Audio Note TT2 Deluxe turntable with outboard power supply and IQ 3 cart MM.. Sounds sweet so far..

Amperex 7308? White, orange or green?

 

That Amperex is a great tube - from one end of the range to the other it just sounds musical. They also kept the production consistency going over a long stretch of time.

As for the Bugle Boy 6DJ8, you might see if the "A" frame version is a little less zippy up top. They haven't exploded in price, and show up relabelled as well.

 

I got in too late for inexpensive 7308s - 200 and up for a pair is about as low as they go now. My small stash was bought about 10 years ago, and they're now about depleted. You have to pony up more for closely screened/low micro phonic pieces. There's always the elusive pinched waist Amperex 6922 - makes those 7308s seem like a bargain.

 

Nice to see you finally got a "sprung" deck, Steve. As I have been saying for years, when you look at the pricing of the modern suspended subchassis tables, the value in the restored vintage ones (AR & Thorens) becomes crystal clear.

 

That is one beautiful, elegant table. Most people would miss the solid engineering behind it.

 

Audio Note always have the BEST sound at any show.

One of the 2 or 3 audio companies you can rely on to always sound good.
Their cd players are very smooth and should be popular here.

Steve, try one of their DACs.

 

I've had the opposite experience. I've heard Audio Note rooms that sounded absolutely amazing, and I've heard them sound completely lousy. That's because Audio Note equipment, especially the speakers, need a very specific set-up to sound their best, and hotel rooms don't always provide those conditions. AN/E speakers, for instance, need a room with very specific proportions to sound their best.

For the biggest impact, I think Steve needs to check out one of their step-up transformers. I think they make the finest SUTs in the world.

 

Mt first "real" turntable in 73 was an AR-XA and still have a soft spot in my heart for them. Less is more.

 

That explaines my encounter with A.N. at T.H.E. SHOW last year. I was running out of the room holding my ears! It was like finding out there was no Santa Claus.

 

Mine's a '63 or '64 AR-TX, with a bunch of mods hidden under the hood. A very solid, unassuming example of excellent engineering.

 

I mentioned this in another thread but I also picked up one of those awesome and beautiful vintage Denon tables a few months ago at a Goodwill of all places. They had just put it out and it was in the box. They kept it by the registers so no one would fool with it and it was beautifully packed, and they even tightened the shipping screws. They let me take it out of the box and it had a Shure Type IV cartridge mounted! I put my own in, a much better cart, and I just love the table. Was $249, which though a bargain IMO for that table in beautiful condition, that is a fortune to pay for anything at Goodwill! One reason I got it was you said you liked yours so much. I replaced my Technics MK1200.

 

Always been a fan of AN stuff and do like their Turntables, arms and carts, very musical pieces of kit

 

I love the sound and the look....had never seen one before except photos, and I just always thought it was a great looking table. Didn't really know how it was regarded as far as sound quality, but it seemed so well built I figured it probably was at least as good as the Technics 1200 MKII I had just bought right before Technics closed. I was about to get something brand new and just lucked into it while at Goodwill. I will try and upload some photos....I hate to think this but I suspect it belonged to an audiophile who passed on and it was donated by the grieving widow....but who knows! I can't imagine the actual owner would take such good care of it and then just give it away, but on the other hand it was carefully packed. I'm glad I ran into it....they had just put it out. So glad I am back into vinyl....so fun!

 

I have an EB-101 modded and rebuilt by George Merrill. Nice unit.



The AN table looks fantastic. How many other suspended tables are still being made out there?

 

Very nice indeed!

 

Pretty table. Some new tables are suspended, but not necessarily with springs. They can use magnets or elastic type materials. I think most of the upper Sota line is spring suspended, but their top of the line uses a "hanging four-point balanced-mass visco-elastic suspension system".

SME's top model has a suspension that "now provides 60 purpose moulded ‘O’ rings supporting the sub-chassis, which has been increased in thickness by some 16%, on one hundred and twenty strands of rubber."

The Linns are suspended right?

My VPI is the old HW-19 with spring suspension, but I don't think any of their current models are suspended.

 

Why did spring suspension fall out of favor?

 

That's one nice thing about the Michell turntable, you can adjust the springs from the top of the table.

 

Sweet! I have Merrill mods on my AR ES-1 table, plus I replaced the stock tonearm.

 

Turntable manufacturers started using the brute force method instead to eliminate extraneous vibration transmission and resonances, i.e. by using massive weight. This may have solved some other design problems as well, but it definitely makes things more expensive and harder to move around.