Well guys it has been a good year for the Chariot. It is closing quickly to great outdoor pursuits. There is still $540 in the audio budget to spend on what? A lot of choices for me!

So far this year all ICs and speaker wire have been upgraded to OCC, 78 LPs and 42 CDs purchased, ZDAC+ZBOX+RSB6, and Otari RtoR acquired, SE84UFO25 order placed, Zenfest attended, record cleaner completed and albums cleaned, system power upgraded, and various test equipment purchased.

I'm waffling between a tape purchase from Ed Pong, ZP3 tape input mod, replacement tubes, or just buy more albums from a guy who has many to sell. The latter 2 would definitely cut into my outdoor time.

My system is sounding the best ever and I spent many hours this past two months listening without any fatigue. Matter of fact daily schedules are looked at before starting a listening session because once I go in it is hard to meet demands outside the Charoit.

So what should I do?

John

When in doubt I always buy music. FWIW.

Hey Dom,

I used the Stanton 681EEE almost exclusively over the years. The Ortofon Bronze is an excellent upgrade from the Stanton. The Bronze can be upgraded to the black with the Shibata needle available as a separate purchase. I did look at that as a potential use of funds but my bronze nude still has plenty of life in it with only about 500 hours of use.

How do I like it you ask! It passes all my technical reference grooves without a hitch. With the right tracks and ideal atmosphere, cymbals shimmer, mids are moist and juicy, and bass sublime.

I track at 1.5 grams with anti-skate. When time permits, there is a plan to upgrade leads and ICs on the JVC turntable. Vibration isolation brings huge improvements. The JVC platter is well isolated with the factory matt. Isolation of the turntable base is accomplish with a underhung damped spring box.

John