jp11801

yes it skips and will play a few seconds of a song with no sound when you are out of ram, with 4gb that issue has largely been taken care of. I still have the silent start issue if I ma processing audio in another program but not sure its really relevant to most users.

VPI all the way, while in theory the nitty gritty avoids the clean side resting on the cork platter when you are cleaning it by having no platter. I find this to add a large degree of clunkiness and I never felt comfortable with mine.

for used records that were not previously owned by someone with a cleaner the steam clean method is really helpful in getting out the last layer of crap in the groove. I would not use this method on new or rare records as I have not cleaned on that did not water damage the label slightly. I'm getting pretty bad cold weather induced static problems that I've got to sort out. Maybe a humidifier?

Jeff yes, do not use the multi jacks I think it is the input marked R that is the cleanest signal path but I'll need to check

Dan C craigsist.org is the place for turntables as local pick up is really preferred. If he can score a TT with the original box off ebay then that is cool as well. Sony PS-x5, 6 or 7s are great also the ps-x500 or 600 are cool, pioneer PL 500-600 series are decent. Do not get a p-mount tonearm as it really limits the cart you can get. If he needs a hand doing set up I'd be open to lending a hand.

with 2gb yes so far so good at 4gb

Right now it is Amarra 530mb safari 357mb itunes 279mb finder 220mb sonic console 63mb activity monitor 23mb and various other programs under that I've got about a 1.25gb free

checking activity monitor I have a bout a gig of ram free (3 gigs used) running amarra, itunes and safari. Amarra uses just over 500mb or ram

it very well could be new toy syndrome although with 4gb ram I no longer run out of memory and playback issues have stopped

Not sure why but I swear the new mac mini running amarra with 4gb ram sounds better than the 1.83ghz model with 2gb ram. Well off to craigslist goes the 1.83ghz model

You need the metric halo DSP liscense $700 to get the EQ. It raises the new price to about $2300 but to my experience it's the best $2300 DAC and or phono pre. Keep in mind the phono cable goes into the combo jacks that are 200 ohms for the TRS and 3.3k ohms for the XLR.

It is not a major manufacture item you need to either fabricate one yourself or contact one of the many cable makers out there, I think APS makes one.

Smooth Jazz is not Jazz it is instrumental pop with any vestige of soul and feeling genetically removed by evil overlords attempting to remove emotion from our DNA through music. Friends don't let friends listen to Smooth Jazz

the talk of dynamic range of cd vs LP vs blah blah blah is academic as generally speaking cds never take advantage of their edge in this area. Most recording in the rock arena have dynamic ranges in the 10-15 range on a LP. On cd with a decent mastering job you'll get about the same with most commercial masters you get a brickwalled sausage. So when you examine things like dynamic range you should also be aware that after a certain point it is meaningless. A 10 -15 db change in volume is pretty huge, classical cds might do better and the mastering might give it an edge in the cd realm but for jazz and rock LP and CD are still better than digital if not for any other reason than brickwalling, no noise, ham fisted compression..... in the mastering. I found that I preferred DVD A audio over SACD but keep in mind this was for jazz and rock where I believe that masterings were suspect.

The table is pretty big to a point then it appears there is a diminishing return. While it it tough to generalize the three basic types of tables Belt, Direct and Idler each have a different sound. I love idler tables but they should be owned by those that also love MGB's as you need to be your own mechanic. The ones I have heard were fine examples at shows and had an immediacy not matched with either belt or direct drives. I have no idea why but they seem to emote better. So table probably 50% or better until you get to a minimum quality level. Unfortunately quality is all over the map from a price perspective. Once you've got a decent deck then the arm is big again up to a point. If you've got a good table and arm within a range of quality then it is all about cart and preamp. Cart and table/arm matching is a bit of an art and to me this is where a good local dealer can be worth buying from. Better to buy right at list than go through a series of carts trying to find the right one. I'd put the pre and cart about equal but there are bargains out there, I heard an AT cart at Ironbut's house that sounded fantastic. Probably a $300 cart but his system is pretty carefully matched and has the CAT SLI pre amp. All this rambling has led me to becoming a fan of upper mid direct drive tables one or two shy of a manufacturer TOTL statement pieces. Unmatched bang for the buck and the Japanese in the late 70s to early 80s were evil geniuses they had some of the best engineers coupled with massive R&D cash and a desire to clean the US audio industries clock. Only the sneaky fucking Lin LP12 marketing campaign and the advent of their own cd technology did these tables in. So Stretch to answer your question table and arm first no amount of cart and pre can overcome crap isolation, rumble or wow and flutter. After a stable table/arm is purchased them it drops to 15-20 percent tops. Then the cart and pre are most likely cart 50% and pre 30 ish.

FYI, foam may be an issue!! I just wasted two hours plus needle dropping with the foam mat and have major static pops in the recording. Well back to shelf liner until I can get a roll of cork from Ace hardware.

Mike, Dom and Oz need to hang out Friday night!!! Here's hoping we get to hear the Mitsu linear table

I am excited to be coming to the meet after hearing about the meeting I was to attend got moved, so I guess I'll see you guys in December and January

Travel Booked due to fear of Gene, I saw him bring Aaron to tears and his knees at the National at San Jose

Work threw a monkey wrench into my plans and cancelled the meetings in Boca Raton. ARGH!!! I am pricing out options now, I will still try to make it.

Did some ragged DIY for a turntable mat tonight as my Sony rubber mat has seen better days and I was not sure if it might be impacting the sound. I made one of these up Spotmat 10 Mine looks much more rustic and is not as symmetrical but did the trick and to my ears is better than the rubber mat. If you've got a TT and are thinking about spending $100 for a platter mat check out the DIY options. Any ideas on how to cut a true 11.75" circle and 3/4" dots better than with a scissor or in my case an exacto knife?

yes but you need to get the Mint LP protractor to really dime it in! I'm playing mad alchemist with TT mats tonight and tomorrow night. Shelf liner worked and sounded better than the rubber mat, cork and foam are on deck tomorrow night if Michael's Crafts has them in stock.

not sure where you'd find a 2 TB laptop HD also does the mobo in a mini support that size??? I'd say likely no and no but what do I know

The RAM upgrade is the easier to the upgrades for a mini and local stores apple and others will do this for those that do not wish to attempt the surgery. I'd wait until 4gb RAM is cheaper at 2 X 4GB RAM sells for $500 or so. Nice to know though and a good reason for me to to go mini over macbook pro at this point

I was going to drive down to LA and pick it up, oh there will be more