Newsletter August 2006

NEWSLETTER

August 2006

Dear hi fi enthusiast

You have been sent this newsletter because you have subscribed, or purchased product, or made an enquiry to www.decibelhifi.com.au . If you do not wish to be on our newsletter mailing list, please reply to this email with the subject REMOVE and we will do so immediately.

If you are having a problem reading this document it is available here www.decibelhifi.com.au/files/Newsletter August 2006.doc

In This Issue

Recent News

Recent customer feedback

Diskeeper 1.5 round bottom sleeves

Diskeeper 2.0 vinyl sleeves

Vertical Tracking Angle on the Fly device

Esoteric Rek-o-Kut Rondine Junior turntable

Diskeeper rounded corner paper sleeves

Mobile Fidelity Master sleeves

Wider range of record sleeves

Noise Cancelling Headphones

Re-sealable LP outer sleeves

Ultimate 2.5 outer sleeves
Ultimate 5 outer sleeves

Recent Additions to the Website

Pro-Ject RPM 5 turntable

Pro-Ject Speed Box

Active Noise Cancelling Headphones

Acid free heavy paper LP sleeves

OL5 heavy duty stands

Best polylined paper LP sleeves

Wall mounted isolation shelves

SS150 adjustable stands (1.5m)

Dayton adjustable floor stands

Recent News

On a personal note, there have been a few changes in the last few weeks. We are no longer operating from the premises of Altair Computer Services. We have sold that business and are now operating from an office in Runcorn. Unfortunately that means we have no demonstration or local pickup facilities but as most of our business comes from outside of Brisbane this will inconvenience only a few people. The upside is that I now will have more time to experiment, assess, and devote to hi fi products and projects. Jeez, someone has to do it! It also means we will try to publish this newsletter every 2 months instead of 3. The phone is not manned continuously but you are welcome to phone between 8am and 6pm Monday to Saturday. Please leave a message if we don’t answer – we always return calls as soon as possible. Take care to speak clearly as sometimes we can’t hear the recorded phone number properly.

Unfortunately, Sonic Impact Technologies are completely out of stock of their popular T-Amp. In fact it is our most popular product. So when the few remaining units are sold the price will be going up temporarily because we have had to purchase limited quantities from a U.S. retailer. The next large shipment is expected about the end of September. However, there are plenty of the Super T-Amps, which are still great value and have a much better WAF (wife acceptance factor).

As well as their hugely successful T-Amps, Sonic Impact also make a number of other products which we are interested in selling, depending on the demand. In particular they have a number of products “made for iPod”. Their T24 Shelf System includes T-amp technology in a neat little package that converts an iPod into a room-filling music centre. Limited stock is available now. Check their website for details of this and their other products and email us if interested. http://www.si-technologies.com/frontEnd/cm_productDetail.jsp?productID=40

Pro-Ject have released some new models, including the RPM5 turntable which has received a very good review in 6moons http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/project3/combo.html .

We’ve added it to the website, selling for $847 (http://www.decibelhifi.com.au/category11_1.htm) , replacing the RPM4, and there are links to the review and also a PDF brochure. I suspect this will become one of our most popular turntables. If you are looking for a great sounding turntable set-up at about $1500 we’ve also created a Special Price combination of turntable, cartridge, and phono preamp. We’ll do a review in the next newsletter.

The Pro-Ject Speed Box is now available in Australia again - priced at $148.50. Paul Candy at 6moons says “… which is essentially an electronic speed regulator. As with my 1 Xpression, the results were readily noticeable and well worth the mere US$119 asking price. Both ends of the frequency spectrum were slightly more resolved and the sense of natural flow and drive increased a tad. There was also greater focus and definition. For example, an acoustic bass was more solid and you could sense its resonating body to a higher degree as well as its driving pulse. Violins and vocals were less sibilant and more intelligible. It's a no brainer: if you own a Pro-Ject turntable, I can't think of a more cost effective upgrade than adding a Speed Box.”

The Loricraft PRC3 record cleaning machine is a great product, but expensive. We have one available for hire at $110 for a week . A customer recently cleaned nearly 400 LPs in 5 days. The total cost, just $154 which included a 1 quart bottle of Quick Wash – that’s about 40c per LP. Even if you live interstate, and have to pay freight costs each way, if you have more than 200 LPs to clean it could be a worthwhile expenditure. Freight to Sydney is $21 each way, Melbourne and Adelaide $28, Perth $49. And of course if you don’t have the time, you can send your LPs to us for cleaning. The price is $55 for 20 LPs. We now have inexpensive LP cartons available which will make the transport of your valuable records safer. We will send a sufficient number to you if advise us how many LPs you want to send us for cleaning.

Solid wood enclosure kits for the Jordan JX92S speakers have been reduced in price as we have now found an alternative supplier for the laminated timber panels. If you would like to get a price for a particular timber you may find the price is now more reasonable. We will also have kits available in timber veneered MDF soon at about $400 a pair.

We were surprised to find out that one of the most common products that people are searching for when they find our website is speaker stands. So we will be adding to our range over the next few months. Three new models have been added already. We have also added some wall mounted isolation shelves. They are in the furniture category http://www.decibelhifi.com.au/category25_1.htm .

Recent Customer Feedback

John Atkins wrote “Some more positive feedback regarding the Boston Audio carbon fibre mat. Just love it! In a system whose collective worth is many orders of magnitude greater than the cost of this little baby I can only marvel at the sonic improvements, from the point of view of value for money, hard to beat ....

Clean the mat with Disk Doctor cleaning fluid and brushes. Particularly effective for those of us without a cover on the table. Works a treat.

Chris Couldrey has been having some problems with cleaning LPs using the Disc Doctor Miracle Record Cleaner. “any noise is definitely more prominent on the first playing after a Clean and Rinse cycle.

However, after playing the same LP again, for a second time, any noise apparent on the first play is definitely reduced. Not usually to a point where it is unnoticeable, but it is improved. And then after playing the same LP again a third time, any noise apparent on that first play, is almost diminished. The record now sounds thoroughly Cleaned and Noiseless at that point. I have no idea why that is the case, perhaps it’s something unique to my LP playing system, perhaps not, I don’t know.”

Would any other readers like to share their experiences with using the DDMRC process. I’ll summarise the comments in the next newsletter.

Ian Smith wrote about the LP Recorder program - I used LP Recorder until I found ...Rip Vinyl which is easier to use and provides a recording on yr PC track by track it also automatically starts and stops , creates podcasts, cheap too!

available here -http://www.ripvinyl.com/

Melvyn Folkard in the UK assembled some solid Tasmanian Oak Jordan JX92S transmission line kits.

“Just thought I’d let you know that I’ve completed assembly of the speaker kit you sent me and they look and sound just amazing (see attached image); I’m very pleased with the result. Thanks again for providing an excellent service. The kit represents good value, even with shipping charges.” M.F. UK

You want record sleeves? We’ve got record sleeves!

We’ve been selling record sleeves for the last few years but have had an inconsistent supply. We have now found a new supplier, Sleeve City in Memphis and so will be able to keep all types in stock.

Here’s a list of the types we now have – full descriptions and photos are on the website in the Vinyl Accessories category http://www.decibelhifi.com.au/category5_1.htm . As well as the pack sizes mentioned (which have the best pricing) we will also continue to supply most in quantities of 10 at a time if you want to buy smaller quantities or several different types to see which you prefer.

All prices are ex GST.

Acid-Free Heavy Paper Sleeve (25 pack) $38

Best Poly-Lined LP Sleeve (50 pack) $44

Diskeeper 1.5 Round Bottom LP Sleeve (100 pack) $40

Diskeeper 2.0 Record Sleeve (100 pack) $47

Diskeeper Simple Paper Sleeve (100 pack) rounded corners $51

Mobile Fidelity Master Sleeve (50 pack) rice paper $55

We will also continue to sell the Nagaoka 102 Anti-Static Sleeves (50 pack), but at a new lower price of $36.00 plus GST.

Re-sealable LP outer sleeves (100 pack) $65

Ultimate Outer 2.5 (100 pack) $52

Ultimate LP Outer 5.0 (50 pack) $44

We can also supply heavy cardboard outer jackets if required, please email if you have a requirement for these. Prices depend on quantity but start off at about $1.20 each.

Esoteric Sound Rek-o-tek Rondine Junior turntable

This is the first model of the Esoteric Sound range. It’s a fairly lightly built turntable but with some interesting features. In particular there are 4 different speeds for people wanting to play 78s. Evidently there was little standardization in the early days of 78s and so a variety of speeds were used. This turntable provides 71.29 for Berliner, Early Victor (no label) and Zonaphone.76.59 is for Acoustic Victor. 78.26 is for “Modern” 78s (most from 1930 to 1955), and 80 rpm is for Edison, Pathe vertical (paper label), acoustic Columbia & Okeh and most vertical.

All speeds including 33 and 45 have pitch control as well. The cartridge provided has an elliptical stylus for 33s and 45s and tracks securely at 2gm, but there is also included a stylus for 78s with a 3mil x .5mil elliptical stylus.

I was quite impressed with the sound quality on stereo LPs. Overall it’s a very versatile unit for someone wanting to play a collection of records of different speeds. Price is $594 incl. GST.

The Pete Riggle Vertical Track Adjuster on the Fly (VTAF)

We’ve sold quite a number of the Origin Live Threaded Vertical Tracking Angle adjuster for Rega tonearms and they certainly make the adjustment easier. But Pete Riggle’s VTAF is a far more advanced approach. I went through the process of installing one recently and was delighted with the result. The first thing I noticed was that this is a very complete kit. His instructions are detailed and well written. Everything you need is provided, even down to a piece of abrasive paper and cardboard former to ream out the mounting hole. This is a little tricky. A 32mm hole is needed and the existing hole is likely to be 23 or 24mm so there’s a fair bit of elbow grease required to expand it.

Once you have a large enough hole, the brass fitting just sits in it, and the tonearm just sits inside the brass fitting. There’s no bottom nut. As a result the VTA height adjustment is simply a matter of rotating the threaded adjuster wheel – hence the name Vertical Tracking Angle on the Fly. There’s also a Teflon upgrade available where a thin Teflon layer is applied to the underside of the adjuster wheel and the top of the brass bushing. This reduces friction to make the adjusting even easier.

The first impression I had when playing an LP was that there was a lot more bass than I was used to. I was using a Garrott P77 and it is recommended that the tonearm is set so that it slopes down from the rear to the cartridge by about 4 or 5mm. I thought I had that about right, but the sound was definitely bass heavy. It was easy to raise it by 3mm (3 rotations of the adjuster wheel) and sure enough the balance changed – the bass was less prominent and the midrange and treble more prominent. I have to admit I hadn’t experienced the effect of changing the vertical tracking angle previously. The instructions indicate that there are differences between LPs and this device makes it so easy to experiment with the Vertical Tracking Angle to get the best sound.

I’ve just read a review on the Origin Live Conqueror tonearm, and it is rated as the best the reviewer has ever heard. But the interesting thing is that the VTAF improved it! So for $220 you can improve the sound and the convenience of a $5500 tonearm. If you would like to read the article it’s at http://www.tonearm.co.uk/10-audio-conqueror-review.htm .

Encore Active Noise Cancelling Headphones

I was on the way back from Melbourne a few weeks ago and took the opportunity to try out some noise cancelling headphones. I have seen the Bose adverts and thought “that’s a good idea” but I wasn’t expecting too much from the $50 set I had purchased. I first tried putting them on without the noise cancelling feature – the drone of the aircraft’s engines was still dominant and I had to turn up the volume substantially to hear the music. Then I switched on the noise cancellation. Amazing! The engine noise didn’t disappear completely but was reduced so much that the music could be turned down dramatically and still heard clearly. These headphones have a level control with which you can alter the amount of noise reduction. I found it needed to be at about 90% to get the best result. So I spent a very pleasant trip listening to the new CD from Brisbane’s Mark Sholtez.

Now I don’t know how these compare to the Bose units, but I suspect that they are at least 80% as good and less than 10% of the price – another Decibel value for money discovery. You’ll find them in the Innovative Products category http://www.decibelhifi.com.au/category2_1.htm

With melodic good wishes

Brian Maddern

brian@decibelhifi.com.au

PO Box 536, Sunnybank, Qld 4109

Phone: 61 (0) 7 3344 5756 Fax 3344 5756

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