So what is everyone using for a vinyl rig?

[tmazz]

OK, I went crazy today looking for the USB cord for my digital camera, to no avail. So I will have to post some slightly old Pics.

Currently using a VPI HW-19  that was originally purchased as a Mk III but was recently u[graded with a Mk IV platter and the new VPI Isolators to replace the chassis springs. (The picture shows the table with the Mk III platter, before the upgrade.) The Arm is an SME Series IV which was upgraded to add fluid camping just like the Series  V. The cart is a Sumiko Blackbird. For a phono section I am using the inboard phono electronics on my ARC SP-9.
It still has the original stock motor, but a SAMA will be in order somewhere down the road. The motor itself is drawing power through a VPI  PLC (Power Line Conditioner.), which in addition to cleaning up the AC going to the TT motor it also provides you with the ability to change speed without going moving the belt across different size pullies

OK, About 3 years ago I scored a great deal on an SME drilled Super Armboard for my HW-19 just in case I ever did a Mk IV upgrade . (The super armboard is about double the thickness of the standard armboard and is designed to work with the added height of the Mk IV platter.) Well, when I got the Mk IV platter this fall I put off doing the armboard because of the amount of work involved in not only swapping the armboard, but also mounting the tonearm on the new board and then going through all the setup and alignment procedures again. Tuesday night I decided it was finally time to bite the bullet and make the swap. Well I was 100% correct about one thing, this job was one swift pain in the b@lls. Because of the extra thickness of the armboard some of the screws are now recessed in the board making it almost impossible to thread the nuts onto them (the recessed holes are big enough for the  nuts but not big enough to get any kind of pliers in there to hold the nuts until the threads catch.) A few of the nuts were so tough to get on that I just gave up and went to Home Depot and bought longer screws so I could thread the nuts on outside of the hole. And of course I didn't come to the conclusion that this was what I needed to do this until after every store in the area that sold screws was closed for the night, (Murphy's Law   )
Luckily once I got the longer screws on Wed night everything went pretty smoothly. It is all back together and pretty much aligned. Basically all that is left to do is to dial in the exact required VTA a little bit at a time over the next few weeks.

As for how it sounds, I won't have a full picture until the alignment is completely done, but I can already hear that it the table now presents the music on a quieter and blacker background and the details are more focused and detailed without getting hard. And this should only get better as the alignment gets closer and closer to its final setup.

So as not to engage the wrath of the photo police,    a picture of the new setup is attached.

[rollo]

  Hey Tom looking good for our next Audio Syndrome meeting in Feb.


charles

[richidoo]

Wow, that looks awesome!! Congrats on the challenging project.

[richidoo]

Doug, AC doesn't allow pic hits from other domains.

[BobM]

It's just another way of AC saying "we love you"

[tmazz]

Doug, AC doesn't allow pic hits from other domains.

It's just another way of AC saying "we love you"

Just another thing to add to the list of reasons why I like it here. 

[mgalusha]

I was going to add a Hagerman Trumpet to my rig but our TV decided to crap out last night during the Superbowl halftime show, so I get to replace that instead of a phono stage.

[BobM]

Who needs TV when you can have music. Get the Trumpet and watch TV via Hulu on your PC.

[mgalusha]

I'm with you Bob but there is another who could care less about listening to music and I like waking up next to her.

[tmazz]

I'm with you Bob but there is another who could care less about listening to music and I like waking up next to her.

It would be awful cold sleeping in the garage in your neck of the woods. 

[richidoo]

TV = wife distractor,  essential audio component!

Mike, hope you didn't miss Madonna...    Not too bad for an old hag. If my cable broke during that halftime show I would also need a new TV and a new remote.    Now we're off really topic - AN style! 

[mgalusha]

Rich, I'm blaming the failure on Madonna. 

The upside is that Jim Hagerman has the schematics available. So while not designed as a DIY project I'm confident I could (probably will) build one. (back on topic now...)

[richidoo]

I'm sure your diy Trumpet will be a cut above the production version. I'll be watching what you do as my potential Vista replacement.

I still need to post my analog system here too.

[BobM]

I have a Trumpet Mike, so if you need me to look inside and take a peek for you or snap a picture just let me know. However, it is a beast to take apart (I know, I just replaced the 4 high output diodes on it) and there are parts on both sides and underneath other parts so you can;t see everything with a picture. Jim did some extroadinary layout on these boards to isolate ground planes and such. There is also a lot of build that addresses vibration reductions.

Good luck,
Bob

[richidoo]

Why did he stop production of the Trumpet?