Selling the Rockport??? You are going to need to rename your system thread...

adamg February 17, 2011 23:47

Lock me up and lose the key.

straightahead January 26, 2011 05:20

Mike,

Did you carry more tests with the Equi=tech?

microstrip January 14, 2011 19:14

Roysen,

You're going to love it :-)

Regards,
Sam

c1ferrari January 13, 2011 00:31

Mike,

I am about to acquire a copy of one of your analog combinations (Rockport Technologies System III Siurius Turntable + Arm & Lyra Olympos Cartridge). I am a little worried about the size of the Rockport compressor though. Do you have a picture which shows its size?

Thanks,

roysen January 12, 2011 14:02

Happy New Year! to you.

So how is your new arm evalution going, specificaly the Talea MK2, been some time now.

How is THE BEAT sounding, you have had it for a while now.

I picked up a 12" REED arm Rodium satin finish with the Pernambucco wand to be mounted on my Raven AC3, I'm actually going to pair it up with a My Sonic Lab Ultra Eminent Bc cart which I'm awaiting for it's arival. A good friend has this combo and I really like it.

My plans are to add a second table to my set-up this year and The Beat interests me, different flavor than what I have.

Are you looking at getting those new EA MMSeven's speakers and pairing them up with those darTZeel 450 mono's?

dev January 09, 2011 20:41

Mike,

I keep writing in thinking i'll be the 1 lucky "incoming" and win the free car from your dealership...LOL

Seriously, thanks for saving me and steering me toward Equi-Tech and the kind and gentle man named Martin who truly seems to have this passion coming out of his pores!

Balance power indeed!
The same great attention to detail fro delivery to set-up and OH the changes this model makes!!

Have a wonderful Christmas and a safe and happy New Years and thanks Mike for your generosity of spirit...

Azjake

azjake December 22, 2010 08:24

Power grid effect on RTR--Equi=Tech with Ampex ATR-102.

for the last 2 years i've used my Studer A-820 instead of my Ampex ATR-102. Jeff Gillman of Precision Motor Works did a full refurb on this ATR-102, but since it's set up for NAB EQ and almost all my tapes are IEC it has just sat there. it requires more skill than i have to properly adjust it for IEC EQ. i can have Jeff Gilman set up a separate set of sound cards for IEC so i can switch them but i've not yet decided to spend that money.

Saturday i decided to warm it up and play it; i do have a few NAB 15ips tapes and i want Ki to install a head switch so i can listen to it thru the King Cello. so i listened to my NAB Kind of Blue. really quite good (very lively and dynamic) but i could tell it was a bit rough compared to the Studer thru the King Cello.

i had been trying it plugged into the dirty power outlet. i then tried it thru the Equi=Tech powered Oyaide power outlet. it was like night and day. huge difference in refinement, noise floor, and detail. like a whole different tape deck. it was much more like the Studer thru the King Cello.

what does this tell us? i'm not exactly sure but it seemed like something that might be helpful to know. next i'm going to try my stock Technics RS-1500 with both dirty and Equi=tech power and see what that does. i also need to switch back and forth with the Studer; which has been plugged into the Equi=tech along with the King Cello.

i only have one Equi=tech outlet in the vicinity of the RTR decks, so i've purchased an Oyaide R-1 MTB-6 power strip to give me more outlets in that area. they are all analog and there are no high power amps so it should work well.

mikelavigne November 24, 2010 13:30

Microstrip,

great point; and i agree.

one of the great things about a product like Equi=Tech is that it has to meet local Electrical Codes where ever it gets installed and it needs to be installed typically by a commercial electrician. not too much room for smoke and mirrors. it's built like a tank as it needs to be.

i got a thick packet of schematics and instructions for my contractor with the unit.

as you say; Tripoint could be wonderful; but for sure it's a bit of a mystery.

mikelavigne November 23, 2010 01:04

Mike,
I have no experience with either the Equi=Tech or the Tripoint, but for me there is an important difference between the units - in the Equi=Tech site I have photos, technical specifications and details about their units, but unhappily there are no technical details in the Tripoint site - only references to patented techniques without patent numbers.
I admit that the Tripoint can be a marvelous device but I think it would not be a coherent part of your system.

microstrip November 22, 2010 23:47

Thanks again for having us over and putting up with our testing. I really appreciate all the work you had to go through with all the switching of wires. I'm glad it was you not me :)

The room is really sounding great and way better than even the last time I was there. It was the first time I was in your room and nothing caused me to be critical. Music just sounded natural and involving. Congratulations!

jtinn November 22, 2010 23:23

who says AudiogoN does not listen?

late yesterday the Talea-Schroeder Thread was back.

mikelavigne November 22, 2010 13:25

a few days ago i noticed that the thread regarding the Talea--Schroeder 'non' shootout has been removed/deleted/erased by 'father' AudiogoN.

one could debate who might have requested that action.

but the politics of AudiogoN are best left alone.

OTOH i did keep a copy of my post on that thread.....so....for the sake of my own sense of closure here it is without further comment.

*********

i abstained from posting in this thread until now as i had a few strong feelings about the event for awhile after and thought that would be best. as far as how things came together that evening; with the perspective of over three weeks i'll just say that Joel was dealt an unfair hand, but pointing fingers serves no purpose and i don't think any intent to be unfair was present.

i know it was not supposed to be a shootout; but honestly what the heck else did anyone think it could be? even when Frank changed cartridges and phono's, it was still a shootout.

as far as my perspective coming into the event; anyone who cares can read my system page about that, i won't get into it here. i'll just say i have my biases.

i spent some time in that room prior to that evening; i hung out on that floor alot as other rooms there had my interest. then Saturday night i showed up at 7:30pm, an hour early, to make sure i got a good seat. i was in the third row center until around 11pm. so i had a very good seat.

the room was filled with really nice gear; but it never really synergized to my ears. which allowed one to listen for the sound, as the music mostly did not cast it's typical spell. this is not to criticize any of the gear, or Tom, or anyone. Tom has already spoken about this.

i live with multiple arms, cartridges and phono stages every day, and these arms were very familiar to me. not that i'm as good at this as many in this room filled with analog Icons.

my impressions.

i heard nothing that surprised me. is this because i made up my mind ahead of time?

the Talea had much better sense of organization, it had better precision, it had an ease in the groove and clarity better than the Schroeder. the Talea did more space and microdynamics. i will say that the Schroeder went a bit deeper in the bass; although based on my time in Frank's room listening to his phono stage (and knowing from my multiple phono stages how this factor works), i'd assign that factor mostly to the phono stage.

Frank's first cut was 'Neverglade' from 'Into the Great Wide Yonder', Trentemoller. i've since purchased this Lp and another by this artist. the cut is spacey electronic music. the Talea nailed it in terms of detail and texture; it was relatively 'homogenized' by the Schroeder. i liked it on both arms but it was real on the Talea.

early in the session there was a piano track where the Talea had much more detail and clarity. more pluck and decay. more definition.

mostly this was not a good-bad kind of thing but degrees of good. the one glaring exception was later when they played the Basie 88. this is a long term demo track of mine; i've likely played it 1000 times. early in this track there is a muted trumpet which is a torture test for dealing with arm reasonance. what's interesting is that the 33rpm pressing of this track is easy for any cartridge, but the 45rpm track is very difficult. until the Schroeder played it i was not sure it was the 45.

the Talea sailed thru it perfectly. the Schroeder came unglued completely.

again; i've had both arms in my system and nothing i heard was a surprise.

that's one guys biased viewpoint.

********

have a nice day.

mikelavigne November 21, 2010 07:37

BooBooBaer,

after further reflection i have a another thought on the Tripoint product compared to whole system isolation transformers and the Equi=Tech in particular.

many times systems develop in rooms which for whatever reason cannot be retrofitted with a dedicated wall panel and multiple dedicated lines.

then there are systems in dedicated rooms which can be built to include dedicated lines and dedicated AC panels.....or existing rooms which are retrofitted with those things.

stand alone products such as the Tripoint likely make sense for systems which aspire to be state of the art but don't have the built in dedicated lines and provisions for a dedicated panel and isolation transformer.

rooms, such as mine, that were built to begin with with an islolation transformer in mind are best suited to go that direction.

for some people it's easier to stroke the check for a plug and play product rather than the pain of the whole room project (or at minimum a retro fitted dedicated line and panel product)......something that is a sunk cost mostly unrecoverable if you move.

who knows which may be better, we all have our opinions.

mikelavigne November 21, 2010 07:29

Metralla writes;

Something from Ch. Louis-Hubert, in Petit-Lancy?

if Herve can get the production moving on those bad boys it's gonna happen. i hear late first quarter 2011.

regards,

mikelavigne November 21, 2010 07:13

11-20-10: Mikelavigne writes

and an amplifier (soon to be a pair of monoblocks).

That should be fun. Something from Ch. Louis-Hubert, in Petit-Lancy?

Regards,

metralla November 21, 2010 04:30

I hear ya! If you talk to the owner of Tripoint I bet he would let you try one.
Regards.

booboobaer November 21, 2010 03:25

BooBoo,

never heard the Tripoint, if i get a chance to listen i will.

looking at the Tripoint website it appears the Tripoint is a stand alone box that plugs into a wall outlet, or (at least for the Top of the line Spartan) possibly two outlets. does it accept 220 volt? it's hard to tell from the description. with one box (a $35,000 box!!!!) if your amps are not in the same area as your sources you will need some very long (read expensive) power cords or another one of those puppies. not the most logistically fexible approach. and having added plug-ins in the circuit for each piece of gear compared to the Equi=Tech approach has it's issues. i've heard many 'one-box' power conditioners over the years and mostly they do good things to varying degrees. maybe Tripoint is the best of those.

however, whole power grid isolation transformers designed into a system to begin with do things on another level or three from those, the Equi=Tech being likely the best of those.

i have 3 turntables, 3 phono stages, an RTR Repro, 2 RTR machines, 2 power subs in my speakers, a preamp, and an amplifier (soon to be a pair of monoblocks). they are spead out all over my room. how many of those $35,000 boxes would i need to match the coverage of my Equi=tech with dedicated lines?

i can only repeat my comment from earlier posts. the best sounding systems i have yet heard use an Equi=tech isolation transformer for the whole system. maybe a Tripoint is better? i'm skeptical.

mikelavigne November 21, 2010 01:33

Just wanted to suggest you check out a company that has come up with conditioning AC the passive way.Tripoint Audio is the name. I have heard the Tripoint Sparten AC correcting device. The weight of the Sparten is 160 pounds.It is not at any time in the signal(AC)path! The sound becomes dynamic,unforced,open,full of life! There has never been a conditioning device that I would use my Krell 650 mono blocks on because of the current limitaion of most conditioning devices.The Sparten is a different bird. I had a disdain for AC conditioners of old. Now the new approach has broken the barrier of dynamic restriction and coloring that seems to be haunting most designs. I have the Tripoint Troy and it has brought the sound closer to what I hear at live events.Non amplified acoustic performances always expose electronic glare and distortions.The Sparten is unforgiving, as it will expose weak links in the system.Check it out if you would like.

booboobaer November 20, 2010 19:16

Mike, you should do the comparison :)

jtinn November 19, 2010 05:18

Hi Charles,

i have a few friends who did the Topaz instead of the Equi=tech transformer and are very happy. no doubt your Eaton unit is also good.

is the big Equi=tech better than those two or other large isolation transformers? who knows until you compare them side by side. the Equi=tech's wall panel is certainly a step up from a standard panel, and the actual 'Q' transformers are 'said to be' quieter and more dynamic that 'industrial/medical' transformers. maybe.

i would say that any small power conditioner, even the Equi=tech, is no match for a full blown isolation transformer. so it's debatable what your experience with the small Equi=tech might have to do with the large units.

based on my feedback from pro audio professionals who might know that i've spoken to; the Equi=tech is the ultimate choice for a music system or studio. and the best sounding rooms i've ever heard both had Equi=tech's. which proves absolutely nothing.

YMMV

mikelavigne November 19, 2010 00:52

Hi Mike, not bashing here, but after a while with smaller Eqitech units, instead of the direction a few of you folks decided, I, ve decided to go with a medical quality power supply.It,s made by the Eaton Corporation, and provides just as much power supply as the Equitech you have chosen , but also line conditioning,harmonics, and AC noise control. I,m prone to these conditions at my location, and after discussing it for quite a while with others, have decided to boldt from the pack so to speak. I,ll let you know down the road how I make out.

cvl November 18, 2010 23:14

Charles,

if you heard Crna39's room you'd be positive about the Equi=tech too. if you are...

not so sure

....you should at least enlighten us as to what you think is better.

or are you just a tease?

mikelavigne November 18, 2010 22:02

Crna39, are you absolutely positive, I,m not so sure.

cvl November 18, 2010 16:46

Equi=tech... there is no substitute!

Go Big or Go Home!

crna39 November 17, 2010 02:15