Vintage HiFi. Sounds great, looks cool, costs peanuts
I was delighted when I got a Cyrus Two amplifier and a PSX power supply to go with it. One of the finest combinations available in the 1980’s.
Sadly, when I set it up I became aware of an occasional mechanical buzz from the PSX transformer. It is located close to my sitting position, so I can’t ignore it. Something must be done. Continue reading “Cyrus PSX. Toroidal Transformer buzz.”
Cyrus have a novel approach to providing different power amplifiers in their range.
To upgrade the amp, you connect an external power supply to crank up the specification and performance. Continue reading “Cyrus PSX. A look inside”
My turntable is a three point suspension type, so is quite well isolated anyway.
Every little helps though. No harm in trying to improve things, especially if it isn’t costing you anything. Continue reading “Turntable Isolation Plinth from Silestone”
Calling to me from the shelves of my local Cash Converters was this solid state phono pre amplifier.
Bubbling paint work and a missing power supply explain the reasonable £25 paid. Continue reading “Pro-ject Phono box II. A look inside.”
My obsession for monitoring the life of my turntable stylus was satisfied when I built my “Play Mate” monitor. It did the job but boy it was ugly.
Only now have I got around to making an aesthetically pleasing version. Continue reading “Digital record play counter gets a facelift”
Figuring out when a stylus or cartridge needs changing depends on many things. Condition of record, how well your system is set up and how may hours use it has had.
Recording needle time is a useful thing to do then, but precision of 10th of a second isn’t really necessary. So why did I create this fancy automatic digital play counter called the “Play Mate”? Continue reading “Play Mate digital record play counter and timer”
My Mission Cyrus One amplifier is a very simple affair, which is indeed one of it’s strengths. With the exception of the phono stage the pre amp is purely passive.
Normally this is a good thing. However In my system I want to connect several devices to the tape-output sockets simultaneously. This just won’t work well. Continue reading “Output Buffer Amplifier for Mission Cyrus”
I’m somewhat paranoid about using my record stylus for longer than I should and causing damage.
I use tally counters and keep comprehensive records. This tells me it’s time for a change. Now that I have some data, It’s interesting to see how my listening habits stand up to scrutiny. Continue reading “Keeping track of my stylus use”
My system sounds great, but it’s lacking a little something aesthetically.
A cassette deck, which was otherwise beyond repair, had a lovely pair of VU meters. Maybe I can do something with those?
My Mission Cyrus One amplifier does not have the DC Power socket that you find on the Cyrus Two for attachment of a PSX external power supply. It would be just above the logo next to the tape out socket, but here it is clearly missing.
The amplifiers are similar, so perhaps I could fit a socket to my Cyrus One? But is it a good idea? Continue reading “A DC PSX like power socket for Mission Cyrus One”