Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

uvwxVinyl said:
I know I only come into this thread looking for advice without being able to provide any but I'm always grateful for all the opinions I've collected on here.

Very close to having my setup completed: Would anyone caution against stands like this for the Wharfdale Denton's sitting on a sideboard?

www.numanaudio.com

NUMAN Retrospective Lautsprecherständer

Innovatives Konzept für mehr Flexbilität
www.numanaudio.com www.numanaudio.com
Click to expand...

Is the same surface as the turntable? If so I’d look at isolation for both the table and the speakers to avoid resonance Issues. If not I don’t see any problem so long as they are approximately at ear height when you‘re sat down.
 
Joe Mac said:
Is the same surface as the turntable? If so I’d look at isolation for both the table and the speakers to avoid resonance Issues. If not I don’t see any problem so long as they are approximately at ear height when you‘re sat down.
Click to expand...

No I have my turntable, amp and preamp in another rack that's not attached to the the sideboard.

The sideboard is just a kallax that has the two speakers on it and holds my vinyl. No gear, and when I'm on my chair they're roughly ear height. The only thing is I think the Denton's need 2.5-3m distance in between, given the size of my room (and kallax) I think the space between would only be 1.5m but that's really the best I can do at the moment.

Unfortunately having stands on the ground would be too dangerous for the young ones (and the speakers as well!).
 
uvwxVinyl said:
No I have my turntable, amp and preamp in another rack that's not attached to the the sideboard.

The sideboard is just a kallax that has the two speakers on it and holds my vinyl. No gear, and when I'm on my chair they're roughly ear height. The only thing is I think the Denton's need 2.5-3m distance in between, given the size of my room (and kallax) I think the space between would only be 1.5m but that's really the best I can do at the moment.

Unfortunately having stands on the ground would be too dangerous for the young ones (and the speakers as well!).
Click to expand...

I think you should be fine. Play around with the toe in and you’ll get it where you want to be. I only have 1.8m between my Linton’s as well because of the size of my apartment!
 
I had a cheap cabinet holding up my turntable and 2 end tables as speaker stands. The cabinet bit the dust and we got a large piece which as of right now will hold both turntable and speakers (baby steps). My girlfriend isn't a fan of speaker stands.

Main Question: Anybody have history with IsoAccoustics Gaia or Oreo Isolation? Focused more on turntable. I got some foam under the speakers for now. I'm assuming the Gaia III would work on Pioneer PLX 1000 but haven't taken a deep dive yet.

The top of the new cabinet looks closer to Walnut so not a fan of the Ikea Cutting board and by the time I get into other cutting board options might as well entertain other options. Might go just slab Walnut and stain it myself though.

Edit: just realized the price was for one verse four on Amazon but still curious.
 
Last edited:
Quick question: my speakers are nominally 11 ohms, but my amp taps are 8 and 16 ohms. I've been running at 16 ohms for about a year but just recently read a couple of things that lead me to believe I would be better off using the 8 ohm taps. Any thoughts or recommendations on this topic?
 
Bloodlemons said:
Quick question: my speakers are nominally 11 ohms, but my amp taps are 8 and 16 ohms. I've been running at 16 ohms for about a year but just recently read a couple of things that lead me to believe I would be better off using the 8 ohm taps. Any thoughts or recommendations on this topic?
Click to expand...
This seems like a 'try it and see' situation given the relatively slim difference between the two taps and your rated impedance.
 
Haimez40 said:
I had a cheap cabinet holding up my turntable and 2 end tables as speaker stands. The cabinet bit the dust and we got a large piece which as of right now will hold both turntable and speakers (baby steps). My girlfriend isn't a fan of speaker stands.

Main Question: Anybody have history with IsoAccoustics Gaia or Oreo Isolation? Focused more on turntable. I got some foam under the speakers for now. I'm assuming the Gaia III would work on Pioneer PLX 1000 but haven't taken a deep dive yet.

The top of the new cabinet looks closer to Walnut so not a fan of the Ikea Cutting board and by the time I get into other cutting board options might as well entertain other options. Might go just slab Walnut and stain it myself though.

Edit: just realized the price was for one verse four on Amazon but still curious.
Click to expand...
I tested out a set of 4 Gaia to be used under my TT because I can have skipping issues if someone walks directly past it on my spongy 1960s hardwood floors. They did nothing to solve the problem. Now I mean I was attempting to use them for a problem that I knew was likely going to require a much bigger fix, so I wasn't too surprising they didn't work. But just know that if you've got really bouncy floors they likely will not solve an issue that big.
 
kvetcha said:
Shibata is a fickle mistress.
Click to expand...
Like seriously @Ghost how carefully have you curated your collection in terms of quality pressings? Lots of AP/Mofi or RTI/Pallas/QRP? Lots of Rhino/PP/SC? Because in my experience a Shibata will will do one of two things:

1. After you drop the needle, as the first note hits you'll suddenly feel as if a host of angels has descended from on high, taken up instruments, and are playing the entirety of LA Woman from within your livingroom with the most intense and earth shattering clarity and dynamics that you'd swear Morrison himself is standing 3 feet in front of you belting out tracks in between shambling around the room off mic grabbing drinks and shouting into the abyss. Half your collection will instantly sound like the most incredible aural experience you've ever thought possible.

2. The other half of your collection will suddenly sound like Satan is standing on your porch, armpit farting the entirety of Cohen's Hallelujah whilst one of his minions stands off to the side throwing wet pennies at your head.

YOU HAVE BEEN WAAAAAAAARNED
 
Last edited:
kvetcha said:
This seems like a 'try it and see' situation given the relatively slim difference between the two taps and your rated impedance.
Click to expand...
I agree, however my wife is having some health problems and I'm not really in a position to do any critical listening at the moment. I'm sure I will figure it out! Most of my research seems to indicate that an amp should like 8 ohms into 11 ohms more than it should like 16 ohms into 11 ohms... But it also appears to be a somewhat controversial subject.
 
Bloodlemons said:
I agree, however my wife is having some health problems and I'm not really in a position to do any critical listening at the moment. I'm sure I will figure it out! Most of my research seems to indicate that an amp should like 8 ohms into 11 ohms more than it should like 16 ohms into 11 ohms... But it also appears to be a somewhat controversial subject.
Click to expand...
I mean, each driver in your speaker will respond to the change differently, and as long as you're not overdriving the amplifier I think there's no harm in experimentation. But yeah, there's a lot of...discussion on the topic.
 
Mather said:
Like seriously @Ghost how carefully have you curated your collection in terms of quality pressings? Lots of AP/Mofi or RTI/Pallas/QRP? Lots of Rhino/PP/SC? Because in my experience a Shibata will will do one of two things:

1. After you drop the needle, as the first note hits you'll suddenly feel as if a host of angels has descended from on high, taken up instruments, and are playing the entirety of LA Woman from within your livingroom with the most intense and earth shattering clarity and dynamics that you'd swear Morrison himself is standing 3 feet in front of you belting out tracks in between shambling around the room off mic grabbing drinks and shouting into the abyss. Half your collection will instantly sound like the most incredible aural experience you've ever heard.

2. The other half of your collection will suddenly sound like Satan is standing on your porch, armpit farting the entirety of Cohen's Hallelujah whilst one of his minions stands off to the side throwing wet pennies at your head.

YOU HAVE BEEN WAAAAAAAARNED
Click to expand...
Says the guy who refuses to walk away. Line Contact is calling.
Why won’t you answer the phone?
 
Mather said:
Like seriously @Ghost how carefully have you curated your collection in terms of quality pressings? Lots of AP/Mofi or RTI/Pallas/QRP? Lots of Rhino/PP/SC? Because in my experience a Shibata will will do one of two things:

1. After you drop the needle, as the first note hits you'll suddenly feel as if a host of angels has descended from on high, taken up instruments, and are playing the entirety of LA Woman from within your livingroom with the most intense and earth shattering clarity and dynamics that you'd swear Morrison himself is standing 3 feet in front of you belting out tracks in between shambling around the room off mic grabbing drinks and shouting into the abyss. Half your collection will instantly sound like the most incredible aural experience you've ever thought possible.

2. The other half of your collection will suddenly sound like Satan is standing on your porch, armpit farting the entirety of Cohen's Hallelujah whilst one of his minions stands off to the side throwing wet pennies at your head.

YOU HAVE BEEN WAAAAAAAARNED
Click to expand...
I would say I have focused on quality over quantity. Very few dirty/beat up record store finds in my collection. The ones that are already sound like shit on the Blue and I don’t play them! Just ordered a SpinClean so I can give my collection the clean it deserves so hopefully even the dirty ones will be in better shape sooner than later. So yeah, I would say, my collection consists of better pressings than not! Appreciate the personal testimony, I imagine a shibata will help me curate my collection even better. I’m in the same league as you, if the pressing sounds poor I can’t bring myself to play it no matter how much I love the music.
 
Ghost said:
I would say I have focused on quality over quantity. Very few dirty/beat up record store finds in my collection. The ones that are already sound like shit on the Blue and I don’t play them! Just ordered a SpinClean so I can give my collection the clean it deserves so hopefully even the dirty ones will be in better shape sooner than later. So yeah, I would say, my collection consists of better pressings than not! Appreciate the personal testimony, I imagine a shibata will help me curate my collection even better. I’m in the same league as you, if the pressing sounds poor I can’t bring myself to play it no matter how much I love the music.
Click to expand...
Sounds like you may be in good shape then! The other thing I was going to mention with the Shibata is the definite need for a wet cleaning solution just due to how easily it picks up dirt but looks like you've already got that covered.

JOIIIIIN UUUUUSSSSS
 
Mather said:
Sounds like you may be in good shape then! The other thing I was going to mention with the Shibata is the definite need for a wet cleaning solution just due to how easily it picks up dirt but looks like you've already got that covered.

JOIIIIIN UUUUUSSSSS
Click to expand...
Yes! Luckily for me I joined this forum when I had like 75 records so I learned pretty early on not to waste money on subpar pressings. Closing in on a well curated 300 records currently! I’ve picked up the occasional GZ/Rainbo pressing from VMP but outside of that my money has gone towards reputable plants and analogue pressings! So thanks you to you guys for helping me save AND spend a lot of money 😂. Excited to take the next step in my upgrade journey!
 
Mather said:
Sounds like you may be in good shape then! The other thing I was going to mention with the Shibata is the definite need for a wet cleaning solution just due to how easily it picks up dirt but looks like you've already got that covered.

JOIIIIIN UUUUUSSSSS
Click to expand...
what stylus do you use if you dont want to go through this suffering and want to enjoy records that aren't perfectly done (aka good stuff sounds better and meh stuff still sound good)
 
duke86fan said:
what stylus do you use if you dont want to go through this suffering and want to enjoy records that aren't perfectly done (aka good stuff sounds better and meh stuff still sound good)
Click to expand...
I would think of it more like groups of styli. One group has less precise tips, but also track easier. They tend to not have as much detail and resolution, but can sound very good. The other group tracks much more closely to the groove and has more detail. The second group tends to be on more expensive cartridges and need descent tables to track well, but each have different personalities within those groups.

Shibata is in the second group. I like shibata. They will give good detail, but expose all the ticks and pops on the albums and static as well.

Line Contact to me has as much resolution and detail but for some reason does not show static and de-emphasizes ticks and pops. It's a big difference. They also tend to be on more expensive carts in the range and on Moving Coil cartridges, whereas shibata is often in MM and MC.

Micro-line is also in the group but I have only experienced these.


Of the other group I only had experience with the nude elliptical stylus in the 2M Blue. It was pretty killer in to me. Not at as good, but it wasn't fussy at all, and obviously less expensive. Others will have more answers in that group as I never played around in the water there long.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top