Sam,

thanks.

excellent news on the 1/2" A820. i'll watch for your comments on how you think it differs from the 1/4".

mikelavigne November 19, 2011 22:26

Mike,

Could you please share the dimensions of your room?

peterayer November 19, 2011 20:27

Formidable armada, Mike...formidable!
Love the pics.

I'm approximating closure on the 1/2" conversion kit for the other Studer A820...I'll update my system thread when I take delivery :-)

Vbr,
Sam

c1ferrari November 19, 2011 18:40

System edited: updated main system pictures today to current, long overdue. next i'll work on changing equipment pics.

mikelavigne November 19, 2011 17:32

Anything further to report re: the new Found Music Amp.
As mentioned elsewhere are you using the Stillpoints Ultra SS or the footers from Jtinn beneath it.
Utterly amazing system !!!

goldeneraguy November 17, 2011 17:38

Thanks Mike.

mikelakers November 13, 2011 03:37

Mikelakers,

sorry for the delay in response...it's been a busy week.

i don't have any of the special plugs yet to connect the Nagra IV-S to any other gear. so i've not yet listened to it. i'm planning on finding some, but so far.....

i'm told that the transport is quite good, so it depends whether you use the stock analog outputs (and the stock heads). i expect it to perform like my Nagra 'T' in stock form. which is pretty good, but room for improved sonics with better electronics.

from what i remember about your stable of tape decks, you would not buy a Nagra IV-S to improve performance either. it would be a 'guilty pleasure'.

mikelavigne November 12, 2011 00:48

I've always lusting for one but too pricy for me to justify since I already have 7 desks. :-{

How does the overall sound compare to your other decks?

mikelakers November 04, 2011 17:18

Gary.

Amen.

mikelavigne November 04, 2011 13:12

i'm re-posting the Nagra IV-S pics from above (yesterday) after photoshoping them. i posted them quickly and had not taken the time to correct them. i deleted the links to the other pics.

Nagra IV-S face

Nagra IV-S full view

side

top

mikelavigne November 04, 2011 13:10

hi David,

in my post just above i somewhat answered your question.

all three DD tt's will do a wonderful job playing music and based on my experience you can't make a wrong decision. my final paragraph puts my view in perspective.....as does my personal choice.

mikelavigne November 03, 2011 23:39

Thank God we have understanding wives.

She enjoys music as well, but not on the level of me.
I know I am Blessed.
I know she has put up with much of my BS.
She's a saint!

grr6001 November 03, 2011 22:36

Mike,
my wife told me the same thing 30 years ago & we've been married 32 years.
let me know how that works out?

i've been married to my wonderful wife for 37 years.

as i recall; my first use of 'i'm done' to my wife was with my 38' Sailboat in 1984. ;-)

mikelavigne November 03, 2011 19:56

Wanna wager a nice bottle of Scotch on that? ;-)

no. ;-)

mikelavigne November 03, 2011 18:45

Mike,
my wife told me the same thing 30 years ago & we've been married 32 years.
let me know how that works out?

grr6001 November 03, 2011 17:35

Hi Mike,

can you provide some details in relation to sonics differences between;

#1 "The Beat"

#2 SP10 MK3

#3 NVS

Thx, I considering adding a DD to my set-up so this would assist.

dev November 03, 2011 17:05

"and my wife says i'm done. :^)"

Wanna wager a nice bottle of Scotch on that? ;-)

jazdoc November 03, 2011 15:46

i've been watching ebay auctions for Nagra IV-S tape decks for awile. knowing i could not really rationalize spending money on one, since what would i really do with it? but they continued to attract me like a moth to a flame and a few weeks ago a particualrly pristene one came up for sale and i jumped on it. this one is the NQS-LSP non pilot configuration (no time-code head) featuring a track width of 2.75mm (wider than the time code version for a slightly better sound). there is not a nick or scratch on it.

the plastic cover is almost new looking, the heads show very little wear, and this IV-S has the ruby tape guides.

i suppose i've finally resigned myself to the fact that at least regarding tape decks; i'm a collector. but i'll never be in Ki territory, and my wife says i'm done. :^)

Nagra IV-S face

Nagra IV-S full

side

top open

mikelavigne November 03, 2011 13:55

Peter, you are most welcome. the Beat is an excellent turntable and only the NVS kept me from likely owning it a very long time. you can't go wrong with it.

and yes; i'm a DD guy (and idler too, i suppose). i'm not anti-belt drive at all, there are plenty of excellent belt driven tt's. only that they would all be a little better with a properly executed dd system.

i would say that i've not been exposed to 'thread drive-high mass platter' type drive; so i must clarify that i can't say whether i feel the same about that approach that i do about belts.

mikelavigne November 03, 2011 13:48

Thank you Mike. I find your explanations very helpful. These matters of degreee and relative ranking gives me a good idea of what you are describing. I did hear the Beat at RMAF 2010 and kept returning to Steve's room as I found it to sound very good. I am considering an upgrade to my SME 10 and find that to be some expensive territory. Most of us have a hard time auditioning perspective tables in our systems. I certainly envy your ability to do so.

I also notice that you seem particularly devoted to direct drive. A friend just bought an SP 10 IIa in a Porter Panzerholtz plinth. I look forward to directly comparing that to my SME 10.

Are you aware of any plans by Wave Kinetics to develop a lower cost DD table?

peterayer November 02, 2011 19:32

Peter,

yes; i did have the Talea 2/A90 on both The Beat and the NVS. and the last few months with The Beat i was using the darTZeel phono stage which i have used with the NVS/Talea 2 too.

comparing the 2 tt's; my initial comment would be that when i describe differences, it's in degrees of good. the NVS is better, but The Beat is a wonderful tt. and i do think that for around $20k it's the tt i prefer. i continue to recommend it to people.

last November, when the prototype NVS appeared in my room for the second time, was the only occasion when both tt's were there together. during that session, it was interesting that playing music The Beat speed sounded excellent. then you'd play the NVS and it was simply more solid and continuous sounding. then we played the grooves between cuts and it was quieter (less groove noise) on the NVS. the NVS projected a larger soundstage. was this speed? the platter? can't say exactly.

since last November the prototype was said to be improved by CES. and then more improvements prior to the production version i recieved in July.

my perceptions since then are that compared to my recollection of The Beat the NVS has a better foundation, it nails the solidity and footing of the music better, and it has this ease on busy passages that is uncanny. The Beat is not 'wrong' in those areas, just not nearly as right. i'd also say that the production model of the NVS has this rightness to tonality and musical flow that is intoxicating. the visitors to my room that have experienced both tt's remark consistently that the NVS is better.....but all of them liked The Beat too. again; the differences are in degrees of good, but it's not a subtle difference.

over the last year i had various versions of what eventually became the Durand Telos 12" tonearm on first The Beat and then the NVS, and now i have the production Telos. i remember the comments in the room when we went from one session with the Beat to the next session with the NVS. the Telos prototypes told you everything that was happening; and revealed deeper differences than the Talea 2....in favor of the NVS.

another way to put this might be that The Beat is closer to the Dobbins SP-10 Mk3 that i owned than it is to the NVS in performance. it's better than the Mk3, but not by a ton. i do hold the Dobbins SP-10 Mk3 in high regard.

mikelavigne November 02, 2011 00:02

Mike,
Could you describe the NVS relative to the Dobbins "The Beat"? This seems to be a fair comparison in so far as each is a pretty compact design without the elaborate air suspension of the Rockport, or the linear arm. I also think you had the Talea II and A90 on each table for a while. If you have already done so in this thread, could you just tell me what date to look up? Thank you.

peterayer November 01, 2011 22:05

I don`t see where any harm is done, opinions are what they are, one person`s subjective impression.You had the Rockport for quite a long time(pressumably because you enjoyed it). If component A. is excellent and component B. comes along and is superb, that`s no put down of the excellent component A. Preferences being what they are some will reverse the ranking of the two components in question anyway.It`s not as if you trashed the Rockport after the sale.

charles1dad November 01, 2011 11:32

sometimes (maybe more than sometimes :>)) I get pretty caught up in the excitement of a new addition to my system. that's why we do this stuff; right? And when that happens I might write or say something that later I wish I had not.

Earlier this year I sold my Rockport Sirius III turntable to a fellow Audiogon member Alan Farris (Unoear). After that sale, and the sale of my other 2 turntables; I received my new turntable, the NVS. I was asked a few times about how the NVS compared to the Rockport. I had never actually had the final version of the NVS in my room at the same time as the Rockport. I should have declined to compare the 2 tt’s. Not only since I never compared them directly; but also in respect to the spirit of the sale to Alan. Yet; in my excitement I did rationalize my own view of how they compared. Which was wrong of me, as well as disrespectful to Alan after his purchase. Further; it’s possible that my set-up with the Rockport and the Olympos cartridge (sold to Alan along with the Rockport) might not have been as optimal as it might have been……did I hear the best the Rockport-Olympos combo could offer?

Of course; it’s impossible to un-ring the bell.

In any case; my apologies to Alan for going where I should not have.

mikelavigne November 01, 2011 03:35

Teck,

it's always great having you and Gary over, both for the fun and the unrestrained feedback feedback. you're my 'reference' listeners. and last night the music was really, really special.

i agree that once the 2a3 monoblocks get another 50 hours or so they will be even better.

see ya in December.

mikelavigne October 28, 2011 00:24