Tell us about your stereo!

[Hepcat]

What kind of stereo sound system do you have?

I'm running a Thorens TD240 turntable:

which I've equipped with an Ortofon 2M Black cartridge:



The Ortofon 2M Black may be the single best moving magnet cartridge made these days.

My CD player is the five disc capable Marantz CC4001:

***:

 

[Hepcat]

I'm running these through a relatively modest 70-watt Marantz PM5003 integrated amplifier:



and rich lustrous Monitor Audio Silver RS8 speakers:

 

[Craig in Indy]

Nice gear, Hepcat. Glad to see someone else who hasn't given up on analog. I'll put up some pics of my stuff in a bit...

 

[Craig in Indy]

Analog Source

My current analog source components are:

A VPI Scout turntable with their JMW-9 tonearm


I'm using a Sumiko Blue Point Special MC cartridge, though not the EVO III model shown here - I just used this pic because mine looks just like it


And depending on what preamp I'm using, the output from the turntable may or may not go through a Channel Islands Audio phono preamp and power supply, shown here on top of my LP-to-CD conversion setup


More later...

 

[Hepcat]

Interesting your VPI Scout turntable! There seems to be quite the divide on many forums betwwen VPI Scout supporters and Linn Sondek turntable fans.

 

[Craig in Indy]

IMO Linn will always be the standard against which others are measured, especially the venerable LP12 which has been around in one form or another for practically forever. They've always been too expensive for me, though, as are most of the VPIs as well. I just happened on a deal on a demo Scout a few years back when I was having some trouble finding a cartridge I liked that didn't pick up some hum from the motor of my old direct-drive Denon as it tracked closer to the center of the record. If it hadn't been for that issue, I might never have gone looking for a new turntable, as I was plenty happy with the old one, and the old Infinity Black Widow arm I had on it.

But when I read Art Dudley's review of the Scout, I figured I should look into finding one. I've always valued his opinion on most audio things, and even our musical tastes are similar, so when I ran across this demo from Audio Advisor I jumped on it.

It's amazing the number of high-quality turntables out there right now, from a bunch of different sources, Thorens included. They've hung in there all along and I'm sure they're happy to see this resurgence in vinyl interest.

 

[LG]

Nice set-up Hepcat, and Craig I am having Deja-vu looking at your pictures....

I'll post some pictures later of my modest turntable, it has served me without any trouble since I assembled it in 1979.

 

[Hepcat]

The Linn Sondek LP12 turntable made the number one slot on Stereophile's list of the most important audio components of all time:

Stereophile's Hot 100 Products

Here's a good pic of a Linn Sondek LP12:

 

[Mr. Shadow]

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=11039145

KENWOOD KR V7040 AM/FM Stereo AV 5-CH RECEIVER









Technics SB 2860 3 way speakers (15" bass speakers)... no picture.



PIONEER PL870 DC SERVO DIRECT DRIVE turntable... no picture



Apex AD-1201 DVD player




Also have a Phase Linear Model 300 (series 2) power amp

The Phase Linear 300-II is a solid state amplifier in the Power amplifiers category. It was manufactured from 1977 to unknown.

James Wong (August 19, 2004): The 300 power amplifier was introduced in 1979. It had the Series Two designation as did the D-500, 700 and 400 that year. It ostensibly replaced the 200 Series Two of 1978. The 300 Series Two had the same basic specs as the 200 Series Two, with 120 watts per channel. In 1980, all amps featured improved specifications. The 300 now had a miniscule 0.002% THD and 0.005% IMD. The improved 300 had a list price of $500. This amp continued in production until early 1982

and a Cutec MX-1 mixing board, along with several smaller stereo systems.

 

[Craig in Indy]

Do you find you still use your cassette deck, Mr. Shadow? I've got a Denon that's been collecting dust for probably close to 10 or 12 years now. I can't bring myself to get rid of it for some reason, though. It's kind of funny because I was a huge one for making mix tapes. I did it all the time and they were all I ever listened to in the car. But the advent of CD burning computers and disappearing car cassette players kind of push the kibosh on that whole process. And the really funny part of it all is that I've never put the time or effort into making mix CDs as I did tapes. The process isn't as much fun...not nearly the sense of ritual - setting levels and cueing the turntable and all. Kinda sad, actually.