Sidebar 3: The Maple Platform
While preparing this review, I felt that the sound of the Music Hall-Goldring combination, while meticulous and superbly illuminated, could be improved, especially in the all-important (for me) area of weight. My Kuzma player is as powerful as George Patton, a mighty warrior of solid-rocket–ready, testosterone-fueled muscle. Surely there was a way to amp up the Music Hall to more closely resemble "Old Blood and Guts" rather than Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake (Peter Sellers), from Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove. . . ? I removed the IKEA Aptitlig bamboo board from beneath the Making Merry Fast-7.3, and replaced it with a Maple Platform: a 2"-thick board of solid, "ready-to-be-finished" maple ($75) from those purveyors of tips and tweaks, Mapleshade Records (footnote 1).
Again, the difference was instantaneous. The Maple Platform removed the shiny haze from the '7.3's music making, correcting its overabundance of "air" and lack of low-end fundamentals. The Platform subtly shifted the turntable's tonality to reveal more bass heft and textural gravitas. Bass and baritone notes, be they from bass drums, violas, electric or acoustic bass, or even journeyman jazz singer Johnny Hartman, were still relatively light-footed, yet more ample and of deeper tone than before the platform switch. The MMF-7.3 still presented music with a subtle hand, but weight, pace, forward movement, and flow were improved, making each listening session a treasure hunt through familiar worlds.—Ken Micallef
Footnote 1: Mapleshade Records, 871 North Howard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. Tel: (888) 236-2753. Web: http://shop.mapleshadestore.com/Maple-Platforms/departments/46/.
Footnote 1: Mapleshade Records, 871 North Howard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. Tel: (888) 236-2753. Web: http://shop.mapleshadestore.com/Maple-Platforms/departments/46/.
