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Most telling of all was its performance with real music. Herbert von Karajan's really brilliant 1962 recording of Beethoven's Symphony 5 (Deutsche Grammophon 138 804) was cleaner, more dramatic, and more enjoyable than ever before. The great C-major theme of the final movement was clear as a bell, right down to the timpani that ushered it in: Slightly grainy though that recording is, overall, there was no coarsening of the sound in that or any other passage. Likewise, the fortissimo chords in Witold Malcuzynski's performance of Chopin's Polonaise in A-flat Major, Op.53 (Angel S35728),…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Ekos SE: Fixed-pivot, medium-mass tonearm with nondetachable headshell. Antiskating and downforce: calibrated, spring-driven. Downforce range: 0–3gm. Effective length, stylus to pivot: 229mm. Overhang: 18mm. Cable termination: RCA plugs.
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed: 10587.
Price: $4950.
Keel: One-piece subchassis, tonearm board, and tonearm mounting collar for Linn LP12 turntable.
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed: N/A.
Price: $3250.
Trampolin: Accessory base for Linn LP12 turntable.
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed: N/A.
Price: $250…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Linn Lingo & Basik power supplies; Naim Aro tonearm; Miyabi 47, Linn Adikt & Linn Akiva phono cartridges; Tamura TKS-83, VAS MC-One, K&K Audio, Auditorium 23 Standard & Hommage T1 step-up transformers.
Digital Source: Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player.
Preamplifier: Shindo Masseto.
Power Amplifiers: Quad II monoblocks, Shindo Montille & Cortese.
Loudspeakers: Quad ESL, DeVore Fidelity Nine.
Cables: Interconnect: Audio Note AN-Vx, Shindo Silver. Speaker: Auditorium 23. AC: JPS…
Letters in Response
More, please
Editor: I always enjoy Art Dudley's work regarding evaluation of various Linn LP12 turntable bits. I'm aware from past reviews that Art prefers the pre-Cirkus bearing, and was wondering what bearing was used during his evaluation of the Keel subchassis in October (p.169)? Were both bearings tried on the Keel during his evaluation process?—John Gilleran
quadesl@msn.com
Yes please, Art
Editor: I was totally disappointed to find that Art Dudley's review in October did not even attempt to make a comparison (even from memory) between Linn'…
Home Entertainment 2007 was a blast for me, as it is every year. Not only did I get to perform with two jazz bands, Attention Screen and the John Atkinson Trio, but I enjoyed good to extraordinary sound in every room I visited. I've been attending hi-fi shows more than 20 years, so I'm rarely surprised, but HE2007 had two big surprises in store. First, the percentage of rooms sporting analog front-ends—vinyl and open-reel tape—was the highest I've seen at a show in over a decade. Second, there was a surprising number of very expensive loudspeakers. In fact, I counted more speakers costing…
But well-recorded classical works were still the best, I believe, at putting the Primus P162 through its paces. Reproducing the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival performance of Kohjiba's Transmigration of the Soul (CD, Stereophile STPH007-2), the speakers "disappeared"—all of the musicians were presented on a wide, deep, airy soundstage with excellent specificity and realism. Carol Wincenc's flute was airy and articulate, and although the most extreme upper partials of her instrument were missing, the harmonic structures of all of the instruments sounded so right. The lower-register cello…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Shielded, reflex-loaded, two-way, stand-mounted loudspeaker. Drive-units: 0.75" (19mm) Metal Matrix Diaphragm(MMD) tweeter, 6.5" (165mm) Metal Matrix Diaphragm woofer. Crossover frequency & slopes: 3kHz, 24dB/octave. Frequency response: 49Hz–20kHz, ±3dB. Sensitivity: 90dB (2.83V at 1m). Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Recommended amplification: 10–150W.
Dimensions: 14.75" (375mm) H by 8.25" (208mm) W by 11" (280mm) D. Weight: 16.1 lbs (7.3kg).
Finish: Black wood-grain.
Serial Numbers Of Units Reviewed: ME2082-003619 & 20.
Price: $298/…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: VPI TNT IV turntable, Immedia RPM tonearm, Koetsu Urushi cartridge; Rega Planar 3 turntable, Syrinx PU-3 tonearm, Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood & Aurum Beta S cartridges.
Digital Sources: Lector CDP-7T, California Audio Labs Icon Mk.II Power Boss, Creek Destiny & CD53 Mk.II CD players; Pioneer DV-333 DVD player.
Preamplification: Vendetta Research SCP-2D phono stage, Audio Valve Eklipse line stage.
Power Amplifier: Audio Research VT100 Mk.II.
Integrated Amplifiers: Creek Destiny & Creek 5350SE.
Loudspeakers: Infinity…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The Infinity Primus P162 plays surprisingly loud with very few amplifier watts, its estimated voltage sensitivity on its tweeter axis coming in at 89.5dB(B)/2.83V/m, which is within experimental error of the specified 90dB. The speaker is also a relatively undemanding load for the partnering amplifier, with an impedance that drops below 4 ohms only at the top of the audioband, and remains between 5 and 8 ohms much of the time (fig.1). Though the electrical phase angle reaches –45° at 125Hz, the impedance at this frequency is 10 ohms, alleviating the negative…
"If the midrange isn't right, nothing else matters." Stereophile founder J. Gordon Holt's decades-old observation of the musical importance of the midrange has become a truism cast in stone. Gordon's other famous observation, "The better the sound, the worse the measurements," was made only partially in jest.
In JGH's great tradition of condensing profound audio wisdom into simple aphorisms, I humbly offer my own and others' observations of the audio world at large.
A sonic improvement is meaningful only if it has musical significance.
Soft, warm, and rolled-off is less…