VPI HW-19 MKIII, bitches

[TroyD]

Vinyl nirvana has descended upon Chez BDT.

My travelling companion, Dave and I trekked up I-26 to the fair burgh of Columbia SC to meet up with a fellow audiophool to aquire the latest piece of gear:

VPI HW-19 MKIII w/ Rega RB300 arm. It has upgraded wiring, counterweight, Dynavector 10x5 cartridge yada yada yada...

After spinning a few records all I can say is WOW. This is GREAT sound. More later but I wanted to share my good humor....review to follow after I get more intimate with it.

BDT

[reeltrouble1]

As your doing your intimate thing be careful something does not get caught under the table as its spinning, it hurts, I know.

Congrats my man.

RT1

Oh yea, I forgot I was just reading somewhere how that tonearm got mentioned for another award.

[steveinaz]

awesome.

[shack]

And what better to test the new machine than Alison Krauss & Union Station, So Long So Wrong (at least the LP is in the picture so I assume It has been or will be played). Nice TT, enjoy.

[madmax]

Upgrading vinyl systems becomes a madness. You heard it here first. :)
madmax

[SCompRacer]

Nice upgrade. Congrats, Njoy.

[schwarcw]

Real nice Troy!

[amulford]

Shweet...

[TroyD]

I've spun some MFSL Steely Dan and Alison Krauss... my mint copies of Willie Nelson's Stardust along with some Dusty Springfield for good measure...

Oh baby...this thing is talking DIRTY to me.

BDT

[dorokusai]

Neat.

[hoosier21]

Very nice set up there Troy.

[BlueMDPicker]

Cool - looks to be in mint condition.

[TroyD]

Thanks guys....the previous owner is probably the most anal person I've ever met, he had the original packaging, receipts etc for everything and not a scratch on anything.

Dave was over last night and we ran through quite a bit of material.....first impressions are that it is just on the warm side of neutral. Bass impact and weight is better than the MMF5 was. The noise floor is signifigantly lower. Quiet passages are quiet and the music just appears from a black background, if that makes sense......more to follow as I get used to it.

BDT

[BSUfbfan]

Please, no more positive posts to this topic, I just upgraded to a tube CD player and now you're gonna go and give me the vinyl bug again.....;)

Seriously though, that looks to be a sweet setup, congrats Troy.

[audiobliss]

it is just on the warm side of neutral. Bass impact and weight is better than the MMF5 was. The noise floor is signifigantly lower. Quiet passages are quiet and the music just appears from a black background
Sounds like audio nirvana to me. Congrats!

[TroyD]

[QUOTE=BSUfbfan]Please, no more positive posts to this topic, I just upgraded to a tube CD player and now you're gonna go and give me the vinyl bug again.....;)
QUOTE]

Why not have both? I do!

BDT

[BSUfbfan]

Why not have both? I do!

BDT

You got it! Just when I think i'm done, there is always that "next step".

Gotta love this hobby/passion/addiction.....

[Tour2ma]

Nice...

Just to recap, what's the current line-up?

[TroyD]

VPI HW-19mkIII
Jolida JD100 tube CD player
Melos SHA-1 linestage
Kenwood C-2 preamp (used for phono stage in interim)
Conrad Johnson MV-75A1 tube amp
SDA SRS 2.3tl's

Associated Gear:
VPI 16.5 record cleaning machine
MIT Term4 speaker cables
Signal Cable IC's

BDT

[RuSsMaN]

That's the same table I've got.

F'n sweet. Now all that is left, post PF '06, is to get you some real speakers in there.

[reeltrouble1]

Although my friend is imaginary, BDT's speaks are not. Rock on SDA.

RT1

[Dennis Gardner]

Hey Troy,

You may find a phono stage that looks better on the gear list than that old C-2, but you may have a hard time finding anything that sounds better and I've never found a preamp with more control. I have tried more phono boxes than I can count, both tube & SS and just when I think I like something, the C-2 Basic puts them back into the box. This is one piece of gear that Kenwood actually got right. Audio Research and Sonic Frontier still await my trials but I won't get my hopes up. The C2 may still be sitting in my rack at the end.

Nice table, keep us posted on your listening/learning curve with it.

DG

[szhleppy]

Nice table. If this is the one that was on Audiogon, thanks for buying it before I added another to my collection.

[TroyD]

Ha! There is another one on there now with an RB250 arm.....

BDT

[TroyD]

Hey Troy,

You may find a phono stage that looks better on the gear list than that old C-2, but you may have a hard time finding anything that sounds better and I've never found a preamp with more control. I have tried more phono boxes than I can count, both tube & SS and just when I think I like something, the C-2 Basic puts them back into the box. This is one piece of gear that Kenwood actually got right. Audio Research and Sonic Frontier still await my trials but I won't get my hopes up. The C2 may still be sitting in my rack at the end.

Nice table, keep us posted on your listening/learning curve with it.

DG

I'm actually pretty impressed with the Kenwood...it's a very competent performer. I'm awaiting a tube phono stage as we speak though.

BDT

[szhleppy]

Ha! There is another one on there now with an RB250 arm.....

BDT

Looks like it is time to do some research! Thanks for the heads up Troy.

[cmy330go]

Is that an Extreme Phono None Felt mat? Sure looks like it. If so that is the same mat I have on my MMF-7. I purchased mine at music direct when I was in Chicago about a year ago. I had serious doubts that a mat could make a noticeable difference in sound quality. Boy was I wrong. I have been extremely happy with mine (no pun intended).:rolleyes:

Anyway. Very nice looking rig. Hope you get much enjoyment from it.

Dave

[starchaser]

Sweet Troy, very sweet indeed. Enjoy!

[TroyD]

Thanks guys!

That is a David James Audio Specialties Reference mat. Works like a champ, I didn't like the little foam ring it came with and this was made custom for the VPI MK III platter. Highly recommended.

BDT

[DAGLJAM6]

Thanks guys!

That is a David James Audio Specialties Reference mat. Works like a champ, I didn't like the little foam ring it came with and this was made custom for the VPI MK III platter. Highly recommended.

BDT

Going through extensive field trials at the moment but it does seem to have a notably different sound compared to the felt mat.