Vinyl
Vault System
“The luckiest people alive
are those who have shared their passion with others.”
-H.
Taylor, 2004
The Vinyl Vault System
is a DIY pursuit to provide a full frequency- and dynamic-range reproduction of
recorded music (LP and CD) through the simplest and purest low-distortion
electrical signal path available – without cleaning out the 401(k).
Recordings are washed in the VPI record cleaner and played on the Oracle Delphi IV turntable with SME 345 tonearm and Grado Reference cartridge through custom designed and built vacuum-tube phono stage, high-level stage and power amps.
Since all the good music and beer was at
the Vinyl Vault we all started to bring our best electronics to listen to during
our bi weekly goob gatherings.
Phil’s hardware contribution to this system is the Aragon 8008 BB power amp and the Apprentice Electronic Crossover as well as the woodworking on the speakers and the C212 tweeters. After all, why should we settle for our own little system when several goobs can get in on one really great system and enjoy one another’s company while we enjoy the music?
The sound of these
amplifiers, within their operating envelope, has easily bested the sound of the
Aleph 5 in terms of midrange openness, palpability, soundstage size and texture.
The sound is open, airy, neutral and three-dimensional.
High frequencies are transparent with immense depth.
Critical to the sound of this amplifier is proper bias for the KT-90
outputs, which run here at ~75 mA each and +485 volts (plate-to-cathode, the
cathode stands @ ~50V). New
transformers will facilitate the option of running the B+ higher to achieve
KT-90 plate voltages slightly over 500V (B+ of 550V), where the tube’s
distortion drops to even lower levels.
This
system is the culmination of more than 5 years of direct design efforts
primarily by three individuals: Harold
Taylor (system owner), Sam Papadas, and Phil Abbate. Sam was the primary designer of the power amps and he did the
dirty work (the construction of the amps).
Harold designed the loudspeaker system and the phono stage.
The high-level stage is based on a design that was initially done by Sam,
which also featured an outboard power supply (done the “old” way with tube
rectifier and filter choke). Harold
built the phono stage and the high-level stage, and the power supplies for each. The loudspeaker construction was a collaborative effort
between Harold, Phil (who unselfishly lent his home and his power tools), and a
great Czech cabinetmaker named Jaroslav Dvorak (Harold’s father-in-law).
Phil built the original version of the subwoofer active crossover, and
Harold adapted the circuit to work with the Aura 1808.
Sam and Phil have lent numerous hours of critical listening, contentious
debate, beer drinking and good fun to the evolution of the system.
Phil also provided invaluable insights through the continuing pursuit of
excellence in his own DIY loudspeaker projects. Others who have unselfishly lent critical listening feedback
include Monica Abbate, Pauli Reiger, Chuck Bruce (Atl Audio Society Pres),
George Meals, Nick Arroyo, Bob Levi (former AAS Pres), John Morrison (former AAS
Pres),
,
, and Ramon Noya (RIP).
The
system goals have been largely satisfied: Provide
a full frequency- and dynamic-range presentation of recorded music (LP and CD)
with the purest, simplest, low-distortion electrical signal path obtainable --
without cleaning out the 401(k). The passive components used are among the most expensive, but
are affordable on a DIY budget if purchased gradually. One advantage to the DIY system-as-a-whole concept:
the whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts.
The ability to make system adjustments on all aspects of the hardware can
present TMI challenges (too much information) at first, but once the effects of
the many variables are learned (which took several years), the components can be
tuned to achieve much greater synergy than those of any off-the-shelf,
consumer-audio system.