Within a week I acquired these two pairs of headphones for very different outlays.
Both are rather nice, but quite different. Continue reading “Headphones. Open or Closed back.”
Headphones. Open or Closed back.
Manual only for 12 inch singles on Garrard zero 100.
I often use a fully automatic turntable for causal listening. For a small drop in fidelity I get the convenience of just flicking a lever and the record plays.
This worked great for LP’s and 7″ singles. Problem came with 12″ singles. Continue reading “Manual only for 12 inch singles on Garrard zero 100.”
Skip diving for parts. Motorised pots and a headphone amp
This was a sorry looking set of separates lurking in a builders skip. Missing parts, dents, scratches and broken plastic aplenty.
It’s always worth a look, so I recovered a very sorry Technics SL PS670D CD Player and RS-BX501 cassette deck. Two Sony TA FE370 amplifiers completed the haul. Continue reading “Skip diving for parts. Motorised pots and a headphone amp”
Digital Streamer now with Volumio on Raspberry Pi.
For a while now I have been using a raspberry Pi to stream music from my NAS to my vintage HiFi through an Audioquest Dragonfly DAC.
Originally my choice of hardware and software was dictated by performance considerations. I now have a new Synology DS220+ NAS, which is quick. Time to re evaluate my streaming system and do things a different way. Continue reading “Digital Streamer now with Volumio on Raspberry Pi.”
Play Mate digital record play counter and timer
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”
Everything has it’s shape
Everything should have its shape. This is my own capture of the vinyl recording of the KT Tunstall track of the same name.
If only the same was true of the digital download version of the same track.
Pleasures and Perils of Vintage HiFi
Restoring equipment can be as simple as replacing missing wires, as was the case with my B&W 600i speakers (£2 at a car boot sale).
At the other extreme is the Garrard Zero 100SB turntable (£45 e bay) I’m currently restoring to health. This needs hours of work, including a motor re build.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
I recently opened up a couple of dusty cases of 45 rpm 7″ singles which I had acquired over several years of car boot sale digging.
Many were bought as collections, so you get what you are given. What I found covered a broad range of tastes, not necessarily mine. Continue reading “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”
Output Buffer Amplifier for Mission Cyrus
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”
Garrard Zero 100SB Turntable. An appreciation
The Garrard Zero 100 is innovative, gorgeous to look at and absolutely bonkers. My love of these old British made turntables started three years ago when I picked up an example of the original Zero 100 at a boot sale.
Recently I treated myself to a fine example of the later Zero 100SB model. After an eventful restoration, it’s time to appreciate it. Continue reading “Garrard Zero 100SB Turntable. An appreciation”