Jeff's New Music Room, the Return of Jeffrey_t

Hello All!
Due to some welcome and overdue forum changes, I'm happy to return and share my new music room and system. I'll be using my Audiogon user name going forward. Over the last year I built a dedicated room on my property, my last room was a converted garage. This room has the following features:

-Dedicated lines with 10 awg copper wire and separate ground
-Shear walls all around
-Quite Rock II drywall
-Blue Jeans insulation
-Wood roof with slightly uneven rafters to break up the reflections
-Custom built record rack behind the listening position that acts as a giant diffuser
-Bathroom/utility room for record cleaning

The system has also been updated, as I've sold all of the Lamm gear. The major focus of the system is to capitalize on the new quite dedicated lines and have a zero hum system. You can put your ear up to the midrange horn and hear nothing. I listen to 90% analog so the heart of the system is the PBN Garrard 401 which continues to be a stellar performer, I really can't think of another turntable I would want. My new phono stage is the phenomenal Aurorasound Vida Supreme. It is extremely musical, flexible, dynamic, and silent. With some help from two WBF members (thanks @Al M. and @KeithR) digital streaming has been added to the system, really great for rock and finding new music. Blue Node streamer and Schitt Yiggy DAC are a lot of fun to mess with. I've also added a TVC to the system (thanks @213Cobra), the very musical Luxman AT-3000. It also helps with the theme of silent and black backgrounds. Two SET amps give different flavors, 2 watt 45 for clarity and 8 watt 300B for added warmth. Full system list:

-PBN Garrard 401
-LDA Turntable Power Supply
-SME 3012R x 2
-VDH Colibri Stradivarius
-Ortofon SPU A95
-Aurorasound Vida Supreme Phono
-Blue Node Streamer
-Schitt Yiggdrasil LIM
-Yamamoto 45
-Xaio Nan 300B hand made mono blocks
-JBL Hartsfield

Here are some pictures of the project:

Full System 1.jpgFull System with Roof.jpgRecord Shelves.jpgComponents.jpgUtility Room.jpg
 
Wow....I didn't realize you owned such a cool table Brad. What's the tonearm?
It’s their own linear tracking arm using an air bearing and very short carbon fiber arm wand. The whole arm seems very logically designed and superbly executed. The base is double granite slabs sandwiching an acrylic layer. Weighs about 120lbs in total.
 
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How does it compare to your Yamaha ? Give us a description of its sound characteristics. :)
"
Only a very low air pressure (0.030 MPa) is needed for this turntable to work properly. This pressure is effortlessly produced by a very quiet compressor, which is an inseparable part of the turntable."

Bad English ? Or is the compressor really attached to the TT ? Do you have a two motor version, the picture shows a ekstra set of belts.
IMG_3448.jpeg
Top view
 
I got it to try something different and it replaces my Brinkmann Bardo, which was good but I could let it go. I got this new one because I was curious about the linear arm (compressor is super quiet but not attached to the TT…it has a small hose connection), tge magnetic bearing and I heard it first and liked what I heard. Yes, it has dual DC motors as well.
Compared to the Yamaha it is not as explosive in terms of dynamics, so as expected it is a bit of a softer ride overall. It is very quiet and very nice resolution and soundstage. I don’t have a great cartridge on it yet so final analysis will have to wait for that.
Thank you Brad ! :)
 
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View attachment 156574
I have to say I’m absolutely thrilled with this table. I currently have it set up with a Thomas Schick 12” banana arm and Allnic Puritas, and SME 3012R and Shelter 501 MONO.

Speed, beauty, and tone.

Looks great Jeff. I must say your music room certainly seems to make wonderful music. I get the beauty and tone characteristics from the high mass belt/thread drive. I figured your idler would have drive and solidity. Could you describe a bit more about what you mean by “speed”?

It’s a very cool looking table too. It fits right in there.
 
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Looks great Jeff. I must say your music room certainly seems to make wonderful music. I get the beauty and tone characteristics from the high mass belt/thread drive. I figured your idler would have drive and solidity. Could you describe a bit more about what you mean by “speed”?

It’s a very cool looking table too. It fits right in there.
I'm still getting used to the sound, but it seems to have the wonderful drive of the idlers but with a more detailed and articulate sound. Maybe speed is the wrong term.
 
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