Noted for posterity
Mar. 26th, 2004 11:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
azekeilHere I am sat making what will probably be the last ever entry to LJ from my work computer at LogicaCMG. Today I leave the company after three and a half years; the company I really started my career with. I'm listening to HIM - a band ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dylan played to me in the three days he's been staying at mine and playing with hifi. More on that later.
I have a week's holiday and then I start with Intercall UK in Gloucester. However, it looks like some of my Grandfather's arrangements might fall on the Monday or Tuesday that week. When I know exactly what the arrangements are I shall call the new place of work and ask them if I might delay my start so I can attend. Fingers crossed this doesn't cause a problem.
dylan finally managed to get a pleasant sound out of his hifi by the end of the three day session. It turns out the DNM preamp is just too edgy to use in the setup; perhaps due to mismatched input voltages and/or complex wiring requirements. The sound using the Meridian 541 Surround Controller as a pre-amp is a lot more listenable to without losing too much detail or excitement. We borrowed a Primare CD player from Audio-T, kissycat1000's favourite hifi dealer who she's on first name terms with. I suppose I must mention the amusing incident where they asked me for ID and I showed them my driving license and the photo of myself and kissycat1000 I keep in my wallet.. they seemed satisfied as they let us wander out with 1500 quids worth of CD player with just a signature, and not the full credit-card swipe and utility bills / passport check they normally do!
We discovered the truth about the expensive Ixos leads - to our ears they purposefully take out a frequency range around the human voice range (they sound quieter apart from anything else)! Presumably to make the response curve sound more flat to human ears (which of course are more responsive to sound around the human voice range). The result with cheaper hifi would probably be positive, but with the sorts of kit we were playing with it just made the sound flat and lack-lustre. A cheaper cable restored Suzanne Vega to the room instead of sounding like she was singing from inside a bucket..
The two best components ofdylan's system seemed to be the JMLabs standmount speakers and the DNM monoblock power amplifiers. In my room certainly the speakers were able to reproduce faithfully anything that was thrown at them without a problem. Punch, poise, dynamic range and stability were superb. They could sound relaxed where appropriate but still be really involving.
We won't mention the horrific sound when the DNM pre-amp and Meridian 203 CD player were used - it was so harsh that you felt like the hifi had got up and strangled you with the sound! Seriously unpleasant.
So nowdylan is seriously considering the Primare CD player as it fitted in very well with his system; and the software upgrade that we heard about will allow it to play CDRs. It handled every type of music it was asked to play and played them all engagingly and appropriately.
We played about with my 'hifi' and I learned a few things: My Marantz PM-80 amplifier is not as detailed as the DNM for example, but it was able to give a good dynamic sound that was stable and pleasing; a little splashy on the treble perhaps, but considering its age and what I paid for it (£220; £450 new) it's not bad. It shows how bad the Sony 200 disc CD changer is as a source, and how badly I need a decent pair of speakers. *sigh*. I feel an expensive time ahead..
One last thing I should mention is that upon returning the loan equipment to the shop after 6pm (late opening until 8 for them on Thursday) we brought in some CDs and proceeded to have some fun :) The shop has a complete NAIM system connected to some LARGE BLACK PMC speakers worth ~5k opposite the sales desk. Andy started proceedings by mentioning there's a competition to find the track with the deepest bass. I laughed, as anyone who knows me will know I'm a bass-junkie. I just happened to have the CD with a good track on - Track 7 from the Higher Learning soundtrack, some track by Mr. Grimes. They were suitably impressed I think, although I have a feeling the problem with the track is there is one point in the bass line that has two notes playing; you can only tell there is a second lower note from the sub-harmonics that you CAN hear. I should rip it and try to calculate a frequency for it by looking at the waveforms *grin*.
I finally managed to play the Tori Amos Boys for Pele album to Andy which I've been promising him for months. He liked it and looked forwards to taking it home to play on his decent system at home :)
Andy played me a prog-rock band that sounded very Zeppelin; Ayreon - Into the Electric Castle. A link including MP3 preview is here.wruf I strongly suggest you have a listen! kissycat1000 is in the middle of trying to procure it for me from Ebay :)
Lots of geeky fun and re-grounding which was much needed; thanks for the company and the fundylan :)
Onwards and upwards!
UPDATE: Oh, and anyone who thinks they have a mobile number for me - delete it. It was a company phone and has gone back. Thanks.
dylan played to me in the three days he's been staying at mine and playing with hifi. More on that later.I have a week's holiday and then I start with Intercall UK in Gloucester. However, it looks like some of my Grandfather's arrangements might fall on the Monday or Tuesday that week. When I know exactly what the arrangements are I shall call the new place of work and ask them if I might delay my start so I can attend. Fingers crossed this doesn't cause a problem.
dylan finally managed to get a pleasant sound out of his hifi by the end of the three day session. It turns out the DNM preamp is just too edgy to use in the setup; perhaps due to mismatched input voltages and/or complex wiring requirements. The sound using the Meridian 541 Surround Controller as a pre-amp is a lot more listenable to without losing too much detail or excitement. We borrowed a Primare CD player from Audio-T, kissycat1000's favourite hifi dealer who she's on first name terms with. I suppose I must mention the amusing incident where they asked me for ID and I showed them my driving license and the photo of myself and kissycat1000 I keep in my wallet.. they seemed satisfied as they let us wander out with 1500 quids worth of CD player with just a signature, and not the full credit-card swipe and utility bills / passport check they normally do!We discovered the truth about the expensive Ixos leads - to our ears they purposefully take out a frequency range around the human voice range (they sound quieter apart from anything else)! Presumably to make the response curve sound more flat to human ears (which of course are more responsive to sound around the human voice range). The result with cheaper hifi would probably be positive, but with the sorts of kit we were playing with it just made the sound flat and lack-lustre. A cheaper cable restored Suzanne Vega to the room instead of sounding like she was singing from inside a bucket..
The two best components of
dylan's system seemed to be the JMLabs standmount speakers and the DNM monoblock power amplifiers. In my room certainly the speakers were able to reproduce faithfully anything that was thrown at them without a problem. Punch, poise, dynamic range and stability were superb. They could sound relaxed where appropriate but still be really involving.We won't mention the horrific sound when the DNM pre-amp and Meridian 203 CD player were used - it was so harsh that you felt like the hifi had got up and strangled you with the sound! Seriously unpleasant.
So now
dylan is seriously considering the Primare CD player as it fitted in very well with his system; and the software upgrade that we heard about will allow it to play CDRs. It handled every type of music it was asked to play and played them all engagingly and appropriately.We played about with my 'hifi' and I learned a few things: My Marantz PM-80 amplifier is not as detailed as the DNM for example, but it was able to give a good dynamic sound that was stable and pleasing; a little splashy on the treble perhaps, but considering its age and what I paid for it (£220; £450 new) it's not bad. It shows how bad the Sony 200 disc CD changer is as a source, and how badly I need a decent pair of speakers. *sigh*. I feel an expensive time ahead..
One last thing I should mention is that upon returning the loan equipment to the shop after 6pm (late opening until 8 for them on Thursday) we brought in some CDs and proceeded to have some fun :) The shop has a complete NAIM system connected to some LARGE BLACK PMC speakers worth ~5k opposite the sales desk. Andy started proceedings by mentioning there's a competition to find the track with the deepest bass. I laughed, as anyone who knows me will know I'm a bass-junkie. I just happened to have the CD with a good track on - Track 7 from the Higher Learning soundtrack, some track by Mr. Grimes. They were suitably impressed I think, although I have a feeling the problem with the track is there is one point in the bass line that has two notes playing; you can only tell there is a second lower note from the sub-harmonics that you CAN hear. I should rip it and try to calculate a frequency for it by looking at the waveforms *grin*.
I finally managed to play the Tori Amos Boys for Pele album to Andy which I've been promising him for months. He liked it and looked forwards to taking it home to play on his decent system at home :)
Andy played me a prog-rock band that sounded very Zeppelin; Ayreon - Into the Electric Castle. A link including MP3 preview is here.
wruf I strongly suggest you have a listen! kissycat1000 is in the middle of trying to procure it for me from Ebay :)Lots of geeky fun and re-grounding which was much needed; thanks for the company and the fun
dylan :)Onwards and upwards!
UPDATE: Oh, and anyone who thinks they have a mobile number for me - delete it. It was a company phone and has gone back. Thanks.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 04:05 am (UTC)So are you going to get a mobile all of your very own at last? ;)
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Date: 2004-03-26 04:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 04:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 04:51 am (UTC)Ooh! *bounce* Another band to feed my prog-lust :)
Thanks for that - it's good stuff. Thik I'll have to try to track it down meself now :)
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 05:04 am (UTC)One day ....
Date: 2004-03-26 05:06 am (UTC)I have a fair bit of kit, but most of it is fairly cheap and/or rubbish ... but there are enough good enough bits in there I should be doing better with my home system.
Sigh, to have several days and enough clear floor space etc. to play with what I've got, plus somoene who knows how much better it could be for a small extra outlay (and trading in the pile of "spare" kit I've got)
Re: One day ....
Date: 2004-03-26 05:46 am (UTC)Off the top of my head ...
Date: 2004-03-26 09:04 am (UTC)Home cinema amp is a Sony STR-DB940 (5x110w, DD and DTS)
CD player is Marantz CD63
MD Sony JE520
DVD Toshiba SD330
Pace cable box
Linn Basik turntable
JVC twin cassette
Tannoy 611 fronts
AR centre
Canon S30 rears (on Atacama SE24s)
Wharfdale 15"/150w subwoofer
Cable Talk Talk 3.1 speaker wire
Optical digitial connections
Various interconnects (nothing more exotic than Tandy Gold though)
Playstation2 with composite, component and s-video outputs + digital sound to amp via optical cable.
TV Sony KVX2982 29" Nicam
Epson EMP-7300 projector on unicol stand
6' Manual screen (ceiling mounted)
Projector has S-Video from PS2, composite from Amp (for two VCRs and cable box) and I've just run a 10metre component from DVD player to projector but the signal seems inadequate (and it was nearly 50 quid for the component video cable!)
Sony 930 VCR
Panasonic NV630 (I think) VCR
Most of the kit is on a Target stand. The centre speaker is under the TV with the two VCRs.
Main bedroom system is a Yamaha receiver (can't recall the model number, something like RX380 which I hooked up at Graham's HiFi and they were surprised how good it sounded!), Sony 10 disc CD, Technics twin casssette, Toshiba speakers.
Computer room system is a Sony stack (can't remember which model, though fairly old with the DAC built into the amp and the CD player only having a digital output, no built in DAC) plus a Tascam MD recorder and JPW Sonata speakers. The stack has a Sony turntable as well.
Spare kit includes a nice Sony tuner (one of their ?QS? range), a Kenwood dolby prologic receiver, a technics linear tracking turntable, a JVC turntable, several pairs of speakers including a smaller pair of Tannoys, a pair of Wharfdale Dentons, a pair of Gale monitors and various others)
I also have two Target turntable shelves, a grand total of two tall and two short Target hifi racks, a tall Apollo rack, another tall Target rack that disassembles and is on casters, three or four sets of speaker stands and two or three sets of wall brackets.
I'll gather the model numbers of any bit of kit that's worth checking out further.
Plus the usual box full of portable/personal CD walkmen, MD walkmen etc.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 10:46 am (UTC)Your problem, if anything, is that the system may be fairly balanced (the twin tape deck and rear speakers probably leave a bit to be desired, but then I assume they're not considered as critical as some of the rest). On the one hand, that's possibly quite liberating, in that you can decide what to upgrade next; on the other, whatever you upgrade, you'll then want to change other things to do it justice.
How on earth have you ended up with so much stuff, by the way? If you'd spent the same amount on quality rather than quantity, you'd have something pretty special. (-8
no subject
Date: 2004-03-27 07:12 pm (UTC)The S30s are really quite nice speakers (for their age) and are the "firing down onto a cone" style so good for wide dispersion (which is why I have them on the rear) ... lacking a bit in bass extension, but then that's not usually a rear speaker strong spot anyway!
Many years of either buying odd bits from Richer Sounds or picking up second hand kit of CiX (my ISP). I bought a JVC stack about 8 years ago that I've got the twin tape currently in use and everything else is either out on loan or sitting around the house (there's a tuner and graphic EQ sitting on the filing cabinet next to me unused, cost about 200 quid at the time I think, all boxed with manuals, including amp, tuner, twin cassette, CD player, turntable, main speakers, surround speakers and (cheap) cables. The Sony stack (V925E, good quality separates including a pre/power combo) was picked up for about the same price about four years ago (complete with target rack, smaller Tannoy speakers; and a toshiba passive sub that I threw away last summer)
The most expensive single piece of hifi was the Sony home cinema amp, at around 350 quid (I think). Everything else was 200 quid or less per item (Tascam MD was 200 quid, but I got it for the balanced ins and outs to connect to the mixing desk in the proposed home recording studio!) The Linn Basik was 120 quid, the Sony MD 99 quid, the Wharfdale subwoofer 80 quid, the Canon S30s were 99 quid, the AR centre was 45 quid, the Tannoy 611s I borrowed from a workmate 8 years ago (yes, we both still work together!) .. oh, the Epson projector was nearly a grand, but it was nearly unused (136 hours) and came with a 6' screen and unicol stand. The DVD was 79 quid. Oh wait, the Marantz CD63 was 219 pounds, but that was a number of years ago (before the 63SE, MKII and KI came out)
And I guess that the interconnects and speaker wire come to about 200 pounds, with the none of the target racks costing more than 50 quid.
So yes, if I'd not had music for the last 8 years, and had saved up that money until now, I'd have something like two grand to spend ... instead I've had music and think I've been well served.
It's nice to have a setup in the bedroom, a setup in the computer room and a main setup downstairs for the living room (and there's a CD/Radio/Cassette boombox in the kitchen that cost me 12 quid in a car boot sale!)
Thanks for the comments so far, so if it were your setup, what would you get rid of, what would you rearrange and what would you replace (and in what order!)
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Date: 2004-03-28 05:35 am (UTC)I later bought a better amp, and sold the old one. When the stylus needed replacing, I bought a much better cartridge instead. Then I traded the tape deck in for a Sony Walkman Professional, and bought a better pair of speakers, keeping the old pair at home so I didn't need to shunt them to and fro in the university holidays.
That left me with a system worth about £1200 that was still pretty balanced. Then I then added TV, laserdisc player and VCR, before splashing out £3500 on my 25th birthday for a major upgrade, then £450 for a secondhand Linn Sondek a while later.
When I then did the stratospherically-major upgrade, I sold most of the equipment on the £3500 shopping list.
As a result, I only have a mildly silly amount of spare kit lying around, rather than an utterly absurd quantity. (-8
As for your situation, I guess I'd have to listen to form a properly-informed opinion, but it's normally best to upgrade source before amplification, amplification before speakers. In your shoes, I'd be tempted to spend £750 on a CD player, or £1500 on a DVD player that was also good at playing CDs.
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Date: 2004-03-26 05:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 06:04 am (UTC)i am looking at at CD entitled "Best of KODO". that would be the japanese drummers. this is the CD i meant to copy for you, for your housewarming. i shall do so, and bring it to the pub on sunday.
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Date: 2004-03-26 06:12 am (UTC)P.S.
Just sent Jon a text asking if he wants to go see "Dawn of the dae" tonight at cineworld, would you be up for that?
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Date: 2004-03-26 06:34 am (UTC)i'm ripping the CD now, so i can listen to it. i'll be doing a CD-to-CD copy for those that want it.
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Date: 2004-03-26 06:41 am (UTC)Jon's just confirmed "a good plan" for filmage, so looks like we're off to the cinema tonight, yay! \o/
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Date: 2004-03-26 07:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 07:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 11:10 am (UTC)The only true way to make a direct copy of a disc is to cut a glass master from it, then press a disc using that. Anything else is going to introduce some differences. Whether or not they're audible, and whether or not they're detrimental, is another matter.
By the sounds of it, what you're talking about is using a computer to make a copy from a CD-ROM drive to a CD-R drive, reading and writing using ATAPI, with the destination drive burning at single-speed. The ATAPI reads and writes have to be packetised, and the source drive will have to be reading faster than single speed.
Thus you will be writing data to disc from a RAM buffer, whether it reaches there "directly" from the source disc, or goes via your computer's hard drive. If you think your computer's hard drive can't reliably give you back whatever bit sequences you put on it, I pity the rest of your data. (-8
I personally burn TDK CDs at 8x speed on a Plextor drive. By every measurement I can make (using specialised lab gear), that is at least as good as 1x burn on an HP drive. If you want to fine-tune, the Plextor allows you to adjust the mark-space jitter characteristic of its burning, but if the disc is destined for a good quality player, the default is optimal. In listening tests, the resulting CDs are often superior to the originals (especially if the original is a cheap compilation album — not all pressing plants understand jitter, or even give a toss about sound quality).
The conclusion I've drawn is that while a specific drive may burn better at one speed than another, in general the brand of blank disc, and brand of burner are both way more important than burn speed. (-8
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 11:19 am (UTC)However, although you still have to write to and from a RAM buffer, that still removes the transition from electronic to magnetic data and vice versa, read errors do occur there, however minimal, no matter how good your hard drive. With normal data, whatever is using it can notice the error and then re-read, this cannot be done once the data is already burnt to CD, this is why i prefer to do it without the hard drive if at all possible. Equipment I have access to is not high quality stuff, so I have to remove any chances for error that I can :) The CD burners I have used, all of them give better quality results burning at 1x, as it greatly reduces the chance for jitter errors during burning. I don't really hold much value on lab results (not saying that they aren't good, just that I don't need them), I just rely on my own ear, if it sounds good to me, then that's all I need :)
It's all about personal taste at the end of the day, as with all Hi-Fi matters really :)
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 11:44 am (UTC)If the disc also shows up good results in lab tests, that increases my confidence that it is a fair disc to use in comparative listening tests on different systems.
As a final sanity check, I also compared discs in a Pioneer laserdisc player, which is a notoriously poor choice of device for playing CDs.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 12:17 pm (UTC)I'd even go so far as to argue that the presence of a nearby source of electrical and vibratory interference would make matters worse in terms of jitter, surely..?
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Date: 2004-03-26 12:25 pm (UTC)To be perfectly honest, all I'm doing here is going on what my own personal experiences with copying has shown me (on whatever equipment I have used) and attempting to give a decent explanation as to why this may be the case. I have no hard factual evidence, I just know what I hear, and can give a reasonable scientific theory for it...
As I said, all Hi-Fi is about personal taste at the end of the day, and so long as you're happy with what you get, that's all that matters really :)
If copying a CD for myself, I will do it in a way that I know will produce the best results for my ear on the equipment I have got (or, more accurately, that
Of course, wherever possible I wouldn't want a copy anyway, would rather the real thing ;)
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 12:36 pm (UTC)You're right, it is all about personal taste and about what you're happy with. The science only goes so far; at some point you have to give in and decide that subjectivity has to be the final decision factor in any test.
Although interestingly John, one of the chaps at Audio-T, said that the most significant difference one can make to hifi is when you remove the new component; if you then go "oh thank god for that" then you know the change was just that - a change, not an improvement.
The real thing is (usually) best.. but even as
Speaking of the real thing, did you go and check out that MP3 of Ayreon?
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 12:40 pm (UTC)Not yet I didn't, set it to download now, will check it out at some point tonight :)
And I completely agree with the removal test (same person has actually mentioned it to me before now) though I would have thought of that as common sense myself anyway *shrug*
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 12:28 pm (UTC)The point was more that the data has to do that and get transferred to disc if involving the hard drive. Everything going to the hard drive goes through RAM anyway, so removing the hard drive stage does remove at least some chance for error
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 02:51 pm (UTC)If you're in any doubt, simply compare the copy to the original!
Assuming the copy and original compare identical, the difference has to be jitter-related.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 06:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 06:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 06:27 am (UTC)(Oh, except that I'm currently replacing the motor in my turntable. This is a total bastard of a procedure, and no fun whatever, because you have to work on it from underneath.)
In an analogue context, cables make much more of a difference than most people expect. More surprisingly, even some obscenely expensive cables are far from neutral. I guess people either buy them without listening properly, or purchase because they happen to have synergy with a different imbalance elsewhere in their system.
Audio-T wants some silly low bass tracks, do they? Maybe I should give them a list.
As always, drop by if you're ever in Cambridgeshire. (-8
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 08:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 08:45 am (UTC)If you didn't remove the platter from the table and insert transport chocks in the suspension, oil leakage could be merely the start of your woes: there's a significant risk of damage to the suspension springs and bearing, too. What turntable is this, anyway?
Turntable motors use sewing machine oil — i.e. very light machine oil. Easy to get hold of.
Bearing oil (for the main platter bearing in belt-drive turntables), on the other hand is quite esoteric stuff. I believe it's normally a specialist PTFE oil, and it's incredibly important to get the right stuff. In a Linn Sondek, for example, the pressure at the bearing tip is 30 megapascal!
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 09:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 09:42 am (UTC)When you say running for about five years, how many hours of turning is that? Personally, I leave my turntable spun up all the time (at least, until the motor windings seep and seize, fifteen years later) so that's a lot of hours. If you just spin yours when used, it's much less.
At the moment, I imagine you're getting poor pitch stability, and some muddying of fine detail — especially soundstaging — from having the wrong oil. It's almost certainly worth flushing out and replacing with the right stuff.
You may not be in too bad a situation regarding long-term damage. The drive belt will almost certainly have become stretched and need replacing. Judging from that page, there's a small ball bearing at the base of the spindle, which you could replace cheaply if needs be. I doubt the collars in the bearing will have been damaged, but you may have reduced the motor's life a bit. Time will tell.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 10:02 am (UTC)It doesn't sound too bad (better than the 200/203 for example), the earthing needs sorting out, I need to get a replacement screw for the arm end and some decent wire between arm and amp, no idea what thickness/insulation that needs to be. It only has a small drive belt as it is rubber-wheel driven for the rest of it, it has a speed indicator so I can set it exactly at the correct speed, just with the current oil that is as fast as it will go, this may obviously be putting a bit more stress on the motor but should make speed more stable if anything. Can't use it at the moment though as it is fitted with DIN plugs and I'm not using the DNM preamp anymore
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 11:51 am (UTC)I assume you're sure the friction is coming from the main bearing, by the way, not from tightness or slippage elsewhere.
As for replacing the tonearm-to-preamp wire, is the armboard attached to the main chassis directly, or is it suspended? If it's suspended (as it ought to be), it's important to realise that the signal wire couples armboard to chassis, and therefore its mechanical as well as electrical properties will affect sound quality! Unless you fancy whiling away the hours trying different cables, it would be best to get a replacement as close as possible to the diameter, weight and flexibility of the original.
If the armboard is rigidly fixed to the chassis, just get whatever you like, but in either case remember tonearm signal levels are very low, so you want cable that's explicitly intended for such use.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 01:15 pm (UTC)Armboard is connected directly to the chassis, the chassis is sprung to the plinth, the earth cable attaches to the motor/chassis first, then to the arm, then to amp, I was thinking of using one run of cable and stripping back some cable a quarter of the way along to clamp to the arm (by arm I mean to the earthing point on the underneath of the arm (SME 3009 Series III). I just need a replacement screw as the SME one seems to be made in 2 parts so when you do it up tight the head flies off. Not sure if this was a design feature, but I can't seem to do it up tight enough to made a good contact without the screw falling apart.
None of the cable in that link seems to be for the turntable earth wire, just the turntable interconnects. I was concerned about its shielding as putting hands anywhere near the cable seems to produce hum so it must be pretty sensitive
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 02:18 pm (UTC)I'm with you now. I think.
What happens to the earth in the deck's mains lead? Is that also connected to the chassis? If so, then mains-pre-amp-turntable-mains could be forming an earth loop. Finding a sensible place to break the loop could give good results (though you mustn't jeopardise electrical safety, nor leave the platter liable to accumulate static electricity, so careful thought is needed), or maybe interposing a gigantic resistance (2 megaohm or so) somewhere could help.
Turntable ground wires aren't shielded (they're already at ground — what would you shield them with?), and shouldn't be susceptible to that kind of interference. Is the hum on both channels, or just one? If just one, check continuity for that channel, all the way from cartidge to phono plug at the pre-amp. Actually, since you said the previous amp used a DIN plug, you should make sure the wiring is generally sane at the pre-amp end and isn't leaving anything floating or shorted where it shouldn't.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 10:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 11:12 am (UTC)Ouch!
Date: 2004-03-26 10:48 am (UTC)I'm on a list where there's just been a long discussion about motor and bearing oils, and the incredible damage you can do if you use WD-40!
I didn't follow all of it, but the chaps who I'd trust were telling a new person to stop using the turntable immediately and get the oil he'd added in cleaned out immediately and then there was a discussion about how much cleaning and whatever should be done before putting the proper oil in, or whether it was too late ...
... I'd have said that car engine oil (even unused car engine oil!) would be wrong .. and I'm sure there are those out there arguing the benefits of synthetic vs petroleum oils in these situations. :-)
As long as you've brushed your beaver pelt in the correct direction you should be ok ...
Re: Ouch!
Date: 2004-03-26 11:07 am (UTC)And don't worry, the car engine oil was unused lol
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 11:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 12:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 12:50 pm (UTC)I must admit I am not travelling around much of late, but I will certainly look you up if I find myself in the area :)
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 01:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 02:41 pm (UTC)Bela Fleck — Flight of the Cosmic Hippo
Garage Door
Yello — Otto di Catania
Jennifer Wearnes — Way Down Deep
Peter Gabriel — Secret World
F.S.O.L. — Papua New Guinea (the version on Accelerator)
Fluke — Zion
Edvard Grieg — Hall of the Mountain King (I have a version with silly orchestral bass drum)
Harold Farberman — Concerto for Symphony Orchestra and Jazz Drummer, first movement
Afro Celt Sound System — Big Cat
KLF — 3am Eternal
Widor — Organ Symphony number 5, fifth movement
Propellerheads — Bigger
Bassomatic — Fascinating Rhythm, Soul Odyssey Mix
You've already heard some of them, of course.
Note that those are all tracks with detailed and worthwhile extreme bass. If you just want to fuck a hi-fi without enjoying the sound that results, I'm sure you can do worse!
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 08:12 am (UTC)Amazing how much you can learn in 3 days, hope I wasn't too much of a pain.
PS I owe you 1 chicken pie :)
no subject
Date: 2004-03-26 12:47 pm (UTC)