I was surprised to notice a substantial difference from having my slab resting on Vibrapods + cones vs. inexpensive rubber + cork sandwiches. The Vibrapods tightened up the sound a lot more than I expected, maybe because I was kind of expecting to hear no difference. I hadn't heard of Stillpoints before. Those look nice.
The old black ones are a steal when you find them used! The new stuff is waaaaay out of my price range.
I have a QL-A2. Of course, not as good as yours, but it does the job very nicely for a secondary/spare turntable
I've posted my Thorens TD-150 before, but I just got an EAR 834P tubed phono stage. (It's that shiny box with the gold knob.) In a word, lush. Still detailed tho. Engaging, for sure. (Running a Shure V15 type III.) Three 12AX7 tubes, and it matters where they go, apparently. I have a few different tubes and I'm testing them out. I do like it, I must say. Enough to list my Graham Slee Era Gold V on the 'Mart.
Clearaudio Ovation w/ Tracer arm + Benz LPS. 2nd shot shows the Zestos Andros Deluxe 2 phono amp and the Isoacoustics Delos platform. Man I love that Zestos! NOS Tesla E83CC in the 12Ax7 position, GE 7247 in the 12Dw7 position. I'm very happy with the way it all sounds-- it brings me joy.
I spy an Anchor Christmas poster! I appreciate that they change the recipe every year. Turntable set up looks good too.
Ever since I installed the KAB damper some time back I've not had any feedback issues, even at irresponsible SPL's. I tried Doctor Fine's test of placing the stylus on a non-spinning record to see how far I could crank the volume before a speaker-destroying loop picked up and that still happens once the volume knob is around 3 o'clock. That's w/ the subwoofer 4' from the turntable. For reference, 11 o'clock is PLENTY loud when listening. 9-10 is more the average. Anything above 11:30 and the negative attributes of my untreated room really take over, most notably a terrible "glare" and lots of tones bleeding into one another. That observation has led me to think that I've possibly reached a "diminishing returns" tipping point until I have a better room worth treating. I'm sure better equipment could still bring better sound in my present space but I really can't gripe about what my ears are treated to now. Sorry for such a long reply to a yes or no question.
Good question, I'll give it a try... No feedback w/ headphones plugged in and volume cranked to the max. I also just tried the same test w/ the sub switched off and can max out the volume for 2-3 seconds before a harmonic hum takes hold.
I just received this beauty yesterday, a VPI Aries Scout upgraded with Nordost wiring, 300rpm motor, and stainless/delrin clamp, purchased from forumite @Greenmonster2420 via the classifieds. This is the second VPI I've owned, but I had an unsatisfactory experiences with the one I had before (a used Prime Scout), which turned me off from the brand for a while. The one I had before ran fast and was horrible about attracting static, creating loud POPs through my speakers. The arm on it was fantastic however. Knowing how many seasoned audiophiles love their VPIs, and recalling a HW19 that an acquaintance of mine has, I decided to give the brand another shot. Boy, am I glad I did! I am beyond delighted with my "new" VPI. I have to tell you a funny story. When I unpacked the unit, there was what appeared to be a plastic cap over the tip of the platter bearing, which I assumed was for protection. I put it aside and began assembling the turntable. Despite cleaning and lubricating the bearing and bushing, I was getting quite a bit of noise from the platter, and it turned with some resistance. Upon close inspection, I saw that the platter bushing was sitting on the base of the bearing; in other words the bearing was not high enough for the platter to clear the chassis. After googling variations of "is VPI inverted bearing height-adjustable?" with no results, I was about to call VPI and see if they could offer any assistance when I remembered the "bearing cap." It took me about a half-second to realize that it was actually a delrin thrust bearing, and it probably got pulled out up and out of the well when the platter was removed for shipping!!! It turned out to be a lucky accident, because the delrin had become dimpled over the years, so after cleaning it, I flipped it upside down and popped it back in. Voila! The platter now runs smoothly and silently.
Incidentally, I know that most prefer VPI's aluminum platters to their acrylic platters. My recollection is the aluminum platter on the Prime Scout sounded a lot more forward than what I am hearing on this Aries Scout. If my memory is accurate, I am preferring the sound of the acrylic. (Both have a JMW 9 tonearm.) If there is one word I would use to describe the sound of the VPI, it would be "cinematic."
Love the "cinematic" description. As a matter of fact I was just browsing 2nd hand websites today to see if and what VPI tables they had on offer here (VPI is not that common in Belgium).
Please indulge me with another image of my new acquisition. I still love my SL-1200MK2, especially after I hot rodded it with better wiring and various KAB doo-dads, but the VPI is on a whole different level. Nevertheless, I have no plans to sell the 1200, it still serves a purpose. It sounds amazing for playing vintage mono LPs and 45s using a Stanton 500 with a heavy-tracking conical stylus. The 1200 was modded with the addition of 78 speed, and I also have an OEM 78 stylus for the Stanton, so I'll keep pulling out my big 10" records of the band who plays the blues...
VPI HW19II. New to me just came in a trade. Haven’t had a VPI in years. With a Graham 1.5 tonearm. Way more then I would’ve ever had back in the day.
It's new old VPI week at the SHF! My first experience with the delights of high end hifi was hearing an HW19 with JMW arm.
Had a Scout and a Scoutmaster, which I souped with up with more advanced platters, arms, speed controls, etc. Excellent turntables but got the vintage bug and that was that. At this point, this table from the early 80's is vintage.
Just wanted to show off my new Audiosilente headshell: I love the look of the original TP60 headshell that came with my TD160, but I was having an awful time achieving proper barewald alignment with it. Problem solved with the Audiosilente, and it looks pretty good, too.
