Joint Analog Sources of 1997
VPI TNT Mk.3 turntable ($5000; flywheel adds $1000; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.19 No.11, November 1997)
Magnum Dynalab MD 108 FM tuner ($5500; reviewed by Don A. Scott, Vol.20 No.5, May 1997) Finalists (in alphabetical order):
Immedia RPM2 tonearm ($2495; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.20 No.5, May 1997 Review)
Immedia RPM2 turntable ($4995; reviewed by Wes Phillips, Vol.20 No.9, September 1997 Review)
Rega RB900 tonearm ($995; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.20 No.8, August 1997)
Rega Planar 3 turntable ($695; reviewed by Sam Tellig & Michael Fremer, Vol.7 No.1, January 1984; Vol.8 No.6, October 1985; & Vol.19 No.12, December 1996 Review)
Shure V15VxMR phono cartridge ($300; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.20 No.7, July 1997 Review)
van den Hul Frog phono cartridge ($2500; reviewed by Wes Phillips, Vol.20 No.7, July 1997)
VPI JMW Memorial Tonearm ($2300; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.20 No.1, January 1997) With all the attention the newer technologies garner, we find it reassuring that some people still care enough about LP and FM playback to produce products as refined as our joint winners in this category, the design of each of which is predicated on the concept of careful attention to all of the details.
Certainly the career of VPI's TNT has been predicated on the constant evolution of each component involved. Each time designer Harry Weisfeld has discovered a better material or technology, he has incorporated it into another iteration of this durable product—indeed, even as we congratulate him on the TNT Mk.III, he has introduced its successor, the TNT Mk.IV, which features air-bladder suspension. Several respondents found this one of the TNT's most endearing qualities—upgradeability scored big points with them.
But reliability and sound quality were the most frequently cited reasons for their choice of the TNT. "It gets the all-important midrange about as correct as I've heard from analog," said Michael Fremer in his review, a comment echoed by several other writers. That, plus stable image, deep soundstaging, and speed stability, were enough to make it one of the most notable products we covered in 1997.
Don Scott cited the Magnum Dynalab MD 108 as one of the five or six best products for FM reception ever built, and our voters agreed overwhelmingly. Soundstaging is stunningly lifelike, bass is tight and solid, textures are delicately rendered, and the transparency achieved by the best broadcast sources is astonishing. All of this is enhanced by the MD 108's absence of birdies and other intrusive noises. Of the nearly 10,000 FM stations and translators in the US, many offer spectacular sound; those listeners lucky enough to live within reception of the best should hear one through the MD 108. It just might amaze them that FM can sound this good.
Magnum Dynalab MD 108 FM tuner ($5500; reviewed by Don A. Scott, Vol.20 No.5, May 1997) Finalists (in alphabetical order):
Immedia RPM2 tonearm ($2495; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.20 No.5, May 1997 Review)
Immedia RPM2 turntable ($4995; reviewed by Wes Phillips, Vol.20 No.9, September 1997 Review)
Rega RB900 tonearm ($995; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.20 No.8, August 1997)
Rega Planar 3 turntable ($695; reviewed by Sam Tellig & Michael Fremer, Vol.7 No.1, January 1984; Vol.8 No.6, October 1985; & Vol.19 No.12, December 1996 Review)
Shure V15VxMR phono cartridge ($300; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.20 No.7, July 1997 Review)
van den Hul Frog phono cartridge ($2500; reviewed by Wes Phillips, Vol.20 No.7, July 1997)
VPI JMW Memorial Tonearm ($2300; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.20 No.1, January 1997) With all the attention the newer technologies garner, we find it reassuring that some people still care enough about LP and FM playback to produce products as refined as our joint winners in this category, the design of each of which is predicated on the concept of careful attention to all of the details.
