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Arkless modified Cambridge 640P: First Impressions

I'm liking the idea of a 'loan set ' as I live in deepest darkest Kent.

Curious as to what 'imrpovements' the SUT will/can give over the MC stage ?
 
paskinn said:
Slightly sideways: a combo which works surprisingly well is a decent step-up into the mm stage of the Cambridge. I know several people who have been quite taken aback by the improvement. If you have a sut in the cupboard it could be wirth trying into the cambridge. It certainly makes mincemeat of the mc stage of the Cambridge (which is a bit of kit I rather like in its basic form.)
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Paskin yes I agree and I am also using a 20year old battery powered Lentek MC into my Camp 640P MM input and it sounds nice

http://www.flickr.com/photos/69508926@N05/8100045538/in/photostream

Alan
 
darrylfunk said:
not sure why you are trolling and trying to ruin this thread....

i said 'it sounds' like it has less noise - i don't get you problem with my statement....

what's wrong with burr brown devices that makes you sneer at them....?

don't really get why you popped up here at all except to break the aup.

if audio is your hobby why not go and do something positive related to that rather than spam this thread with bad vibes....:rolleyes:
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???:confused:
Im not trolling at all IMO, I was merely asking to see the measured results of the modifications carried out as I have a 640P myself so I am interested.
If I had of posted this thread I’m sure that Arkless would have asked me precisely the same question.

I also have the greatest respect for Burr brown analogue devices and if Arkless has used a nice opamp OPA627or 2134 I would be genuinely interested how that was implemented:)

Alan
 
"Originally Posted by Arkless Repairs:
It'll sound much better still sans transformer and with my mods! "


paskinn said:
Don't be too sure!
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I'm absolutely certain!

I've yet to hear a SUT that can match a good MC amp.... the few that could come close cost considerably more than my mods!
Then you have to put the signal from the SUT into the unmodified 640P MM input... which is considerably inferior to the Arkless modified 640P when set to MM :)
 
337alant said:
???:confused:
Im not trolling at all IMO, I was merely asking to see the measured results of the modifications carried out as I have a 640P myself so I am interested.
If I had of posted this thread I’m sure that Arkless would have asked me precisely the same question.

I also have the greatest respect for Burr brown analogue devices and if Arkless has used a nice opamp OPA627or 134 I would be genuinely interested how that was implemented:)

Alan
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Actually Alan no I wouldn't have asked... I'm not, as rumoured, a rabid objectivist you see :D

Measurements have to come up to a certain standard of course. In this case they are at least as good as the original and better in certain areas.
However, once THD for example falls below lets say 0.01% then the actual THD is low enough to not really be an issue... Two units which both measure 0.01% could still sound different of course!
 
It'd be interesting to hear what someone who uses a step-up into the MM section thinks of the improvements offered by Jez's low gain option via his modded 640p.
 
si i have a blackhead hfnrr sut somewhere at home and an oldish audio technica sut so will have a play when i load up one of my mc carts....my findings are usually a good mc stage beats the sut's in most cases....
 
Arkless Repairs said:
Actually Alan no I wouldn't have asked... I'm not, as rumoured, a rabid objectivist you see :D

Measurements have to come up to a certain standard of course. In this case they are at least as good as the original and better in certain areas.
However, once THD for example falls below lets say 0.01% then the actual THD is low enough to not really be an issue... Two units which both measure 0.01% could still sound different of course!
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Thanks Jez totally agree ;)
Alan:D;)
 
darrylfunk said:
it has lower noise it's quite easy to hear.

jez did mention superior burr brown things and better gain structures etc etc....that sounds like sensible engineering to me....
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Looking through the thread, the original device is a 5532, now these are old but they are actually damn fine devices as is the much maligned 5534. People come unstuck because they have high bias currents and attention needs to be paid to that but a lot of the music you listen to will have gone through mixing desks stuffed full of them. BTW LFD use 5534 in their phono stages and they are very highly regarded.
 
Implemented correctly the 5532 is capable of very good performance, it has ben improved upon in several areas by newer lower noise chips but you have to choose the right one for the rigth reason and implement it correctly.
 
My vinyl playback has never sounded so good!
Further listening yesterday afternoon and evening and I can honestly say it seems to get better and better every time I play vinyl. It's difficult to express what it is that is so good, because it is just the overall listening experience. The bass notes seem to go lower and more tuneful than before, whilst the mid band is rich and full of detail with a sweet treble.
Thanks Jez, I am seriously impressed.
I swapped the internals into my mint black case from the tatty silver one, to match the rest of my equipment, because it is definitely staying in my system.
 
Arkless Repairs said:
Actually Alan no I wouldn't have asked... I'm not, as rumoured, a rabid objectivist you see :D
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Arkless isn't a rabid objectivist, it's just that sometimes his posts can be read that way... ;)

I made the same mistake once or twice, albeit I had him down as a mere objectivist, I save the 'rabid' adjective for some very special people. :D

I believe he sits slightly further to the 'objectivist' end of the 'rational subjectivist' spectrum than do I, but Rational Subjectivism (TM) is a broad church.
 
Sue Pertwee-Tyr said:
Arkless isn't a rabid objectivist, it's just that sometimes his posts can be read that way... ;)

I made the same mistake once or twice, albeit I had him down as a mere objectivist, I save the 'rabid' adjective for some very special people. :D

I believe he sits slightly further to the 'objectivist' end of the 'rational subjectivist' spectrum than do I, but Rational Subjectivism (TM) is a broad church.
Click to expand...

Rational Subjectivism.... Like it!
 
mickhick1 said:
My vinyl playback has never sounded so good!
Further listening yesterday afternoon and evening and I can honestly say it seems to get better and better every time I play vinyl. It's difficult to express what it is that is so good, because it is just the overall listening experience. The bass notes seem to go lower and more tuneful than before, whilst the mid band is rich and full of detail with a sweet treble.
Thanks Jez, I am seriously impressed.
I swapped the internals into my mint black case from the tatty silver one, to match the rest of my equipment, because it is definitely staying in my system.
Click to expand...

Thanks Mike. Glad you are enjoying it!
I knew from my own listening tests that it was that good but it's still great to hear it from someone else! ;)

I think folk's will find it to be serious competition to some very expensive phono stages available elsewhere :)
 
Hi Mick/Mike, what is the rest of your kit and what phono stage did you use before?
 
Another great 4 hour session yesterday, I've hardly listened to my digital sounds since the 640P returned from Arkless.
I've played records that have been in my collection for a very long time and have hardly ever been played before because they didn't sound right, I'm hearing them properly for the first time.
One thing that is particularly noticeable is the lack of noise with this set up, including surface noise, clicks, pops etc. Don't know why that would be, but I like it.
 
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