Your Next Upgrade? (Part 2)

Just give this a try Apple TV X claims to be the best 4K video machine.

I am familiar with the Apple TVX.
A little pricey but I will probably end up with one.
Thanks

Let me know what you think. It looks cool!

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Today I added two Synergistic Tranquility Pod Carbons under my AGD Gran Vivaces to great effect. They make the system system actually sound louder, with a greater sense of clarity, space, dynamics, presence and weight.

I also have three of the original Tranquility Pods in my system, one sitting between my of-necessity stacked Mk2 DAC and BHK pre (extremely effective here), one on my Airlens, and another under my Active Ground Block SE.

Definitely worth a try with SRā€™s 30 day audition policyā€¦

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How about a picture?

Enjoy.

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Hi Al,

Considering the quality on R2R, Iā€™m surprised you waited this long to jump in.

Hereā€™s another source for R2R tapes:

1|Acoustic Sounds

And this site has a number of different places to check:

Where To Buy Pre-Recorded Music on Reel to Reel Tapes - RX Reels

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You canā€™t see 'em, the Tranquility Pod Carbons are underneath!

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Do you/did you plug them in?

Hi, yes, the Pods are powered up and grounded to my Synergistic Active Ground Block SE.

Kind of a pity you canā€™t see them because the Carbons look pretty cool in an audio boy-racer kind of way.

They donā€™t fundamentally change the character of the component you pair them with, but they seem to amplify the best qualities of the devices theyā€™re paired with, at least thatā€™s been my experienceā€¦

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I just received a Teac ā€œWashiā€ turntable mat.
Iā€™ve tried many mats and always went back to the stock felt mat for itā€™s superior sound.
But the static is a nuisance and also worries me that it might decapitate my cartridge as it flops around when i lift a record.
This mat is similar to the $350 Stein lacquered Japanese paper mat but tiā€™s $30.
It really does sound better and is worth the 30 bucks.

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Good to know. I am using the Boston Carbon Mat on my VPI Prime. All dialed in and sounding fine. My Linn Sondek has an Achromat that replaced the notorious Linn felt mat. The Achromat has been a nice upgrade with the Denon DL-304. The Rega P8 is in the box. Reminds me I need to put it up for sale.
Somedayā€¦.

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Everything is so interdependent. The Achromat was vastly superior to anything on my VPI but the LP-12 not so much.
Iā€™ll listen to this Teac for a couple weeks and then switch back to the felt. Only after that will I know for sure. Maybe.
Right now Iā€™m listening to Picture of Heath. The horns really sound like theyā€™re made of metal, in the best way.
Does that make sense?

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Since I installed a Delrin platter not only does it give me better sound in my estimation but no mat is necessary! Made me a happy camper. ā€¦ mats generally are a nuisance for me.

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Other than the static with the felt mat, it hardly crossed my mind.
But like anything else, they can be effective tweaks.
In fact, when I had my VPI, Harry Weisfeld insisted to me that no mat was best.

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Iā€™ve tried four different ones over the years and each influenced the sound in little ways, good and bad. I havenā€™t had static issues and really enjoy not having a mat!

Running an Ittok Mk LVii with the Denon DL-304, it removed a slight upper frequency edge with the Achromat installed. I had used a RingMat with the cork rings, but age caught up with it as the rings delaminated. It did a fair job in my opinion. I may upgrade my cartridge this summer to a Hana ML, as the price to performance ratio for my set-up is good. It will feed a Sim Audio LP310 phono stage, again selected for price to performance ratio. Your mention of the paper mat has my attention, as it may be a better match with the Hana ML than the Achromat, and at $30 seems to be worth experimenting with.

Totally get the metal sound of horns comment be it sax or trumpet. Same with piano over tones which is one performance standard I seek out in a proper set-up.

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Iā€™ve always been leery of placing a record on my aluminum platter without a mat. Sometimes when I put the record down it doesnā€™t always fit directly on the spindle. Iā€™m concerned that I could drag the record over the outside of the platter and scuff it. OCD I guess.

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I tried no mat, as well as the VPI supplied mat, and found the VPI mat to deaden the sound, from the presence region on up. No mat was a bit lively, and as Goldilocks said, the Boston mat was just right. It really depends on many variables, including tonearm, cartridge, and tonearm wire, and interconnects.

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I share your concern as well. I clean my mat prior to placing an LP on it. I donā€™t think it is OCD, as much as dealing with vinyl playback realities.

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I assume that when experimenting with various platter mats SRA, VTA, and tracking forces are adjusted accordingly. Many variables here to take into consideration when comparing.

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