Steve Ford's Junk

[SteveFord 1,004]

Ever since that Rega Saturn showed up I've been listening to primarily CD-Rs I burn from albums.

I put an actual album on and decided that the Jolida JD-9 phono preamp is probably the weak link so...

Here is a sexy black rectangular box and the guts (should be here next week) unless FedEx totally screws up like they're prone to doing:

 

[AndrewJohn 5,624]

11 hours ago, SteveFord said:

decided that the Jolida JD-9 phono preamp is probably the weak link

 

Oooh nice.  Like the black.  Saw another on Ebay of the gold face, at $1295..., a few dings and scratches. Conrad Johnson EV-1 Tube Phono Preamplifier Stage | eBay https://www.ebay.com/itm/333750116741

 

One drawback, from reading the reviews, is that to change the settings, for different cartridges, you have to open it up, and set DIP switches..., so if you swap cartridges a lot, or have multiple headshells with different carts, it's a PITA..., not everyone does that, though, so the Ron Popeil approach works for many - "Set It and Forget It."

 

Very interested in your review.   Saw this one from 2002, that was a good read:  SoundStage! Vinyl Word - Conrad-Johnson EV1 Phono Stage (3/2002) (soundstagenetwork.com) http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/vinyl/vinyl200203.htm

Edited October 17, 2021 by AndrewJohn

[SteveFord 1,004]

It should be here Wednesday, I'm looking forward to hearing it.

I think it'll be a good match with the CJ-5 and Ortofon 2M Black cartridge.

 

The fellow I'm getting it from used it for a bit, bought a different (more expensive) c-j phono stage and kept this as a back up.  He put in new tubes, played it for a few hours to make sure it worked okay and to me it comes.

 

I would have preferred a gold face but the one on eBay was too beat up and has a duff tube, one I was looking at on Usaudiomart was gone so black will be fine.

 

I'll hang onto the Jolida as I'll probably find a use for it with the LRS system.  

[SteveFord 1,004]

I just remembered, the fellow who runs the conrad-johnson forum was one of the first guys to modify the Jolida JD-9 and he sent me a link to parts and whatnot.

Okay, I can do that and then I started pricing caps and op amps and decided this is stupid, it looks like around $400 for a bag of parts to dink around with so just bite the bullet and buy something more upscale and get it over with.

[AndrewJohn 5,624]

9 hours ago, SteveFord said:

Okay, I can do that and then I started pricing caps and op amps and decided this is stupid, it looks like around $400 for a bag of parts to dink around with so just bite the bullet and buy something more upscale and get it over with.

When I think about updating/refreshing my Polk SDA-1C speakers' crossovers..., I have the same feeling that arrests me in my tracks before I spend a few hundred dollars on caps and components and what not..., just send the crossovers out, have the guy that did 100s of these with volume-purchased components, and be done with it...,   I still have yet to do that..., so the SDAs sit.

[SteveFord 1,004]

That conrad-johnson EV-1 phono preamp showed up today and what an upgrade from the Jolida.

You can't really review a component in a vacuum but this mated up so well with the other stuff this stereo finally sounds the way I wanted it to.

There's more depth, more detail, it's tonally balanced so it's not too lush or too strident, dynamics are there if the piece requires it,  it just really complemented the rest of the system.

I could never get that turntable to sound quite right and the culprit was the Jolida.  

How this would match with somebody else's system I can't say but for here this is just right.

[PMAT 1,604]

On 10/19/2021 at 6:17 PM, SteveFord said:

How this would match with somebody else's system I can't say but for here this is just right.

And that is it in a nutshell. There really is something to the synergy thing including the room. So many variables to mesh.

[SteveFord 1,004]

That is true.

That reviewer described it as being slightly euphonic so I was thinking the Soothing Strings Of Mantivani played through grandpa's Magnavox console but nope.  Maybe he was just looking for something to say, who knows.

I DO know that it mates up really well with conrad-johnson preamps and I liked it so much that I bought another one.  I'm doing some system changes, I'll post some pics of the whole set ups once the dust settles.

Here it is, a gold in in perfect shape.  This one goes in the living room so it'll be color coordinated.  Now just need a nice lace doiley and one of those crazy lady pot pourri things, ha ha.

 

[SteveFord 1,004]

Barring a catastrophe, this is as done as the big system will ever be.

You can spend forever chasing the latest and greatest but time to say finis.

First we have the overview

 

[SteveFord 1,004]

And here's the individual things.

conrad-johnson CT-5 preamp, 1960s Sherwood tube tuner, APC 15 power  conditioner

Well Tempered Labs square motor with Ortofon 2M Black cartridge

conrad-johnson EV-1 phono preamp, VTL 300 DeLuxe monoblock

Rega Saturn CD player, Crown amp/Rolls stereo subwoofer crossover

Edited November 3, 2021 by SteveFord

[SteveFord 1,004]

SVS passive subs

Kimber 12TC speaker cables which are a really big improvement over the 8TC cables I was using

I forgot Magnepan 3.7s speakers!

 

 

Edited November 3, 2021 by SteveFord

[AndrewJohn 5,624]

What's the back-story on the pedestals the Maggies sit on?  Interesting...., do they raise the stage? ...influence the sound? or just cosmetic?

[SteveFord 1,004]

It's just to raise up a little bit as you know how when you stand up the sound can really change.

My wife had an old dining room table, I cut off some chunks of it, got some wooden furniture "buns" at a hardware store (they're normally attached to couches), cut the threaded posts on the buns down a bit, drilled the underside of the table and glued the posts into the old table top.

It worked out just right and it's easy to slide them around, too.

[SteveFord 1,004]

It's probably time to update the upstairs system as there's been a few changes.

One constant are the VTL MB250 amps, APC H-15 power conditioner, Well Tempered Classic turntable with Ortofon 2M Black cartridge and Magnepan 1.7 speakers (although these are black ones instead of the original off white ones I had). 

Also carried over is the Hhb 830 BurnIt Plus cd burner with an Art Di/O dac.

The preamp is a conrad-johnson Premier 17LS with Sylvania tubes, phono preamp is a conrad-johnson EV-1 with new tubes but I haven't checked to see what they are yet, Rega Apollo-R cd player, SVS hot water heater type sub with a Dayton plate amp, old Sherwood tube tuner, Kimber 12TC speaker cables, interconnects made by a buddy.

That little white box is so I can send the signal to the CD burner as this preamp does not have a tape loop.

I will probably go with an REL subwoofer sooner or later just to give me something to scheme about.

These pics show tweeter in which I tried for about 30 minutes before reverting back too tweeter out.  Tweeter out is the way to go in this narrow room.

 

Edited December 10, 2021 by SteveFord

[Brian_at_HHH 2,335]

And the Marshall head / half-stack system....?  Don't leave us guessing!  It's not fair to tease us like that.  

[BarryG 2,662]

34 minutes ago, Brian_at_HHH said:

And the Marshall head / half-stack system....?  Don't leave us guessing!  It's not fair to tease us like that.  

Maybe it’s a refrigerator!

 

https://www.adorama.com/mamf44blkna.html

[SteveFord 1,004]

It's nothing special, I don't think: a JCM 2000 DSL 100 head with an angled 1960A cabinet.

The cabinet was $300 and I'm thinking punk rock band as it looks like somebody spit on it at one time.

You suck, hock!!!

The thing will wake the dead, it's way too big for my neighborhood.

 

Mostly I use a Marshall DSL40 combo (the later one with the better speaker) or a Marshall Origin 20.  Those two little guys are screwed together in Viet Nam but they sound okay.

Not quite like the big boy but at least the neighbors won't want to burn me at the stake.

[SteveFord 1,004]

While I think of it, the Marshall solid state amps are just horrible pieces of crap.

If you buy one YOU'LL be the one spitting on it.

 

Thrilling upstairs system update:

ordered a Q Up for the turntable.  I don't know why I waited so long to do this for the upstairs turntable but today is the big day!

Dear Diary...

Edited December 11, 2021 by SteveFord

[SteveFord 1,004]

Even more thrilling than a little doohickey to pop a tonearm up in the air:

a Rega Saturn R for the downstairs system

 

The older Rega Saturn (currently in the downstairs system) will be moved upstairs

The Rega Apollo R from the upstairs will be used with the WooAudio WA6/Byerdynamics Aerion headphone system

and I am now done buying CD players for the rest of my life unless they all catch on fire!

Edited December 16, 2021 by SteveFord

[Brian_at_HHH 2,335]

28 minutes ago, SteveFord said:

I am now done buying CD players for the rest of my life

 

I'm not holding my breath on THAT one, Steve!   

 

Nope, nope, and, well nope!  

 

Let's just be honest, and add "until the next one..."  😉

[SteveFord 1,004]

Maybe, you never know.

I like the Rega sound, obviously, but the Isis and Isis Valve are out of my price range at the moment.

Maybe in a few years when they depreciate further an Isis Valve will wind up here.

There was an Isis Valve for sale recently but $4000 is a LOT of money for a CD player.

 

I have some upgrades to do for the LRS and boob tube system which I hope to do within the next month and then they'll be done.

[BarryG 2,662]

2 hours ago, SteveFord said:

 

I have some upgrades to do for the LRS and boob tube system which I hope to do within the next month and then they'll be done.

What kind of upgrades?  I have noticed Danny Ritchie has an upgrade kit on the GR-Research site!

https://www.gr-research.com/store/p99/Magnepan_LRS.html

 

I am putting my spatial audio M3s on Gaia II isolation feet!  Not doing much else right now!

 

Barry

[Balok 1,299]

How about a picture of your K-Tel record selector?

[SteveFord 1,004]

I won't modify the speakers themselves, I'm just waiting on my Magnarisers to be shipped and will go with Kimber 12TC speaker cables.  That will do it.

Your old Carver amp works GREAT with the LRS' in that little room.  I stuck 3 Sylvanias up front and that was the ticket.

 

For the boob tube system I've got my eye on an amplifier which I'll probably pick up in the next week or three.  I'm hoping what I have in mind will work out okay, right now I'm using an older Bryston and some wretched Crown amps and it sounds okay right off the bat then I turn it down and then turn it down some more and then I turn it off, it's that kind of irritating sound of music.

Edited December 17, 2021 by SteveFord

[BarryG 2,662]

I have some bare wire that is similar to the kimber cable wire!  I am going to feed nylon rope through the middle before adding spade connectors!