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Lyra Clavis Da Capo moving-coil phono cartridge Mikey's System

Sidebar: Mikey's System

In comparing these two cartridges I used two different tonearms on the VPI TNT Mk.3: the Graham 1.5t unipivot, and the Rockport Capella air-bearing linear tracker, which is silicone-damped horizontally. (Such damping is a must, in my opinion, for any linear-tracker to perform properly with a high-performance cartridge.)

With the Graham's interchangeable arm tubes, changing cartridges took but a few minutes. It would normally take somewhat longer to switch cartridges in the Rockport; however, since both models place the stylus tip the same distance from the…

Lyra Clavis Da Capo moving-coil phono cartridge Specifications

Sidebar 2: Specifications

Description: low-output moving-coil phono cartridge featuring a Ceralloy cantilever; low-mass, Ogura PA line-contact stylus; "six nines" purity copper coils; "five nines" iron core; and a body milled from a single piece of "aircraft-grade" aluminum alloy. Internal impedance: 2 ohms. Recommended vertical tracking force (VTF): 1.6–1.8 grams. Compliance: approximately 12cu at 10Hz. Weight: 9.5 grams. Channel separation: 35dB or better. Frequency range: 10Hz–50kHz. Output: 0.25mV (5cm/s, 45° peak). Recommended load: 47k ohms or less.
Serial number of unit…

True, Truer, Truest: Reviewers

"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture."—Laurie Anderson

And writing about audio components is an even harder trick to successfully pull off. What is it that makes some writers competent to write authoritatively about hi-fi products, while others waffle in a morass of non-communication?

In his letter on affirmative action in this month's "Letters," Carl Hoefer states that "reviewers can be trained, not just plucked full-grown from the population." While I don't disagree with his statement—in fact, such "training" is a major part of my responsibility as this…

Recommended Components Addendum

Phono Accessories & Record Cleaners

Acoustic Revive RL-30 Mk.3 record demagnetizer: $1975
The RL-30 Mk.3 removed the high-frequency glaze from harsh-sounding LPs to make a believer out of Mikey. "I'm sorry to report that demagnetizing LPs works—consistently and decidedly," he said. Its conservative looks and useful dustcover give it an edge over Furutech's De Mag, in MF's opinion. (Vol.29 No.10)

Air Tight AT-LCE-1 Cartridge Enhancer: $360
(See "Analog Corner" in Vol.30 No.10.)

Benz/Aesthetix MC Demagnetizer: $199
Battery-powered, reasonably priced, seems to…

The Great Distortion Delusion

Hey, kids, here's the Big News. We've been deluding ourselves all along, worrying about piddling little bits of distortion that we can't hear at all. How's your preamp distortion? 1% at 1 volt out? You have a perfect preamp—a veritable straight wire with gain! That ear-shattering shrillness is all in your mind, because it has now been demonstrated that the human ear cannot perceive distortion levels of less than 6–12% on "normally complex music." If you think you can hear 0.1%, you are deluding yourself.

That, believe it or not, is the gist of an article by Robert Carver of Phase Linear…

The High End, Mid-Fi, & Pretend High End

If there's a phrase that increasingly gets my dander up, it's "mid-fi." I'm even starting to lose patience with the term "High End."

There are products I've heard audio snobs dismiss as "mid-fi"—Tyll Hertsens' delightful little HeadRoom headphone amplifiers, for example—purely because they're cheap enough to bring them in reach of those who don't have unlimited disposable income.

On the other hand, there are high-priced products—I'll draw a kindly veil over which ones, this not being the appropriate forum to add to their manufacturers' miseries—which audiophiles almost…

Krell KSA-50 power amplifier

Some readers may feel that it is pushing poetic license beyond reasonable limits to call the Krell KSA-50 a "new-wave" amplifier. It has, after all, been around for several years. The Krell KSA-50 is new-wave enough, however, to be an incredibly stiff class-A design, rather than a pseudo–class-A circuit, and its 50 watts per channel are supported by enough of a power supply to drive an arc welder. You get about 70 watts of RMS power with 8 ohms, 150 watts with 4 ohms, and sufficient watts into 2 ohms to threaten my load resistors. There is almost enough power to drive a pair of Apogee…

Krell KSA-50 power amplifier Specifications

Sidebar: Specifications

Description: Solid-state stereo power amplifier. Maximum power output: 50W into 8 ohms (17dBW), doubles with each halving of load impedance down to 1 ohm.
Dimensions: 19" W by 9" H (including feet) by 19" D (including handles). Weight: 60 lbs (net).
Serial number of unit tested: not noted.
Price: $1900 (1995); no longer available (2007).
Manufacturer: Krell Industries, Milford, CT 06460 (1985); Krell Industries, 45 Connair Drive, Orange, CT 06477. Tel: (203) 799-9954. Fax: (203) 799-9796. Web: www.krellonline.com.

Krell KSA-200S power amplifier

There's always a certain amount of jockeying for position at the very top of the High End. Every few months, a new star burns brightly, getting all the attention. While the constant turnover at the cutting edge helps to define the state of the art, audiophiles should keep their eyes on the longer term. It's a company's track record—examined over a period of years—which defines its position in the market and the credibility of its products.

Ever since I made the acquaintance of my first Krell product—the KSA-50 power amplifier—I've been impressed by this Connecticut-based company'…

Krell KSA-200S power amplifier Page 2

Early amplifier stages have fully regulated supplies, later ones distributed wide-bandwidth supply decoupling.

Once upon a time, Krell power amplifiers claimed and achieved low distortion factors. This wasn't a specific design feature, but a byproduct of their inherently linear circuitry. As good-sounding modern amplifiers continue to demonstrate, the link between sound quality and low distortion figures measured in the lab with continuous tones is a tenuous one. A low-feedback design will generally produce higher distortion; Krell has no qualms in revealing figures for full-power total…