i use the Cello tape repro/phono electronics built by Charles King for the output electronics for my 1/4" Studer A820. the Cello is solid state. Charlie had recommended i try Mundorf Supreme 1.0 mfd Silver/gold/oil capacitors in place of the stock caps in the input of the Cello. so i purchased a pair of these caps and a few weeks back Ki Choi was gracious enough to install them in the King Cello. initially i liked some things they did but even after 80+ hours of break-in i realized that they darkened the sound and took away the vividness and life.....so Ki again helped and removed them. much better now.

in addition to that relief, i purchased a second Adona rack to replace the $20 plant stand that the King Cello had been sitting on. so now the Wave Kinetics A10 U8 footers and Walker lead filled pucks have more to work with and the sound is now better; more focused and energetic.

King Cello on the Adona

different angle

i like the way it now looks too.

mikelavigne July 30, 2011 15:54

Kevin,

i've had 4 different turntables from Steve Dobbins, all with Stillpoints, and every version of Stillpoints was different from the other. and i don't recognize the specific models on the Stillpoint web site. so i cannot say whether i've tried the Ultra SS footers.

i'd say for under turntables they seem to work well. it could be that Steve designs his plinths to be optimal for the characteristics of the Stillpoints.

mikelavigne July 29, 2011 23:30

Have you tried the Stillpoints Ultra SS footers? I wonder how those compare to the Wave Kinetics. They appear to get good reviews and are roughly in the same price range

yo2tup July 28, 2011 22:55

Thanks Mike. Maybe when I get the Audience I will see if Barry can bring over the A10's for me to try. But I am happy with the progression of my system. I would guess that they would be a benefit to the OPPO though. Since they are on a basic rack. But to be honest, I am going to just sit back and enjoy what I have. I know you are enjoying yours. When Barry gets the table setup I will make a trip out to his place to check it out.

mikeduke July 28, 2011 18:23

yes; the Wave Kinetics A10-U8 footers do improve things on the GPA rack, although i have not heard them with the standard acrylic shelves. my guess is that an isolation footer like the A10 U8 makes a larger positive difference on a solid rack.....possibly because you can't necessarily add the full benefit of 2 different isolation approaches together.

i would expect that the A10 U8's are a larger upgrade than the Formula shelves, for instance....however that's just a guess.

i've yet to find gear that does not improve with better isolation; although turntables can sometimes prefer a more linear stiffer footer to ultimate isolation. i found that stillpoints worked better under the Beat turntable than the A10 U8's. yet on electronics i preferred the A10 U8's.

as far as specific benefits under specific gear; more modestly priced electronics can be a mixed bag. as adding focus and detail can sometimes make them a bit edgy. they might benefit from a bit of rounding of transients. i would expect that all your electronics would like the A10 U8's, but you need to listen and be open to what you hear over a little time. you can talk yourself into liking change, when it's maybe not improvement.

Barry can likely get you some A10 U8's to try in various places and see how you like them.

mikelavigne July 28, 2011 17:12

Thanks for the reply. On good clean records it can sound very impressive. Barry brought over the Wave Kinetic speaker feet when he installed the cables. On my 1027's We both clearly heard the improvements. My next purchase will be the Audience conditioner but those speaker feet are on the to do list for sure.

Can I ask a question about the A10-U8? First, I am using a GP rack with standard shelves and feet. I have my Turn Table, two amps and my HT preamp on it. On another rack I have my OPPO BR player that I am using. The speaker feet are a given. The OPPO is on a basic rack that I bought from Macy's. Would the A10-U8 be of use to any components that are on the GP rack? Would the TT benefit from it? Also, IYO, would my OPPO player benefit from them since it is on a run of the mill rack? It sounds like you are saying on the GP rack the difference may not be as great or beneficial, but what about my OPPO on the "regular" rack.
Thanks.

mikeduke July 28, 2011 16:19

the Adona shelves do use granite, but it's sandwiched with hardwood. so the wood is between the frame and the granite. i don't percieve any sort of 'hardening' or 'coloration' of any kind. and i think it provides a very solid foundation and high mass for the footers i use and allows them to isolate optimally. my experience is that high mass and grounding combined with a layer of decoupling is a good combo. but it's not the only valid approach.

my hardwood flooring is glued to the concrete, which i find is a great surface for speakers. it's not clinical, it's musical.

i think you either need to commit to an isolation rack and avoid footers and other de-coupling methods, or get a 'gounded' rack and isolate individual gear for what is optimal for that gear. every piece of gear needs it's own tuned solution if you desire the best result. both GPA and the Adona-Wave Kinetics A10 U8's allow for that.

mikelavigne July 28, 2011 13:33

Hi Mike, the other support I'm considering is one made by Symposium Acoustics which uses a sandwich layer construction on shelves and grounded spike system on rack, so shares more similarities than differences with the Adona, albeit no use of granite, and a little more expensive. I'm a little concerned re use of granite in the Adona shelves, my instinct suggests it must harden the sound or artificially accentuate transients. Any comments on the Symposium? I'm finding the upgrade path regarding racks the most difficult to get right, due to the fact that it changes the sound of the system as a whole rather than one component at a time, and also due to the near impossible logistics of arranging home trials, esp. when one is buying from outside the States
Regards.

spiritofmusic July 28, 2011 09:36

as far as the Adona rack; i'm very happy with both the performance and the high build quality and look of it. it's an outstanding product.

my reason for getting it is that it offers a very large top shelf; which i needed for the NVS, which has a very large footprint and did not work on the Grand Prix. the Adona is a 'gounded' rack. it uses spikes and solid connections everywhere and has no isolation per se. whereas the Grand Prix Monaco with Formula shelves that i have been using is a 'de-coupling' rack. it isolates gear with it's frame, and also is tune-able with the different compliance sorbothane discs which are used to fine tune the decoupling isolation for every different piece of gear.

i have a preference for isolation; but have been using the Wave Kinetic A10 U8 isolation footers under my gear for the last 6 months or so. the A10 U8's actually work better with a grounded rack. so between the larger top shelf, and the fact i already own the A10 U8's, it made sense to switch.

i have 7 sets of A10 U8's; at $700 a set. you would need to factor in a set of the A10 U8's for each shelf to compare directly with the GPA rack.

i will be selling my Grand Prix Audio rach system soon.

mikelavigne July 28, 2011 06:43

hi Mike,

thanks; i am enjoying my new turntable.

enjoy the Amadeus GTA; it's a fine tt in a good spot on the price value curve. you don't 'settle for' a tt like that, you enjoy it. sure you can spend lots more and get 'some' more performance.....but you are getting performance that 10 years ago might have cost 2 to 3 times as much.

i've not listened to 'live line' cables, but i'll look for them at RMAF and give a listen.

mikelavigne July 28, 2011 06:28

Hi Mike, can you give some further opinions on your new Adona rack? I'm in the market for a new rack myself; Grand Prix, HRS etc are a little out of my reach, but Adona seem reasonably priced regarding quality of materials used. Can you pass an opinion as to how they compare, esp. wrt the Grand Prix rack that took previous pride of place, and also their overall quality. Best regards.

spiritofmusic July 28, 2011 00:59

Whoops, Just noticed a typo. That should be "Live Line" cables not Live Live. They really are an improvement over my older Transparent Audio cables. Like I mentioned before, with good records, The Amadeus sounds very nice. When Barry K has his system and table I will go back to his place and check it out

mikeduke July 25, 2011 15:02

Hey Mike. That is a Great looking and I am sure fantastic sounding table. Congrats on it. Your system just seems to get better and better. Is that "new" rack that I see a replacement for, or in addition to the GP rack. My little system is chugging along and although I could not really afford Evolution Acoustic cables I did upgrade to Live Live cables. They have been fantastic and I can honestly say that I am hearing music through my speakers better then before I am still using the Amadeus GTA for my table. I think that will have to suit me for a while :). Anyway, congrats on the new table.

mikeduke July 25, 2011 12:19

when i purchased mine in 1999; you could specify quality of leather, long or short frame, narrow or wide back, and whether you wanted standard foam or visco-elastic foam. you could even specify what kind of foam in the head pillow.

i've not seen any 'custom' choices for any 'zero gravity' chair since then. the 'evolution' has been to offer mechanical adjustments and even massage.

i just spent a few minutes looking around on Google to see if i could find anything close to what i have. some look good but they all have wide backrests from the pictures i could see. and none mentioned any customization.

if i do see something like what i have in the future i'll post it.

mikelavigne July 25, 2011 00:11

Peter,

yes; content is a good word, also re-focused on the music.

i'm in Napa Vally today for a business meeting at a very nice place. but i can't wait to get back and listen some more.

mikelavigne July 24, 2011 23:14

Jason,

having three tt's did present logisitcal challenges; particularly when Joel Durand (of Talea tonearm's) would come over and he would need to do a set-up of the 'rear' tonearm and there was another tt with two tonearms on either side, and then i'd need to do the pretzel thing to disconnect and connect tonearm cables. and then we'd do it again, and again. i did get my workouts.

now i can simply roll the ATR out of the way and stand on either side of the NVS and easily access the rear of the dart preamp.

much easier. and i ilke the culture of simple.

mikelavigne July 24, 2011 22:53

Hiho,

thanks. for the Garrard to earn it's place in an environment with the Rockport, the Technics SP-10 Mk3, and then later, the Beat......it had to have it's own magic and unique musical perspective.

mikelavigne July 24, 2011 22:47

And every 6 months when I see your answer I say someday I must buy one (may be two...) of these chairs! But having to import it in Europe is an expensive process.

Do you know witch particular current model corresponds to your chair with the narrow top?

microstrip July 24, 2011 22:20

Thanks for the photos Mike. The table and arms look great. You really simplified the front end and I get the sense that you are quite content now with your system. It must be a joy to relax in that room. Very well done.

peterayer July 24, 2011 20:56

Hi Mike
I really like the look of your new Turn Table plus the simplified system set up, this must make it a lot easier for you to use now.
Thanks Jason.

jasonparmenter July 24, 2011 19:49

Rich,

i've had that chair for 12 years; i'll likely get buried with it.

it's the 'Perfect Chair' (also called the zero gravity chair) from the Relax The Back store. it is a 'high back' version and uses viscoelastic foam. it's the most comfortable chair because it distributes the weight of your body all along your leggs, not just on your tailbone. it was developed by NASA for takeoffs for astronauts.

my particular chair is very narrow at the top, and it rounds away from your ears. the head cushion also rounds away from your ears. so there is no 'cupping' or reflections to change the tonal balance. the only audible difference is you don't get the rear wall 'bounce' as much.

i do use the low chair on the right side of the room in the sweet spot when i have guests so they aren't blocked by the high back. but typically there is a fight to see who can sit in my 'perfect chair'.

i can listen for 12-15 hours straight in my chair without back fatigue.

if you search thru the 2000+ posts in my thread i get this question about every 6 months. the answer is still the same.

mikelavigne July 24, 2011 16:26

Mike,
Very nice. One concern, I would like you to address. Your listening chair has a very high back. Unless you are very tall, the high back will cause a cupping effect behind your ears, like cupping your hands behind your ears. This will change the perceived tonality of the sound from your speakers. I have "theater" chairs in my listening room. The headrests are removable (like in a car). The sound is significantly different with or without the headrest.
I'm not trying to criticize, just trying to be helpful.
Rich

rhbblb1 July 24, 2011 13:17

Great pics Mike, yup sure looks different and defiantly freed up some real estate space.

dev July 24, 2011 11:39

more pictures;

closer

to the side

another perspective

time to clean the A90

i suppose blue vinyl is a guilty pleasure.

mikelavigne July 24, 2011 04:43

here are few fresh pictures;

the new look

longer view

the other side, 1/2" Studer on the right

looking forward

NVS aglow

i'll try to update my system info asap.....i promise.

mikelavigne July 24, 2011 03:48