BREAKING NEWS!!!
Doug's LOWFI Mod Passes Initial Tests!
Well, I got my Shelter 901 yesterday. Since I bought it used here I really wanted to try it out ASAP. Of course there were a few hurdles to overcome:
- no Teres TT yet (two more weeks)
- no Origin Live arm yet (ordered a Mk I yesterday, thanks for the heads up on the Mk II Tom)
- no Stephens & Billington stepups yet (due next week)
What's an audiophool to do? I did what any of you would, I installed it in my old rig. Try to read the next bits without laughing louder than I did. Here's the setup:
- 25 year old H-K/Rabco ST-8 TT with its short, featherweight arm, aluminum platter that rings like Big Ben, rumbly AC motor bolted to the plinth mere inches from the platter bearing, phono cable so dry it's about to crack, RCA plugs barely hold on
The counterweight was too feeble to balance the Shelter, so enter Doug's mod. I cut a length of lead solder and taped it to the bottom of the counterweight with electrical tape. Pretty snazzy rig for a $1500 cartridge. Thanks, Twl! ;)
Ready to go? Well, sort of. With no stepups available, I had to make do with the MM phono stage of my (all tube) c-j preamp. Had to crank the gain well past the noise threshhold. When I drop the stylus you hear a nice mix of tube rush and TT rumble. Oh well, how's the music in this uniquely non-synergistic setup?
*&^%$##@!(*&&^@^$#(&!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THIS CARTRIDGE IS INCREDIBLE! We put three hours on it last night. Saved the best for last, Firebird/Dorati/Mercury (Classic Records 45rpm). Shame on me for not holding off until the front end is completed, but I couldn't wait. At the end, after we picked our jaws off the floor and pulled the cats off the drapes, Paul said, "I thought CDs were meant to have more dynamic range." Hysterical laughter from me.
Even mounted in this pitiful and inappropriate setup, the 901 never lost control. I cringed before the first couple of crescendos in antipation of mistracking (or even multi-groove backflips). Nope. Sailed through without a hitch. Bass drum whacks can rearrange the furniture, but they don't prevent the Shelter from playing high strings, cymbals, triangles, etc. as cleanly as it does when all is pppp. Fabulous.
