Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

mindhead1 said:
Isoacoustics ZaZen II. It works!

Earlier this week I saw the ZaZen II on Amazon for $190 USD (regularly $230) and decided to give it a try. I’ll admit I was skeptical and ready to return if I didn’t notice a difference.

I had put my DC Evo w/ Moonstone back into service while troubleshooting stylus issues on my Ultradeck. Every time I do this I question whether or not the Ultradeck was worth what I paid (bought before recent price cuts).

As soon as I put the ZaZen II under the Evo I noticed an immediate improvement. The turntable sits on a Kallax shelf full of records on a carpeted floor I figured this was doing a good job of taking care of resonance affects. I was wrong.

With the ZaZen II in place I notice an immediate drop in noise floor. You could hear it in the dead wax and between tracks. I also noticed more pronounced bass and dynamics. To make sure I wasn’t hallucinating I removed the ZaZen and played the same records and there was a noticeable difference.

I am going to keep the ZaZen and am curious to hear if it has similar effects when placed under the Ultradeck once I get it back up and running.
Click to expand...
Update on the ZaZen iso platform. I tried it with the UltraDeck and didn’t notice any difference in sound. The UltraDeck is on the same Kallax as the Project Evo.

With a quick knock test on the plinth you can easily hear the resonance from the EVO and hear how it’s reduced with the ZaZen in place. The same test on the UltraDeck plinth is dead silent, thus probably why the ZaZen is not having an impact on its sound.

IMG_2040.jpeg
 
mindhead1 said:
Update on the ZaZen iso platform. I tried it with the UltraDeck and didn’t notice any difference in sound. The UltraDeck is on the same Kallax as the Project Evo.

With a quick knock test on the plinth you can easily hear the resonance from the EVO and hear how it’s reduced with the ZaZen in place. The same test on the UltraDeck plinth is dead silent, thus probably why the ZaZen is not having an impact on its sound.

View attachment 222557
Click to expand...

That’s kinda fair given the ultra deck four times the price and is all fancy damping heavy stuff and the project is mdf. I had a custom isolation box built for my debut carbon a good while back and it did make a big difference.
 
mindhead1 said:
Update on the ZaZen iso platform. I tried it with the UltraDeck and didn’t notice any difference in sound. The UltraDeck is on the same Kallax as the Project Evo.

With a quick knock test on the plinth you can easily hear the resonance from the EVO and hear how it’s reduced with the ZaZen in place. The same test on the UltraDeck plinth is dead silent, thus probably why the ZaZen is not having an impact on its sound.

View attachment 222557
Click to expand...
So does the Project sound as good as the MoFi now? :sneaky:
 
The new Zu DWX Supremes should be here next week. Will have 60 days to figure out if they stay for the long haul.

Also going to find a way to listen to some MoFi Sourcepoint 8s and KEF R3 Metas during those 60 days to make sure I’m getting the best speaker for my tastes these days.

Anyone listen to the MoFi or KEFs yet?
 
Ghost said:
The new Zu DWX Supremes should be here next week. Will have 60 days to figure out if they stay for the long haul.

Also going to find a way to listen to some MoFi Sourcepoint 8s and KEF R3 Metas during those 60 days to make sure I’m getting the best speaker for my tastes these days.

Anyone listen to the MoFi or KEFs yet?
Click to expand...
I think @AnthonyI listened to the MoFis?
 
Ghost said:
The new Zu DWX Supremes should be here next week. Will have 60 days to figure out if they stay for the long haul.

Also going to find a way to listen to some MoFi Sourcepoint 8s and KEF R3 Metas during those 60 days to make sure I’m getting the best speaker for my tastes these days.

Anyone listen to the MoFi or KEFs yet?
Click to expand...
I've heard the R3s and thought they were fantastic.
 
Angsty said:
So does the Project sound as good as the MoFi now? :sneaky:
Click to expand...
Not quite, but it does sound very good. I’m tempted to upgrade the cart to see if I can squeeze more performance from the EVO.

The MasterTracker on the MoFi is superior to the Moonstone on the EVO.

I’m considering an MC cart for the UltraDeck. If/when I do that I’ll install the MasterTracker on the Evo and report back.
 
mindhead1 said:
Not quite, but it does sound very good. I’m tempted to upgrade the cart to see if I can squeeze more performance from the EVO.

The MasterTracker on the MoFi is superior to the Moonstone on the EVO.

I’m considering an MC cart for the UltraDeck. If/when I do that I’ll install the MasterTracker on the Evo and report back.
Click to expand...

The debut does respond well to upgrades. I got an upgraded Delrin sub platter and bearing that brought the performance up a good bit and it has responded well to both the Hana SL and now the AT OX9ML. The only thing with changing carts is them damn fragile tonearm wires. It can be done with a bit of care though.
 
Joe Mac said:
The debut does respond well to upgrades. I got an upgraded Delrin sub platter and bearing that brought the performance up a good bit and it has responded well to both the Hana SL and now the AT OX9ML. The only thing with changing carts is them damn fragile tonearm wires. It can be done with a bit of care though.
Click to expand...
Where did you get a Delrin sub platter?
 
Last edited:
mindhead1 said:
Where did you get a Delvin sub platter?
Click to expand...

There’s a place in England that custom makes them. At the time the bearing was also Delrin but they’ve upgraded it to brass since so it’s a little more pricy than when I got it.

They’re the same people who made my custom isolation box too.

www.acoustand.co.uk

Pro-Ject / Sub platter Upgrade Kits.

PLEASE READ AND FULLY UNDERSTAND OUR PURCHASE INFO PAGE BEFORE PURCHASING, Thank You.Acoustand Audio are proud to announce the return of the worlds first commercially available Pro-Ject Turntable sub-platter and bearing upgrades. The Debut kit cov...
www.acoustand.co.uk
 
Joe Mac said:
There’s a place in England that custom makes them. At the time the bearing was also Delrin but they’ve upgraded it to brass since so it’s a little more pricy than when I got it.

They’re the same people who made my custom isolation box too.

www.acoustand.co.uk

Pro-Ject / Sub platter Upgrade Kits.

PLEASE READ AND FULLY UNDERSTAND OUR PURCHASE INFO PAGE BEFORE PURCHASING, Thank You.Acoustand Audio are proud to announce the return of the worlds first commercially available Pro-Ject Turntable sub-platter and bearing upgrades. The Debut kit cov...
www.acoustand.co.uk
Click to expand...
Why did you show me this? 😂

I’m now curious to see how much performance I can squeeze out of the Evo TT. The Delrin sub platter and brass bearing is about $250 USD.

Did you add the sub platter and isolation box (what is this exactly?) at the same time? Were you able to determine the impact on SQ from the sub platter upgrade alone?
 
mindhead1 said:
Why did you show me this? 😂

I’m now curious to see how much performance I can squeeze out of the Evo TT. The Delrin sub platter and brass bearing is about $250 USD.

Did you add the sub platter and isolation box (what is this exactly?) at the same time? Were you able to determine the impact on SQ from the sub platter upgrade alone?
Click to expand...

The isolation box is like your isolation platform, it’s got fancy feet and sorbothene damping but it forms a box the table sits in for aesthetics.

I put the sub platter on a good year after the isolation box. It darkened the background a good bit and tightened up the bass a little.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top