Another possible advantage of buying an AC cable rather than DIY is that you can get a full cable that is UL or CE certified rather than just perhaps buying certified terminal ends in a DIY scenario. Possible reassurance of overall build quality and reliability, if it matters to you. Great video!
@@sonomedarenome Audioquest once told me they didn't get UL certification for their power cords. A local AQ dealer said that was not possible. I know Shunyata pwr cords are UL certified (for hospital use).
@@sonomedarenome another advantage w brand name cables is resale value on used market. No one wants an expensive DIY job. Cable termination using cold welding is also beyond a DIYer.
@@AudioTnT if you used a silver solder, that would definitely have an impact on the sound. Also, this would be like putting solder on the blades of the plug!
@@striperseeker that's a great question! I don't recall whether the antiskate counterweight was attached at the time. Especially important w unipivot tonearms. I'm not a big fan of antiskate and neither was VPI so my guess is "no".
@@AudioTnT Thanks. Is it possible to not have to use an anti-skate weight? I took great care in adjusting balance, downforce tracking, VTA and azimuth and my Pro-Ject Xpression II seems to not have an outward force on the tonearm that needs an anti-skate weight. In fact, the stylus sits so much better without it installed.
@striperseeker absolutely. Some systems overcompensate, pushing the tonearm outwards. Plus it seems to me the amount of force should be less as the tonearm travels closer to the center. Not sure these systems do that.
Nice video, high mass turntables will benefit with the addition of mass. Low mass, 12lb pizza box turntables will not see any improvement in performance. There is nothing there to support improvement. It's all gimmicks until you get a, let's say 30lb+ turntable.
@raymiehershey1430 my VPI TT weighs over 70 lb. You may be correct that light TT like Rega won't benefit from isolation devices. That said lightweight TT can sound very good.
@memberslist thanks for your interest in DarkSkies of the upper Bruce Peninsula. Rod is away but as soon as he answers I'll let you know. My guess is it's a simple photography light meter. Cheers.
Huge improvement here, I have two, on two networks. Even the TV PQ improved, and that is according to folks in the house that had no clue I added these devices.
Just saw your video. The biggest improvement I realized, was when I upgraded the ethernet cable from Audioquest cinnamon to (a pricey) synergistic formation cable. Hands down, smoother cleaner, more detail.
Those screw on spades, I think, would be a very poor connection, and would degrade any signal! I think the best connection would be XLR cables, if your Preamp has this available.
It’s still odd that in the 21st Century nobody has produced a self calibrating tonearm or a tonearm with in built calibration systems. For all of the things you said, you would probably have only arrived at a starting point. You would have to trust the stylus and cantilever and the compliance of the suspension. The final adjustment will very probably require iterative adjustments of each of the parameters you addressed with listening as the final arbiter of adjustment.
@christopherward5065 it's very much art rather than science. The tool depends on vertical & horizontal alignment of cartridge body and assumes stylus angles are set correctly. The human ear probably can't discern a few degrees of vta or azimuth error.
@@AudioTnT the variables are many and for all the precision of the tools people apply we find that two identical arms, cartridges and turntables set up according to those precise measurements will sound different and probably, because of the myriad variables that introduce error both are likely to be inaccurate. Because the variations in the positioning of the stylus in the groove and the power of our brains to correct the errors and distortions as the record is transcribed we can tolerate errors. To make the two identically set up record player sound more similar we would have to adjust them away from what the precise tools suggest as perfect settings. I wonder if the psycho acoustics of the constantly shifting errors are what make playing and listening to records more engaging than listening to digital files.
@@christopherward5065 Kevin Grey, the vinyl mastering guru attributes the desirable sound of analog vinyl to "artifacts", aka distortion...whether in the record groove or playback equipment. Measurement parameters haven't evolved in 50 years.
I bought a case of Official Game Puck Sponge hockey pucks. They are under the stand feet, and under every component. I have zero vibration on the Turntable speakers and every piece of equipment.
@@thehandseesall just to see if it works. I have a vintage Dual that lifts tonearm at the end of record and shuts off. Not many good modern TTs can do that. Lots of lifters on Amazon now but not when I made this.
I have two different ones, Fwend and Audio Technia, both work well and I would be embarrassed to have some homemade, ugly looking things on my expensive turntables personally. Although I understand the fun in making one that works!
@@AudioTnT I mean lower than the standard 2 Volts. Mine outputs about 0,8 Volts, exactly due to the absence of an opamp and a usual i/v stage at the output. It's an I output dac directly from the dac chip, as direct it can be. Old, NOS design, based on the Phillips 1545A chip. Its name is Monica2, by DIYParadise. Excellent sounding after some mods, low output is a problem sometimes (rather few). I think its Vref might be a problem in using an output trafo, as stated in an old diy forum. Another option might be a passive, autoformer based volume control after its own output, with some extra stepup windings. What I meant was the possibility of replacing its output cap with an output transformer. A 600ohm 1:1 may be used in V output dacs or CD players of normal output, but I'd prefer 1:2 or 1:4, if it can be done for i output too.
@fullranger3435 Very interesting. Would output impedance of Dac chip be similar to a phono cart? I'm using dual balanced DACs of Eversolo DmpA6 via XLR to a Topping Pre90 for lower THD and higher SINAD. A passive approach might be even better...
@@AudioTnT I don't know that but I don't think so. I don't know what its output impedance is. I only know that, since I use it with a ladder stepped attenuator before the amp, this is preferred to be of around 20Kohm input impedance rather, than the usual 50 or 100Kohm pots. Mine is around 25. Seems that this direct configuration prefers lower input impedances in the next stage. So I guess a usual 600 ohm output trafo in the place of its output cap would be OK, if no other problem to be solved. There is a special tube output stage built, designed and highly recommended by its creator and others but I don't want to go active, although "lampization" has its strong points. I don't miss anything in my present "ultra pure" configuration, except perhaps some extra drive in the lows, sometimes.
I added this LAN Isilencer on the modem side (50 feet away down stairs from my streamer) and the improvement was quite noticeable, especially in the bass region. FYI, I have an EtherRegen close to my my streamer. Cleaning up my home network did improve the sound quality of my sound system.
@@AudioTnT oh absolutely, the EtherRegen was quite an improvement to the sound quality. And adding the Isilencer was another step up; no question about it; the bass notes where more discernible (from an do to a re for example) as well as gaining authority…
All you have to do is use the overhang gauge supplied with every cartridge. Ensure your cartridge is absolutely parallel with the head shell. You do need good light and perhaps magnification glasses or a fixed adjustable magnifying glass. It is preferable to have an easily adjustable vta/sra tonearm as shims are just a pain to fit. A removable head shell really makes the process easy but the hifi/ audio police hate them.
Back when I sort of got into hifi, forty years ago, a closed turntable cover or lid was the way to go as it helped isolate the stylus, cartridge and tone-arm from the loudspeakers etc, so I'm always surprised to see very expensive record decks being demonstrated open to the room and vibration.
Supposedly covers were bad because they would pick up room vibrations n pass to platform. Who to believe? Maybe they were too cheap to include a cover or spoil it's looks. I use a swiffer.
@@AudioTnT Who to believe indeed. Maybe I need "lid treatment". One of the the things about the coming of CDs was all that went 'out of the window' along with blowing fluff off the stylus. I want an automated TT that has got that feature. ps I had to look up 'swiffer" - I get the combination: swifter than the wife?
Hadn't thought of that but crossovers do include resistors. If a speaker is too bright, I suppose adding resistance from LF to HF terminals will reduce HF output level.
@@AudioTnT Thanks for your reply! A further thought. Would it not only reduce the power delivered, but since the components of the crossover are calculated with things like resistance in mind could it not change the crossover frequency at the frequencies at which both the high and low frequency drivers operate. Thanks again! I'm glad to be a new subscriber....
That difference at 35Hz seems quite unusual to me. Copper cables like that should be fairly flat down to DC. I wonder whether the mechanical construction of the cable assembly of the DIY version is physically damping out the resonance better than the REL cable? Have you tried putting a heavy slab, maybe granite, on top of the sub woofers for stability?
Always happy to leave a like on your content. One of the most underrated RU-vid channels in the home audio world for interesting experiments and setup tweaks. Wishing you all the best on your future content.
@@JasonPrice1 you haven't seen audio quest stuff have you. At least Monster got knocked back down to reality granite I still wouldn't recommend them. Audioquest charges 5K, for a 3.3ft HDMI cable with diamonds. Monster looks cheap compared to that. Audioquest sells a diamond HDMI cable that is $5,000 for 1 meter AudioQuest - Dragon 10' 4K-8K-10K 48Gbps HDMI Cable - Black/Gray
I thought about buying the ifi bluetooth adapter (for headphones, since my phone does not have a jack and I have some hard to drive wired headphones which I really like) but this company is dead to me now💀
