Anyone out there commissioned Joseph to mod their Blu Ray player or Cd? Was it a worthwhile choice?
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Sherod,
Look forward to any "improvements" you or anyone can offer. This is alot of fun. |
Blindamn,
Joseph might say its too expensive. But if anyone is willing to serve up their Gold point for testing, it might be interesting.
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Sherod,
What I meant by semi cryo is freezing at zero degrees. If you were to do the full cryo its faster and the temperature is much lower in an controlled environment. |
Sherod,
I still check in on the thread from time to time and always enjoy reading your enthusiastic posts. I am sure people are busy. Did you start your holiday shopping yet?
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My SET amp (right channel) went out so very little music playing of late. Anyone know of a repair guy in Connecticut?
Happy Holidays to one and all.
Luis
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Gammajo,
Where did you order your tubes?
Thanks
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Thanks for the info. Does anyone find the Siemens upgrade offered by AH good enough? Preamp sounds like its great without having to spend extra for esoteric tubes, right?
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Sherod,
Great advice. Joseph just informed me that the preamp is on the way and I thought to post query on this board. Your advice remind me of how one would taste a fine red wine for the first time, slowly sip and gently swallow while savoring the experience.
Thanks again.
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Gammajo,
Look forward to your thoughts on tube rolling the AH. I figure since this is the eventual route for me I am trying to get some sources together.
Please PM me or anyone on this board on this. Very much appreciated. |
Hello,
Any news regarding the Preamp break in time? I am still waiting for it to arrive. I am reaching out to a few leads for the Siemens and also considering using Oyaide AC connector hoping to max out the preamp.
Also thought I should mention Joseph's Harmony Premium cord is outstanding!
Thanks
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Hi Sherod,
Great advice. I will delay making any changes (keeping all current gear in place in the room) until the preamp fully breaks in. It does sound clean and focused after 6 hours so its good to hear that it will smooth itself out after 48 hours.
May I ask what is your front end source?
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And why not complete your reading by enjoying the music by "Tesla" found on "My space".
The link :http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=11324008 is shown unless AG removes it.
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Gentlemen,
Thought I should mention that the preamp is outstanding! I have about 35 hours playing time and wanted to thank all on the board for sharing their impressions about this wonderful preamp.
I wanted to contribute this information to those who are looking in and for us "Component USA Clubers". I was about to purchase Amperex tubes to replace the Siemens since I found them to be on the thin side. If your taste is akin to this then keep trucking with the Siemens. I am no longer searching for any tubes after I did a semi-cryo treatment on the TP 2.0. The sound is on another level toward 'organic' with tons of flavor in the midrange and a beautiful soundstage that ooozes 'synergy'.
In my opinion the freeze treatment enhanced the break in period of this player and it will be interesting to see what additional improvements is on the Horizon LOL!
Lou
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My take on cryo is a conservative one. I chose zero degrees or above as the "safe" area to treat the preamp. No its not full Cyro treatment which reach -300 degrees. Risky without Joseph's approval.
The preamp (tubes included) has so much room inside that it creates its own ice box from all the metal. I have to say the preamp has improved with no adverse effects.
I am grateful to Rx8man for recommending the preamp to me I am forever grateful to Joseph for making it possible to evaluate the TP 2.0.
The improvements are in immediacy and 3-Dimensionality. Voices have realistic character and subtle details are more apparent. This is amazing to me at this stage of the break in period.
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Pat and Gammajo,
I wanted to share my experience with you. I mentioned this before and I am more convinced that Joseph's power cord is an absolute match with the Audio Horizon's TP 2.0 pre. I just played Basia's "Time and Tide" cd and I am enthralled with its sound. I am using the Black Sand Silver Reference on the SET amp with Joseph's PC and the combo is "magic". I have this disc on LP and am familiar with Basia's voice in a live performance venue.
Its an INSANE bargain not to try it out. Its the Premium power cord for $190.00!
Gammajo please keep us informed when you get your source together. |
Folks,
I just received the plexiglass cover from Rx8man. It looks great on the TP 2.0! Nice job on the cutting Pat. I hope to install the kit for the circuit board isolation and report back on the change. Again courtesy of Rx8man.
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Hi Gammajo,
I have not installed the floating kit yet. I hope to do so next week as time allows and you will be the first to know my thoughts on what it does to the sound.
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I believe that approaching the question of whether to use the V-cap or not falls into how well it works with the existing circuitry. The cap will have to offer further enhancements without sacrifice before its a permanent replacement of the stock cap and I am sure that is what Joseph and company is thinking. The existing formula works fine why mess with it unless....
Besides, this is fun seeing a manufacturer is considering it and reporting it to us.
Victor, most of us are aware that there is no single preamp out there for everyone. But its nice hearing from those who are not AH owners to bring us back to reality check. The AH is in a special group alright.
Glad you guys are working hard at improvements (phono stage).
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Hi Sherod,
This should be very interesting. I will be comparing the KCI The Pur Au79 Gold and the Gabriele Revelation Gold Interconnects.
If you are interested I will email you privately about my impressions. Thanks Pat.
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Just to add my 2 cents. I re-arranged my system yesterday with thoughts of why am I bothering to do this now? Is it worth the hassle? Can I set the speakers back on the same markers with the right toe in and angle? Even if it sounds good, will my wife like the new setup?
Well, I must tell you that glorious music abound as a result of all this painstaking, rearranging, backbracking(furniture)sweat.
Soundstage depth and height are now floor to ceiling (literally) and the sweatspot is wider and taller than I thought it would be.
Night and day is the difference. I am totally shocked at the dramatic change.
As for the key reasons why? Well, it has to do with the new ICs I installed, and most of the credit has to go to the Audio Horizons preamp. But above all, the Room plays a key part in freeing up my speakers to do their special disappearing act. |
Hi Gammajo,
The speaker was on the short wall and now it sits on the long wall, 6.5 feet apart and 3.75 feet from the back wall.
The key is the side walls are now 5 feet from each speaker and my listening chair sits in a 18 ft cavity which is 5.8 feet in width. By cavity I mean a walk thru from the basement stairs to the listening room. I sit right at the entrance between both spaces.
If you do the math you can see that by moving my listening chair I expanded the room by incorporating the 18 feet additional space with additional acoustical treatment courtesy of the drop ceiling in that space.
The speaker is by Argent Audio called the "Gabrielle". It was designed by Ric Cummings, the original inventor of the Room Lens.
Worth the time and effort indeed. |
Sherod my friend. Glad to hear from you.
I am afraid to mention it. I will never be taken seriously by anyone here using this $30 player with a Audio Horizons preamp, a 24k speaker, Gabrielle Gold Revelations and a 8 watt SET amplifier.
I hope to have a friend or two hear the system first and report what they experience in the hope that they will be taken more seriosly. As for me, I am not very good convincing people that a $30 player kicked my TRL Marantz SA-14 player into retirement. Or that it also kicked the 26k Esoteric CD-DAC combo. Who would believe me? |
Bill, I absolutely believe you buddy!
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I vote for the integrated for the review. After all its Joseph's signature work that is the subject matter at hand. At this level of importance, this review can potentially put "General" chow (affectionatly speaking) on the map.
His preamp deserves full attention by all audiophiles in my opinion, stock or non-stock. Never had a preamp that had such long term staying power of holding my interest in listening. Nuff said.
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I switched from solid state amplification to SET combo with a 95db efficient speaker and never looked back. Its very revealing especially with Joseph's preamp. It also makes it possible to match inexpensive digital as the source while preserving musicality.
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Bill
Agree on all points. I believe what you are describing is personal taste and style. My system can be very dynamic (tube change, maxed out front end, etc) given the source, and since my speakers extend to 22 hz, its sufficiently scaled to my personal taste. My room is a significant component and I am glad its not so conventional.
I have been able to tweek Joseph's preamp to maximize midbass and bass dynamics with little compromise. The amp I am using is custom with 6 seperate power supplies as the main generator, so there is no craping out on dynamic peaks. So the heart is Josephs AH pre and the amp/speaker are the brains. Perhaps the only weakness is the digital front end I am temporarily using. But perhaps not.
A friend came to visit and declared the system outrageously good and was shocked at the bass output of the system.
Overall, perhaps the decision is going to be more who is the bigger audience and you are probably correct on that score. Either way, I predict he will be successful.
Front end: Modified by Joseph. Toshiba 3990
Preamp: Audio Horizons with custom isolation
SET: Custom 7 watt
Speakers: Gabrielle Rosinante
Cables: Gabrielle Revelation Golds
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Bill,
It was a gentleman who built it for his own system and decided to let it go since it mated extremely well with my speakers. When I looked at similar designs I could not believe the difference in power supply capacitors in comparison for about 10x the price of this amp.
The problem is I do not believe he is producing this amp anymore.
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Sherod,
I believe Joseph changed a chip on the digital board and upgraded the power supply bank ,installed an IEC connector so I could use his power cord. I still have the non modified player and the main difference is in dynamics, midrange and overall soundstage dimensional presentation.
Yep, he knows what he is doing and I encourage you and anyone looking in, to take advantage of his good taste when it comes to modifications. I would luv to send him my amp so he could lower the noise level. I believe this will rock my world alright. Alas, the darn thing weighs more than 50lbs due to all those power caps.
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Does anyone know what the new upgrade entails? Is it just the Solen caps? Can one also add the remote option?
thanks
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RXman...you'r up...Denver get together...how about it?MMMM?
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Stltrains, Gammajo and Sherod. Just wanted to add these observances that I experienced with my AH 2.0n. I added extra copper shielding between the power board and the tube board thinking it will make improvements. All it did was to remove the "air" or "breath of life" from the instruments making the sound more sterile and flat. The Loss of immediacy and refinement was too much to bear so I removed it and my sanity returned.
This preamp is already properly dialed in and I believe that if Joseph wanted to produce an all out state of the Art pre, this would be it with other refinements like a true seperate and robust power supply. He has everything else right in my opinion.
By the way I have both circuit boards isolated and floating and recommend it highly. The cca's are another must upgrade that all AH owners should do.
As to the break in period, I wonder if the new wiring is the culprit here?
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As the calming of the seas are upon us, lets take a deep breath and wait for Uncle Joseph to respond to all our speculative discussion.
Sherod, I do not believe your preamp is broken in yet. I would try and use voice recordings to see how the midrange changes over time. Like fine wine it has to "mold" before you can enjoy it. Trust Joseph and his upgrade just a little more.
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Sherod, hope you are stil enjoying your new preamp. I admire risk takers and hope that your decision to make further changes did not void the warranty.
As for me, I will wait it out a little longer since the sound I am experiencing is musical and dynamic enough in my Condo, at least for now. I am playing at 11 o'clock and on rare occasions for guests its 12 to 1 o'clock. Lots of headroom to spare.
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Stltrains,
Thanks to RX8man who introduced the idea to add this to Joseph's preamp. Washers are used as a barrier between the board and the screw plate. In my set up, I have an isolation board which takes out subfrequency noise and under the tube board I floated it on three points and stabilized it with tape on each side.
I believe the washers can be supplied by Rx8man as well.
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Victor, does the in-line AC filter serve as part of the grounding for the original AH preamp? |
Davidb7,
I was curious about why you purchased the Sony Blue Ray player. I have been thinking of buying it till I found that it has no SACD. The Denon is at the top of my list but I am waiting to see what else will fall from the tree before making the plunge. Great post by the way on the city of Seol.
Look forward to your comments about the sonic merits of the Sony. Feel free to PM me directly. Do not wish to dilute this superb thread.
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Bill,
I tried using a conditioner with my 300B stereo and found it to be slow also. Loss of dynamic ummph in the bass. I found going straight to the outlet and Joseph's Transparency Power cord to be the right combo I was looking for.
Its a shielded design and with the Oyaida plugs it outperformed some well known alternatives. The SET sound is very hard to beat especially with Joseph's AH Preamp.
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Bill,
Thanks for the info on the Art. I will take a look at it.
Stltrains,
On the Lessloss PCs, please let us know if its worth its name. Just love this hobby and its quickerness.
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Yeah for Joe. Nice to see a fellow audiophile making a change in life or at least surroundings.
Sherod, we wish you happy and prosperous New Year. Please let us know if you have a change of heart on the AH upgrade. You are a big influence on this thread perhaps more than you know.
Rx8man and Markwatkiss, best wishes to both of you.
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Just wanted to ad that Josephs' Power cord is a joy. If you are at all interested try upgrading the termination to Oyaida connectors. It makes the cord SING!
Harmonix Studio Master and Black Sand Violet before the awakening.
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Just one more observation. Joseph's IC(dimension)seems to reflect his passion for noise as a curse on the signal. Terrific balance and very low noise signature.
Gabriel Gold Revelation, KCI silkworm are two well known and very good cables. Its a matter of taste.
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Oh where oh where is Uncle Pat(Rx8man) gone? Anyone seen em?
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According to Joseph, later this year. Victor, can you confirm this?
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Markwatkiss-- Did we make it???
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Oddioo,
The best advice anyone can suggest is to take advantage of the home trial and see if the AH is your cup of tea. The thread is long and testimonials are too not give it a try, so decision time buddy. Which version is irrevelant IMHO since we are talking small differences that may not be necessarily improvements with the exception of going fully balanced through your entire "system". |
Sherod,
You are a piece of work. Could you list your associated components for us 'believers' and what other changes you have made if any?
Rx8man where are you?
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Great to hear from the 'core', Sherod, Markwatkiss, Rx8man. How is everyone doing duing these difficult times? I still have the AH after things slowed down on the resale market. I have had very little luck with my SET amp going down twice so not much listening these days. Waiting for the amp to return from repair.
Sherod that is an intense system you have put together. Sounds like a labor of love. As to using a USB DAC, I just started doing some reading and trying to decide what equipment to use and whether to go with a PC as a transport. So Vcomerch, if you tell us that this works very well with the AH pre, I will take a more serious look at this set up.
Please feel free to discuss this in a seperate thread for the sake of continuity, the subject is Joseph's Pre in this one. I will be happy to tune in there. To be fair, I am very curious about the whole PC to DAC to AH Pre to AMp then to speaker and its advantages.
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I second and agree with Sherod on the YMMV but can't lose on either the AH 2.0 or 2.1. Take it from a previous Gabriel Gold fan.
Regards
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Sherod,
Just to remind the folks the AH 2.0 was compared to a few preamps that are thousands more. I was searching for which preamps were mentioned besides the Audio Research Reference. |
Well since you are curious, I replaced the GG with the Grover Hoffman and my favorite the Acrotec . I am working on upgrading in other areas of my system right now. The GG are my "reference" cables no doubt the best I have ever had. They are sorely missed.
Right now I am very excited about the Red Wine Audio amplifier combo with the AH.
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