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Author Topic: Members U47, Stellavox, Ironbut, PJ and Doc B working together  (Read 5968 times)

Offline xcortes

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Members U47, Stellavox, Ironbut, PJ and Doc B working together
« on: February 03, 2010, 12:43:26 PM »
A few months ago I purchased form Rich Brown a Nagra machine that had been modified by Chales King to add a 1/2 track head (the machine was a full track before) and Stellavox electronics. The machine didn't see much use so I asked John French if he could build me a 1/4 track head within a Nagra head enclosure. He built it and Charles agreed to install it along with a switch to select between heads. The machine arrived yesterday. I had previously purchased some connectors to built a Tuchel to XLRs cable which I put together yesterday night. And now the machine is sitting in my office playing BC tapes processed by one of Steve's Dolby units and through a Bottlehead Sex amp into a stealth set of yuin headphones.

The machine is very small by RTR standards, the dolby processor is hidden behind the desk (sorry Steve!) and the Sex amp is painted white matching the desk so the system is almost invisible to anyone walking into my office. To anyone's eyes I could be listening to MP3s from an iPod. And yet I'm enjoying it A LOT!

So again I want to say thanks to our fellow members U47, Stellavox, Ironbut, PJ and Doc B.
Xavier Cortes

Offline ironbut

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Re: Members U47, Stellavox, Ironbut, PJ and Doc B working together
« Reply #1 on: February 03, 2010, 02:34:02 PM »
Excellent Xavier!
Glad to hear you got that system together. I'd venture to guess that it's about as unique as they come.
I'm really happy that you're enjoying the decoders and while they've turned out better than I'd hoped for, it's really those BC's that make it all worth it.

Have fun!
steve koto
 Sony scd 777es(R. Kern mods)> Vpi Aires>Dynavector XX-2mkll>Bent mu>CAT ultimate>CJ premeir 140>Magnepan 1.6qr(Jensen xover)Headphone Eddie Current Zana Deux>AT ad2000,HD800 ,Metric Halo ULN-2 (battery powered),
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Offline stellavox

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Re: Members U47, Stellavox, Ironbut, PJ and Doc B working together
« Reply #2 on: February 03, 2010, 08:01:02 PM »
OK Xavier, Let's see a picture so others of us can try our version of the "stealth" setup.  What do you do -  look at the computer screen while listening?  Make sure you disable any sleep modes so "wallpaper" or a blank screen comes up after 10 minutes or so - dead giveaway!!!???

Charles

Offline xcortes

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Re: Members U47, Stellavox, Ironbut, PJ and Doc B working together
« Reply #3 on: February 04, 2010, 11:15:18 AM »
I'll take those pictures when I remember to bring the camera to the office.

Right now is Led Zeppelin III: Oh My!

And I just got a call this morning to let me know that the ATR with Tube Repro has crossed the border.

This is fun!
Xavier Cortes

Offline ironbut

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Re: Members U47, Stellavox, Ironbut, PJ and Doc B working together
« Reply #4 on: February 04, 2010, 12:21:08 PM »
Can't wait to see some pictures too!
I bet it would be fun to put the Nagra out in the open when you're having a one on one with someone in your office. Like maybe when you're giving someone a performance review.
Then you could see how they really do under pressure!

Keep us posted on your ATR/Repro adventure. If you could spend a little time and give us a blow by blow from the beginning to end I think it would be very valuable here. I don't think a lot of the folks here appreciate how involved this kinda stuff can get (decisions about configuration, time involved etc). I really enjoyed Kip Peterson's write up about his A80 and the more of these posts we can log in here, the more informed future studio machine owners will be. I for one always learn a lot from those kind of posts.

It'd be great to hear about how you've configured your office rig and any stumbling blocks you had to navigate to get it all working together too.

It's one thing to gather all the elements together. It's another to get them all working in harmony (as they say,.. "the devil's in the details"). Maybe some of the other members can chime in to compare their experiences too.
steve koto
 Sony scd 777es(R. Kern mods)> Vpi Aires>Dynavector XX-2mkll>Bent mu>CAT ultimate>CJ premeir 140>Magnepan 1.6qr(Jensen xover)Headphone Eddie Current Zana Deux>AT ad2000,HD800 ,Metric Halo ULN-2 (battery powered),
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Offline xcortes

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Re: Members U47, Stellavox, Ironbut, PJ and Doc B working together
« Reply #5 on: February 04, 2010, 02:48:45 PM »
Had to put the music aside for a while 'cause I had some meetings. So back for lunch time. Time to play B side of the Led Zeppelin. At this time I canput the Sennheiser HD650s on. F%#$k! As nice as the yuins sound this is a whole new level. Bassis very good and the detail is very nice. I'm still going through the Decoder (disengaged but the signal still goes through it), I need to figure a way to switch it out of the equation but it does sound good.

Quote
I bet it would be fun to put the Nagra out in the open when you're having a one on one with someone in your office

Tha Nagra IS out in the open! That's the cool thing about it.

Quote
Keep us posted on your ATR/Repro adventure. If you could spend a little time and give us a blow by blow from the beginning to end I think it would be very valuable here. I don't think a lot of the folks here appreciate how involved this kinda stuff can get (decisions about configuration, time involved etc).

It'd be great to hear about how you've configured your office rig and any stumbling blocks you had to navigate to get it all working together too.

You're in for a long story Steve. If you promise to read it I promise to write it.
Xavier Cortes

Offline ironbut

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Re: Members U47, Stellavox, Ironbut, PJ and Doc B working together
« Reply #6 on: February 04, 2010, 06:15:07 PM »
Bypassing the decoder when it's not being used is definitely preferable. Even when the decoding circuit isn't engaged, the signal still goes through a whole lot of circuitry. So even though I spent a ridiculous amount of time tweaking the amp circuit and finding a good combo of output transformers and output caps, I never listen through it if I don't have to.

I'd think that a simple switch box in line between the Nagra and the decoder should work fine. The levels are high enough so it wouldn't be audible. You might need to pad down the levels going into the Sex amp a little but if you can avoid it (turning down the output from the Nagra perhaps) it would be better. I output my Metric Halo at +4dB into my preamp (consumer -10dB) and I just keep the levels of the source low. It sounds a tad better that way but that may be the way this units analog circuits are configured.
steve koto
 Sony scd 777es(R. Kern mods)> Vpi Aires>Dynavector XX-2mkll>Bent mu>CAT ultimate>CJ premeir 140>Magnepan 1.6qr(Jensen xover)Headphone Eddie Current Zana Deux>AT ad2000,HD800 ,Metric Halo ULN-2 (battery powered),
 HE Audio Jades

Offline xcortes

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Re: Members U47, Stellavox, Ironbut, PJ and Doc B working together
« Reply #7 on: February 09, 2010, 12:53:35 PM »
Here's a pic of my desk. You can see, in addition to the Nagravox and Sex amp, a small Jordan minimonitor. I have a pair of these also painted white that work very well even with only 2 watts (at less than 1m distance).
Xavier Cortes