Btw, i was listening to vinyl on The Beat when the lights went out and there was not even a change of pitch from a line sag.

mikelavigne November 16, 2010 18:02

another reason to have an Equitech isolation transformer.

last night we had a windstorm, the lights in my audio room flickerd a few times and finally went out for 3 or 4 seconds twice; finally triggering my 11.5kw Kohler natural gas generator (it's very loud, i could hear it) to kick on. the generator does not power the barn circuit or the room circuit.

my audio system played as if nothing happened.

i did finally decide to shut everything down and call it a night because if my darTZeel amp shuts off and then back on before the power supplies drain the fuse will blow. which hurts nothing but takes me about 10 minutes hunching over it to replace the fuse. a pain. but it's comforting to know that the Equitech protects the circuit from any short line sag, flicker, or even short loss of power.

the lights went out for at least 4-5 seconds one of the times.

mikelavigne November 16, 2010 17:58

That is funny, I listened to the same thing today. Great piece of music.

It was mind blowing.

jtinn November 15, 2010 05:34

"are you f**king kidding me?"

the Talea II--The Beat--Allnic H3000 playing the 45rpm pressing of Classic Records, Gounod 'Faust', disc 2.

Joel did a bit more tweaking earlier today. this is one of those times when all the planets are aligned perfectly.

i've been throwing stuff on and sitting here in wonder. this last disc has me spinning.

i know this will be a late night for sure.

the power of music is remarkable.

mikelavigne November 15, 2010 04:39

some pics;

three tt's, 5 arms

The Beat and Garrard

The Beat with 2nd Generation Talea and Reed 2P

Garrard with 1st Gen Talea and Reed 2P

2nd Generation Talea

pardon my marginal photog skills.

mikelavigne November 06, 2010 16:45

here are some pics i just took of my King Cello repro unit i use as the output electronics for my Studer A-820.

the King-Cello. the top box is the repro, the bottom the power supply. sitting in front of the top box is a Wave Kinetics A10-U8 decoupling footer. there are 4 under the head unit. i added the smaller Walker lead filled pucks to get it to 'hook up' better with the footers.

under the power supply are the large Walker brass spikes, and on top are the large Walker lead-filled pucks that dampen the reasonance from the box.

the stand is a $25 plant stand i had sitting around that fit in the space.

it sounds wonderful.

head switch installed on the A820 by Ki. you can see the 'Ki Choi super nuclear' cable snakeing back between the reels and over the back of the A820.

8 meter BNC 'Zeel' cable it's tucked into the seam between my hardwood flooring and carpet. this gets rid of the damn XLR cable snaking across my floor and sounds better too.

mikelavigne November 06, 2010 16:03

Yes thanks , i m looking forward to read more about the design , may be i ll buy another turntable(on top off the sme ) at the end off next year and the beat looks like a candidate

andromedaaudio November 05, 2010 21:22

Andromedaaudio,

regarding info on 'The Beat' it will have to be 'or something?'

Steve Dobbins does not have a website....yet.

here is a link to a picture i posted before. it's actually my personal tt and arm.

there were brochures at RMAF with nice pictures and some info. i called Steve and asked him to send me a PDF of the brochure. when i get it i'll e-mail it out to you (and anyone else intersted who e-mails me).

mikelavigne November 05, 2010 20:56

It does look very beautiful on the website with the case , tools and everything , but on the beat turntable i find very little info , is there a web site or something?

greets henk-jan

andromedaaudio November 05, 2010 17:16

Jake,

i'm told that 'Kodo' means 'heart' in Japanese. Steve Dobbins line of turntables is called Kodo, and this model is 'The Beat'. and yes; it has a great connection to the beat of the music....it's true to it's name.

FYI; the price of the 2nd gen Talea is $7900, not $8400. and i consider it a bargain at that price it terms of level of performance. Joel sold all the 1st Generation at $6500 and only raised it for the new Talea. the 2nd gen Talea has quite a few changes that take it to another level. it's been common knowledge about the price increase since the 2nd gen was announced in August....although it was only noted on the Talea website so you may have missed it.

i expect that the issue in getting a 2nd Gen Talea will be how long you must wait, not the price. i'm not saying that $7900 is not a hunk of change, only that it's the real deal. and i like my 1st gen Talea enough that i'm keeping it.

mikelavigne November 04, 2010 23:40

Many thanks Mike for an honest evaluation based on the entire musical chain!I too was anxious for the 2nd gen Talea but the price increase from $6500.00 to $8400.00 in the blink of an eye [or maybe in a three day show!] made it out of reach for me.

I am truly glad to hear that the BEAT got you to the point of totally immersing yourself in the pleasure of this hobby and away from the technical "what if's"...

It is indeed an impressive sonic checklist you've noticed but , reading between the lines, it sounds like the BEAT has exactly what it was named for!

Best regards,

Jake

azjake November 04, 2010 21:14

i overlooked 2 important aspects of The Beat's sonic performance.

it has that leading edge energy of the music. not hard, not crisp, but visceral. edgy when the recording has it, delicate when it's there, soft and smooth when that's the music. at RMAF i heard a number of vinyl front ends which tended to paint a character on the sound maybe harder or softer than my perception of real. The Beat gets this part right. and for me this is an important part of the excitment of the music.

The Beat really nails tonality. it paints those technicolor moments with all the subtle shading you could ever want.

you cannot really isolate these characterisitics to just the tt, as the arms, cartridges, and phono stages contribute. but the tt can hold those parts of the chain back from being neutrally energetic and faithful to the music. the Beat does not.

mikelavigne November 04, 2010 04:01

hi Jake,

i've been enjoying 'The Beat' every day since i returned from RMAF....and it has yet to disappoint.

it's got the beautiful Cocobolo Reed 2P arm plus the new 2nd Gen Talea, both with A90's, and both hooked up to the new 'bigger trannie' Allnic H3000. i've been tube rolling on the Allnic so that's been a discovery process.

then last weekend Gary Koh from Genesis Loudspeakers brought over a power cord (Absolute Fidelity) which i tried on the Allnic and it made this huge positive difference. so that's been a moving target.

specifically on 'The Beat'; it has such a low low noise floor. i mean it challenges the Rockport in black backgrounds. it does not quite get all the way there; but a few orders of magnatude quieter than the 'pretty damn quiet' SP-10 Mk3. this aspect of the performance really contributes to a refinement which puts it up there in a rarefied air.

then there is the drive and pace; complicated music seems to have a coherence and unified sense of musical flow. players playing together. the most subtle musical ideas easily percieved and alive sounding.

The Beat is very deep and articulate in the bass. you both hear and feel it, sometimes in a very physical way. i've listened to a number of live Rock Concert Lps and everything is very visceral, as full and energetic as you might want....then it can capture the most subtle growl and moan of a Cello or Contra Bass making the hair stand up on the back of your neck.

it has a foundation, scale and rendition of space which makes your shoulders relax and you tend to allow the music to wash over you instead of fighting the assault of large scale music. none of those 'cringe' moments where you might need to be wary of musical peaks.

pianos, violins, guitars, horns; they all sound correct and real.

a 30 pound platter. speed stability when the music really gets complicated. all that torque. direct drive done really right does that.

The Beat is overall one of the very best tt's i've ever heard. i don't want to try and say 'The Beat' is better than this tt or that one. i'd put it more that The Beat does everything i'd want a tt to do. it makes the music come alive and it looks like a million bucks.

i feel lucky to have it.

i'm really enjoying the music right now.

with my system finally where i'm feeling satisfied and not waiting for 'one more tweak or upgrade', and The Beat and the Rockport both singing sweetly......i'm now more about playing music for the enjoyment of it and the musical message. i almost feel guilty posting this as my focus must be diverted from the beautiful Speakers Corner Decca reissue of the Oistrakh Bruch/Hindsmith pieces demanding my attention.

these perceptions are both with the Talea and Reed. they have different characters and i'm not yet ready to get into that.

mikelavigne November 04, 2010 03:34

Hi Mike!

Wondered if enough time had developed for your initial reaction to that beautiful table from Steve Dobbins?
He feels that it well might be the last table for HIS home too!...:-)
How has it responded with different arms and carts?

As always....thanks Mike.

Best regards,
Jake
P.s. A very unusual color plinth!

azjake November 04, 2010 01:08

Goeff,

thanks for the kind words.

it was a pleasure meeting you and i enjoyed our listening session. the music was really flowing.

i enjoyed hearing about your system development and speaker project and look forward to keeping in touch.

mikelavigne November 03, 2010 20:25

Visited Mike's home on 11/01, and he treated me to a great 'concert'. Mike's system and room are simply fantastic.....nicely integrated, timbrally communicative, gentle and very dynamic at the same time, a true joy to listen to. The finest system I've had the pleasure of listening to in my time in this hobby.

And Mike was a great host, keeping music of all different types playing- the best way to listen. Our tastes in music seemed to echo one another note for note.

A thoroughly enjoyable evening!!

geoff727 November 02, 2010 06:10

thanks Asa, for the advice. i did see the WE 274B's for nearly $1k, and the NOS Sylvania 274B's for over $300. i found one for $160 that's suppose to have been tested.

if the WE is actually better sounding, in the context of a $12k phono stage it might make sense.

i admit i'm a bit blind on this stuff, the Sylvania 274B was recommended by my Allnic dealer as possibly better than the CEC 5U4 i'm now enjoying.....so i guess i assume it's a drop-in. it was recommended to him by another guy......

i do remember my Tenor OTL's being a bit likely to grenade now and again.....but these have transformers so they are safe.

right?

tube rolling appears to be a never ending and expensive endevour.

mikelavigne November 01, 2010 03:34

Mike, on your rectifier, people always like the coke-bottle RCAs, but I like the National Unions in my 8W AirTight SET amp (running along with red letter RCA 12BH7s, new issue WE300Bs & Chelmer CV491s). On the 274B, you can of course look at the WE274B at @$750, but be careful that the 274B is a drop in in your particular amp for the 5U4. Have fun....

asa November 01, 2010 01:49

not to beat a dead horse; but after a little more time for perspective on the Schroeder-Talea event at RMAF i find that i feel differently about it than a few days ago when i posted a few times about it on my system page.

i had said i thought that Frank Schroeder was wrong to have changed cartridges and especially phono stages a few hours prior to the event. a better view is really that Frank was wrong to have waited until Saturday afternoon to investigate the A90 cartridge. after that point every other decision by Frank deserves the benefit of the doubt. who is to say what he heard or did not hear and why he did what he did. he had the opportunity to investigate the A90 Friday at 10am when i dropped it off in his room; yet due to other issues he waited until Saturday afternoon. understandable, but still his call.

it was still unfair to Joel; but i don't think we can be too tough with Frank.

no one has spoken to me or e-mailed me about this. it is simply my mind processing the whole picture with less emotion from the event as time passes. i still feel the Talea was the better arm that night.

mikelavigne October 30, 2010 19:46

Welcome to the dark side young Skywalker...

indeed.

Yes you have. It has just been a while.

thanks Mom. ;^)

but really; back when i had the Tenor OTL's (almost 10 years ago) you or the Tenor guys might have sent me a tube to replace another one.....but i never bought a bunch of tubes and did my own listening process to assess which choice might work best.

mikelavigne October 30, 2010 15:44

"i've never rolled tubes before."

Yes you have. It has just been a while.

jtinn October 30, 2010 07:42

"i've never rolled tubes before."

Welcome to the dark side young Skywalker...

jazdoc October 30, 2010 01:54

update;

i've been playing around with different rectifier tubes for the new Allnic H3000 phono. i switched from a Mullard to a CBS 5U4G with a 'side' getter and the bass and vividness improved dramatically. i also have an RCA 5U4G with a 'top' getter to try.

i'm also now waiting for a Sylvania 274B to show up and i'm going to try that.

i've never rolled tubes before.

mikelavigne October 29, 2010 23:49

Jeff,

the Avantgarde's are a big step up; congrats. the Skylines should help alot.

mikelavigne October 29, 2010 23:46

Thanks a lot Mike. I knew you’d get back around to my question after dealing with the thread hijackers above.
You might not be an expert in your mind, but you have the opportunity to listen to a plethora of great gear in a controlled environment. That makes your opinion valuable to me!
I upgraded my system recently with Avantgarde speakers and a First Watt J2 amp. Once I get the Skylines, I’ll post the updates. Thanks again!

jeff1225 October 28, 2010 01:14