Blog
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“Linishing”: Getting the Chrome Bumper Look
I spent all day yesterday figuring out how to silkscreen onto polypropylene: a stressful, tiring, and lengthy process — but one that turned out well. I was hoping that today’s task would be easier. Thankfully it was. What I wanted to do today was to give my Naim shoebox cases the “Chrome Bumper” (“CB”) look,…
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Making Fasciae for My Paradise
As I mentioned in my last post, I had all kinds of complicated ideas for my Paradise fasciae, with all manner of rear illumination, parallax effects, and light pipes being mooted. In the end, I decided on a Chrome Bumper looked, which was comparatively simple. Which is not to say that it was easy to…
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Ascending to Paradise
As you may have noticed, the regularity of my posts here has slowed down a bit in recent months. This is not because I’ve lost my enthusiasm for hifi. Quite the opposite: I’ve been so utterly obsessed that I’ve had no time to reflect on or write about it. Mostly what I’ve been up to…
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LP12MF Listening Test: Naim Aro and Greenstreet Subchassis
In the latest edition of the LP12 Modification Frenzy, I put the Dynavector XX-2 cartridge onto the legendary Naim Aro tonearm and mount them on a Greenstreet subchassis. You can read about the process of installing the Aro here. You can check out my listening methodology here. Full listening impressions are below. Digestible, numerical summaries…
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Nobeone’s Guide to Servicing a Naim Nait 2
This post aims to contain everything you need to know to perform a DIY service (aka “recapping”) of a Naim Nait 2. Instructions are provided for both the CD-input version (which I have) and the more common phono-input version. It contains the following sections (click to jump directly to them): Backstory A look inside my…
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Tiger Paw Javelin Setup Guide
For reasons I describe in my LP12MF listening test, I’m a fan of the Tiger Paw Javelin — an attempt at updating the astounding and beautiful Naim Aro tonearm. But since Tiger Paw seems to have shut down shortly after the Javelin was released, there is no official manual for setting up the arm. On…
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LP12MF: Installing the Naim Aro Tonearm and Greenstreet Subchassis
I’ve already written a bit about the Naim Aro in relation to the Tiger Paw Javelin. Much discussion is to come about the geometry of the Aro and its compatibility with various subchassis. For now, though, how about a guided tour of the process of actually installing my Aro? I decided to work in my…
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LP12MF Listening Test: Dynavector XX-2 on the Javelin Tonearm
In the latest edition of the LP12 Modification Frenzy, I put the Dynavector XX-2 cartridge — first seen on the Nima, last seen on the Ekos — onto the Javelin tonearm. You can check out my listening methodology here. Full listening impressions are below. Digestible, numerical summaries of all my listening tests are here. tl;dr…
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LP12MF Listening Test: Tiger Paw Javelin Tonearm
In the latest edition of the LP12 Modification Frenzy, I listen to the effects of swapping my Linn Ekos 2 tonearm for a Tiger Paw Javelin tonearm. I’ve yet to write my post about installing the Javelin, since it was quite complicated and I don’t yet feel like I really have a grasp on it;…
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Power Conditioning Shootout: Plixir BAC 150 vs. iFi iPurifier AC vs. Jackery Explorer 240
A few months ago, I installed Powerline networking in my home in an effort to get reliable internet out to my garage. Although it worked well for its intended purpose, it also introduced nasty AC noise into my stereo. Thus began a search for the best way to clean up dirty AC. As I wrote…
