Babybear's System

by babybear on All Out Assault
The BEAT SE turntable
Side view of the new Steve Dobbins The Beat SE turntable
Custom made LP Record Cabinets
CH P1 true dual mono phono stage with 2 X1 power supplies
My third LP cabinet that matches the previous 2
Lyra Lambda Atlas SL cartridge on LT tonearm
CH Precision 4 box P1 phono stage
CH L10 and TotalDAC
SYstem front view with CH M10

Description

My system has continued to evolve over the past 5 years with the one constant being the Rockport Arrakis 2 bi-amplified speakers. They have continued to amaze me that as my electronics have changed and continued to improve, the Arrakis have continued to grow with the electronics as well. Every time I thought I had reached their sonic limit, I have been proven wrong and I am very happy about that.

I have now completely eliminated all tube based components in my system. I have always felt that if I could get the sound that I wanted without tubes, that would be wonderful but I never thought that would be possible. The combination of the TotalDAC digital front end and the Steve Dobbins Beat SE turntable and LT tonearm paired with the CH Precision P1 phono stage, the CH Precision L10 line stage and the CH Precision M10 amplifiers (run in active bi-amplification mode) have achieved this for me. 
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Room Details

Dimensions: 33’ × 20’  X large
Ceiling: 12’

Components Toggle details

    • CH Precision C10 DAC
    I have upgraded to the CH C10 replacing the CH C1.2 DAC with X1 power supply.
    • Roon Nucleus Plus

    • Nordost QNET
    Nordost QNET Switch powered by the Nordost QSOURCE LPS.
    • Nordost Odin Gold power cord
    I am using a Nordost Odin Gold power cord for Nordost QSOURCE LPS that powers the Nordost QNET Switch and several Nordost QPOINT resonators.
    • Nordost Valhalla 2 Ethernet Cables (2)
    I am using 2 of the Nordost Valhalla 2 ethernet cables. The first one connects between the QNET Switch and the Roon Nucleus Plus. The second is from the QNET switch to the CH Precision C10 DAC.
    • Nordost Odin 2 XLR IC
    Nordost Odin 2 Balanced IC's from the CH Precision C10 DAC to the CH Precision L10 true monaural preamp.
    • Shunyata Research Everest 8000 Power Distributor
    I am now using the Shunyata Everest 8000 power distributor which has replaced the Shunyata Triton V3 in my system for my front end electronics. I use a Nordost Odin Gold power cord for the Everest.
    • Shunyata Research Hydra DPC 6 V3 power conditioner
    I have the Shunyata DPC 6 V3 power conditioner for my computer based audio gear. I have my Nordost Qsource LPS plugged into the DPC 6 V3. 
    The DPC 6 V3 is powered by an Echole Omnia power cord from a wall outlet.
    • Steve Dobbins The Beat SE
    I have recently replaced my wonderful Steve Dobbins The Beat turntable with Steve's latest turntable, The Beat SE. The Beat SE is a complete and thorough re-design of the original Beat turntable with about 99% of the table different from the original Beat. I have had the original Beat in my system for 8 years and it has undergone several upgrades during this timeframe that always further improved the sonics, but nothing prepared me for the improvement that the Beat SE has made in my analog playback.

    June 29 2021 Update: I just replaced the umbilical power cord connection between the Beat SE power supply and the Beat SE turntable with a new umbilical power cord that Steve worked on with Nordost. The results are simply amazing.

    October 1 2021 Update: Steve has now done further modifications to the Beat SE external power supply with internal wire upgrades with wiring from Nordost as well as adding an external grounding connection that enables me to ground the Beat SE power supply to my CAD GCR reference ground box.
    • Nordost Odin 2 Power Cord
    This Odin 2 power cord is used on the outboard power supply for The Beat SE turntable. This is plugged into the Shunyata Everest 8000 power conditioner.
    • Schroeder LT Tonearm with Magnesium arm tube
    I had my previous Schroeder LT tonearm with wood arm tube modified to the even better LT tonearm with Magnesium arm tube. It has the Lyra Olympus SL cartridge mounted on it and it is truly amazing to hear this combination. This arm has replaced the Reed 2A tonearm on my "Beat" turntable. The Olympus SL has never sounded anything like this.

    June 29 2021 Update: I have upgraded the LT arm cartridge mounting plate for my Lyra Atlas SL Lambda to a new one that consists of a carbon fiber top and bottom plate with a copper plate in the middle between the 2 carbon fiber layers.
    • Schroeder LT tone arm with Magenisum arm tube
    This is a new LT tonearm but now with an arm tube made from Magnesium instead of wood. It is a very significant upgrade in sonics. I plan to have my existing LT arm modified to have the Magnesium arm tube as well.
    • Lyra Atlas SL Lambda cartridge
    I have now replaced my wonderful Lyra Etna SL cartridge with the new Lyra Atlas SL Lambda cartridge. My previous experience was that the original Etna SL cartridge was the best sounding of all of the Lyra cartridges. But not any longer. I was fortunate enough to be able to compare the new Lambda versions of the Etna SL and the Atlas SL in my system and the Atlas SL Lambda is simply stunning to hear in my system. The new Lambda Etna SL is also wonderful and better than the original Etna SL, but the Lambda Atlas SL is superior in every way.
    • CH Precision True Dual Monaural P10 phono stage
    I have now upgraded my 4 box true mono CH P1/X1 phono stage to the CH Precision P10 4 box True Dual Monaural phono stage. 
    • Nordost Odin Gold Power Cords
    I am now using two of the Nordost Odin Gold Power Cords to power the two power supplies for the CH Precision P10 true dual monaural phono stage.
    • Nordost Odin 2 XLR IC
    I am now using Nordost Odin 2 balanced IC's between the CH Precision P10 true dual monaural phono stage and the CH Precision L10 true dual monaural preamp.
    • Computer Audio Design (CAD) GC3 Ground Controls
    I am using 2 of the CAD GC3 Ground Controls. One GC3 is used for signal ground with each of my CH Precision M10 amplifiers and the second GC3 is used for Earth Ground with my Rockport Arrakis external active crossover.
    • Computer Audio Design (CAD) Ground Control GCR
    I am using the CAD Ground Control Reference (GCR) in my system. This is used for signal grounds for my front end components and the earth ground for my Shunyata Everest 8000 power distributor.
    • CH Precision L10 True Dual Monaural LInestage
    The new CH Precision L10 True Dual Monaural linestage has replaced my long time reference, the CH Precision L1 true dual monaural linestage. As good as the 4 box version of the CH L1 linestage is, The CH Precision L10 True Dual Monaural (4 box) linestage surpasses it in every audio parameter.
    • Nordost Odin Gold Power Cords
    I am using two of the Nordost Odin Gold Power Cords to power the two CH Precision L10 external power supplies for my CH Precision L10 true dual monaural preamp.
    • CH Precision M10 amplifiers
    I now am using the CH Precision M10 mono block amplifiers. I have 2 of these and I run them in their active bi-amplification mode. These have just replaced (11/30/2021) my wonderful CH Precision M1.1 mono block amplifiers.
    • Nordost Odin Gold Power Cords (4)
    I am using 4 of the Nordost Odin Gold power cords on my CH Precision M10 amps. Each CH M10 amp outboard power supply requires 2 power cords each with 20 amp IEC connectors.
    • Nordost Odin 2 XLR IC
    I use a 9 meter run of Nordost Odin 2 XLR IC's from the CH Precision L10 true dual monaural preamp to the Rockport Arrakis 2 external crossover.
    • Rockport Technologies Arrakis 2 External crossover
    This is the active external crossover for the Rockport Arrakis 2 speaker. It takes the feed from the preamplifier and then splits the signal for the bass drivers and all of the upper frequency drivers.
    • Nordost Odin Gold Power Cord
    I am now using a Nordost Odin Gold power cord on my Rockport Arrakis external crossover. This replaced the already great Nordost Odin 2 power cord.
    • Nordost Odin 2 XLR IC
    I am now using 2 pairs of Nordost Odin 2 XLR IC's to connect the Rockport external crossover to the CH Precision M10 amplifiers.
    • Nordost Odin Gold Speaker Cables
    I am using 2 pairs of Nordost Odin Gold speaker cables  to bi-amplify the Rockport Arrakis 2 speakers.
    • Rockport Arrakis 2
    My speakers are the bi ampified version of the Rockport Arrakis 2 with the active external crossover.  I am driving the speakers with a pair of CH Precision M10 amplifiers run in active bi amplification mode.
    • Furutech GTX/NCF outlets
    I have 13 of the Furutech GTX/NCF outlets with the GTX outlet Frames and the 105D NCF Carbon Fiber outlet covers.
    • HRS SXR
    I have 3 of the HRS SXR audio racks. Each rack is a 4 shelf version and I am using M3X2 isolation bases with G7 footers. These racks and bases hold the majority of my front end components. For the SXR base that holds my Beat SE turntable, I have added the SXR solid brace insert.
    • HRS SRX with M3X2 isolation base
    I have 4 of the HRS SRX amp stands with the M3X2 isolation bases with G7 footers, These are for the power supplies and my CH Precision M10 amps.
    • Nordost Sort Kones
    I am now using Nordost Sort Kones under many of my components. I am using a combination of both the BC and TC sort kones. I am using them under all of my TotalDAC digital components - both DACs, the Outboard Reclocker, the Streamer, the Live Power supply, the D1 player and the NAS. I also use them under my Beat SE turntable outboard power supply (not the turntable itself) and my Rockport Arrakis external crossover.
    • Isonic Ultrasonic RCM
    I have added the Isonic ultrasonic RCM. This is a wonderful RCM. I can do up to 10 LP's at once. It doesn't dry the records - but that is simple to do on my Loricraft.
    • Custom LP Record Cabinets
    There are now 3 of these beautiful LP record cabinets that I commissioned a friend to build for me. Its so much easier to find the LP that I am looking for and to put it back than it was with more traditional shelves that I was using before.

Comments 694

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Owner
Hi Dante,

You are very welcome. Hopefully the WE 300b will make a very nice improvement as the Takatsuki 300b did!

babybear

Dear Arinie.
Many tks for your kind reply. I will change these valves and hope to improve it!!

dantechoi

Owner
Hi Dante and thanks very much.

I will try and answer your question as best as I can. 

As you already know, the Allnic H5000 DHT phono stage sounds wonderful with all of the stock tubes that it comes with. But the stock Electro Harmonix 300B voltage regulator tubes and the stock 5Y3 rectifier tubes in the power supply can be improved upon. I am certain you heard a nice sonic improvement when you switched to the WE 274B rectifier tubes as I have heard with the various rectifier tubes that I have also tried in particular the 1945 military RCA 5R4GY and now the Takatsuki 274B rectifier that I am currently evaluating. 

When I compared the EH 300B voltage regulator tubes to the Takatsuki 300B tubes there was an easy to hear improvement as follows from my listening notes:
"With the Takatsuki 300B voltage regulator tubes in the Allnic H5000 DHT the sound became more liquid, refined and elegant with a more relaxed sounding midrange. There was an increase in harmonic richness in the upper mids and high frequencies."

I hope this helps,

Arnie

babybear

Dear. Congratulation for your impressive & amazing equipment.
Also I have as phono amp Allnic H-5000DHT and have improved rectifier by original Western 274B engraved. But I´m using origina Chinese 300B because according Mr.Park is not sense to change 300B. I can see that you have changed by Takatsuki 300B. I have original WE-300B or 300A engraved but really do not want to use for this phono amp. As you have improved up 300B valves, I´d like to know how was the result. According bellow comments, really there was a improve up but, if is possible, I´d like to know in detail.
Many tks.

Dante

dantechoi

Owner
Just a couple of updates.
I have replaced the Synergistic Research RED fuses in both the Absolare Altius preamp and the Allnic H5000 phono stage with the new Synergistic Research Black fuses. The black fuses are a step up in terms of bass impact with an overall more liquid sound.

Also, I have just started evaluating a new matched pair of Takatsuki 274B rectifier tubes in the Allnic H5000 phono stage. I just received these and had a chance to listen for a few hours and my initial impression is that these are superb in the Allnic H5000 phono stage. I am looking forward to getting a few more hours on these and then comparing them to the 1945 RCA 5R4GY rectifier tubes that i have been using.

babybear

Owner
Hi Jeff,

Unfortunately I am cannot make it to CES this year. Have a great time and say hello to Kerem for me.

Arnie

babybear

Owner
Hi Mike,

Thanks for the feedback. I will have to look into the Takatsuki 274B rectifier. I am already using the Takatsuki 300B in the Allnic H5000 power supply (they are used as voltage regulators) and the Takatsuki 300b made a very nice sonic improvement. It might be a very interesting pairing of their 300B with their 274B rectifier.

Arnie

babybear

Hey Arnie going to CES next week? Jeff

jwm

I've had my 1944 RCA 5R4GY recti for a couple of months (preferring it to my EML 274b) with my Lampizator Golden Gate dac and it seemed ideal with a number of different driver tubes. very open and linear. likely the National Union 45's were my overall favorite driver tube.

then I got the Elrog 300b driver tubes and that took things up a couple of notches in nuance and weight. and then I got the Takatsuki 274b recti and everything went to another level with more refinement and authority with the Elrog and the Tak 274b combo.

the Takatsuki 274b is not cheap; but is a very special tube. and build quality is top notch.


mikelavigne

Owner
Hi Albert,

One thing about the 1945 RCA CRC JAN 5R4GY is that it does take around 5 hours or so of burn in to really wake up. I guess that is understandable since these tubes have been sleeping for 70 years now! On first listen, new out of the box (after about 90 minutes of system warmup), it sounded a little "tight" to me. But after about 5 hours it really opened up and started sounding wonderful and has continued to impress me with how good it sounds. 

babybear

Looking forward to your impressions on the WW2 era 5R4GY's Albert. Arnie shared his positive experiences with me the other day. I was reluctant to mention yet another rectifier for the Allnic. I mean how many have we all tried ? A ton. These double bottom getter tubes are great.

rockitman

Thank you Arnie,  I've had my son and his fiancé, here for the holidays and no time to experiment.  With you and Christian on board with same choice I'm more eager than ever to install the RCA CRC Jan 5R5GY.

We had a good session this evening with one new visitor.  Wish I had the new tube in the system before we began.

albertporter

Owner
I have finished my rectifier comparison for the Allnic H5000 phono preamplifier. I compared a pair of 1945 RCA CRC JAN 5R4GY rectifier tubes to a pair of 1940 RCA 5Y3GT rectifier tubes. The RCA 5Y3 are directly heated tubes and the 5Y3 style tube is the stock type of tube that the H5000 came with from the manufacturer. 

I went back and forth between these 2 rectifiers a total of 3 times using the same music to verify all of my findings. When I had finished, it was very easy to recognize that the 1945 RCA CRC JAN 5R4GY rectifier provided the superior sound from the Allnic H5000. This somewhat surprised me because of my previous rectifier testing results. I had assumed that the 1940 RCA 5Y3GT would prove to be the better fit for the Allnic H5000.

In comparison between these 2 rectifiers when used in the Allnic H5000 phono preamplifier, the 1945 RCA 5R4GY provides a more refined sound, with greater transparency and better resolution. Voices and instruments just seem to have more texture and nuance with this rectifier providing a better sense of the performance. The soundstage is wider with this rectifier and the space and separation between performers within the soundstage is much better. The overall sound is punchier with the bass power and impact especially better while still remaining balanced within the overall sound.

The 1940 RCA 5Y3GT provides an overall warmer sound, but in doing so it casts a slight veil over the music (losing the wonderful transparency of the 1945 RCA 5R4GY). It also has less bass impact and clarity. The soundstage is not as wide and performers within the soundstage are closer together.

In summary, the sonic improvements that the 1945 RCA CRC JAN 5R4GY rectifiers make in the Allnic H5000 DHT phono preamplifier are very significant and easy to hear in my system.

babybear

Owner
Hi Albert,

Sounds like some interesting rectifiers to try. I have seen pictures of that "potato masher" 5R4 rectifier. I'll let you know my listening results once I have finished.

babybear

Arnie,

I have the same RCA 5R4GY as you and when speaking with Andy at Vintage he mentioned the 5R4 Chathum “potato masher” rectifier.  I remembered I had a few of those so on my living room table are four sets of rectifiers.

Cation R4, RCA 5R4 , Sylvania Gold Brand GB-5931 and old Tung sol 5U4GB.  I don’t know exact age of Tung Sol but they are straight side with double top getter and box appears to be from 1950s.

Please post results of your test, I know Rockit loves the RCA and suspect they are excellent but who knows what each of us will get from these.

albertporter

Owner
I've received the 2 new pairs of rectifiers to try yesterday. I didn't know that the US postal service delivers priority mail boxes on Sunday's - I thought they just did Sunday deliveries for Amazon. In any case, I will try the 1945 Military RCA 5R4GY tubes first and then the 1940 RCA 5Y3GT tubes. I did insert the 1945 RCA 5R4GY tubes into the power supply last night and powered it on to be sure everything worked and it seemed fine (but I didn't do any listening). 

I also looked at the construction of the 1940 RCA 5Y3GT DH rectifiers and found them to be very, very different than the 1986 JAN Philips 5Y3WGTA rectifiers that i have been using. The 1940 RCA 5Y3GT has very similiar dual bottom getters to the 1945 Military RCA 5R4GY tubes while the 1986 JAN Phillips 5Y3WGTA has a single small halo getter at the top of the tube. The plates also look somewhat different with the 1940 RCA plates looking slightly shorter than the 1986 Philips plates. It will be interesting to see what effect these tubes have on the sonics of the H5000.

babybear

Owner
Hi Christian,

It should be very interesting to hear how the 1945 Military RCA 5R4GY rectifiers sound - I'll definitely let you know what I think and how they compare to the JAN Philips 5Y3's that I have been using and the 1940's RCA 5Y3's that I also have coming. I hope they are a revelation - just can't imagine how what I am hearing now from vinyl can get much better. But, I've been surprised many times before!

babybear

Those tubes will be a revelation Arnie....my prediction. Please let me know if I am wrong. :-)

rockitman

Owner
Hi Albert,

I will definitely post the results of my comparison once I have those 2 sets of tubes here. It will be interesting to hear the comparison between the 1940's era RCA 5Y3 rectifiers that I have coming and these 1986 JAN Phillips 5Y3's that I have been using that sound so good to me in the H5000. And of course, it will be very interesting to learn how these 5Y3's compare to the 1945 Military RCA 5R4GY rectifiers.

babybear

Owner
HI Christian,

Yes - those JAN Philips 5Y3's have the blue print - at least for me in my system they easily sounded the best in the H5000. It will be interesting to hear these other tubes.

babybear

Arnie,

I'll be interested in the shoot out between the 1940s RCA 5R4GY and that prime DHT version.

Allnic designed the H-5000 to run with FY3, maybe we have not been looking at the right version.  Please do post results, I know how your system sounds so it will be pertinent to mine.

albertporter

Are those 1986 Philips tubes the ones with blue print ? I have some of those. I think they were my favorite for the small bottle type tubes.

rockitman

Owner
Well, I am taking the plunge as well Christian - I have ordered a pair of the 1945 Military RCA 5R4GY tubes- the same ones that Albert has ordered. I also ordered a pair of 1940's RCA 5Y3 direct heated rectifiers as well. The 5Y3's that I have been using are JAN Philiips 5Y3 WGTA from 1986. What was interesting to me is that when I spoke with Andy at Vintage Tube Services today, he told me that those particular 1986 vintage JAN Philips 5Y3's are not very good tubes at all from a materials used in the manufacturing perspective. Yet, my analog playback sounds superb to me - I cannot find any fault with it at all so it will be interesting to hear how these other 2 rectifiers sound. I am looking forward to getting these tubes. As always , it will be fun.

babybear

Owner
Hi Christian,

Well, I am starting to get used to it now and I understand better how to find new comments on the system pages so I would say that I am starting to enjoy using it. 

babybear

I like the current new format. I am sure the bubbling to the top bug can be worked out. I couldn't even update my system on the old format for the past 6 mos. It would prompt me to login then it would error when I went to edit. The admin support told me to wait for this new format.

rockitman

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