanks for the very kind words. We at TNT all write as a labor of love, and our sole "paycheck" is knowing we give pleasure to our audience of like-minded audio enthusiasts. Well, my paycheck for the week just came with a big bonus! All the best, and happy listening to you.
David Hoehl

Transcriptor Saturn
Good day, Mark, I am a TNT-AUDIO reader, I write it in Italian which will translate with google. I address to YOU and not to the editor Lucio because you have owned the Transcriptor Saturn turntable, as you wrote in the Summer of 2008.
So you are familiar with the construction of the Saturn turntable. I bought the Transcriptors Saturn in 1973, and it still works. I installed a MK IV Mayware arm with pik-up grade reference platinum 1. The experts told me that on 5 + 3 points of support the disk it's not stable, is it? I always put the clamp. Would it be better for the dish to be flat? Can it be improved? Or is a new one better? If so what for one of equal value 1500 €.
I thank you in advance if you want to answer me.
Best regards,
Giosuè - E-mail: giosue.capelli (at) gmail.com

MW
Hi Giosuè,
I am very sorry that my Italian is good enough only for ordering food, so I have used online translation too.

You have a very good turntable. The Transcriptor Saturn has some advantages over the later Transcriptor Reference, especially with a long service life. I would advise that you clean and re-lubricate the main bearing and that you regularly clean the motor pulley and turntable platter rim. I also suggest that you make sure that the motor/switch capacitor still functions correctly to reduce the 'crack' sound through the loudspeakers.

There is debate again about whether minimal support is better than full support of the LP surface. You can experiment by buying a thin but rigid platter mat (for example, the Funk Achromat and fitting it (remember to adjust the Mayware arm height). I would not use a clamp with this turntable.
I remember the Mayware Mk IV is a good match for the Transcriptor Saturn because it is similar to the Transcriptor Fluid arm in is operation. The Grado is a good match for the Mayware so I imagine you are already making a better sound than you could buy now for 1500€.

Enjoy listening and use the money saved to buy more vinyl,
Ciao,
Mark Wheeler

DIY chipamps
Hello,
After 10 years there are still people reading your review(s), also about the Resurrector. I am about to make my first chipamp (from audiosector). Your review, it is not the first time I read it, got me interested in it again.. Therefore I emailed mr Marek but he replied that they are no longer available.
I was wondering if you still use it after all those years? That now leads to the idea that if you don't, maybe you want to sell your resurrector, but that idea just popped up now? I do not mean to be rude or anything.
What I did write you for: do you have any additional information from after the discussion on diyaudio.com? Maybe more ideas on what the Resurrector actually does? Maybe alternatives that came available at a later time? I also presume that now he does not sell or make them anymore, the real working of the thing does jot have to be kept a secret anymore.
In any casy, I love listening to music and I am always interested in improving the sound of ky audio set. I used to have ultra high end amplifiers, but after financial misfortune I jow have to do with EL84 mono amplifiers. They do not disappoint, not even compared to the mega dollar amps I had before. The chipamp I want to make because I have to do without my valve/tube amps for repairs and maintenance too often (they are aboit 60 years old), because I would love to make some audio myself and I read al lot of good things about chip amps.
Well, I am just curious if you could help me with some new ideas or further information about the resurrector.
In the meantime I wish you a lot of happiness
Sincerely,
Gaston - E-mail: dcd_gaston (at) hotmail.com

NW
Hi Gaston,
My advice to you would be to make a basic Gainclone, and see how you like it. The Resurrector did do something to the sound, but at a cost of great complexity. That is most likely why they never caught on. I don't have anything further to report on the Ressurector. Marek did make a simplified version of it, but I didn't think that it made a worthwhile improvement (if any). The samples that I received from Marek were encapsulated in resin, and I respected his wishes that I didn't look inside.
A good Gainclone should keep you satisfied while your old valve amplifiers are being repaired. A lot depends on the speakers that a chip amp is paired with. Chip amps taught me that we don't need to spend a fortune on hi-fi to enjoy our music.
My only other advice would be to be careful that you do not become too addicted to DIY hi-fi. Many of us landed up spending a fortune on the hobby!
Regards,
Nick Whetstone

Re: Active vs Duelund based passive crossover
Hi Nick,
Thank for taking the time to respond - that's really useful advice... I think you've put my active crossover idea to rest with regards to transmission line speakers anyway. I would happily choose an open baffle design, but am concerned about boundary interference - my living room is 4x5m and there is no opportunity to have the speakers placed into the room, they need to be situated against the wall. I am assuming that an Open Baffle design would not be good for this? If there are any DIT designs you think suitable, then please do let me know.
In my mind, the existing (full or nearly full range) commercial speakers best suited to my placement and room size would be something like a Wilson Audio Duette, Larsen 8 or Grimm Audio LS1 - I think a physical DIY copy of these is possible and I'm quite comfortable constructing my own amps, but the work that the manufacturers put into the crossovers (particularly on the LS1) is quite epic, so I doubt I could replicate it without existing full plans.
Of course I am impressed by Dutch & Dutch 8c and Kii Three, beolab 90's - but this approach is beyond DIY.
Thanks once again,
Gavin - E-mail: gjhodgson (at) yahoo.co.uk

NW
Hi Gavin,
I'm glad that you like the articles on TNT-Audio. To try and answer your questions:

1. If you are buying a kit speaker from somewhere like IPL, it doesn't make much sense to change the design in any way. Most, if not all, the kit speaker suppliers like Ivan at IPL, spend a long time fine tuning their designs, to get the optimum performance from them. Yes, I did convert my A2 kit to active, but I think that a TL design is less adaptable than a bass reflex (and it involved changing the cabinet volume from the original design).
2. As regards changing the crossover components, yes the Dueland components can make an improvement, but the significant extra cost must be taken into consideration. For instance, would the extra cost get you more gain from a more expensive kit?
3. I have no experience of the plate amps so couldn't write an article on them (with or without you). My own active speakers use a Gainclone to power the woofers.

DIY air-tube interconnect cable
Hello, Thank you for your interesting article on the teflontube interconnect. Maybe this project is even better suited to balanced signals?
I intend to build a balanced cable with four spiraled/crossed 30 awg signal conductors (two plus and two minus) and will try to find a center ground wire with really thick insulation so that I can avoid kinking of the teflon tube that you used as a center. I dont think that this center has to be teflon since it does not insulate any of the signal conductors. If I could find for example an 18awg center ground cable with thick polyurethane or oliofin or polyethylene insulation that should be fine I think.
What is your opinion?
Best regards,
Marc - E-mail: marcholmstrom (at) icloud.com

RMC
Dear Marc,
Thanks for your interest in the TNT AirCoil interconnect design. I don't have any experience with balanced interconnects so I can't provide much help on that other than to say that I think that theoretically it should work great. With respect to your idea to use a thick ground wire in the centre, I think that it would need to be almost the full diameter of the inside of the tube in order to provide any significant reduction in the susceptibility to kinking. That may make it difficult to thread into the tube. You are certainly right in your assessment that this wire doesn't have to be teflon insulated as it doesn't carry the audio signal.
I have another suggestion for you, Nick Whetstone wrote an article entitled TNT Shoestring in which he used the hollow core of a coax cable. This cable had the interesting characteristic that the core had channels in it which adds considerable structural rigidity compared to regular tubing. I don't know if this core is teflon though so you may be able to get that information from Nick. I hope that you will let us know how your project turns out.
Best regards
Roger McCuaig

Active vs Duelund based passive crossover
Hi Nick,
Great articles and I have requested to become a member of the forum. I am looking to do an IPL Transmission line speaker build - but I would like to go for an active crossover. I am nervous about this though with it being a transmission line, and Ivan has spent a great deal of time fine tuning the passive crossover, and it seems likely to me that I would encounter a loss of bass response moving to active.
I was wondering if substituting for Duelund components (or similar high end) in the existing passive crossover design would help remove most of the negative effects of the passive crossover? I also don't know if it is as simple as simply substituting resistors and inductors?
If I was to go active, I'd probably produce a separate enclosure using the new Hypex nCore Fusion plate amps due out in Q1 2018. If you believe this is a good route to go - as your articles suggest, could we perhaps write a joint article together on tnt-audio? There must be lot of people considering this, but information is somewhat lacking on the web on how this is achieved - your articles seem to be one of the best sources.
Cheers,
Gavin - E-mail: gjhodgson (at) yahoo.co.uk

NW
Hi Gavin,
I'm glad that you like the articles on TNT-Audio. To try and answer your questions:

1. If you are buying a kit speaker from somewhere like IPL, it doesn't make much sense to change the design in any way. Most, if not all, the kit speaker suppliers like Ivan at IPL, spend a long time fine tuning their designs, to get the optimum performance from them. Yes, I did convert my A2 kit to active, but I think that a TL design is less adaptable than a bass reflex (and it involved changing the cabinet volume from the original design).
2. As regards changing the crossover components, yes the Dueland components can make an improvement, but the significant extra cost must be taken into consideration. For instance, would the extra cost get you more gain from a more expensive kit?
3. I have no experience of the plate amps so couldn't write an article on them (with or without you). My own active speakers use a Gainclone to power the woofers.

Rejuvenation of an older Linn Basik turntable
Dear Mark,
I am a long term reader of TNT Audio, I felt compelled to take the time and thank the TNT team for their fantastic work in conveying the pleasure of fine audio equipment. I read your article on the rejuvenation of an older Linn Basik turntable with great fascination. It always fascinates me how much pleasure one can extract from even entry-level HiFi it one has experience and the skills to do so. Pretty much needed in times of discard-after-use mainstream products.
Please keep going on!
Cheers from Vienna,
Dr. Magnus Bosse - E-mail: magnusbosse (at) gmail.com

MW
Dear Magnus,
Thank you for your kind words.
Much of what we do on TNT-audio.com is motivated by the wish to get the best listening pleasure from stereo in the home. Because we do it for love, rather than for money, we avoid the need to write with one eye on the advertising revenues. This means a basic page layout that loads fast in any part of the world and a love of getting more from upcycled classic products and from DIY as good as commercial offerings.
I love discovering that we have readers all over the world and that you are enjoying a c;assic British LP player in Vienna. Audiophiles are a global community driven by similar obsessions to get close to the concert experience at home.
Keep reading TNT audio and enjoying your LP's!
Happy Listening,
Mark Wheeler

DIY loudspeakers series
Hi Mark,
I came across your article on TNT-Audio. I could not locate rubber wedges for speaker damping online. Can you give me a clue where I can find them?
Regards,
Shashi - E-mail: shashi.dba (at) gmail.com

MW
Hi Shashi,
I bought mine from Deflex (who used to trade as Spectra Dynamics) in Wales. They seem primarily to specialise in classic car suspension now, and the deflex audio domain seems, rather bizarrely, to be used by an Indian Restaurant now"!

Fortunately any solid rubber block can be cut to create the same effect. The consistency of the rubber is not particularly important, and the rougher the cut surface the better. It is like trying to create a reasonable facsimile of an anechoic surface in the loudspeaker cabinet, because this will have more effect on standing waves that a bit of old fibreglass insulation.
I hope this is helpful, please let me know how you get on.
Happy tweaking,
Mark Wheeler

Gold Note PH-10
Good morning Mark,
I just read your comprehensive review of the Goldnote PH10. Thank you for your attention to detail. I can't say that I am knowledgeable enough to comprehend everything, but at least I have an ear for music I guess. I am using this stage with a Hana moving coil – low level, Transrotor ZET 1, and Sugden LA-4 pre and Sugden MPA-4 monos.
I too noticed the lack of 3 dimensionality, but didn't attribute to the phono stage until now. I am also running single ended output, but I am considering balanced. Could/Can you provide me with some suggestions on set-up for the Hana and advise me if I should go to balanced output? This would be extremely helpful. I have been experimenting, but I'm struggling with a high level of hiss and record noise, ie. ticks and pops and background noise. If you aren't allowed to advise I completely understand!
Thanks so much.
Brett - E-mail: brett.slotka (at) gm.com

MW
Hi Brett,
Thank you for your kind words about my review of the Goldnote PH10. I hope I did this excellent phono preamplifier stage justice. I hope my suggestions help you get the best from it.

I have no personal familiarity with the Hana pickup cartridges, but read good things about them. I am aware that Transrotor turntables, like Michells, major on soundstage scale (and the two companies might have had a relationship in the 70s or 80s, their products certainly shared many features). Sugden, one of the few survivors of the great Yorkshire HiFi cluster of the 1960's, continue to produce uniquely musical amplifiers, being among the first to employ class A output stages and class A levels of biasing to class AB, in modestly priced commercial amplifiers. There is only one balanced input on the Sugden LA-4 and if vinyl is your primary source this is the one to use. The difference electrically is up to 6dB better noise rejection and musically this allows the smallest signals to be lifted that much further from the noise floor (although noise floor is actually a misnomer). Fancy expensive bits of wire are not necessary; high quality pro sector cables (like Van Damme) or middle market audio cables well soldered to good XLR plugs are good enough (I do have some very costly balanced versions of cables that have far less difference than between RCA plug versions of the same wire). You should hear a difference.

Clicks, pops & background noise could be due to cartridge set up. Double check everything about your arm and cartridge set up. Make sure the room is warm enough (seriously) because stiff cartridge suspensions can tilt frequency response to treble emphasis and the vinyl-tip resonance also changes. Set the Goldnote to standard RIAA and experiment with cartridge loading. You will mainly notice changes in the bass quality, but other aspects, including soundstage and treble quality will also change.
Please let me know how you get on. Happy tweaking,
Mark Wheeler

Dodocool DA106 hack
Dear Nick, thanks for the fantastic review of this music player. I bought it with a discount and I'm very happy. I even managed to unlock the keys for the volume and playback when the screen is off.
Two things, however, spoil my experience, wanted to know if you had the same. I'm using a 128 gb sd card, which in my Cowon pd is super fast - I've got 54 gb of music in it. However, in the Dodocool, once a song is selected and I press play, it takes exactly 10 seconds for it to start.
Even worse, if during play I hit the back button, to navigate back to the folder structure, it sends me to random folders all the way back.
The firmware is the latest. Any idea?
Thanks a million.
Luca - E-mail: de_ioanna (at) yahoo.com

NW
Hi Luca,
I didn't know that we could hack the DA106 so well done. As regards the card issue, I do not appear to have that problem. My card is only a 16 gb though, so I don't know if the larger size is the issue. You would have to contact Dodocool about that.
As I haven't hacked the DA106, I can't press the 'BACK' button while it is playing so again, I would urge you to ask Dodocool. I'm pleased that you are otherwise enjoying this very likeable little music player.
Regards,
Nick Whetstone

Linn Basik article
Hi Mark
I have a Linn Basik with an old Helius Scorpio Mk1 and the Audio Technical AT95E. I agree with all that you say: unfussy very lovable turntable and better than most early LP12 Wrecks. I replaced the Akito arm a couple of years ago as it was sticky as they do. The Helius was given to me by a friend and I have to say that I love the sound as much as the Akito.. I Think that the Linn Basik plays everything in a loveable way and the AT-95 E is an icon. Thanks for the review on the Basik deck, it mirrors what I feel “no messing just great music”.
All the best,
Garry - E-mail: ducakrugs (at) gmail.com

MW
Hi Garry,
Thanks for the supporting evidence for what I heard. It's always good to hear that more than one of us has reached a similar conclusion.
I'd expect that your Linn Basik sounds even better with the Helius Scorpio. Although it was Helius's entry level arm, lacking the sophisticated bearing and counterweight shenanigans of their groundbreaking Orion tone-arm, it was at a slightly higher price point and performance back in the day, to the Linn Basik Plus. The Linn Akito also had design and manufacturing advantages over the Basik Plus (primarily a reworking of a Japanese budget OEM design) but the Akito materials leave much to be desired. decades down the line. The Helius Scorpio had different priorities. While the somewhat basik Linn junior arms could be a bit raucous in their pursuit of excitement, the Helius went the other way. The Scorpio Mk1 aimed for rigidity in its pursuit of information retrieval, and a Scorpio Mk1 would have comfortably outclassed the Akito in this. The Scorpio Mk2 had a more convenient sliding headshell and the Scorpio Mk3 reverted to conventional headshell slots. The Helius Scorpio had a chunky gimbal vertical bearing aligned with the headshell offset. In the Mk1 you might have the best of the Scorpio bunch, but comparisons do not seem to have been done.
Happy Listening,
Mark Wheeler

Linn Basik rejuvenation
Dear Mark,
I am a long term reader of TNT Audio, I felt compelled to take the time and thank the TNT team for their fantastic work in conveying the pleasure of fine audio equipment. I read your article on the rejuvenation of an older Linn Basik turntable with great fascination. It always fascinates me how much pleasure one can extract from even entry-level HiFi it one has experience and the skills to do so. Pretty much needed in times of discard-after-use mainstream products.
Please keep going on!
Cheers from Vienna,
Dr. Magnus Bosse, magnusbosse (at) gmail.com, (Oxford Crystallette/Linn Akito/Goldring 1020)

MW
Dear Magnus,
Thank you for your kind words.
Much of what we do on TNT-audio.com is motivated by the wish to get the best listening pleasure from stereo in the home. Because we do it for love, rather than for money, we avoid the need to write with one eye on the advertising revenues. This means a basic page layout that loads fast in any part of the world and a love of getting more from upcycled classic products and from DIY as good as commercial offerings.
I love discovering that we have readers all over the world and that you are enjoying a classic British LP player in Vienna. Audiophiles are a global community driven by similar obsessions to get close to the concert experience at home.

Keep reading TNT audio and enjoying your LP's!
Happy Listening,
Mark Wheeler

Pinnacle loudspeakers
Dave, do you any idea where or how I can purchase a pair of the 650ll to complete my 5.1 surround sound. I have attempted multiple times to contact Pinnacle but I believe they may be out of business. Any suggestions looked at e bay and Amazon BD 100 and 200 but no 650 ll.
Thanks Da
David - E-mail: solideogloria1984 (at) embarqmail.com

DH
Hello, and thanks for writing. One frustration about Pinnacle has always been the relative lack of information available about the company and its products--few mainstream reviews, little online chatter, etc. Not having been in the market for new speakers since buying my own pair of Pinnacles (which probably is enough to tell you that I remain very happy with them), I haven't been keeping an eye on the company, and I don't know that it is still in business, but then, I also don't know that it isn't. If you didn't hear back from the company, I'll admit that's not a good sign, as my own inquiries back when I wrote the review drew very prompt response. I did some prowling around on the Web, and the company website is still there, as are at least some pairs of Pinnacle speakers billed "new" on eBay. The one "authorized online retailer" that I checked via a link from the Pinnacle site, on the on the other hand, had no stock of anything Pinnacle. A mixed result, then, and probably not much help. I wish I could be more; perhaps one of our readers has better information? In all events, good luck in your search, and if you learn more elsewhere please do let us all know.
David Hoehl

Vinyl by post
Hi Lucio,
As someone who is unfortunate enough to work for the Royal Mail, I would just like to say that it might be a good idea to back your precious vinyl with a square sheet of plywood or mdf before you send it by mail. Nobody takes any notice of the "fragile" label on the parcel. Don't worry about the parcel dropping on the floor, what you have to worry about is the heavy pack of catalogues being thrown on top, or the metal car parts being thrown on top.
Everything gets thrown into a big canvas "sleeve", and sometimes we can't even see what is already in the sleeve!
Just sayin....
Andrew - E-maill: admc121 (at) googlemail.com

LC
Dear Andrew,
thanks for your precious, first-hand opinion on shipping our beloved LPs! Your advice is sound, I'd add also some massive bubble-wrapping, as one never knows.
Thanks for the feedback!
Lucio Cadeddu

NW
Hi Paul,
reviewers can only review what is given to them to audition. May I remind you that TNT-Audio is an independent site that is staffed by unpaid volunteers, and funded by Lucio Cadeddu out of his own pocket. As such we simply don't have the time or resources to check on suppliers' stock levels. I have gone back to Dodocool, and they apologise for the current low stocks due to the high demand, and are making every effort to have stock in early next year, and I am told that it will be available through Amazon UK (with a voucher discount).
I appreciate your frustration, and hope that you will be able to purchase a DA106 in the not too distant future.
Regards,
Nick Whetstone

DECCA SUPER GOLD rebuilt
Hi Mark

I do not know if it will be possible to have some info today but I try. I have a problem of "very annoying noise" generated by masses between head and turntable. I wanted to buy a reconstituted Decca Super Gold on my turntable (Roxan Radius 5) with the "Nima" unipivot arm. I enclose a photo of the head seen the difference of the model.supplied.

I realised that by moving the arm away from the central axis or the engine, the noise increases or decreases. I would kindly ask you what I could do to eliminate this noise ??? What could it depend on ??? What tests can I do to solve??? The Roksan uses a head-to-plug signal connection cable.
The phono pre-amplifier, as well as the line pre-amplifier, is a Dissanayake (valve) . The power amplifier is a Krell KSA50 (class A solid state).
Saluti,
Giancarlo - E-mail: gdesiro (at) sogei.it

MW
Hi Giancarlo,
Knowing how much information might be lost in online translation, I had to infer from the roots of words like "Rumore", that the noise is of the nature of background hum or rumble. Unless there is a serious fault with your Roksan Radius, it will not be turntable rumble that causes a problem. There is unlikely to be a mismatch between the moving mass of the Roksan Nima arm (11g) and the Decca London cartridge compliance. Unipivot pick-up arms really work well with Decca London cartridges; Decca's own arm was a unipivot and my experience is good with a Hadcock GH242SE silver. The Nima manual can be downloaded here. Therefore, by process of elimination, we reach the conclusion that the noise is electrical.

Welcome to the joy of trying to make Decca London cartridges work successfully in the real world.

Sarath Dissanayake makes amplifiers that compete at the level of Kondo and ARC Ref, so assuming that the system works fine with other cartridges, the problem is not an earth loop in the amplification. However, if your phono pre-amplifier is set to high enough gain for moving coil cartridges, you must change the gain setting to moving magnet cartridges, using the manufacturer's instructions. If there is an earth (ground) post on the back of the phono pre-amplifier this must be connected to the Roksan chassis.

If the input impedance is set at anything other than 47k-ohms, or similar, this needs to change too. Decca London cartridges often work best, in my experience, into 33k-ohms, which flattens the frequency response. This is fine tuning you can try after you have identified and eliminated the source of hum.

It may be simply that the Nima was previously being grounded (earthed) via the previous pick-up cartridge and now this is not working because the Decca London has a mostly plastic structure in a thin metal can. The Nima has an unusual wiring loom, which may cause a problem with the already troublesome Decca London. You may test if the Nima is being grounded (earthed) correctly. Swing the arm from its rest while touching the tube very lightly. If the noise changes when you cease touching or when you tighten your grip, the arm is not grounded (earthed). If there is no change, the problem is probably at the cartridge. You will notice from the picture that the cartridge does not have the usual configuration of 4 pins in a square pattern. This is because the pick-up coils themselves are cvonnected to a common ground (earth) because they use a sum-and-difference system of horizontal and vertical coils, rather than the usual pair of 45 degree angled coils. Frequently there is a problem between the contacts of the coils and those of the pins (mine has this problem at the moment). Also, the metal can that is supposed to screen the coils from outside interference must have a good contact with the earth (ground) pin of the right channel. Try swapping all the pins between left and right channels to hear if the problem changes. If the problem is solved, merely reverse the connections from left and right between the phono pre-amplifier and line pre-amplifier.

I hope this helps. If not, you will need to delve deeper because both the Roksan Nima and the Decca London Super Gold can be a challenge to set up, but once they are working the rewards are worthwhile. Happy Listening,
Mark Wheeler

Geneva XL review and question
Dear Lucio,
First I'd like to say I love your work on the TNT audio website. Really nice website that is run by music enthousiasts! I'v been reading your 2009 review on the Geneva L and XL with a lot of excitement and interest and am wondering if you could help me with something.
Currently I am able to acquire a Geneva XL of which the amps are broken and I am planning to replace these. Before taking the step of actually buying this system I'm conducting some research on the hardware that has been put in and the potential costs involved.
The thing is that I cannot find a lot of info on the amps and since you seem to know quite a lot about amps, I was wondering if know which amps Geneva uses to build these systems and what amp could be a (maybe even better) replacement?
If you are willing to help me, that would be awesome!
Thank you in advance,
Kind regards,
Bastiaan - E-mail: bas-lo (at) hotmail.com

LC
Dear Bastiaan,
have you REALLY read the review carefully? It's all written in there...the internal amplification is provided by DAE-1™ Class D modules made by D2Audio. Visit their website for more details and infos. I'm not 100% you can purchase this modules directly from the factory but you can try contacting them and explaining your needs. You shouldn't try anything else, since the heart of the EmbracingSound that makes the Geneva speakers so unique relies on these modules. Different Class D modules won't work. Simple as that.
Hope this helped somehow,
Lucio Cadeddu

NAD 314
Dear Sir,
Your 1997 review is spot on. I use it for my everyday amp. Even only rated at 35 watts it drives my Gale 401's or IMF studio monitors with ease and classic british loudspeakers of the 70's such as I collect take off the overbright edge you note.
Thank you
Richard - E-mail: sandings.farm (at) btinternet.com

LC
Dear Richard,
thanks for your comments and precious feedback. Nice little amp you have and even nicer loudspeakers!!! I'm envious! :-)
Congrats and happy listening,
Lucio Cadeddu

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