Moment Of Truth

[Calle_jr]

The design with a sub-platter is similar to the Stabi Ref, but with minor changes.
The tap for the sub-platter used to be conical, and now it is cylindrical. The only reason I can think of is to get tighter tolerances in the manufacturing.

The flat rim is very stiff, but very easy to assemble.

 

[Calle_jr]

The 12kg platter mounted;

 

[Calle_jr]

The armboard for the M is grotesque, 40mm thick massive aluminium and the size is quite large to accomodate all possible hole configs. Kuzma has most of them available or can fix.
This one is Linn based, but with 40mm hole.
With 4Point, the tolerances for the armboard is not so crucial because the pivot-spindle distance is set by rotating the whole vta-tower.
But, you do not want the hole to be glitchy or leaning, so I would recommend to use the Kuzma (included) original armboard.

There is a slit for the tonearm cable and, as can be seen, this must be mounted before the armboard is fixed.
The weight of the cable does not affect the tonearm because there is a sleeve on the cable which is fixed to the vta-tower.
When the tonearm is mounted/transported, the sleeve shall be moved to the tonearm housing to avoid risk the thin wires are stretched.

Ps. The table is of course frustratingly compatible with the 14" 4Point

 

[Calle_jr]

4Point is idiot proof to mount correctly with the supplied protractor.
There's nothing to measure or read-off, just to hang the protractor on the spindle and turn the tonearm until it sits in the recess.

"Armboard-wise" 4Point is a 9" arm because the vta-tower is mounted with that geometry.
"Configuration-wise" it is 11" because the pivot in plane is at 11".
BUT, "Mechanically/In-action" it is 12" because the two vertical bearings (points) are located 1" beyond the pivot.

Here's an image of the bearing where I lifted the arm from the bearing cups to make it visible;

 

[adamaley]

You've outdone yourself. Great posts, and beautiful pics. Thanks.

 

[Calle_jr]

You've outdone yourself. Great posts, and beautiful pics. Thanks.

Thanks

Tonearm mounted;

Here's an illustrative image of the sub-chassis, shot by Kuzma upside-down.
We see the brass cylinders for the decoupling towers and the motor housing with its suspension bushings;

Photo: Kuzma.si

 

[Calle_jr]

There's a 7-pole connector for the motor, and a 5-pole connector for the front panel controls.
The motor control generates a sinus wave for a 3-phase frequency controlled dc motor with an advanced computer circuit.

The motor control has start/stop, selection of 33/45 and storing of preferred speed;

The same functions for start/stop and speed can be chosen on the front panel;

 

[Calle_jr]

There's a small indicator lamp on the motor control unit;

I think it's for the remote control;

 

[Calle_jr]

The heavy lid gets mounted and...

Veni Vidi Volvo!

 

[Calle_jr]

Veni Vidi Volvo!

- Does it sound also?
- Yes!

I'm a longterm Kuzma user, so my opinions and what I write is strongly colored by that. As I wrote in previous posts, I have been waiting for years on Stabi M.

My previous Stabi Ref is an excellent player, and I prefer it to XL. Sure, XL is a more refined player than Ref, but XL is somehow beyond my limits. Even in terms of cost.
I have heard Stabi S with a 4Point perform near XL for some records, even if it does not reach the level of decoding of bass and complex music. Of course!
Therefore, this waiting.

Stabi M may also seem a bit grotesque/oversized. My electronics and my speakers may well be regarded as normal sized, but next to Stabi M they appear as half scale.
Anyway, it is in the actual operation I feel a difference. The chassis versions of Stabi feels more right to turn records on, I think.

Now I have listened quite a lot, and I think the Stabi M excels XL at least on a few important points. It means quite a lot to me. It clearly has a more direct and detailed reproduction in the presence area. For midrange and midbass it feels like you get as close to the source as possible with vinyl. I actually thought Kleos would be a limitation compared with e.g. Skala, but I can not get myself to hear that. Maybe this will turn out differently, we'll see. Kleos sounds soft and fine and despite an impressive authority it sounds in my ears surprisingly airy and natural. With the connection of Entreq Minimus at the speaker outputs, I got a blacker background, and that was hardly a minus together with Stabi M.

I haven't thought about bottlenecks in my system for a long time, but this revealing piece really remind me of you haven't heard what you haven't heard.
I'm not really done with the setup of M yet, but it was a long time since I got such an "ear-opening" experience from record to record.

 

[Calle_jr]

 

[PeterA]

Great photographic documentation. Thank you for sharing these images, and congratulations.

 

[Calle_jr]

Great photographic documentation. Thank you for sharing these images, and congratulations.

Thanks Peter,

Some close-ups with new 42mm birch plywood shelves;

 

[Calle_jr]

Love Peace Power

Here's a small interlude because power feed and conditioning was brought up in Ron Resnicks gallery thread.

Here's my list of what I like to get done. I'm on my way there, but not ready yet. See my illustration below for the numbers;

1. Install short 3x7 awg power cable on separate (shared) phase to minimize pre impedance. This will minimize amplitude and number of overtones, which in any way can’t be filtered with coils.
2. Voltage protection for safety (lightning and svere transients).
3. Install power filter on all phases going to the fuse central to minimize thd from them to hifi.
4. Install Klangmodul and earth protection for safety and possible service.
5. Install Audience Adept Response aR6. It contains coils and caps to remove transients and high frequency disturbances. No varistors.
6. Connect power cable directly from aR6 to motor control to avoid internal disturbances.
7. Put amps and cd/tv/tape on separate powerstrips to filter any noise between them.
8. Use high quality powerstrips, power cables and connectors, and also equipment earthing.

The things that are not numbered are components in a standard Nordic home installation.

 

[Folsom]

What kind of circuit breaker box/rail system do the Klangmodul work with? They don't really say anywhere, or I can't read it. I'm not sure I'm convinced they are an upgrade.

I would prefer separate lines for amps, I don't think the current capability is enough with one aR6, for big amps.

What is an earth pot? BTW USA has 15a service or 20a to normal sockets, not 16a.

 

[Calle_jr]

What kind of circuit breaker box/rail system do the Klangmodul work with? They don't really say anywhere, or I can't read it. I'm not sure I'm convinced they are an upgrade.

It's for assembly on a DIN skid, see: http://s3.pji.nu/product/standard/800/197275.jpg
Here's mine;

I would prefer separate lines for amps, I don't think the current capability is enough with one aR6, for big amps.

We have 230 Volts 50 Hz in Sweden.
The aR6 can deliver 3.7kW continuously and twice that for shorter periods.
That is more than enough for my amps, and it's not a good idea to use separate phases for the same system.

What is an earth pot? BTW USA has 15a service or 20a to normal sockets, not 16a.

Earth (ground) protection system. It's a safety circuit that brakes the current if something gets damaged, earth failure etc.

 

[Folsom]

The USA is 125v, btw. And sorry I was thinking the aR6 was the smaller one. They're OK. But my mind is boggled why you'd want to defeat so much of its filtering by using power strips plugged into it? That makes no sense.

Safety ground isn't safe if it turns off. This can cause breaker malfunction where something stays hot, very dangerous. Perhaps these "earth pots" do something a bit different? Some links to all these devices would be helpful.

 

[Calle_jr]

my mind is boggled why you'd want to defeat so much of its filtering by using power strips plugged into it? That makes no sense.

Because hifi electronics also pollute. I have seen systems where the thd is higher after the filter than before.
By using separate powerstrips for different parts of the system, the "internal" overtones and transients are filtered.
But I agree of course, and it is essential to use high quality powerstrips and connectors. That makes a big difference.

Safety ground isn't safe if it turns off. This can cause breaker malfunction where something stays hot, very dangerous. Perhaps these "earth pots" do something a bit different? Some links to all these devices would be helpful.

It's my bad explanation.
The safety ground breaker is something present in all homes here. It breaks the complete phase(s) if any ground wire gets hot. It's a requirement from the insurance companies.
I will provide links.

 

[Folsom]

It's true filters can make it dirtier. However the aR6 and other Audience products filter between the electronics by having them all on separate sockets so they don't share noise among each other. Otherwise it's entirely self defeatus to pay for one. BUT if you want to go this route buy a couple of SurgeX's from Dave because it'll do exactly the same function only better than running powerstrips into an aR6. You'll get one filter for all the sockets that's actually a better filter than used by Audience because it's a smarter design that doesn't exhibit amplifying noise like an Audience can (doesn't always). That and Dave upgrades the sockets to a quality that is above what the Audience uses by a large bit. The Audience might have an advantage even with their sockets, if they put the ground isolation to use, but they don't.

I'm still not clear on this ground device. In the USA safety ground goes to every socket and back to the panel onto the neutral bar. From there it goes to the ground rod outside the house. Maybe what you're talking about is GFCI, which is designed so that when it senses a difference between hot and neutral it assumes there's a ground fault connection (GFC) so it interrupts it. At no point does this break ground. In the USA the bathroom typically requires the use of either GFCI sockets or a breaker. But it's common to see both. Kitchens may or may not I think, it may depend on state. I've never seen one trip except for when it's gone bad, or a device that is safe sets it off for various reasons. Maybe they work when they're suppose to, but in general many of them like to go off or go bad because they enjoy it, it appears.

 

[Calle_jr]

Thanks Folsom for your input. Really appreciated.
I have inserted some links in my above post.

It's true filters can make it dirtier. However the aR6 and other Audience products filter between the electronics by having them all on separate sockets so they don't share noise among each other. Otherwise it's entirely self defeatus to pay for one. BUT if you want to go this route buy a couple of SurgeX's from Dave because it'll do exactly the same function only better than running powerstrips into an aR6. You'll get one filter for all the sockets that's actually a better filter than used by Audience because it's a smarter design that doesn't exhibit amplifying noise like an Audience can (doesn't always). That and Dave upgrades the sockets to a quality that is above what the Audience uses by a large bit. The Audience might have an advantage even with their sockets, if they put the ground isolation to use, but they don't.

I don't think the aR6 amplify noise, but other equipment connected in my system may do so. I'm using the system for video and tv also, and things like tv-boxes, switched-mode power supplies, pc etc creates transients and overtones.
I agree it would be optimal to put amps directly into the aR6, but it simply doesn't have enough sockets. The Nordost QB8 is very good.
I agree most power conditioners are overpriced, but building something with similar standard to the aR6 would not be cheap (coils, caps, sockets etc)
I never heard of the SurgeX, I will look into it. Thanks.

I'm still not clear on this ground device. In the USA safety ground goes to every socket and back to the panel onto the neutral bar. From there it goes to the ground rod outside the house. Maybe what you're talking about is GFCI, which is designed so that when it senses a difference between hot and neutral it assumes there's a ground fault connection (GFC) so it interrupts it. At no point does this break ground. In the USA the bathroom typically requires the use of either GFCI sockets or a breaker. But it's common to see both. Kitchens may or may not I think, it may depend on state. I've never seen one trip except for when it's gone bad, or a device that is safe sets it off for various reasons. Maybe they work when they're suppose to, but in general many of them like to go off or go bad because they enjoy it, it appears. Although it's usually only the socket kind that seems to enjoy going bad.

Here is an English description. I think it's correct:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Residual-current_device


Btw, a friend of mine made measurements before and after installation of the Klangmodul. The standard automatic fuse showed 0.25 ohms resistance, but the Klangmodul measured 0.00 ohms.
The standard fuse may hence give half or at least 1/3 of the total pre impedance at the hifi in an otherwise moderately high quality installation.