Is this why my analog rig isn't so hot?

George, you should talk to Kevin. He's the one that profits from selling modded 1200's, not me. He also knows a LOT more than me...

Perception is indeed a problem. Most people perceive Bose speakers as the bomb, while most audiophiles perceive that a little motor on a plinth and a plastic/glass platter will deliver a high end musical experience...

To answer your question on modding, it can't be done. The farthest you could go with a regular belt drive would be to install a load sensing DC motor on a flared platter. The closest to this would be a modded Oracle. The Technics uses a sophisticated circuitry to sense and correct changes in speed/loading. It does so @ some 3500 times per second. The economies of scale have permitted Panasonic to sell such technology at a low price. The unit has some inherent weaknesses and that's what the mods address.

I'll leave you with this thought:

In my analog rig I don't wan't 'analog' sound. I don't want an artificially enhanced soundstage, 'warmth' nor slowness. I want my analog and digital rigs to sound as close to each other as possible. Both must sound like recorded music. I use a modded direct drive TT and a modded ( by Dan Wright ) belt drive transport. The weaknesses of each rig have been addressed to achieve a rather uniform sound. They still have their own idiosyncracies, but the sound is right on. My next door neighbor is a 20 yr kid and he says that you'd never know it's records that one is listening to--that it sounds like CDs. What a compliment!

>>My next door neighbor is a 20 yr kid and he says that you'd never know it's records that one is listening to--that it sounds like CDs. What a compliment!
<<

Really? I'd take it as an insult- I don't know too many people trying to make their vinyl sound like CD's. If that's the case, why are you even messing with vinyl- CD's are certainly more convenient.

George,

I still want to know what kind of MUSIC you listen to, and at what levels. All the posts in this thread (almost) ignore the one thing we need to know. We know Psychic likes Salsa, Doug does mostly classical, momentarily I'll tell you what I listen to, but what do YOU listen to?

I don't know how you can listen to anyone who doesn't know this. Ken seems to be the only one who knows, but at least Raul asked. As we should all know, different TT's, arms, and cartridges work best with different types of music. To some degree, this will affect the rest of the analog chain.

Now I listen to mostly R&B, acoustic rock, and classic rock. My Teres setup works very well for what I listen to. I also listen to jazz and classical once in a while. Now while I'll admit that Zarathustra ain't Zappa, my TT (and the rest of my system) works very well for both.

So, I'll give you my input: Try the 501, and make shure you give it at least 100 hours to break in. I would have tried a Denon 103r first, but since you ordered the Shelter, do it, as it SHOULD be a better cartridge. Also, I think any quality low-output cartridge will work better, period, as long as you can impedence match it to the Phonocube, and make it compliant with the arm.

I don't think you need to dump the Basis, and I disagree with anyone who says your TT is the weak link. Let's face it, you've got 3 grand tied up in it & the arm. You'll have to spend a LOT more to significantly better its performance.

And if that does come to be the case, get a Teres.

Hi Joe,

I have set up the Shelter 501 on the RS-A1. Out of the box, the Shelter does seem a little more extended. So far I have 5 hours into it (I'll be quiet in the next 95 hours!). Set up was a 45-minute job.

I listen to all types of music, although I like British Invasion (not very sophisticated, I'm afraid) because I have mostly music from that era - notably original Black & Yellow Beatles Parlophones. (That's another story.)

The recommended internal impedance (what's that?) of the Phonocube should not be more than 10 ohms. The 501 is at 12. So it's not that far off, right?

I also like classical music, or beginning to like it, especially after 9 PM. My sense of serenity starts at that time!

I'm still tinkering with the VTA, however, since that's where the RS-A1 is standing: on a sunken hole in the Basis table. So getting the right height is a little tricky. One thing I notice, though, is that tracking force sounds fine at 1.6 grams.

Regards,
George

George,

The light tracking weight is great, it seems to get much more out of a cartridge. I try to keep my 103r under 1.8 if I can. My next cartridge will most likely be a Shelter, unless I can find a good deal on an RSP. As far as VTA goes, get it where you like the sound and forget it. Even thought I bought the nifty little VTAF, I rarely "screw" with it now.

Impedence sounds good, should be OK. I hate screwing around with that kinda thing. That's why I bought the Supratek.

As far as classical goes, ask Doug! He is very knowledgable about what pressings sound best. I'd like to hear those Parlaphones! I have a bunch of BI lps that I break out once in a while, just to remember the "old days" when I started buying albums. Some great pressings!

Ah, the things we go through....