The purpose of the T adapter with the 50 ohm terminator is to put a resistor of 50 ohm in parallel with the input of the amplifier. This way the Dartzeel preamplifier and cable will see the correct load at both extremes.

microstrip April 30, 2012 00:39

to be clear; i do feel that the very best master dubs will still better the best vinyl, the only question is by how much?

if i were to pull out my 5 or 6 very best tapes i expect they will sound better than the vinyl. the issue is not my RTR decks, it's the tapes themselves and all that makes them what they are.

but the bar has been raised as the very best vinyl seems to get better and better.

i have a 1/2" Studer A820 and a few 1/2" master dubs. i've ordered Series 3 of the Tape Project in 1/2". will my vinyl be able to keep up? who knows? stay tuned.

mikelavigne April 30, 2012 00:13

Peter,

agree that RTR has many levels as does vinyl. and the difference between your story and mine, is that i have spent 6 years heavily investing in RTR tape and optimizing that format performance. i influenced many to get into tape. and i've used tape as a reference for these past years.

the objective aspect of my story is Rich and both his experience over time in my system with my RTR playback, and then his playing these particular tapes in multiple systems prior to mine. and then other tapes in many systems over the years. this is a guy who knows tape and how it works in various systems. those here who know Rich know his expertise.

but still, as i wrote above, this event is just one data point and no proof. were these particular tapes perfect? apparently not if some reissue Lps better them easily. or maybe we have a vinyl playback system that has changed the rules of the game?

you yourself have asked me multiple times about what i think about my NVS and vinyl system performance. i tried my best to respond, and one thing i mentioned was how i thought that the vinyl was moving equal to and ahead of my tape. it seemed that today's experience would be helpful to illustrate that. but i only called it a small dose of objectivity.

mikelavigne April 30, 2012 00:03

Mike, I have almost no experience with R2R, but can share one of my anecdotal experiences. The first and only time I had the opportunity to directly compare tape to vinyl, it was not really close, the LP was better. This was at a friend's house and his system does not really approach the quality of yours, but the demonstration was very clear to me. I left wondering what this superiority of tape business is all about.

I'm a diehard vinyl guy and have listened to very few tape demonstrations, but I've heard some outstanding vinyl systems and I'm yet to be convinced that tape is always superior. I can relate to your friend Rich's experience. I'm not surprised. But then I don't really know much about the whole tape thing.

Congratulations on assembling such a satisfying vinyl source.

peterayer April 29, 2012 23:34

i've really been enjoying listening to vinyl lately thru the NVS-Telos-Anna-dart and today something happened that put things in a bit of perspective with a small dose of objectivity.

RTR tape lovers among us mostly know Rich B.. Rich collects (not to be named) master tape dubs, and he visits me every few months when he visits the NW tape mafia, and we play some of his tapes.

today he visited and played 5 of his tapes. i happened to have Lps of all these tapes which i played, and a couple were somewhat close, with the Lp better, the other 3 it was not really close....the Lp was much better. none of these Lps were original pressings; mostly they were MFSL and DCC re-issues. Rich agreed with my view, and was taken aback. a first time event for him. and Rich visits many high end systems with fine vinyl.

this proves nothing, and is anecdotal in nature. but it does speak to my previous opinions on just how and why i feel that i do about the NVS-Telos-Anna-dart.

Rich has been coming over for years with these tapes (which we play thru the Studer A820-King/Cello) and i've been playing the Lps of these tapes for comparison for years.

mikelavigne April 29, 2012 23:20

Hi Microstrip & ML,

What is the purpose of the T adapter?

nobrainer April 27, 2012 11:04

i did not use any BNC T adapter with a 50 ohm plug terminator with the BNC-RCA adapter. i'd appreciate if you could e-mail me a link for the parts to do that and i will acquire them.

many thanks for the tip. :-)

mikelavigne April 26, 2012 23:49

Did you use a BNC T adapter with a 50 ohm plug terminator with the BNC-RCA adapter? I found that it sounded great when I tried Krells with the Dart preamplfier.

microstrip April 26, 2012 20:11

Thanks Mike....you're a good dude!

nobrainer April 26, 2012 15:58

Sorry for lack of clarity.....what cable do you use from your preamp to your TUBE amps?

no problem. i had Scott Sheaffer, of Found Music, who built my 2a3 mono tube amps, design in the BNC output
so i can use the same EA BNC cables i use for the dart amps.

recently i did briefly have Lamm ML2.1's and then later CJ M140LP's and in both those cases i did use the BNC->RCA adapter with the EA BNC's.

mikelavigne April 26, 2012 13:05

Hey there. What the.... You are getting the 7's? Damn. I don't know what to say to that. So those have two bass towers and two towers for the mid's and high's right? I have seen other companies that do similar things. Martin Logan had that. Those should be freakin sweet when you get them. I will be checking back for pics.

And yep, I do enjoy the music on my system. I think I will for some time to come.

mikeduke April 26, 2012 11:20

Sorry for lack of clarity.....what cable do you use from your preamp to your TUBE amps?

nobrainer April 26, 2012 10:41

hi Mike,

great to hear from you.

i agree on the Wave Kinetics speaker footers. i've not used those yet as i already have other speaker footers i like. but when i get the MM7's i will likely try those. i love the Wave Kinetics A10-U8's.

and i'll also agree that getting a new car is always important.

:-)

keep enjoying the music!

mikelavigne April 26, 2012 00:11

Jazdoc, thanks for your typical elegant wisdom.

and Zephyr, i can relate to enjoying the wonder of fine audio (in a relative sense) at every step too. i remember how i felt on top of the world when i got my Wollensak RTR tape deck in High School (before even cassette tapes) and i was able to tape music off the radio. it was fantastic.

and it still is. i doubt i'm enjoying my room and music today any more than i did almost 50 years ago. my reference has changed though.

so the point is to enjoy and appreciate each step in the path as we go along.

mikelavigne April 26, 2012 00:05

Nobrainer,

yes; i use the EA BNC cables both from the dart pre to the dart amp, and from the Playback Designs MPS-5 to the dart pre. i use the dart BNC's (made by Herve) from my King Cello tape repro to the dart pre.

i'm not sure what you are referring to as far as "with the adapter". there are no additional pieces to the cables or plugs....the dart gear has BNC male plugs which accept the female plugs on the cables. if i use an amplifier without those male BNC plugs built in then i do need an (BNC->RCA) adapter which allows for the EA BNC's to be plugged into the rca inputs.

i hope that answers your question.

mikelavigne April 25, 2012 23:47

Hey Mike,

From your pics it looks like you are using the EA BNC cable(with an adapter)from the Dart pre to your tube amps. Is this the case?

nobrainer April 25, 2012 22:58

Hey Mike. Long time no speak. Yep, the room still looks fantastic. Even though I will most likely never have a system like that, it's OK :). I really like what I have and I am doing my best to maximize what I have. Now I am in the "tweaking" phase mostly. I have heard the WK feet on my 1027be speakers and they really did make a difference that was easy to hear. People can either believe certain things make a difference or they can choose not to. For me, they made a difference because my speakers are ported on the bottom and even though they are spiked now, they could probably stand to be a little bit more of my carpet. Plus, I have a few other things I would to do. But, audio will have to be put on hold. I need to save for a new car. Mine is getting kind of long in the tooth. But, I am very happy with my system so I really don't have any longing to change anything. I know your system has to be one of the best sounding since I have heard some of the gear you are using. Even though I may never reach that level, that's OK. I just want to reach my peak level. My room really sounds great now and I did enjoy our few discussions way back when. So enjoy your setup. I know I am enjoying mine :).

mikeduke April 25, 2012 15:17

Absolutely Jazzdoc; adding the word grateful is appropos as well!. Many of us have made priority decisions over the years as Mike has mentioned above and in many cases put what we had at the time into audio versus many other things or simply throwing it away on disposable expenditures of all kinds. I remember with pride, every system no matter how small, every transition, no matter how little or how much it cost that I put together over the years all the way back to a college dorm room system 30 years ago that I was simply grateful to have, an awful long time ago when others had nothing. Personally, Mike's system and many others with their custom-built rooms and high-end equipment are nirvana to me and what I hope to accomplish over the time. No matter what form the system and the room takes, it's simply a pleasure to hear music conveyed with realism and all the details that a good system can convey.

zephyr24069 April 25, 2012 12:06

Happiness is being satisfied with less than you own

jazdoc April 24, 2012 20:20

Jlind,

i appreciate the support; however i think Actusreus is not intending harm and has sincere opinions (however misplaced and inappropriate for this forum they may be).

i have no problem with someone who differs with my viewpoints, but when it decends to personal attacks that is something different. Lox made personal attacks.....this forum is for fun and maybe to learn a few things too.

mikelavigne April 24, 2012 19:50

Why is it Mikes fault people may be jealous of his system? Should people not drive their supercars in public because it is "showing off" to everyone in an econobox? Get real.

Mike-these comments sound a lot like Loxodrome's from a few years back....

jlind325is April 24, 2012 19:11

Actusreus,
You again inject the term envy and more significantly express it with the tone of your posts. Idon`t feel a bit of envy or jealousy toward mike`s or any other system,I`m extremely pleased with what I have.There are systems on this site of wide ranging cost(which does`nt always equate to sound quality by the way).

There will always be those who can afford to spend more because they have more, so what! This is exactly the mindset behind "occupy" crap. The idea that some have higher income or means than others and it`s just not fair. Stop worrying about mike and get your own self together. Put together the best system you can within 'your' means and be happy with it. You may not 'intend' to but you come across like an insecure,whining baby.
Regards,

charles1dad April 24, 2012 13:59

Actusreus, you're a LOSER!!!

knghifi April 24, 2012 12:27

Actusreus,

i think it's fair for you to question whether i should have used the term 'occupy' in my response to you. it is certainly a polarizing term these days. i think yes, it is fair and here is why. if you come to a high end audio website, and then visit the system pages; you will find what you found. so on the face of things, it seemed you had an agenda.....you expressed yourself quite strongly. OTOH if you distance yourself from that whole deal, that is good enough for me. if you don't hold those views, ok fine.

if you think posting expensive system pictures on AudiogoN is a problem and

I personally would not make the CHOICE to display that opulence publicly

then don't. but i simply don't agree at all. AudiogoN is an enthusiast website.

as far as who can afford what, and what serves the community, which community are we talking about? i certainly don't think my system pictures harm the audiophile community and i never said that everyone can afford my system, i said everyone makes their own choices; lifestyle choices, career choices, budget choices, and audio investment choices.

I questioned whether it was of more or less value to the community in general to openly display what in my belief is ultimately a privilege that most will never have. I think it's a valid question.

yes, it is a question.....but on this website i don't see it as relevant since the purpose of this website is to allow for high end systems to be displayed.

i'm trying to be respectful of your serious questions. we don't have to agree on these things. send me an email and i'd be happy to continue the dialog.

best regards,

mikelavigne April 24, 2012 06:29

I'm not sure why "occupy" got back into the conversation as the impetus behind my posts had nothing to do with what's driving that movement. I absolutely have no problem with Mike having an all-out-assault system and dedicated barn for listening to it worth $$$. Sure, as I honestly admitted, there is some degree of envy as what audiophile wouldn't want to have what he has? I don't believe for a minute that most on this forum do not feel some audiophile envy looking at these pictures, whether it is hard earned or not. I have no problem admitting to it. But I was not criticizing Mike for HAVING it. What compelled me to write my original post is that I personally would not make the CHOICE to display that opulence publicly because of the effect it might have on others in the community based on many factors, including the fact that many audiophiles work hard but no matter how hard or how many days a week, and how many years they work, they will never be able to afford a fraction of what Mike has, no matter how many years they have been in the hobby. So on some philosophical level, I questioned whether it was of more or less value to the community in general to openly display what in my belief is ultimately a privilege that most will never have. I think it's a valid question.

actusreus April 24, 2012 00:48