KR 242, Elrog 300, px4, px25, EML and KR 5u4g, and KR 274b

[bonzo75]

via the new R2R boards ? why no DSD , is not supposed to be it's calling card ??

No PCM is sufficient. That DSD is a red herring. It is better, but if you get a techdas equivalent, some very good records sound better than other very good records. You can audition both

 

[Audiophile Bill]

And sometimes lower noise floor by replacing valves with SS can lead to totally artificial tone despite noticing lower noise floor. Happens with amps many times.

Yeah but that test is apples and pears.

 

[Audiocrack]

Hi Rudolph,

I can't answer your question versus Elrog and Anni 45's yet but noise floor is lower than my Kr 300b's, 101d we replica, eml 45 mesh, Kr 45's.

I don't have a grounding post but I do have an internal grounding post (@ right rear valve socket) that allows me to place a grounded tube cage over noisier tubes like eml mesh 45s.

I assume your ground post is just a chassis ground? You can achieve this by unscrewing a bolt partially and attaching an earth wire to that and a ground post on your mains block (if you have one).

Can I ask - do you use a ground cable from the chassis to mains ground or to your emperor? Do you notice any change to noise floor with and without?

Cheers

Thanks Bill. Yep, chassis grounding in my Tidal LA set up by connecting my Tripoint Troy SE (Tripoint emperor is being used in the Genesis set up) to a dedicated grounding post on the back of my GG with the help of a Tripoint Thor grounding cable. And sure, (good) grounding (always) lowers the noisefloor significantly.

 

[Audiophile Bill]

Thanks Bill. Yep, chassis grounding in my Tidal LA set up by connecting my Tripoint Troy SE (Tripoint emperor is being used in the Genesis set up) to a dedicated grounding post on the back of my GG with the help of a Tripoint Thor grounding cable. And sure, (good) grounding (always) lowers the noisefloor significantly.

I will ask for a post to be added on my next round chez Lukasz as it is neater than connecting to a screw. Btw did you try grounding using a spare digital input?

 

[Audiocrack]

I will ask for a post to be added on my next round chez Lukasz as it is neater than connecting to a screw. Btw did you try grounding using a spare digital input?

No, never tried this Bill.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

I will ask for a post to be added on my next round chez Lukasz as it is neater than connecting to a screw. Btw did you try grounding using a spare digital input?

my GG does not have any extra digital inputs or extra analog outputs for use as a grounding point. but really no problem as Tara Labs' highest end cables come with a little do-dad called a grounding key. it's a 1 inch long gold plated screw with a banana female on one end and a knurled pointed end on the other. you use your fingers to screw it into a screw hole on the back and it bites through the coating of the chassis to give you a true chassis ground. you then plug the male banana from the Tara Labs cables into it and you have a solid grounding spot.

when you just attach bare wire or a spade to a chassis screw you have to deface the casework to make sure you are to bare metal. this approach is better.

I looked for a picture on line of one of these little 'key's' but could not find one. tonight when I get home I will take a picture and post it.

you can buy them from Tara Labs for under $20 each. then you should also get a few of their grounding wires (with the male banana plugs) to use with the keys. they work. not as elegant as a proper grounding post but a completely competent approach none the less.

 

[Audiophile Bill]

my GG does not have any extra digital inputs or extra analog outputs for use as a grounding point. but really no problem as Tara Labs' highest end cables come with a little do-dad called a grounding key. it's a 1 inch long gold plated screw with a banana female on one end and a knurled pointed end on the other. you use your fingers to screw it into a screw hole on the back and it bites through the coating of the chassis to give you a true chassis ground. you then plug the male banana from the Tara Labs cables into it and you have a solid grounding spot.

when you just attach bare wire or a spade to a chassis screw you have to deface the casework to make sure you are to bare metal. this approach is better.

I looked for a picture on line of one of these little 'key's' but could not find one. tonight when I get home I will take a picture and post it.

you can buy them from Tara Labs for under $20 each. then you should also get a few of their grounding wires (with the male banana plugs) to use with the keys. they work. not as elegant as a proper grounding post but a completely competent approach none the less.

Do you ground your GG into Troy then Mike? Is Troy plugged into mains so you are using mains ground?

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Do you ground your GG into Troy then Mike? Is Troy plugged into mains so you are using mains ground?

short answer yes. but it's more involved than that.

I use the Tara Labs Grandmaster Evolution w/HFX grounding station RCA interconnects with my GG. so the source end of each interconnect has the cable shield grounded to the Tara dual mono grounding station, which in turn is grounded to both the GG Chassis and the Tripoint Troy Sig. the Tripoint Troy Sig is then grounded to the mains ground through the power grid ground.

further; my preamp also has signal path grounding from an unused set of input RCA plugs into the Entreq Silver Telos. the preamp chassis is also grounded to the Tripoint Troy Sig.

every visitor comments on the extreme dynamic contrasts and super low noise and black backgrounds....as well as low volume energy and life.

 

[bonzo75]

I was a fan of my Tara Cobalt but the Verictum that my Lampi distro sells beat it 2 out of 2 times, mainly because the Tara was darker, and this had a more airy upper end. I still think the Cobalt used is the one to beat for value though, as Verictum is too expensive. I also heard the Tara Grandmaster is superb, I have a friend here who owns both Cobalt and Grandmaster. We will do a compare once, though purely academic reasons. I am aiming to keep my cable costs low.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

I was a fan of my Tara Cobalt but the Verictum that my Lampi distro sells beat it 2 out of 2 times, mainly because the Tara was darker, and this had a more airy upper end. I still think the Cobalt used is the one to beat for value though, as Verictum is too expensive. I also heard the Tara Grandmaster is superb, I have a friend here who owns both Cobalt and Grandmaster. We will do a compare once, though purely academic reasons. I am aiming to keep my cable costs low.

as Audiocrack will attest, the Grandmaster Evolution is an amazing cable even without the over-the-top grounding. it's air dielectric and geometry are world class in themselves. then add the shield grounding and the grounding station and it's not fair to compare them to anything else. unfortunately the price is not fair either.

 

[bonzo75]

as Audiocrack will attest, the Grandmaster Evolution is an amazing cable even without the over-the-top grounding. it's air dielectric and geometry are world class in themselves. then add the shield grounding and the grounding station and it's not fair to compare them to anything else. unfortunately the price is not fair either.

How does it differ to the Cobalt in the upper end?

 

[Mike Lavigne]

How does it differ to the Cobalt in the upper end?

the only 'Cobalt' model with Tara Labs I can find is the name of a power cable.

http://www.taralabs.com/power-cables/item/42-the-cobalt-ac

I have used other Tara Labs interconnects and the Grandmaster is a huge step up from other upper end Tara Labs cables.

 

[Audiophile Bill]

How does it differ to the Cobalt in the upper end?

I know I keep saying it but the Elite Reserva Sablon has weight of Cobalt but not as dark - very extended top end actually. Mark voices them to be fully extended from top to bottom.

 

[bonzo75]

I know I keep saying it but the Elite Reserva Sablon has weight of Cobalt but not as dark - very extended top end actually. Mark voices them to be fully extended from top to bottom.

Yes I liked that cable.

 

[ferrox]

I know I keep saying it but the Elite Reserva Sablon has weight of Cobalt but not as dark - very extended top end actually. Mark voices them to be fully extended from top to bottom.

If I may add, based on my experience with Sablon Audio cables which I have here, the Panatela LAN, Panatela Reserva XLR, 2 pcs of Panatela Reserva USB, Corona Reserva Elite, they make my system spooky. When the time is right, I might want to replace another pair of Acoustics Zen Absolute PC on my Atlas mono amps with Corona Reserva Elite.

 

[Audiocrack]

When they do next shootout at my house, I will insist we do some challenge classics

To me that sounds like a smart idea; I believe you will not regret it. Please compare a CC dsd 256 file to a CC dxd file of the same recording; interesting to hear which format you and your 'Lampi audio gang' will prefer.???

 

[Audiocrack]

as Audiocrack will attest, the Grandmaster Evolution is an amazing cable even without the over-the-top grounding. it's air dielectric and geometry are world class in themselves. then add the shield grounding and the grounding station and it's not fair to compare them to anything else. unfortunately the price is not fair either.

Yep, the Tara grandmaster cables sound awesome. See the thread I started on these cable quite a while back. Still love them! Have heard in my systems only one cable line that can compete with the grandmaster cables; Tidal top of the line cables.

 

[marslo]

I don't think noise is the only reason to like it. It gives a very natural tone to different things. Aged Robert Plant sounds rightly hoarse. Chorals are painted at the back of the speakers across the room. They is great bass and dynamics. And cello notes are very well differentiated, each note stands out well.

If I may add my experience with the noise floor which I agree is very low with PX4 valve also in my system then I would suggest to connect your lampi with the server with the special usb cable without 5V power. Lampi has self powered usb Amanero board.
I also use the small Entreq Minimus grounding device for my amp and it has the impact on noise floor of the system but the biggest improvement brought the custom usb cable without power strand. I switch off the power of usb audio output on Aurender w20 side and the result is really amazing.
The layers of tone, dark backround, deeper soundstage, reduction of artifacts is more evident than with any valve or grounding device I tried in my system.

 

[bonzo75]

If I may add my experience with the noise floor which I agree is very low with PX4 valve also in my system then I would suggest to connect your lampi with the server with the special usb cable without 5V power. Lampi has self powered usb Amanero board.
I also use the small Entreq Minimus grounding device for my amp and it has the impact on noise floor of the system but the biggest improvement brought the custom usb cable without power strand. I switch off the power on Aurender w20 side and the result is really amazing.
The layers of tone, dark backround, deeper soundstage, reduction of artifacts is more evident than with any valve or grounding device I tried in my system.

Which USB cable is this? Will this be the same for R2r, old PCM, and DSD?

 

[marslo]

Which USB cable is this? Will this be the same for R2r, old PCM, and DSD?

I use Jcat reference cable custom version with only one strand- no power , you may order such a version with Marcin Ostapowicz from Jplay/Jcat. Btw I use also their Lan cable.
http://jplay.eu/jcat/

And of course the format has nothing to do with usb cable- data are data you can play all files.
Lampi has self powered Amanero usb board, DCS also has this option and Aurender prepared the server to deliver only data without power with usb audio in W20 model.