While we wait... How good cheap analog can sound!

[Claus]

So while waiting for the Young Dac I hooked up my old Rega Planar 3 with Dynavector 10x5 cartridge. I started out by destroying the cartridge by accident (perhaps involving a 4-year-old or my own carelessness).

I contacted Pear Audio in the UK. They offered me a 20 percent discount on a straight replacement for the newer version. Great deal! So off the old one went. He put it under a microscope and verified a dent in the cantilever was the cause. I got the new cartridge today. It was a breeze to set up (with threaded holes in the body) and it sounds a good deal better than the old one!!! Wow it tracks so well. I am listening to Ray Brown and it is just amazing. Makes me wonder what a serious rig could do.. ;)

And this rig costs... wait for it.... 450 euro! Good sound can be cheap!

[cybot]

So while waiting for the Young Dac I hooked up my old Rega Planar 3 with Dynavector 10x5 cartridge. I started out by destroying the cartridge by accident (perhaps involving a 4-year-old or my own carelessness).

I contacted Pear Audio in the UK. They offered me a 20 percent discount on a straight replacement for the newer version. Great deal! So off the old one went. He put it under a microscope and verified a dent in the cantilever was the cause. I got the new cartridge today. It was a breeze to set up (with threaded holes in the body) and it sounds a good deal better than the old one!!! Wow it tracks so well. I am listening to Ray Brown and it is just amazing. Makes me wonder what a serious rig could do.. ;)

And this rig costs... wait for it.... 450 euro! Good sound can be cheap!

Nice one Claus :-)

[Claus]

Further listening last night involved the Rachmaninov 3rd Piano Concert on the reissued Mercury Living Presence along with Harry Belafonte Live At Carnegie Hall. The Belafonte is just an old second hand but sounded really clean and smooth with great lifelike vocal by the great man. Next up will be Folk Singer and some Neil!

[Frankie Lee]

I can beat this. Having sold my Arcam last week I rigged up a stop-gap solution to keep me going until things turnaround for me. My Panasonic BR player via coax into a Zhaolu d2.5 Dac that I bought from Fran for €100 into a T-amp I got for €35 from Sure Electronics. Result: Jaw dropping! Couldn't believe it tbh. More neutral than the warmish Arcam, but greater transparency and detail with a nice bit of softness in the high freqs. Should keep me going for a while.

Slight derail:
I'm seriously thinking of getting two more T-amps to try and run them as a HT from the Panny's analogue outputs. Would it be possible to run the sub output from the BR player into the pre-amp input in my sub?

[Claus]

Wow! That is fantastic! I have been only loosely following the whole T-amp thing and seems to be great value. With regards to DACs I am not surprised as the technology is evolving fast. Now you start to wonder what a great power supply would do for such a setup or even batteries...? Which amp is it and what are they speakers are they driving?

[Frankie Lee]

The speakers are Eclipse TDs. They're designed for desktop use but to be honest they sound amazing in a hifi setup too. I'm really fussy about sibilance and these don't suffer from it at all. I use them with a BK Electronics sub which is also great value for money.

[Fran]

Sounds like a great synergy.


I've been thinking about making a chip amp for a long time now - much like the one you're building Claus. I don't need balanced so I think the one for me is from a guy in Canada called Peter Daniel. He has a company called audiosector. He also has a good bit of high end gear (commercial) so he knows what to aim for. Plus good support etc.

Fran

[Frankie Lee]

Any chance you could explain what "balanced" means, Fran? I hadn't heard the term until I got into headphone amps and I'm not clear what it means.

[Claus]

From Wikipedia:

Balanced audio is a method of interconnecting audio equipment using impedance-balanced lines. This type of connection is very important in sound recording and production because it allows for the use of long cables while reducing susceptibility to external noise.
Balanced connections use three-conductor connectors, usually the XLR or TRS connector. XLR connectors, for instance, are usually used with microphones because of their durable construction, while TRS jack plugs are usually used for mixer inputs and outputs because of their smaller profile.

[Frankie Lee]

OK so it's reliant on using certain connect cables other then your typical red & white phonos then?