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:

 

Fabulous Jeff. Congratulations. I look forward to reading your impressions and how it compares to the 401 idler. Very exciting.

Thanks Peter. The internet tells me that it’s equivalent to the Micro Seiki 5000 or Techdas Airforce 3. We shall see.

 

Thanks Peter. The internet tells me that it’s equivalent to the Micro Seiki 5000 or Techdas Airforce 3. We shall see.

Nice. There is something special about unsuspended high mass belt drive tables.

 

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Very cool Jeff! Now we both have mag lev TTs (mine is not La Platine).

 

jeff1225 said:

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Très chic Jeff , I look forward to reading of your journey with the Verdier La Platine , I would expect that the midrange upwards of your Hartsfield’s will present evolved nuance , tone and texture .

 

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Congrats ,now in the grovemaster a meister silver spu then you can sit back and enjoy forever.

 

Congrats ,now in the grovemaster a meister silver spu then you can sit back and enjoy forever.

I have the Thomas Schick 12" banana arm and Silver Meister SPU all ready to go!

 

A long time turntable dream has been purchased and is in route to the music room. I've always wanted a Verdier La Platine and I just purchased one. Very excited to add this to the music room.

Wowzers. Congratulations! I see you bought it off Canuck Audio Mart, my favourite gear marketplace! The seller is an excellent guy, French (not French-Canadian) who carries some interesting gear from his home country. He actually introduced me to open baffle speakers at one of the Toronto audio shows a number of years ago.

 

Wowzers. Congratulations! I see you bought it off Canuck Audio Mart, my favourite gear marketplace! The seller is an excellent guy, French (not French-Canadian) who carries some interesting gear from his home country. He actually introduced me to open baffle speakers at one of the Toronto audio shows a number of years ago.

I had a few conversations with Samuel, a very nice person. I've purchased a few things of Canuck Audio Mart, and have had very favorable interactions with my neighbors to the north.

 

I have the Thomas Schick 12" banana arm and Silver Meister SPU all ready to go!

Perfect, have a lot of fun with it

 

I wanted to thank @mtemur for his assistance and instructions on how to dial in the table.

 

Very cool Jeff! Now we both have mag lev TTs (mine is not La Platine).

What table do you have again Brad?

 

What table do you have again Brad?

I’m also a Platine Verdier user - had my table for about 2 years now - use an SME3012R/VdH Colibri and a Durand Kairos/ortofon A90.

Would like to learn and share optimization. Tricks and tips with other users - I’ve had my own experiences - would be great to hear from others!

Cheers

Andy

What table do you have again Bra

 

I’m also a Platine Verdier user - had my table for about 2 years now - use an SME3012R/VdH Colibri and a Durand Kairos/ortofon A90.

Would like to learn and share optimization. Tricks and tips with other users - I’ve had my own experiences - would be great to hear from others!

Cheers

Andy

Please share your insights with us! What are you using for a platter matt? Are you using thread drive or rubber belt?

 

Please share your insights with us! What are you using for a platter matt? Are you using thread drive or rubber belt?

Hi Jeff

I’m using a thin leather mat I bought on eBay. The thread is waxed linen - same brand that JCV used to recommend https://a.co/d/inDGQHH

I have ebony arm boards and risers made by a chap in the UK - I’ve not tried anything else but these do the job well.

I’ve defeated the table suspension with large brass maple shade feet - certainly improved the sound — interestingly aluminum feet dried out the sound and took the life out of the music. I’m currently experimenting with aluminum feet under the motor unit - jury still out.

The whole thing is sat on a symposium ultra shelf on top of an Adona reference rack, spiked through carpet/pad onto concrete. I see a lot of comments about isolation that lack the context - important to know if the floor is concrete or suspended wood planks for example.

The hardest thing in setting up the Verdier is adjusting the ball bearing from underneath - the concept being to allow the magnets to take the weight off the ball bearing whilst still maintaining contact.

Have fun with your table when it arrives -and pls report back!

Cheees

Andy

 

What table do you have again Brad?

Pre-Audio ASP-1501MG Special from Poland.

 

Pre-Audio ASP-1501MG Special from Poland.
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The motor looks isolated and the motor pulley looks interesting.

 

Pre-Audio ASP-1501MG Special from Poland.
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Wow....I didn't realize you owned such a cool table Brad. What's the tonearm?

 

Pre-Audio ASP-1501MG Special from Poland.
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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.

 

How does it compare to your Yamaha ? Give us a description of its sound characteristics.

He already said many times DD is superior

 

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.

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.