Cipherjuris,

The new Allnic L-10000 preamp arrived at a time when many changes were going on in my system.  I've been hesitant to confuse testing by adding another component so currently it's just sitting unused.

I did give it a brief listen when it arrived and it is so different from my Allnic L-7000 it was confusing.  There is a need for many hours of break in so I will revisit again once my system is settled.

The retail price of the Allnic L-10000 is $30,000.00.   That's a lot for a preamp so I want to be sure I know exactly what it's bringing to the system.

Currently with the Allnic L-7000 I have the best sound I've ever had, EVER. 

My digital is better than my analog was last year.   Something I've been wanting for more than 30 years.  I never hated digital, just disappointed with all the praise and claims and no delivery on music.  Of course the same quality spread is still there, master tape number one, turntable number two and digital number 3.

Still, digital is now at a point where someone walking in to listen for the first time would assume they were listening to extremely high quality analog.  Again, something I thought would not happen in my lifetime.

There are several things that brought about these last few months of improvements,  one I've been hesitant to post about because I'll likely get a lot of disbelief and nay sayers over my comments.

My router which was installed in a shelf above my preamp was degrading sound so much I would have never gotten where I am now without removing it from the room completely.

I have also been experimenting with Mu Metal shields on tubes and have achieved a new level of silence, dynamics and detail that I did not think possible.   

Of course all of this happened about the same time as installing the new Purist Audio Design umbilical cable between Focal power supply and Focal Grande EM speakers.   This cable was an improvement like changing a component.

I also completed all my power cable changes, I am now 100% Purist 30th Anniversary AC cables on everything and now even changing one to a lesser cable is immediately audible.

I'll post once I have a chance to listen to the L-10000, meanwhile I ordered and received a set of Mu Metal shields for it as well and will test with and without.

albertporter September 01, 2018 19:43

Albert, please tell us what you and the guys think of this new bad boy L-10000 and what is the msrp?

cipherjuris August 29, 2018 22:27

I'm in the process of breaking in the brand new Allnic H-8000 DHT phono stage.   I recently received this, the first one delivered in this hemisphere.  


Last Tuesday our group listened to many LPs that are familiar to us and it was remarkable to hear things that we did not know existed in the grooves.  This is an amazing piece of equipment.

I loved the Allnic H-5000, thought it not possible to improve upon but this new design brings detail, depth and resolution like I've never experienced.   It's still changing every time we listen, I can't imagine where it will wind up after a few months on the circuit.

albertporter June 30, 2018 19:47

Edited system  to include new DAC and changes to cables.

albertporter May 26, 2018 20:54

Mike,

I guess there are various terms for all these products, Vibraplane has two versions of their isolation devices.  One is termed as active and one is termed passive.   Difference is the auto level and AC powered pump.

Folk Freak,  thanks for clarification via link.

Eric,   It's been awhile since I tested Townshend and yes, it was the old version.
I probably should have been more specific rather than just saying the brand.  

I suspect results with any of these systems we're discussing might well vary in different situations and with different equipment.  Of course this all began over amp isolation and got over to turntables.   Certainly turntables are among the most sensitive to since the tiny signal from cartridge is magnified thousands of time when we listen.

albertporter March 29, 2018 01:25

@bdp24 the minusK is a passive technology, see here

folkfreak March 27, 2018 15:14

Folk Freak,

I am aware that Herzan is active, but so is Vibraplane.   I use all the layers mentioned but without the Vibraplane it would fail the test I mentioned.

I believe Vibraplane is good to about 5HZ, it's easy to look up if critical to know the exact number.

I have been warned that Vibraplane and Herzan isolation on amps can loose dynamics and take away life.   I have not tried Townshend under a turntable but it was not good under preamps, DAC and phono stage.

albertporter March 26, 2018 21:40

Actually the rationale for the Herzan was a little different. My house suffers from a lot of seismic activity (mostly construction and traffic) and no amount of mass will deal with that hence the need for some form of active solution. I also use Townshend stands under my speakers, have you tried similar on your speakers? It changes the presentation (no transmission of bass via the floor) but seems truer to real acoustic bass in a concert hall

folkfreak March 26, 2018 04:51

I have never experimented with Herzan, I know it's another top flight solution.

The stand my turntable sits on is my design, it has stainless feet and interior fill of silica and coated with rubberized damper spray.  

The top has a lead plate and damper putty and on that rests a 1.25" sheet of Panzerholz.  The Vibraplane rests on that and is platform for turntable.

My Technics SP10 MK 3 is in my custom plinth, a multi layer Panzerholz design that includes aluminum plate, bass wood and other materials.  The turntable bearing itself rests upon a brass rod and iron plate damper assembly. 

Each corner of the plinth bottom has1/4-20 thread holes, each with stainless rods where Stillpoints Ultra 5s are fitted.  The whole assembly rests on the Vibraplane.   It's probably close to 300 pounds not counting the stand.

To test the system I can cue the cartridge down onto a stopped LP.  Then turn up the volume and jump up and down beside the stand. 

Absolutely nothing  comes out of the speaker.   That's a lot of energy for the system to ignore but it does. 

I don't think the amps need nearly as much isolation as the turntable but it sure would be nice to experiment.

albertporter March 26, 2018 04:37

My turntable sits on a Herzan platform, itself on a Grandprix wall shelf which in turn is isolated on dedicated wall studs with stud dampers ... vibration is in all places a problem to be avoided. But definitely worth experimenting with the  they will do is address low frequency vibration (as the ball type footers such as the Apex do) but will do relatively little with higher frequencies which is what the footer solutions deal with ... I suspect you need both

folkfreak March 26, 2018 04:17

That reads like my set up for analog (turntable).   I have multiple points of isolation including a Vibraplane which is essential in my opinion, at least for a non suspension design turntable.

I've often wondered if it would be worth buying a few more Vibraplanes and throw a couple under the  mono block amps.   The price of all the devices there now are easily as much money. 

At one point I checked with Vibraplane and was told you could run eight or ten Vibraplanes off a single pump.  That assumes good set up and no leaks.  I've noticed that with my two Vibraplanes the pump is almost never on and when it engages it's only for 10 or 15 seconds.

albertporter March 26, 2018 01:29

I’m with you completely. Crazy how much all these things matter. My current setup is the quite insane

folkfreak March 25, 2018 15:17

folkfreak,

I knew big mono block amps were sensitive to both footers and stands but after spending months locating a pair of stands I loved the look of, it was disappointing to experience such a performance hit.

I understand about the Grand Prix stands.  I owned several of them at one time, had the big ones with Apex feet under two pair of VTL 750s. 

I was diligent about measuring Grand Prix damper compression to be sure they were not flattened too much by all the weight.   I eventually wound up drilling 1/4-20 threads where VTL screws fixed the stock rubber feet and added Stillpoints directly onto the chassis.  That was a spectecular upgrade in spite of the quality of the Grand Prix stands.

It was Deja Vu again when I put Stillpoints under the Allnic M-5000 after trying fancy stands again.

I'm beginning to wonder if any stand can match the ease, performance and simplicity of just putting  Stillpoints between the amps and sitting it all on the floor.

albertporter March 25, 2018 06:23

Albert -- your experience with amp stands mirrors mine, tube monobloc power amps are very sensitive to what's under them. If you did want to keep the Billy Bags you could try a couple of Ron Heydrich's Marigo shelves between the amps and the underlying stand. These composite shelves do an excellent job of taking out the impact of whatever the amp is sitting on (be it perspex, metal or whatever). In my system the impact of adding them between my amps and my Grand Prix amp stands was audible and very beneficial

folkfreak March 23, 2018 15:20

Hello Henri,

I wanted the stands to work very much but after tweaking every way possible the big Allnic M-5000 amps are back on my slate floor with just three Stillpoints Ultra 5s under them.

The stands look impressive and it sure made it easier to bias but the addition of the stand added a serious haze over the resolution and the image collapsed.  

Equally bad were loss of dynamics and bass impact. Even the extreme high frequencies suffered due to smearing.

What's odd is even with (3 or 4) Stillpoints Ultra 5 between the stand tops and my amps, the damage was still done by leaving the stand in the system.

I even considered having custom 1/2" stainless steel tops made for each stand and replacing the four stock aluminum footers with additional Stillpoints Ultra 5's.  Problem is there is no guarantee it would perform as well as just sitting on the floor after all that work and money.

I'm disappointed but that's why we test this stuff, even if you like the way something looks and the idea seems solid.    If listening proves it harms the music you just have to make a U turn back to where you started.  

I plan on testing some rare 1950s gray plate Western Electric 422A in the Allnic H-5000.  I love my 1940s RCA JAN CRC double getter but perhaps there is an improvement to be had.   I sure won't have problem selling the WE if they don't do magic in that circuit.   Very hard to find NOS match pairs.

albertporter March 23, 2018 00:53

Albert,

lordcloud March 19, 2018 04:20

Henri,

I absolutely want to purchase one.  Probably late Summer as I think sales will be brisk and possible back order upon introduction.  Ideal I would have both the SP10R and the  maybe the SL-1000R to experiment with.

Either way I would compare to my heavily modified SP10 MK3 to find ultimate performer.  This might take awhile,  especially if there are only small differences or performance trade off. 

In my dreams the SP10R would be better than my SP10 MK3 and SL-1000R  would sound as good as my custom plinth.  I cannot seem to get enough custom plinths built so it would be nice to have affordable option. 

The SL-1000R is estimated to be retail $20K.   If so, it's not much more than crazy people on line are asking for old original SP10 MK3.  There was a clean SP10 MK3 at Ebay for $13K, no plinth or mods.  

If the Technics plinth is a  winner then other turntable builders had better run for cover.  At $20K ready to roll, including arm is a steal for ultimate turntable in today's heavy priced record spinners.

Of course if the new SP10R in my plinth is the best sound,  I still get an upgrade over my original modified SP10 MK3.   I have to admit,  the Technics SL-1000R is a beauty and option for three tone arms is awesome.  

I can just see my SL-1000R with the supplied Technics arm plus my two Kuzma 4 Point 14" arms.   Unlimited options for both stereo and mono cartridges and outstanding design and beauty for the eye.

albertporter January 22, 2018 00:41

Albert,

lordcloud January 21, 2018 04:23