47 labs........

[Fran]

I've recently been in contact with a fella in Poland about some mods for a transport I use - the shigaclone, an upgraded version of 47 labs shigaraki transport. Through a fairly accidental, unplanned series of events I suddenly realised that I now have a pretty much complete 47 labs "clone" system now in place!!

So theres:

Shigalone (4716 shigaraki transport)
Audiosector NOS dac (4715 DAC)
Phonoclone phonostage (4712 phonocube)
LM3875 chipamp (4706 gaincard)

The speakers (frugel horns) aren't the same as the "Essence" system that 47 labs sell, but they are similar enough in spirit, and I reckon not far different in sonic signature either.

I haven't had the phonoclone in the system in a while, so I'm going to connect that back in tonight and see how the synergy of this complete system now works. If all is as it should be, then the synergy should be good and all should work very well.

Which got me to thinking - is there anyone else here with any 47 labs equipment? You have to admire them - for a fairly oddball minimalist Japanese brand, they have really made an impact around the world among DIYers. There aren't many others that have caught the imagination of many as much - and very much inadvertantly!!

A small bit of me (OK a large bit of me) would very much like to get their cartridge and tonearm/turntable combo with their cabling too!!

Its worth visiting:

http://www.sakurasystems.com/intro.html

and having a browse through.




Fran

[Fran]

Said turntable:

[Ivor]

I had a look at that earlier. Lovely. I'll never get those stains out.

[Fran]

The 2 platters turn in opposite directions to each other to even out the speed even further. The arm is interesting too - as was the RS-1 arm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lH8m-j6TNZ8



Its all sounding very sweet here, although the volume has to be kept low for reasons of marital harmony.

Fran

[jkeny]

Fran,
What about their speaker cables http://www.sakurasystems.com/products/47cabling.html? Single strand wire of 0.4mm diameter - $800/8ft pair - always interesting pricing :)

[Fran]

I never said they were cheap!!

Hey, the gaincard is $3200 but has parts costing <$200.



Fran

[Claus]

Yeah it seems a little overpriced for what you get. Then again that goes for an awful lot of so called "high end" amps out there I suspect. I wont even mention cables.... ;)

DIY is really rewarding both in terms of SQ and sense of achievement. I wish I had a little more machinery and a skilled mentor at hand over here. Both my Dad and brother back in Denmark are craftsmen with workshops for all things wood and metal. I must take a loooong holiday sometime soon...

Your designs look great as usual Fran. Really want to make one myself now and get a pair of Frugels for it :D.... Do NOT tell my wife!

[jkeny]

Yea, not bargain prices, by any means. I'm more interested in their concepts, however & was wondering what people think of the single fine stranded speaker cable? Has anybody tried such an approach? I have but with Litz wire rather than single strand. Litz wire consists of multi strands of individually insulated very fine wire wrapped in an outer insulation - mine is 44 wires insulated in lacquer enclosed in a cotton outer wrap. Can't say I noticed any improvement or dis-improvement that jumped out at me compared to other speakers cables but then I haven't much to compare to - just Ethernet cables :)

[Fran]

I'm using multistrand silver plated copper for speaker cables. Wouldn't have tried enough to make any pronouncements....


Since hooking back up this system, I discovered something that was causing the phonoclone to have a bit of hum. This same hum has happened in all 3 of the phonoclone versions I've built - could never sort it out. Got it done - and the whole system actually sounds lovely. I'd definitely say there's synergy at play. Very musical and non-fatiguing. I've heard wider soundstages, and more brilliantly etched detail, but this sounds lovely I have to say.

I'd absolutely love to hear a real 47 labs system now to see how the clone sounds vs the original of the species.


Anyone ever hear any of it at any shows or demos?


Fran

[jkeny]

Have you seen this? http://6moons.com/audioreviews/47labs2/1.html