Thoughts and Non Thoughts

It's been a while since I posted about my Internet connection. As it happens, this post about solving my PLDT myDSL problem has the highest views of all my posts. It basically gives a tip about changing DNS settings, which seems to be the weakest point of the PLDT service. I have since moved to PLDT's Fibr service. It is definitely faster (I got the unlimited data with 20MBPS plan). It has allowed watching Netflix or YouTube uninterrupted while someone else is streaming Spotify or browsing. I am quite happy with it. Nevertheless, I found that using the DNS settings in my original post still applies. In short, set it manually, and use opendns (208.67.222.222 or 208.67.220.220) or google dns (8.8.8.8 or 8.8.4.4). I find my connection more stable this way. Some things change and some things stay the same.

Though the Shure cartridge is the cheapest component (except for the cables), it doesn't let the rest of the system down. The SL1200 also comes into fore as a capable player, worthy of any audiophile. I wrote my first impressions briefly here , but have since tweaked and optimized it with my system. Here's the rest of the system and settings. Shure M97xe cartridge: 1.25 g tracking force brush up, 1.25 g anti-skate, arm level or slightly tail up SL1200 turntable with 3mm mat underneath original rubber mat LSA Standard Amplifier with NOS Tesla 6922 tubes , Mundorf caps  Straightwire Chorus interconnects from built-in phono to line Dynaudio Contour 1.3 mkII speakers on wooden stands with metal base Van den Hul CS122 speaker cables But it's how it's put together, not the individual components, that makes this rig very musical. Hours of set-up, tube rolling, and, yes, cables to get that perfect synergy. One can talk about soundstage, ton...