I've been getting some listening time in with the Hanze HiFi HAT Turntable Power Supply on my Classic Turntable Company hot-rodded Garrard 301, so I thought I'd offer you some first impressions as I've started to get familiar with it. Before I describe to you the installation and setup of the HAT Turntable Power Supply... Read More »
Between travel, jet-lag, and getting caught up on audio and domestic activities, it's been a while since I've posted a comprehensive update on the Duelund-Altec Project (overview HERE). A couple of posts ago (HERE) I reported on how much the "Stokowski" Altec's with their Duelund CAST tinned-copper crossovers (below) reminded me of the sound of... Read More »
Today's Fresh Catch is the HAT Turntable Power Supply from Jaap Pees of Hanze HiFi in the Netherlands. The HAT Turntable Power Supply is a substantial piece of electronics measuring 8¾ inches wide, by 5 inches high, and 12 inches deep, and weighs in at approximately 11 pounds / 5 kilograms on my utility scale.... Read More »
I've been in Europe the past couple of weeks on my once a year vacation, am now back and resting up, trying to get over the rigors of travel and jet lag - and I'm almost there! I had a great time on vacation, spending time in Munich, Salzburg, Hallstatt, Vienna, and Prague, listening to... Read More »
In a previous post (HERE) I mentioned that I was excited about the news that Great Plains Audio - the technical descendent of Altec that still builds Altec drivers and services them under the Great Plains Audio banner - would be sending their latest drivers to me in the not too distant future to listen... Read More »
As I mentioned in my earlier listening impressions for selecting the optimal mix of the vintage-inspired Duelund DCA tinned-copper tone cables for the Duelund-Altec Project (HERE), I was particularly fascinated by Bill's intriguing comment on The Duelund-Altec Project: DCA16GA vs DCA20GA for the Altec 804A 16-Ohm compression drivers? post HERE. Bill shared his experiences with the new 600V... Read More »
It's always exciting to hear from our good friend, Yazaki-san, and in this article Yazaki-san brings us more illuminating insights as he discusses the GEC PX25A (DA30) monaural SETs that he built for Alan-san. Yazaki-san has dedicated this Part 4 article to his friends Alan-san and Harald-san, who have enthusiastically pursued and supported the builds of... Read More »
As you know if you've been reading along, I've been experimenting with different combinations of the Duelund DCA tinned-copper tone cables for the Duelund-Altec Project (HERE), both as speaker cables and for connecting the Duelund CAST tinned-copper crossovers to the Altec 804A 16-Ohm compression drivers. I've already settled in on the Duelund DCA16GA tinned-copper cable for... Read More »
I've just finished up an article for Positive Feedback that has been in the works for a couple of months. It's about three easy and affordable accessories / modifications for a classic Thorens TD-124 turntable, that elevated the performance of my Artisan Fidelity Thorens TD-124 Statement turntable beyond my wildest expectations, and I suspect these accessories will do... Read More »
I've been immensely enjoying listening to the "Stokowski" Altec's with the breadboard Duelund CAST tinned-copper crossovers. I haven't really been in any hurry to make changes to anything with the crossovers, which is a good sign that everything is coming together in a synergistic fashion musically and sonically. I've wired the breadboard versions of the... Read More »
I love learning about almost everything, which would help explain my taking time to earn a bachelor's degree in chemistry, a master's degree in chemistry, and a doctorate degree in analytical chemistry. I have immensely enjoyed studying chemistry, mathematics, physics, law, literature, history, religions, philosophy, art and music, Koine Greek, computers, audio electronics, and many other topics which... Read More »
I bought a fern & roby brass record weight to go with the brass platter on my CTC Garrard 301 turntable, and it came in the mail today. If you flip the fern & roby brass record weight upside down the center piece is the same size as the hole in 45RPM singles records, so... Read More »
I have some exciting Altec news to share with you. The new owners of Great Plains Audio - Troy Audio - envision a bright future for an Altec revival, and as an Altec enthusiast - I have 3 pairs of vintage Altec's - I'm particularly excited about this development! They're going to be sending me... Read More »
There's been a lot of interest in the topic of the Duelund 600V DCA12GA Sn-Cu cable with its CAST-like dielectric that is primarily intended for use in power cables, versus the Duelund DCA12GA Sn-Cu cable with the baked oil-soaked-cotton dielectric that is intended primarily for use as speaker cables. That interest is largely driven by... Read More »
It's time for another update on the Duelund-Altec Project. In my most recent updates of the Duelund-Altec Project I discussed the overall project context HERE, the selection of speaker cables for the most complementary voicing HERE, and I wrote a just-for-fun post about the musicality magic of vintage Altec's HERE. I've never been enamored of... Read More »
Those of you who have been reading along here at Jeff's Place know I've been having a blast with my modest collection of vintage Altec loudspeakers. With my Westminster's I lost interest in SET's for a while as they need a little more power than most SET's can muster, but now with my Altec's SET friendly sensitivity... Read More »
I've been wanting to write an article about the "musicality magic" of vintage Altec loudspeakers for a while now, so consider this a mini-installment towards that goal, with - I hope - much more to come. Let's start with a short Altec history lesson. Altec's origins are inextricably linked to the Western Electric movie theater loudspeaker systems... Read More »
I've really been enjoying the Duelund-Altec Project, and I fully admit that I am in awe of the performance I'm hearing from the exotic Duelund CAST tinned-copper crossovers (Hiraga-style circuit) with my vintage one-off "Stokowski" Altec loudspeakers. The live-like musicality, sonics, and intense emotional impact the Duelund CAST tinned-copper crossovers combined with the "Stokowski" Altec's are... Read More »
I've really been enjoying listening to the "Stokowski" Altec's with their Duelund-Altec Project Duelund CAST Sn-Cu crossovers over the last week or so since my last update. For those who are just finding out about the Duelund-Altec Project, I thought I'd include an overview of the project for you, as well as an update for... Read More »
After my last listening impressions report of the DIY 600V Duelund DCA12GA tinned-copper power cable after 3 days on the Cable Cooker (HERE), I decided to give it another 3 days of conditioning (for a total of 6 days). My reference power cable is the $12K USD Acoustic Revive Absolute Power Cable, which by any metric is... Read More »
The fifth week of listening to the Duelund-Altec Project's state-of-art Duelund CAST tinned-copper crossovers with the vintage "Stokowski" Altec's brought momentous changes in what I was hearing, and in a very satisfying way both musically and sonically. In fact, I posted to my Facebook pals, "OMG! The Duelund-Altec Project's exotic Duelund CAST tinned-copper crossovers are sounding so good... Read More »
After providing the update of Ron's, Leo's and my listening impressions from last Friday, I then put my DIY 600V Duelund DCA12GA power cable on my Audiodharma Cable Cooker and let it get 3 days of run-in time. While I was letting the DIY 600V Duelund DCA12GA power cable get some run-in time on the Cable... Read More »
The run-in period for my DIY 600V Duelund DCA12GA tinned-copper power cable is just getting started, but I thought I'd share some more early impressions with you, with more detailed impressions to come as more run-in hours accumulate. On Friday a couple of audio pals - Ron and Leo - stopped by for a little... Read More »