,. That's one reason I love cartridges so well: The physical and technical differences among various makes and models don't seem remarkable, yet the sonic and musical results of those differences certainly are. Even those audio mavens who think of themselves (howsoever wrongly) as…
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There are a thousand different ways to make a loudspeaker. A hundred to make an amplifier. And at least a million to make a piece of wire. But here's the deal with a moving-coil phono cartridge: stylus, cantilever, rubber grommet, tensioning wire, coils, magnet, output pins, and maybe a body. Done.
From within that space, a wealth of realistic sonic detail emerged—something I also like well. I've written before about my fondness for Leonard Cohen's New Skin for the Old Ceremony (Columbia C 33167), and how that 1974 album really came to life for me when I acquired my first moving-coil phono cartridge. The Brinkmann EMT extracted still more realism—Cohen's nylon-string guitar sounded even righter than before, with no trace of brightness. The acoustic and electric basses on the record sounded fine, too, with similar gains in texture and believable color.
On John Barbirolli…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Low-output moving-coil cartridge. Stylus profile: van den Hul. Nominal Output: 0.21mV. Compliance: 15cu. Crosstalk: >25dB (1kHz). Vertical tracking angle: 23°. Recommended load: 600 ohms (active). Recommended downforce: 1.8–2.0gm.
Weight: 11gm.
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed: 1205.
Price: $2850. Approximate number of dealers: 14.
Manufacturers: EMT Studiotechnik GmbH, Industriestrasse 25, 77972 Mahlberg, Germany. Tel: (49) 7825-877811. Web: www.emt-studiotechnik.de. Brinkmann Audio, Im Himmelreich 13, 88147 Achberg, Germany. Tel: (49)…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Linn LP12 turntable, Naim Armageddon power supply, Naim Aro tonearm; Linn Akiva, Miyabi 47, Supex 900 Super cartridges; Linn Linto, Artemis PH-1 phono preamplifiers; Tamura TKS-83 moving-coil step-up transformer.
Digital Sources: Naim CD5x/Flatcap 2X CD player; Sony SCD-777ES SACD player.
Preamplifiers: Audio Note M3 Phono, Lamm LL2.
Power Amplifiers: Lamm ML2.1 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Quad ESL, Quad ESL-989.
Cables: Interconnect: Audio Note AN-Vx & Sogon, Nordost Valhalla, Ayre. Speaker: Audio Note AN-SPe, Nordost…
Oh mama, was I ever excited when I heard rumors of the existence of AKG's K 701! If you're among the audiophiles who sneer at those of us who like headphones, you're probably rolling your eyes and thinking I must lack a rich inner life.
But hold on there, Skippy—some of us use those cans in our prosumer studios, in recording sessions, and even in barn-burning late-night critical listening sessions where we employ ancillary equipment that would beggar your jaded high-end sensibilities. We're not talking about the three-buck, upchuck disposable 'phones your friendly flight attendant flogs…
I'd been given a copy of Geoff Emerick's Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles, so it seemed only natural to pull out copies of the Beatles recordings I was reading about, starting with Revolver (CD, Capitol 025764), the first album on which Emerick sat in the balance engineer's chair. Whoa! I came to about 40 minutes later, when the book fell off my lap. The 701s are not a good choice for listening and reading—music sounds too good to be relegated to the background.
The things I do for this magazine.
I'd intended to follow the text and home in on…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Open-back, circumaural, dynamic headphones with neodymium magnet system. Frequency range: 10Hz–39.8kHz. Impedance at 1kHz: 62 ohms. Sensitivity: 105dB/V. Maximum input power: 200mW. Acoustic seal: open. Ear coupler: full size. Driver: dynamic. Coupler: large. Cable: 99.99% OFC, "balanced" (separate ground for each channel). Cord: 10', straight, left side. Connector: ¼".
Weight: 8.3oz (235gm), not including cable.
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed: 1935.
Price: $450. Approximate number of dealers: 1100.
Manufacturer: AKG Acoustics GmbH,…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Ayre C5-xe universal player; Musical Fidelity X-RayV3, Quad CDP-2 CD players.
Headphone Amplifiers: HeadRoom Micro DeskTop & DeskTop Max, Channel Islands VHP-1, Ray Samuels Audio SR-71 & Hornet, Musical Fidelity X-CansV3.
Preamplifier: Conrad-Johnson CT5.
Cables: Interconnect: Audience Au24, Shunyata Research Aries, Stereovox Colibri.
Accessories: Furutech TP-80 and Audience adeptResponse power conditioners, Shunyata Research Hydra power-distribution system; OSAR Selway/Magruder equipment racks; Ayre Myrtle Wood Blocks…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
It is difficult to make a meaningful measurement of a headphone's frequency response, not least because a flat response is not actually what is required. However, I did measure how the K 701's impedance changes with frequency (fig.1), as that gives an indication of how hard the headphones will be for the amplifier to drive. The AKG's impedance ranges between 60 and 65 ohms across most of the audioband, with a low electrical phase angle. The angle starts to increase above the low treble, but so does the impedance, due to the voice-coil inductance. This increase…
Well, I finally got a chance to try out these excellent 'phones, and the virtues that have made Sam Tellig and Wes Phillips confirmed fans were immediately apparent. Driven by Grace Design's m902 DAC-linestage-headphone amplifier, the 701s exhibited clarity and detail in abundance, as well as bass that was powerful and well defined. Mechanical noises and stray buzzes and rattles deep within my organ recording Pipes Rhode Island (RIAGO CD 101) were annoyingly apparent, while the majesty of Master Tallis's Testament was gratifyingly present.
The 701s' appearance and build quality are first-…