You’ll need to cook that utility transformer to get the best sound, give it 500 hours under continuous load for a proper break-in. Also, I’d suggest the utility upgrade the fuses from the 12Kv drop to the xformer, and occasionally dial in each phase tuning ring. Routine maintenance should include a generous sprinkling of pixie dust on the transformer terminations.
Edit:
I’ll leave to other to recommend the apropos fuse and tuning rings.
I started small with bedframe supports and sorbothane sheets for preamp and mk2 power cords.
Moved on to absorber acoustic panels. Trying to follow Edgar’s bacch dsp advice turn my room into Anechoic Chamber. Every step so far has paid off in bacch and the Home Theater. Discussions with late Roger Russell he still extolled my speaker’s ability to discern everything in the anechoic chamber when developing them. Time to kill more echo from diffusion having already removed diffusion plates. Nothing but smeared false sense of space. Sure it can be found pleasing in a symphonic hall. Smear it more at home. It is a false dream to mediocrity and watering down the recordings.
Next up the pure silver Inakustik USB cable before it hits the Munich show. Feel the bacch has more to show on the USB.
I took a break from music a few days and there is no escaping wanting to improve as you return.
After two days of high power burning in, I replaced the Stealth V10 with Crystal Clear Magnum Opus II. Well, the SQ is not crystal clear. It is quite closed-in in fact. It needs more time to burn, I think. The list price of this cord is the same as Stealth V10, but it is nowhere near its level. So, it should sound better than what I heard now. I am sending it back to serve the wine cellar for a couple more days, and I hope it will improve.
Then I put the AQ Dragon Source in BHK pre to compare with Stealth Dream V10. Oh yes! There is no question that Dragon is the top dog! The beautiful and familiar SQ is enhanced again. Compared to Stealth V10, the bass immediately becomes deeper and tighter, and the background is even quieter. The V10 is not a push-over, but I still hear an obvious improvement. Dragon will need a few hundred more hours to reach optimal.
But the improvement was less than the first Source in my system. It is probably because I am comparing better power cords now. Also, with three Dragon PCs I am more familiar with their sound, so I am less surprised.
4th REL s/510 just shipped. Arrives Thursday! Hope to be able to install 3 and 4 next Friday…kind of impossible if we’re watching my three grandsons…otherwise, Sunday.
I’m trying to figure out which book match orientation is right for my new diffusers.
Ignore the chairs.
Reminds me of the joke, what do you call a big Irish cat?
I don’t know the joke, but it better be a good one:heart_eyes:
pictures please
I’m surely at the point of being obnoxious, but this could be the most impactful upgrade I’ve ever made to my system. I’m listening to Mozart piano concertos at low, late night levels and I’m startled at the depth of what is coming at me.
The new service equipment installed yesterday by PG&E made a huge positive difference in the SQ of my system across the board. Clearly the best “free” audio upgrade ever!
I wonder if it will be even better after the new transformer and service wiring have 500 hours of break-in?
Only if PG&E upgrades the fuses, and service drop.
Couple recommendations for piano concertos with superb SQ?
Cartridges are magical. Find a great one, be tempted to stay with it. Oh to have two tonearms!
Magnum O’pus.
Never mind …
I would love 2 tonearms for mono and stereo
I went there. I still have the Ortofon 2M Mono. I still have two tone arms in use. Just did not have enough true mono pressings. Maybe I should give it another try.
If you want a really incredible Mono copy for evaluating a system, the Analogue Productions Muddy Waters 45rpm has to be heard to be believed, absolutely incredible
If in the US: Muddy Waters-Folk Singer-45 RPM Vinyl Record|Acoustic Sounds
If in EU/UK: Muddy Waters - Folk Singer (michael45.com)
The problem is that a lot of these reissues are cut on stereo cutting machines in opposite phase, so you’re better using a stereo cartridge. Mono styli are shaped for playing mono microgrooves. The 2M M is wired to send the same signal to both channels, but many amplifiers have a button that can do that. My Luxman does. I may get the 2M M out for a spin.
Ah, gotcha, makes sense, wasn’t aware of that.
Not sure if this counts as an upgrade or a pleasant diversion. Warwick Acoustics Bravura M1 Headphone System - The Absolute Sound