Oh my, I did that many years ago. I am not sure what the differences are any more. Sorry for not being more helpful but I don't want to mislead you.

sidssp December 09, 2011 17:20

How do you like the Black Diamond cones compared to the original feet? I was thinking of getting an HRS isolation platform so i am not sure it would make a difference.

tzh21y December 05, 2011 08:44

@Tzh21y, the Aries is resting on four Black Diamond pucks. The reason is that I have replaced the original metal cone feet with Black Diamond cones. As a result, the plinth was sitting too low to the platform so I put them on pucks to bring the plinth back to the right hight.

sidssp December 04, 2011 21:10

What do you have your Aries feet resting on? Nice Setup by the way!

tzh21y December 03, 2011 18:21

What do you have your Aries feet resting on? Nice Setup by the way!

tzh21y December 03, 2011 14:22

Sidssp, very nice system. I just read your reply on a thread about speaker selection, I couldn't agree more. I also have an integrated two-channel/multi-channel system with the priority on two-channel. A much upgraded VPI Scout Signiture with the 300 RPM motor upgrade, on a Brightstar Audio BigRock2, Dynavector XX2MKII cart,TTW copper mat and heavy brass clamp.

A Fosgate Audionics FAP T-1 handles the processing duties, however, it is old enough to not have HDMI inputs, but it's adequate for occaisional multi-channel listening.

Congratulations, and enjoy, as I know you are.
Dan

islandmandan May 10, 2011 13:12

System edited: Bought a new 60" TV, the Sony KDL-60NX810. Its image quality is really impressive. Replaced my Sony DVP-S9000ES DVD player with an Oppo-93. The Oppo can read and decode FLAC from either a data DVD, a data CD, a HD or a flash drive connected to an USB port; and send 24/192 signal to my Benchmark DAC through either optical or coax connection. The result is really impressive. Still shopping for a processor replacement. Narrowing down to either the Marantz AV7005 or the Integra DHC-80.2 but the Integra is difficult to find so I still haven't make up my mind.

sidssp January 19, 2011 19:34

Nice system you have! Are you using stock power cords? You are obviously a believer in signal cables contributing to the enjoyment of music.

alexs September 05, 2010 12:22

Sid that should be Apple lossless from the last thread on music storage. Good catch.

Nice system BTW!

Have you research other DACs beside benchmark?

lapierre May 29, 2009 21:22

System edited: Just upgraded the storage of my Mac Mini to a pair of Western Digital MyBook Studio Edition 1TB hard drives. They are configured as a replicated pair. Changes and additions are made to the iTunes library on one drive. At the end of each day, a program (shell script) will kick in and replicate all changes to the second drive. This way, if one drive dies, I can simply use the second one without losing any time to restore.

sidssp April 09, 2009 22:00

Wow. NIce choice of gear! You savvy! All in one but no compromise! Awesome.

shadorne October 29, 2008 19:06

Hi--
Saw a post from a couple yrs ago where you were using HD-14 wire with your Vandy 5's. I have the same speakers (5A) and am wondering -- you no longer use the HD wire? What are your thoughts on it now? I just bought a pair of monoblocs so will be rewiring and am interested in all possibilities. Afterall I will only need a couple feet biwired for each side!
--Rob

atkinsonrr September 01, 2006 01:02

Mimberman,

I did do a side-by-side comparison between my Aries and my friend’s ScoutMaster a while back. Both tables were mounted with Lyra Helikon. IMHO, the ScoutMaster sounded cleaner and has more texture. Music also flow together better. Somehow, the bass from the Aries seemed half a step slower. I much prefer the sound of the ScoutMaster.

Since my Aries has gone through a number of upgrades, and I can’t recall its exact configuration at that time; my conclusion may not apply to the current production model.

sidssp August 14, 2005 10:40

Kehut,

My Airy 2S has broken in. VTF is now at 2.0g. Metallic sound has been long gone but it did take longer than usual to break in. I don’t recall exactly how long, perhaps 150 hours or so.

The Airy is capable of producing a lot of details. I didn’t notice that until the other day I put my Helikon back on. The Airy makes the Helikon sounded like broken. My Helikon does have a lot more hours on it. Maybe it is in deed broken. I don’t know.

sidssp August 14, 2005 10:17

Sidssp,

Excellent set up. You are so right about the motor on the Aries . The 300 RPM upgrade is a must IMO. I was going to upgrade my original Aries all the way to the 2...but I made a deal with my Dad and he got the table, so I went with a new Aries 2 and absolutely love it. I have the Fuji Silver and love that as well.

I assume your Airy 2S is broken in by now...what VTF are you using now? In my case I settled on 2.05g with superb results!--Ken

kehut August 13, 2005 17:08

Great system! Especially like what the blue record does to the platter with the light over it! Curious what you think of an Aries 2 compared to the ScoutMaster? You'd think for 5000 they'd give you a quieter motor!

I agree about the BAT. All black is much better. I'm looking at the Bat integrated (VK-300X?) and the silver/black combo is hideous. I'd go all black, but I prefer silver. Alas...to be such an aesthete!

Congrats again!

mimberman August 13, 2005 15:44

System edited: Just did a couple minor upgrades recently.

My BAT VK-50SE has been upgraded to VK-51SE with a black face panel. I think it looks cleaner and nicer than the sliver and gray.

I also retubed it at the same time. My NOS 6H30s are still good but because of their scarcity, now Victor is charging $200 each. I am saving mine for the future.

Sound wise, I feel the biggest improvement is in the mid bass. Listening to Ray Brown’s Super Bass 2 SACD, the clarity and the texture of the double bass and the cello are quite staggering.

I also replaced the VPI Aries motor with a new 300 RPM motor. The upgrade is a self-installed kit. Installation took about 20 minutes, quite simple and painless. The kit comes with a new puller which is much larger and seems to be better machined. It slides on the motor shaft easily.

Aries is known to have noisy motor. It generates a lot of vibrations that can be picked up by the cart as mechanical hums. Unless I place the motor on a separate surface, no matter what I put under the motor, during quiet passage, I can always hear a very faint hum, very annoying.

The new motor is definitely much quieter. A simple belt-off test (belt off, motor on, stylus on platter) shows absolutely no hum at + 6db volume level (my normal listening level is -10db), even I come inches away from the woofer.

For $150, I think it is the most cost effective way to upgrade my Aries, highly recommended.

sidssp August 13, 2005 14:01

Doug,

I only have the Ariy for a little more than two weeks, maybe 30 hours of playing. It is still breaking in. I initially set the VTF at 2g but it didn’t sound right. Strings sounded metallic and distorted during loud passage. That problem almost completely disappeared after the VTF was increased to 2.4g. I have backed it off a bit to 2.2g last weekend and it still sounds good so it seems more break-in time are needed.

My impression so far is that the Airy produces a lot of details with excellent instrument separation. And the high sounds, well, airy. I feel the Airy has similar timbre signature as the Helikon – you can think of it like a much more refined Helikon. But it is still too early to make a final judgment. I am going to play it for another week and see if I can reduce the VTF some more. I will keep you posted.

sidssp October 20, 2004 07:46

Hi Sidssp,
I see you got the Airy2. Any impressions?

One thing you might try after 20 hours or so is lowering the VTF a bit. 2.4g seems awfully high. Ours plays its best at 1.90-1.95g. One of the toughest tracking records I own needs about 1.97. Anything over 2.1g definitely squashes the musical life and air out. YMMV of course. Enjoy!

dougdeacon October 19, 2004 12:57

Eyeballman,

I think you are right about the Sony XA-9000ES, it does sound very detailed and not warm but I wouldn’t call it “digital” either. To me, sounding "digital” means edgy and digital noise that the Sony is not. I feel its red book playback is as good as any CD players in the $2000 range.

Just for a point of reference, I have tried to hook up the digital out of the Sony into my Perpetual P-3A. Playing CD straight from the Sony sounds warmer and has better defined bass than the P-3A.

I have never hooked it up to an all solid state setup. I think the end result has more to do with the synergy than just tube vs. ss; speakers, room, and your personal taste play a part too.

It works well enough in my system.

sidssp October 14, 2004 09:14

Nice system. Can you please comment on the Sony SCD player cus I'm considering a new CDP for my system. I first heard one in the HE2003, San Francisco. My impression was that it had great resolution but the music sounded very "digital" ( ie. not warm and natural. ) Is it better with tubed gear? Have you had any experience with this CDP with solid state amps? Thanks for your input.

eyeballman October 13, 2004 17:31