garage system: the man cave!

[Jim Pittsburgh]

- a pair of vintage Harman Kardon Fifty speakers (NOT HK 50s) Think 44" glass covered coffins lol  ($200 for the pair)
- six ( yes six, two for the center channel)  NHT SuperOnes for surrounds  ( averaged $35 @)
- a home made 3.6 cf DIY sub woofer with a parts express 300 watt plate amp, needs a better 12" driver ($120 invested)
- Marantz SR6007 receiver (refurbished model)
- a Carver  806x six channel amp, four channels dedicated to bi-amping the Fifties, the other two to the centers ( traded for it)
-a Technics 1200 II turntable with Shure V15VMRx cartridge with SAS stylus  ($400 (with AT cartridge I did not like) had the V15 cartridge for many years)
- Technics P770 CD player (<$50 broken but fixed with a spot of solder)
- Denon DRM 710 cassette deck, three head!  ($40)
- cheap a## Walmart Visio blu ray player  ($60?)
- cheap Insignia LED 32" TV (free from old work place points program)
- still playing with the interconnects and speaker wires....  and the phono input in the Marantz is a little brittle even with the Shure.

I really enjoy the system now with the Carver amp. The HK Fifty speakers just sucked the Marantz receiver dry lol and the Marantz did not like the load of the twin SuperOnes either as two 6-8 ohm (3-4 ohms in parallel) loads nor as 12-16 ohms in series.  The HK Fifty speakers just sing now! and the Carver doesn't even get warm with the loads.

Nothing like working on the bikes, cars, projects  etc with a little cranked up music.

[OldiesButGoodies]

Jim:  The SL-1200 you have is Sparky's old one right?  So it has the re-wired arm.  It sounds good.

[Jim Pittsburgh]

Yep, from a guy on the forum that moved, to Erie I think.
Nice guy.

Always a good table for the $, and now sounds very good with the re wire work Tom did.

[Anders]

There was a Technics 1200 that I rewired and it even surprised me with a high-end like sound quality.

[Jim Pittsburgh]

This one has Litz wire terminated directly thru the headshell and to female RCAs on the back.... if you did the work, my apologies for not giving
credit where it is due...  I really like it, thanks for the nice work.... (as usual)

After listening for quite a while, I'm not a big fan of the AT140 mla cartridge it came with, when using the Marantz internal phono input.... it's just way too bright of a sound.... I installed the Shure V15 Vx with the SAS replacement stylus and it is much smoother and tracks equally as well.  Might swap the AT 140mla if anyone is interested. It has very low hours on it... for another cartridge.

Can't use the AT in the ClearAudio table... the tone arm needs to use a cartridge that tracks at 2 grams.... I tried the Shure on the CA table originally and could not get it to work/ track, no matter what I tried... was forced to get a CA cartridge, a totally unforeseen additional expense... but they did give me a very good deal on the Maestro Wood to make up for it.... 

[Anders]

i'm afraid i'm a moving coil kinda guy.
I got spoiled by the very clean and detailed highs which can sound absolutely beautiful with some records and downright hard and edgy with some really bad records.

[schwarcw]

Very nice Jim!  The equipment list is an impressive list of some good but eclectic gear.  I would really like to hear it one day!  How about some pics??

Regards,

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

This one has Litz wire terminated directly thru the headshell and to female RCAs on the back

Next time I'm over, I'd like to take a good look at that.   I want to do the same and can use ideas for mounting the jacks.

[Resident]

Personally I like the AT carts.  I hear that a lot from people that have either adjusted or are used to Shure carts that the AT carts are bright.

I currently have an AT440mla on my Mission turntable and I couldnt ever understand where people got the notion that the AT is a bright sounding cart.

I can say that it made my Shure Hi Track I had sound muddy in comparison.  Though that is apples and oranges.

[Jim Pittsburgh]

for me cartridge selection and sound usually comes down to the system.....  in this one, I think it's the phono input/ circuit  in the Marantz SR6007 that's a little bright already and it magnifies the AT. The V15xMR with the SAS stylus is pretty sweet though... noticed no loss of highs or detail at all.... just a little flatter response. I need to try the Jolida phono preamp one of these days, but I hate to remove it even temporarily from the main system.

 The interconnects might also be contributing. I've tried three different sets and the best so far have been an old set of Monster 850i .... the tt is about 5.5 ft from the receiver so I can't try any of the better 1 meter ones I have....  The system is mounted on wire shelves in the garage....and keeping things out of harms way and yet still accessible is a compromise.... lol   I actually use my garage to work on projects, cars and bikes... and yet still keep both bikes and both cars inside.... it is a pretty big and deep garage thank goodness.... 

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

I currently have an AT440mla on my Mission turntable and I couldnt ever understand where people got the notion that the AT is a bright sounding cart.

I love my 440.   My favorite cart I have ever owned over Stanton 681EEE and Shure V15 among others.

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

I'm certain that the SAS helps the V15 a lot.   I've come to the conclusion that diamond cut is more important than the cart it is mounted on.

[Jim Pittsburgh]

My all time favorite is the Grace 9?  I still have
the body and plan to get a new stylus installed
someday.  I will say though that the ClearAudio
Maestro wood is pretty darn good. And I don't hate the
Shure/SAS.

Have little sonic / audio memory of the many
others I had: ADC, Pickering, Dynavectors, Shure type III,
A Sumitomo or something like that, Stanton, Empire, I'm sure there
were a few others

[schwarcw]

No Denon or Ortofon?

Once you reach a certain level with your equipment, the cartridge upgrade can bring a big bang for the buck

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

My all time favorite is the Grace 9?  I still have
the body and plan to get a new stylus installed
someday. 

http://www.sound-smith.com/cartridges/grace.html