If QBase did any filtering I wouldn't be interested. Nordost does claim it provides star grounding but I'm not sure how many recepticles that applies to. I'm currently using an anitque, a PS Audio Juice Bar 2. It's a basic power strip with good quality recepticles which are bolted to a copper bus bar so no soldering or welding. I'll probably stay with that.
Visit to Marc C.'s (SpiritOfMusic's) House in England
- Thread starter Ron Resnick
- Start date
The Juice Bar 2 looks like a very nice power strip. If you wanted to screw with it, you might be able to change the duplex to Furutech NCF. People I trust say that is a very good duplex. I have 1 to install when I get back to my room. Or, leave the Juice Bar alone and enjoy the music.
Nine months on from the removal of balanced power transformer and install of specialist breakers, I remain amazed by the improvements wrought.
Several orders of magnitude on what went on before.
Not a single parameter that hasn't been boosted, often dramatically.
Critically lower noise leading to way clearer transparency, much more life-like dynamics and tonality.
Fascinatingly I've made three changes since their install, all have been easily perceived as beneficial, in all three cases very much so.
Firstly a small but very special change, an Alphason Audio Cartridge Stabiliser.
These are ceramics-based/special sauce (patent pending) pieces that fit between the cartridge and armwand/hardshell.
Variety of weights, from 2g to 12g, ability to use combinations.
After some trial and error, I ended up using 3x2g.
These were demoed versus Funk Firm Houdini Cartridge De-Coupler, ebony and carbon fibre shims to the same thickness.
Despite my liking the Houdini to start, the Alphason trounced it in the end, bringing a massive amount of bass control and high end energy and inclusiveness to the party.
Then a highly modded version of my Eera Tentation CDP, incl three new power supplies, and a slew of internal wiring changes.
Again, has breathed new life into my appreciation of CDs.
Last but not least, Paul Stratton UK Paul/Z:Axis Audio has fabricated new copper and silver armwires, using Zavfino 1877 76-Litz/WBT-1861 Nextgen RCAs/Alphason Pin-Jacks.
Currently using the copper armwire, and the combination of sublime copper tonality and a more precise, stable install of this wire compared to what I had been using, has resulted together with the Alphason Cartridge Stabiliser, plus the Acoustic Revive RTS-30 platter mat already installed, in a step change in LP playback.
A persistent grey harshness that I'd never genuinely got on top of, is mainly banished, lower noise floor in my power grid, better vibration management via platter mat and cartridge isolator, better tonal attributes of the armwire, have combined to get me to a point of huge contentment with my LP sound, manifested especially in great pressings like the Mahler 6th Symphony DG Original Source vinyl I'm currently listening to, and a big shout out to improved CD playback as well.
Several orders of magnitude on what went on before.
Not a single parameter that hasn't been boosted, often dramatically.
Critically lower noise leading to way clearer transparency, much more life-like dynamics and tonality.
Fascinatingly I've made three changes since their install, all have been easily perceived as beneficial, in all three cases very much so.
Firstly a small but very special change, an Alphason Audio Cartridge Stabiliser.
These are ceramics-based/special sauce (patent pending) pieces that fit between the cartridge and armwand/hardshell.
Variety of weights, from 2g to 12g, ability to use combinations.
After some trial and error, I ended up using 3x2g.
These were demoed versus Funk Firm Houdini Cartridge De-Coupler, ebony and carbon fibre shims to the same thickness.
Despite my liking the Houdini to start, the Alphason trounced it in the end, bringing a massive amount of bass control and high end energy and inclusiveness to the party.
Then a highly modded version of my Eera Tentation CDP, incl three new power supplies, and a slew of internal wiring changes.
Again, has breathed new life into my appreciation of CDs.
Last but not least, Paul Stratton UK Paul/Z:Axis Audio has fabricated new copper and silver armwires, using Zavfino 1877 76-Litz/WBT-1861 Nextgen RCAs/Alphason Pin-Jacks.
Currently using the copper armwire, and the combination of sublime copper tonality and a more precise, stable install of this wire compared to what I had been using, has resulted together with the Alphason Cartridge Stabiliser, plus the Acoustic Revive RTS-30 platter mat already installed, in a step change in LP playback.
A persistent grey harshness that I'd never genuinely got on top of, is mainly banished, lower noise floor in my power grid, better vibration management via platter mat and cartridge isolator, better tonal attributes of the armwire, have combined to get me to a point of huge contentment with my LP sound, manifested especially in great pressings like the Mahler 6th Symphony DG Original Source vinyl I'm currently listening to, and a big shout out to improved CD playback as well.
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Congratulations on all of your progress!
Typically we hear that balanced power provides unambiguous improvements in sound and in lower noise floor. Do you have a hypothesis why this was not the case in your system?
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Just playing catch up - so what breakers did you have installed and what balanced power supply did this replaced?
A Westwick 8kVA unit.
I'm really not sure why the setup proved to be such a failure.
The unit was physically noisy, chassis and transformer core vibration.
However I was assured by the designer that this was irrelevant to SQ outcomes.
My unit was installed in a way necessitating an extra consumer unit (daisy chained), I can only think this was "lossy" and with the noise of the unit introduced some negatives.
I'm not sure I'll ever get to the bottom of it.
You can imagine how reluctant I was to remove a unit that had cost me £5k+ to buy and install, an 85kg paperweight resulted.
But hands down the single best thing I've ever done in this hobby.
Replaced by a single consumer unit and four, Doepke-based breakers, keeping my six dedicated lines.
100A main domestic fuse > RCCD > three MCBs > six Oyaide lines > six Furutech duplexes.
I'm really not sure why the setup proved to be such a failure.
The unit was physically noisy, chassis and transformer core vibration.
However I was assured by the designer that this was irrelevant to SQ outcomes.
My unit was installed in a way necessitating an extra consumer unit (daisy chained), I can only think this was "lossy" and with the noise of the unit introduced some negatives.
I'm not sure I'll ever get to the bottom of it.
You can imagine how reluctant I was to remove a unit that had cost me £5k+ to buy and install, an 85kg paperweight resulted.
But hands down the single best thing I've ever done in this hobby.
Replaced by a single consumer unit and four, Doepke-based breakers, keeping my six dedicated lines.
100A main domestic fuse > RCCD > three MCBs > six Oyaide lines > six Furutech duplexes.
Pleased to hear the tonearm wiring conundrum is solved now Marc; of course any losses at this early stage will never be recovered so it made sense to focus on this and do the best job possible; you now hear what I meant early on in the discussions..
Enjoy it!
Best rgds,
Paul
Enjoy it!
Best rgds,
Paul
Indeed Paul. As luck would have it, the way you've constructed the armwire means I have a more stable setup (my air bearing LT arm design is particularly sensitive to drag on the armwire).
That, plus the inherent sonic excellence of the armwire itself, giving me a SQ outcome way superior to my previous situation.
I'd always been wary of copper over silver (resolution/detail v tone/warmth), but right now with copper wire installed, have zero compulsion to move to silver.
That, plus the inherent sonic excellence of the armwire itself, giving me a SQ outcome way superior to my previous situation.
I'd always been wary of copper over silver (resolution/detail v tone/warmth), but right now with copper wire installed, have zero compulsion to move to silver.
Hmm, well despite stating zero compulsion to move to the silver armwire alternative, that's just what I've done.
And from a standing start with zero hours on the clock, it comfortably beats the copper armwire.
The silver maintains the fantastic smoothness of the copper while at the same time losing a certain tonal "glow", allowing the higher frequencies to really soar.
Yet, not an iota of hardness or glare...that's down to the smoothness of presentation thru the frequency range.
I'm amazed that such an energetic, zesty sound can not in any way hit me between the eyes.
Now, I was using the selfsame Zavfino silver wire in my previous longer term armwire, but that was terminated with chunky Bocchino (platinum?) RCAs. And that always left me teetering on the edge of hardness, certainly the wire drew attention to itself.
This combination of the same Zavfino silver wire (albeit way better dressed by Paul of Z:Axis Audio), but now with WBT-0102 silver RCAs, and Alphason Audio pin-jacks at the cartridge end, is seriously magical here.
A really fluid sound with fantastic upper frequencies presentation, yet naturally smooth all the way thru the frequency spectrum.
Like the best apple Danish Pastry, smooth and creamy, with a fantastic palate cleansing tang to things, lol.
Well, the thanks really goes to Paul from Z:Axis Audio who's made up these two armwires.
He was also adamant that moving from the big Bocchino RCA to the WBT-0102 would make a difference, and he's not wrong.
For me, one of the last things in my setup I was really curious about was comparing copper to silver re armwire, so I'm glad I've got this out of my system.
Who knows, maybe a few hard sounding LPs will push me back into copper's warm and tender embrace again, but right now the silver seems very "right".
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Thankyou for the kind words Marc, and for your confidence, very pleased it has worked out so well for you.. 
I had been getting great results with your Zavfino copper armwire on the usual suspects...well recorded jazz incl Tone Poets series, excellent classical especially DG Original Source.Thankyou for the kind words Marc, and for your confidence, very pleased it has worked out so well for you..
But somehow muted on some of my prog and fusion workhorses.
Installing your Zavfino silver armwire has kept the fidelity on the great stuff, but now a shot in the arm to those LPs that were feeling somewhat shut in or over smoothed.
So, putting on Pink Floyd "Division Bell" or Can "Monster Movie" sounding way more open and extended.
I'm really gobsmacked at how vibrant the upper frequencies are being rendered by your Zavfino silver, yet absolutely zero glare or etch.
Also further evidence the Soundsmith Straingauge is an amazing cartridge, I've never not been impressed by it, but likely for the first time I'm genuinely hearing what makes it such a great all round performer.
Last time I saw that chair 007 was being tortured in it …
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Well, in the audio world, the equivalent is being put upon by Zus for 17 years.
Actually, this is the best chair I've sat in for a few years now. SO many don't pass muster.
Together with that new floor standing lighting, I had change from £500 to buy the little lady and me a very evening out.
Actually, this is the best chair I've sat in for a few years now. SO many don't pass muster.
Together with that new floor standing lighting, I had change from £500 to buy the little lady and me a very evening out.
You're accusing me of self flagellation...or everyone else associated with this hobby? Lol.
He who is without sin, etc etc.
He who is without sin, etc etc.
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