Nick, if you really feel you want to continue with the CD player when you have a streamer then the only option really is to look seriously at your hi-fi stand. Or possibly as you suggest, look out for a second wall shelf put undoubtedly the biggest improvement you will make it by getting a SH Radikal/1 and when you consider the trade-in value of the L4 against it, this is not going to be a big expenditure for you!
Graham55 I think quite a few Naim/Linn retailers expressed interest about the keel/a originally. However, after the initial burst of sales, most lost interest and never had it on demo. To this day I still have the wonderful Aro/Keel combination at the shop for people to hear, mainly when they’re doing cartridge comparisons these days due to the versatility of the ARO top of course of which I have seven.
Having persuaded Glasgow of the likely viability of the project, it was me that supplied two Aros to Glasgow for research and development of the Keel/a and so the necessary A/B comparisons could be made.
I remember David Williamson remarking me on first hearing the Aro for the first time. He thought it was really good but couldn’t see how it sounded as good as it did
Your system would look and sound alot better on a Fraim. Sorry to say this but I spent £5k on mine and it was worth it. And that was mixture of used, ex demo and new.
Yes, Peter, the ARO really doesn’t look as if it can possibly work or, if it can work, that it will last. That may be because of the remarkable finish and apparent strength of any Ittok or Ekos that I have ever seen - including one of the black Japanese-built Ittok LVIIs that I had fitted to my LP12 by Ray Horn of Grahams when I first owned it 40-odd years ago.
My advice is this. If you want to really improve your system…
Budget for re racking to something that works. Go for Radikal power supply and Keel or get a new Klimax level turntable. Go to Cymbiosis and get them to rebuild your turntable or trade it in. They have a variety of options. Maybe give them a call beforehand and touch base. Could be a nice weekend trip. Or just get a new cartridge.
As I say, the rack works sonically. All the rest looks very relevant and the consistency of comments here (including from the ultra-knowledgable Mr. S) is very persuasive.
My apologies to you, Nick, and to anyone who may have experienced a sense of humour failure at my own attempt at humour, which was indeed in very bad taste.
I remember when investigating what to put under an LP12 trying marble, granite and chunks of wood and worrying about the extra 6kg - would the Target bolts pull out of the (external) brick wall in an expensive way?
It was then suggested that the fixings don’t look too different from those in kitchen cabinets, and that I was being a big (insert slur of choice here) and should get on with it.
Needless to say, even after leaving 6kg of granite on there for a couple of weeks (yes, you can sort of make it work, like out of context Fraim cups-and-balls apparently can, but don’t), nothing fell down. Neither that nor the previous 15 years of holding an LP12 had had any effect at all.
The only turntable wall-shelf specs I can quickly find on the internet suggest that they can take 40kg if properly fixed - the ones that can take lots more tend to mention it prominently. A standard LP12 is about 13kg.
I wonder if the reason that I have not seen a Stiletto (or any heavy deck) on a wall shelf is because we all think about what could go wrong and get a bit over-worried. Of course, if a Stiletto actually weighs more than 40kg, I will be back in the ‘too chicken’ category.
Buy some resin fix from screwfix. Take the rawlplugs out squeeze the resin fix in, push new rawlplugs in and then remount your turntable shelf. It will provide you with the strongest fixing and easily take a great deal more weight. This is my trade. It will work no problem. Fixings are the key.
I have had an LP12 / Aro / Geddon for FAR longer than I would wish to remember. Last year I bought a refurbished Troika.
I thought I knew what the deck could do. In fact I was VERY wrong.
Having listened to a broad variety of Phono stages I saw a Tron 7 GT for sale, by @Dunc of this parish. Now this thing cost £10k+ a decade ago; and wasn’t peanuts even now. BUT, I could suddenly hear what this source is truly capable of producing.
As a result I have even less intention of touching it …although I have had to get the Troika refurbished AGAIN as I have been playing so much vinyl.
…might be worth considering other possible updates, if you are unhappy.
That Tangerine is one hell of a good source. I went to Infidelity for a demo of the Statements a few years back, the main source used was an NDS. Whilst good the system only really started making music when a Tangerined LP12 was put on the front.
