Voltron

Yeah, I don't fit into that particular obsession, but I used the VPI alignment jig to the best of my ability. Here is a pic of what I used (the black one) and the pic is a link to an article about it. Smeggy, the arm is the VPI Memorial 10.5i. I am not well versed in the alternatives, but this one suits this table very well in my opinion.

Thanks for the comments fellas. It was nerve-wracking but very satisfying as postjack suggests. If the mounting piece was self-threading it would have been much easier but those tiny nuts kept slipping through my grasp! I am going to have JP check everything out this evening. Also, JP has heard my rig enough to be able to comment on the SQ improvement/change, and I am looking forward to hearing what he thinks. It was getting late last night by the time I had everything in place, so I only heard it at a louder volume for a short time. The rest of the evening I was playing it pretty quiet, so I am trying not to leap to conclusions without much time or ability to really hear what this cart is doing. Still, the first improvement I noticed was better range on my preamp volume control because the cart is so low output. With the Skala, even the lowest click on the attenuators was pretty loud so that is a nice change. Next, I felt that the sound had a richer, fuller, more lush presence, which is what Koetsu is known for. Jennifer Warnes sounded damn good but Lightnin' Hopkins and Ike Quebec's smokey sax sounded even better. I want to spin Sarah Vaughn and Jacintha to get a good feel for what it does with female vocals. The other thing that was already good about the rig with the Skala but seemed more "right" with the Koetsu in my limited time was the image and soundstage. It had a very natural presentation that was still precise. Overall, I got the sense that this cart is going to make me very happy and I hope that new sound will come through on needle drops if I can get around to making some soon.

Everything is so damn dusty! More action shots:

Thanks Ricey!

Happy birthday, dude. I hope you had a good one. Cheers!

Another AP 45 RPM Ike Quebec -- It Might As Well Be Spring

I agreed to trade my RSA XR-10B for a Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum cartridge, which arrived yesterday for a trial before I ship out the phono stage. I gritted my teeth and decided that, dammit, the first cartridge I ever install might as well be a $6,000 wood cartridge without a cantilever cover for protection! The cart was re-tipped already by van den Hul due to a defect that was original, so you will see the sticker in place on the cart. I had a couple beers to steady the nerves, and spoke with my life coach, JP Numbers, to get some perspective and some tips on how not to break off the tip of this beautiful creation. After various oaths and regrets that I had already sold my soul a couple of times in other tight situations, I managed to mount, align, set VTF and roll this bad boy! I am curious if JP will have the same reaction when he hears it tomorrow night before our "jazz class" at SF Jazz, but I am feelin' it and very happy in my trade. Here are a few pics, although my camera and flash card are not cooperating at the moment. More later, and I hope to have even better impressions once my nerves are settled. The Ike Quebec album playing right now is soothing them pretty well, in conjunction with my glass of scotch, that is.

Right now: Cannonball Adderley -- Something Else AP 45 RPM Recently: Jennifer Warnes -- Famous Blue Raincoat Cisco 45 RPM Lightnin' Hopkins -- Goin' Away AP 45 RPM

Meat Puppets -- Up on the Sun

Nobody is safe . . .

Or, wait, moar black:

The mini-MOA idea is for immediately prior to CJ09. Dan (grawk) and Gene and Matt will all be in NorCal, and I am also hoping to con Vicki, Mike, Stephen and whoever else into flying into SF and then out of LA. So mini-MOA will be like Tuesday or Wednesday before leaving Thursday noonish for LA. I will likely work at least Tuesday (and maybe even part of Wednesday depending), but invitees will be welcome to stay in Marin those days/nights. Sorry for the distraction, Mike. Similar to you and grawk, I will holding off on travel before CJ09, so I cannot come to your spring fling. It will be fun to watch from afar though.

Talking Heads -- The Name of This Band is Talking Heads Having just seen Nona Hendryx in Labelle the other night in Oakland, I have had her T-heads days on my mind. Oh, and she is still hot and quite buff at age 64.

Sonic Youth -- Bad Moon Rising

...because it is so sweet to roll doobies on because you can see everything on there man.

The Postal Service -- Give Up

dbag, maybe you should search over on Head-Fi.org for the many discussions of that subject before posting a thread. But if you are looking for information that is not found through that means, you might want to tell people what cans you want to use with those pads.

Is the custom title "didn't read the 'welcome to Head-Case PM'" a new way of saying BANNED? Either way, I like it. I hope Danny enjoys his fun and educational day.

Ratatat -- Mirando (Animal Collective Remix) Dntel -- Dumb Luck

That's how it works. Now Lily will feel better and be cute and want to play while you feel like shit. The circle of life as parents of an infant.

The Decemberists -- The Rake's Song Ben Kweller -- Changing Horses

Jenny Lewis -- Acid Tongue

Don't listen to The Smoking Man, Nate. Lily will feel worlds better when the meds kick in, and in turn so will you when the sleep kicks in. Good luck tonight!

The only things that you may or may not think are relevant are: 1) the the fact that service for a P1 purchased through Audio Cubes will require you to send the unit back to Japan and I don't know if they effectively act as the purchaser to submit it to Luxman for service; and 2) the voltage is not user-switchable so they provide you with a shitty transformer box that converts to the proper voltage for the unit. If you buy from TTVJ you get a US voltage model that is serviced through the US distributor. I don't know those Stello units very well, but I would think that the Onix Ref. 1 has a better analog output than the Stello. I cannot compare them but the Onix when new was a $1200 CDP that was known for its analog output stage.

The Great Jazz Trio -- At the Village Vanguard Vol. 1