which arm and cartridge are you planning to use?
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I believe an Encounter, with a Nagaoka MP-500. Nothing fancy really
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@dchang05, I finally got around to plugging in the SDFB I got from you! 
I had to use a cold Furutech DSP-4 to the unit, as I donât have another Front Row lying around to match what I have going to the P20. I figured, based on what Iâve read, the Furutech would probably be better than the standard Piggie. I was surprised that the graphene sluggo sounded different in one direction vs the other. After getting that worked out, Iâm wondering how many hours are needed on the SDFB before itâs âfully cookedâ? Iâll have to take the extra power cord into account too, of course. First impressions are favorable, but I try not to decide on the recipe until itâs out of the oven. 
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6922/ecc88? Which one are these?
I use nos Philips miniwatt in my et7/ premier 140
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These are NOT the Philips PCC88, but believe they are from the same factory
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Tony, in my experience the SDFB takes about 50 to 100 hours to âbe all it can be,â but the Graphene Sluggo can take a bit longer to totally settle in. Maybe 200 hours, and Iâve found that they can still make little shifts after that. (I have four SDFB and all now have Graphene Sluggos).
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You are a patient man! I did not remember you were the lucky buyer of mine already. Since FB is not new, it shouldnât need a long time to settle, but graphene sluggo will take long time to break in.
I remembered I wrapped some sluggos with preferred directions, but my memory is fading. I also found them to sound different on different directions. Enjoy!
Thanks Donald. I do one thing at a time to my system, evaluate, decide, then move on to the next. The graphene I got was direct from the SDFB boys, so itâs brand new.
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Oh, and congrats on the et7 and the Premier 140!!!
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Purchased from cj? I assume it is a Telefunken E88CCa, or?
The Ediswan and Tungsram series are worth chasing down as well IME.
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My plan for 2025 has been to shift my analog system cables to Audience FrontRow based on hearing them at Glenn Poorâs when I auditioned and purchased my Wilson SabrinaX speakers. Now well on my way to completing it with the adddition of the FrontRow RCAs from my turntable to the Sutherland Little Loco, and then on to the Vitus RI-101 Mk2. To date I have Front Row XLR from DAC to RI-101 Mk2, PowerChords to PowerZone 3.10 and RI-101 Mk2. Next up will be a pair of FrontRow speaker cables, and then the MP power chords to Little Loco, DAC and Jays CDT3 Mk3.
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FWIW, IME the SDFB is one of the few âtweaksâ I have deployed that resulted in an immediately discernible positive impact. (Mine serves my PSA P10 Regenerator.)
I hope you find it to be all thatâŚ
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Oh, thereâs a difference, but I will wait about a week before making any critical assessment.
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The Swift Mk5 is a great table that may be a new sweet spot in their line with the upgraded platter and power supply. With an Encounter and the Nagaoka I think it is quite fancy.
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@RonP I know you have had some neighbor issues to deal with, but how are the FRR cables sounding with more time on them?
My upgrade/system adjustment today. I connected the old braided Dragon Source power cable from the Farad Super 10 LPS, which supplied the Melco S100 switch, to my Marantz Link 10n. The new, unbraided version of the Audioquest Dragon Source from the Marantz Link 10n to the Farad power supply. I like the presentation better now. The new Dragon Source version, which only has one silver conductor, seems to work better with digital components. For components that have an analog part, it sounds too open to me and with too little depth. Tonally, it is also a bit thin in the lower midrange. The old Dragon Source version consists of two silver conductors and one copper conductor. Copper conductors are used for the ground conductor; these have less influence on the Marantz because Japanese components do not have a ground connection. Is it the mixture of silver and copper that ensures a more balanced sound and better depth reproduction with more body? My old Dragon Source is no longer original, as I swapped the connectors for Furutech Rhodium ncf. Maybe thatâs a reason for better tonality and placement of instruments. I was also thinking about a Stealth Audio Cloude Grand for the Marantz, but would I like it better in combination with the other Furutech V1 than the modified Dragon? The precise imaging of the Dragon and the rich, calm sound of the Furutech Project V1 seem to harmonize well.
Improvements that donât incur additional costs are the best anyway.
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Following upâŚ
Since adding the speaker pedestals and second pair of SlatFusers I noted a bit more soundstage depth and a sense of a more accurate soundstage height.
But, the system was just off in other waysâŚmurkier and less dynamic.
I made the error of carrying on with a speaker cable swap out (back to my Pine Tree ribbon cables), adding a second MSB transformer Isolation Base/grounding device for my pre/pro, and trying a graphene Sluggo in my SDFB instead of a copper Sluggo, without really trying to figure out why my system took a big step backwards.
I was slow to act in part because I was toughing out two weeks with a sinus infection/tooth ache - figured my health was muddying things up w/r/t my hearing
But as of yesterday, I was healthy and the system still sounded crappy. I sat down and stared at the system and ultimately decided to do three things:
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I read the PSA P10 manual carefully and optimized its settings based on the quality of my inbound power and the THD % output readings the P10 reported.
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I reread the EtherRegen manual and reconnected/repowered the AfterDark power supply and clock, and the EtherRegen in the correct order to make sure the external clock was taking over.
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I took the brass footers off of the Maple Shade speaker pedestals, which lowered the tweeters and more or less lined them up with the height of my ears when seated in my listening position. See picture below.
I canât say I heard a consistent improvement with each of the first two actions, but the magic was back and then some when I lowered the height of the speakers.
Lesson learned (again): address first principles (speaker and listening position) when making changes before blundering ahead.
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Getting a Disc flattener from eBay (Japan). I have some used vinyls are certainly warped but even some new pressings are dish like. Acoustic Sounds has the base model. Almost all new vinyl I bought (and will be buying) are 180g or 200g with flat edge (no groove guard), I thought the plus model with adaptors for flat edges will be better. Reading the posts on Steve Hoffman forums and seems like a good long term investment.
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My understanding is that the new Dragon Source PC has all silver conductors. There are no copper conductors in it anymore, right?
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