Recent Anniversary Purchases

by **rolleye** » 24 Aug 2011 18:14

those of you (and you know who you are) who have recently bought an Anni...its all very quiet, any thoughts on your purchase?

did you regret it? :oops:

or are you so happy with it that we'll never hear from you again!

.....perhaps that why it's quiet.

there were discussions on the relative merits of a number of different arms eg FXR, AudioMods to name but two, what arm/cartridge did you finally settle on?

by **Zebulon_minor** » 24 Aug 2011 23:55

Well,

I *just* bought one in very good condition; black, serial number 127, external trim knobs on the PSU. According to the seller who knew the Swedish distributor, one out of two that were sold in Sweden. The seller also mentioned that the total number of Anniversary manufactured were in the mid three hundreds, could that be correct?

I had been on the prowl for quite some time when by chance it fell into my lap. I haven't taken possession of it yet though, my brother will bring it over the pond in October, hopefully it will make it over safe and sound.

When it comes to tonearm..., I have two readily at hand; a Sumiko MMT and an Ittok LVII, which one would you choose? Or should I sell them both, and buy a...?...

Zebulon_m

by **horfield** » 25 Aug 2011 10:59

I bought my Anniversary back in May. Apart from minor issues with the motor mount and obtaining an armboard (now both resolved), I have been extremely happy with the Anni. Mine is an earlier version with trim knobs for speed on the front of the power supply unit. The sound difference between this and my PT Export are subtle but noticeable. I am in the process of changing the arm and cartridge. I decided that I would go for the AudioMods, rather than the FXR and spend more money on the cartridge. Jeff, at AudioMods is a great bloke to deal with. I had some specific requests regarding the arm and he obliged, no problem. Still haven't decided on the Cartridge and am happy to hear anyone's thoughts on good carts sub £1,000. Still considering Lyra Delos or ZYX R100H-02, although Jeff at AudioMods thought the Delos was touch bright? back to my Anni, it is in immaculate condition and looks very pretty sat in the corner of my room.

by **tim_bissell** » 25 Aug 2011 13:40

I picked up my Anni just before going on holiday, two weeks or so ago. I've not had a chance to set it up yet (maybe this weekend!) Initially I will try my Orion on it, moving it off the PT Too.
I'll record some tracks at 96/24 for comparison between the Too and Anni.

Later I might try the FXR as well, so I can compare the Anni to the Vector.

I'll definitely post about my experiences!

-- Tim

by **rolleye** » 25 Aug 2011 18:12

Zebulon_minor wrote:When it comes to tonearm..., I have two readily at hand; a Sumiko MMT and an Ittok LVII, which one would you choose? Or should I sell them both, and buy a...?...

Zebulon_m

I don't know the Sumiko so difficult call on that one, as far as the Ittok is concerned.....hmmmm :roll:

I heard one some years ago fitted with an Asak on a PT Too and wasn't at all impressed, seemed to be something lacking. Compared to my all time favorite (mounted on a PT) Helius Orion the Ittok/Asak combo was well short of the mark in all respects so if it were me I'd certainly sell that one.

by **Zebbo** » 25 Aug 2011 18:39

I'm still waiting for my Koetsu to come back :cry:

I'm still feeling like a dog with two tails at the moment just looking at the thing sitting there but with the stand-in Denon DL103 in place it's nothing special, you can hear subtle improvements but I'm quite sure there is a massive amount of improvement to come. I will report back when the Black is Back!

by **Zebulon_minor** » 26 Aug 2011 15:49

rolleye:

I have been looking for a Helius Orion, but they are far and few between for sale it seems; and with a used arm you really don't know what you get until it is too late. Does Helius still service them though? If they do it might be worth the risk to pick up a used one, if one is to be found that is...

AudioMods modified Rega arms have also gotten praise on these forums, has anyone tried one on their Anni?

Z_m

by **SimonLogan** » 26 Aug 2011 18:18

tim_bissell wrote: I'll record some tracks at 96/24 for comparison between the Too and Anni.
-- Tim

That would be interesting to hear Tim, thanks. I've been using 24/96 for my DC motor upgrade tests and it's certainly capable of showing up subtle differences.

Simon

by **rolleye** » 27 Aug 2011 13:11

Z_m ... I think those who own an Orion arm tend to hang on to it but if you can find one they are definitely worth the money imho, Helius can (and do) service all their earlier tonearms and from experience they do an excellent job at a good price.

The AudioMods arm is a cracking arm and works really well on the PT's, I have a couple but have never put one on my Anni :shock:

.....yet.

I'm a bit backward at going forward and reluctant to take my Orion off the Anni because its is so good (i tried an FXR-II on the Anni recently and didn't like it) and i've heard nothing to beat the Orion so for the time being it stays put although when i get a minute i will try the AudioMods arm.

by **Zebbo** » 04 Sep 2011 15:41

Zebbo wrote:I'm still waiting for my Koetsu to come back
I'm still feeling like a dog with two tails at the moment just looking at the thing sitting there but with the stand-in Denon DL103 in place it's nothing special, you can hear subtle improvements but I'm quite sure there is a massive amount of improvement to come. I will report back when the Black is Back!

STILL WAITING! 20th June I sent it off, these people need to employ some more bodies! :cry:

by **Zebbo** » 06 Sep 2011 20:57

Zebbo wrote:
Zebbo wrote:I'm still waiting for my Koetsu to come back
I'm still feeling like a dog with two tails at the moment just looking at the thing sitting there but with the stand-in Denon DL103 in place it's nothing special, you can hear subtle improvements but I'm quite sure there is a massive amount of improvement to come. I will report back when the Black is Back!

STILL WAITING! 20th June I sent it off, these people need to employ some more bodies!

Next week! They promised!

by **tim_bissell** » 07 Sep 2011 22:24

I've finally got round to converting some comparison tracks to 96/24 m4a lossless format, so I can play them back from my Mac digital out through my TAG DAC/preamp and hifi; and just had a quick listen (not too loud as the kids are in bed).

These were the same tracks recorded using my Helius Orion/AT33EII, mounted on first my ex-Abandonflip PT Too, then my Anniversary. The phono stage is an Audiolab 8000PPA, and the ADC an Edirol (Roland) FA66 firewire converter.

I don't know whether it is a testament to Abandonflip's modifications or my cloth ears, but I couldn't hear a difference! Both sounded very good, and are definitely playing at 96/24 (the display on the DPA shows the sample rate).

I'll have to try at normal volumes at the weekend, and dig out some of my other 96/24 recordings of the same tracks on different PTs and with different arms...

Each track is about 80MB, but I'll try and post some samples to show what I mean, in the next week or two.

-- Tim

by **Alex M** » 08 Sep 2011 09:19

tim_bissell wrote:I've finally got round to converting some comparison tracks to 96/24 m4a lossless format, so I can play them back from my Mac digital out through my TAG DAC/preamp and hifi; and just had a quick listen (not too loud as the kids are in bed).

These were the same tracks recorded using my Helius Orion/AT33EII, mounted on first my ex-Abandonflip PT Too, then my Anniversary. The phono stage is an Audiolab 8000PPA, and the ADC an Edirol (Roland) FA66 firewire converter.

I don't know whether it is a testament to Abandonflip's modifications or my cloth ears, but I couldn't hear a difference! Both sounded very good, and are definitely playing at 96/24 (the display on the DPA shows the sample rate).

I'll have to try at normal volumes at the weekend, and dig out some of my other 96/24 recordings of the same tracks on different PTs and with different arms...

Each track is about 80MB, but I'll try and post some samples to show what I mean, in the next week or two.

-- Tim

Your TOO must be set up really well! I could never get rid of a very slight but audible pitch wobble in mine, which is absent now it has had the full Vector mods done. I did notice, on the couple of times when I have heard an Anni, that it was noticeably better in this aspect than any TOO I have heard, so I would expect to hear this in the digital samples (you don't need 96/24 to hear it, of course!).

I look forward to listening to your digital samples...

Alex

by **SimonLogan** » 08 Sep 2011 22:12

tim_bissell wrote:I've finally got round to converting some comparison tracks to 96/24 m4a lossless format,
...
, but I couldn't hear a difference!
...
I'll have to try at normal volumes at the weekend,
-- Tim

Hi Tim,

I seems strange that you couldn't hear a difference. My recordings (24/96 WAV format) were able to capture quite subtle differences (around 1mm arm height change for example).
If you are having to listen at very low volume that certainly won't help.

Simon