Air Force One Set Up - tips n' tricks

Leif S · Jan 4, 2018

Tango said:
I have a lot of kharma with my tts Steve . I dont want to say how many time I had issues with my Kronos, not just Techdas.

Tang

I guess I'm lucky then since I have never had any problems with the KRONOS. Although we haven't had it very long it has been to many shows and have been very fortunate and problem free

Steve Williams · Jan 4, 2018

Leif S said:
I guess I'm lucky then since I have never had any problems with the KRONOS. Although we haven't had it very long it has been to many shows and have been very fortunate and problem free

It makes me wonder that David is indeed correct in his suggestion about power surges in Bangkok because no-one else is having problems

microstrip · Jan 4, 2018

Steve Williams said:
It makes me wonder that David is indeed correct in his suggestion about power surges in Bangkok because no-one else is having problems

It is a not easy to diagnose, as these problems are usually sporadic. Sometimes they are due to transients caused by start/stop of electrical equipment in the house. Refrigerators and old air conditioning systems are usual offenders. Unless we have a transient recorder/analyzer to connect the mains, the best way of checking is introducing a good power conditioner or regenerator and waiting to see if reset re-happens.

Tango · Jan 4, 2018

Leif S said:
I guess I'm lucky then since I have never had any problems with the KRONOS. Although we haven't had it very long it has been to many shows and have been very fortunate and problem free

As I said it’s my Karma. I also have not heard of such problem from other users in Bangkok. The incidents were specific to me. And My dealer always took care of me really well when problems occurred.

Tang

asiufy · Jan 4, 2018

Leif S said:
I guess I'm lucky then since I have never had any problems with the KRONOS. Although we haven't had it very long it has been to many shows and have been very fortunate and problem free

+1 here.

Trouble free, ours and our clients.

I'd investigate a regenerator, like ddk suggested. You can go cheap, like a PS Audio, or nicer, like an IsoTek. I've used both, and as it's been mentioned, their hability to provide a stable 50/60Hz will make your turntables much happier

ddk · Jan 5, 2018

Tango said:
As I said it’s my Karma. I also have not heard of such problem from other users in Bangkok. The incidents were specific to me. And My dealer always took care of me really well when problems occurred.

Tang

Dear Tang,
Controller board problems aren’t unique to you and do happen, my own AF1 couldn’t keep speed and would continuously hunt until the ps was replaced. Try a UPS and call TechDAS directly if that doesn’t fix your problem, they’re usually very responsive. Same for your Kronos if it continues to give you problems. Sorry about your troubles, they can ruin the fun.

david

Tango · Jan 5, 2018

ddk said:
Dear Tang,
my own AF1 couldn’t keep speed and would continuously hunt until the ps was replaced.

This was happening to me too apart from the motor died at play incidents. There were a few times that speed kept trying to lock in at 45 but couldnt. I tried adjusting the belt tension and now no problem.

I think I stop talking about this. Dont want to get the parties involved jumpy and defensive.

Tang

rockitman · Jan 5, 2018

Tango said:
This was happening to me too apart from the motor died at play incidents. There were a few times that speed kept trying to lock in at 45 but couldnt. I tried adjusting the belt tension and now no problem.

I think I stop talking about this. Dont want to get the parties involved jumpy and defensive.

Tang

when the feet lose air and or the belt loosens, you will need to reset belt tension. This happens with my AF1.... Won't lock on 33 or 45 rpm and the speed display flashes a speed and lock is not displayed. All is well with more air in the feet and a belt tension adjustment procedure executed.

Steve Williams · Jan 5, 2018

rockitman said:
when the feet lose air and or the belt loosens, you will need to reset belt tension. This happens with my AF1.... Won't lock on 33 or 45 rpm and the speed display flashes a speed and lock is not displayed. All is well with more air in the feet and a belt tension adjustment procedure executed.

totally agree

microstrip · Jul 27, 2019

The Air Force one is so stable that I could mount the SME 3012R while the SME V was playing ...

The AF1 is ideal for anyone wanting a turntable without surprises - every thing seems well though and it is a marvel to set and operate.

JackD201 · Jul 27, 2019

Tango said:
This was happening to me too apart from the motor died at play incidents. There were a few times that speed kept trying to lock in at 45 but couldnt. I tried adjusting the belt tension and now no problem.

I think I stop talking about this. Dont want to get the parties involved jumpy and defensive.

Tang

The unit will shut down if the start/stop buttons isn't pressed within an hour or so. It is a safety feature that protects the pumps and can be defeated inn the menu. Some people don't stop the platter. The better option come to think of it is if the feature was centered around the vacuum button. Even if an owner chose to keep the platter spinning, he's sure to hit the vacuum button.

I love your AF1P Micro!

microstrip · Jul 28, 2019

JackD201 said:
The unit will shut down if the start/stop buttons isn't pressed within an hour or so. It is a safety feature that protects the pumps and can be defeated inn the menu. Some people don't stop the platter. The better option come to think of it is if the feature was centered around the vacuum button. Even if an owner chose to keep the platter spinning, he's sure to hit the vacuum button.

I love your AF1P Micro!

IMHO the timer is a great feature and extremely useful. The fact that the motor reaches the speed in a reasonable time is great - we can stop the platter when changing the LP. I dislike dropping LPs in spinning platters - I had to do it in the Forsell with the air bearing flywheel as it took more than one minute to reach a stable speed and really hated it.

Although for most classic music I still prefer the Vivaldi stack, jazz sounds really great with AF1 . I have been mostly in a diet of jazz LPs for the last days - it is great how the AF1P gives an extremely solid and realistic reproduction of free jazz complex recordings of labels such as hat ART or Soul Note or just the classics of jazz. The sad story is the the damn expensive expensive tungsten clamp operates wonders in the sound of the AF and became mandatory in the system.

BTW, although it is clearly written in the manual , it should be enhanced in capital bold - the controller only goes in STANDBY two minutes after the button is pressed!

Steve Williams · Jul 28, 2019

You have to press and HOLD the button until the LED shows Standby and then it takes two minutes

PeterA · Jul 28, 2019

Fransisco, could you describe the differences you hear between your 9" SME V and the 12" SME 3012R on this AF1P? What cartridges are in each arm? Also, why do you prefer the sound of classical LPs on the digital Vivaldi stack?

microstrip · Jul 28, 2019

PeterA said:
Fransisco, could you describe the differences you hear between your 9" SME V and the 12" SME 3012R on this AF1P? What cartridges are in each arm? Also, why do you prefer the sound of classical LPs on the digital Vivaldi stack?

After some time I found that the differences were mostly due to the cartridges - the SME 3012R had a much better one, the Sumiko Palo Santos, the SME was using a vintage Lyra Clavis rebuilt by van den Hul. The Sumiko has much better dynamics than the old Lyra.

The listening was inconclusive and I did not insist as I am not interested in using the SME V in the AF1P - it is being replaced by a SME 3009-R today, as the SMEV was needed urgently in the SME30. Perhaps at a later time I will try it again.

My preference for the digital in classical music is mainly due to the better low bass performance, absence of compression and ability to handle complex dynamic situations. Although the AF1P brings vinyl closer to master tape stability than my previous turntables, the Vivaldi stack playing DC and SACD's still surpasses it - and brings more information to the stage. Surely there is sometimes something apparently more comfortable and appellative in vinyl, but not more real IMHO.

Anyway, the AF1 has helped me to confirm that the Achiles heel of my current system is the playback of digital files - I have now ordered a Taiko Audio Extreme server.

As always, IMHO, YMMV.

PeterA · Jul 28, 2019

Thanks Fransisco. Yes, cartridges can make a big difference. I had no idea that you have these two SME 30 and AF1P tables plus various arms and cartridges. Beware the Kedar from London who may contact you asking to do various comparisons. I don't recall his opinion about the Vivaldi stack, nor of any SME tables.

Classical does sound very good on Al M.'s digital system also, though he does not have the large scale, full range Wilson XLF's.

airbearing · Jan 4, 2020

Tang,
do you have a power conditioner, like the Burmester, regulating the power voltage etc.?
best
E.

Tango · Jan 4, 2020

airbearing said:
Tang,
do you have a power conditioner, like the Burmester, regulating the power voltage etc.?
best
E.

No I don't. I don't have much voltage swing. Only problem with snakes causing my building cutout to trip a few times.

Tang

airbearing · Jan 4, 2020

guess you have the right weapon...
as an analog fan a power conditioner is good for clean current, on analog and digital. Also establishing the correct voltage - but you are stable

best
E.

microstrip · Jan 10, 2020

Air Force One Premium owners can smile - M. Fremer enthusiastically approved it. Great review in Sereophile!

"It's as much reliable test instrument as supreme carrier of unassuming musical pleasure" in his opinion.

And he still did not listen to the SAT in it!

Air Force One Set Up - tips n' tricks

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