Michael Fremer on the Tri-Planar V Ultimate, February 1998 (Vol.21 No.2):
The first review of the Wheaton Tri-Planar tonearm I can remember reading was in The Abso!ute Sound back in 1985. (Let me put that date in perspective for you: Wilson Audio's David Wilson then reviewed components for TAS, and Steven Stone reviewed records there. I had yet to write for any audio magazine.)
Over the past 12 years or so, both of the Graham and Tri-Planar tonearms have undergone extensive upgrading and refining; along the way, enough has been written about them to leave a paper trail stretching…
Sidebar: Michael Fremer's Associated Equipment
LP Source: VPI TNT Mk.3 turntable; Transfiguration Temper, Lyra Parnassus DC, AudioQuest Fe5, Grado Reference, Goldring Excel phono cartridges.
Preamplifiers: Audible Illusions Modulus 3A, Ayre K-3.
Power Amplifiers: VTL MB 450, Adcom GFA-5802, Conrad-Johnson Premier Twelve.
Loudspeakers: Audio Physic Virgo, Aerial Model 8, Sonus Faber Grand Piano; Audio Physic Terra subwoofer.
Cables: Yamamura Millennium 6000, Cardas Golden Heart, Yamamura Quantum, Electra-Glide AC cord.
Accessories: VibraPlane, Symposium Acoustics, and…
Michael Fremer on the Tri-Planar Mk.VI Ultimate, July 2001 (Vol.24 No.7):
Back in late 1997, when I auditioned the Tri-Planar Mk.V Ultimate tonearm for my review in the February 1998 issue, designer Herb Papier asked if I knew anyone interested in taking over the company. Herb is getting on in years (he's an octogenarian), and while his mind was and still is sharp, his dexterity was slipping. I couldn't help him, but Dung Tri Mei, a young, enthusiastic analog fan (see "Analog Corner," March 2001), hooked up with Herb and bought the company.
The Tri-Planar Mk.VI Ultimate ($3250…
Brian Damkroger on the Tri-Planar Precision Mk.VII, June 2010 (Vol.33 No.6):
Architect Louis Henri Sullivan's maxim of "form ever follows function" is simple and elegant—a device or object should look a direct result of the design choices made to best serve the uses to which the device or object is to be put. Unfortunately, advertisers have for so long used the phrase to justify poor designs and arbitrary styling that it's become just another slogan.
The Tri-Planar Precision Mk.VII tonearm ($4950), on the other hand, is a perfect example of Sullivan's ideal. One look at it tells…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Medium-mass, damped, fixed-bearing, radial-tracking tonearm with fixed headshell.
Dimensions: Effective length: 250mm. Pivot-to-spindle distance: 233.5mm. Overhang: 16.5mm, Headshell offset angle: 22°. Effective mass: 11 grams. Weight: 28 oz.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 2465 (1998).
Price: $1795 (1988); $2375–$2550, depending on termination (1995); $2710 including tonearm cable (1998); $3250 with 1m cable/RCA plug termination (2001); $4950 (2010). Approximate number of dealers: 50.
Manufacturer: Wheaton Music Inc., Wheaton, MD…
Over the past two and a half years, I've auditioned and reviewed a number of digital audio products. It has been a fascinating experience both to watch digital playback technology evolve and to listen to the results of various design philosophies. The road to more musical digital audio has been a slow and steady climb, with occasional jumps forward made possible by new techniques and technologies. Making this odyssey even more interesting (and confounding), digital processors seem to offer varying interpretations of the music rather than striving toward a common ideal of presenting what's on…
The other rear-panel connections include two "Communications Ports." These will permit communication between other Mark Levinson 30–series products for greater user control. For example, when using the No.31 CD transport with the No.30, pressing Play on the transport will automatically switch the No.30 to accept the transport's digital signal.
Three digital outputs for driving digital recorders are provided, two XLR and one Toslink. Two of the outputs (one XLR, one Toslink) are in parallel, selected by the record output selection feature described earlier. The signal being listened to…
Perhaps the most unusual aspect of the No.30's design is the two towers that contain the D/A converters and analog output circuitry. Besides giving the No.30 its distinctive look, there were some important engineering reasons for isolating the analog circuitry from digital signal processing and control signals. The towers are virtually immune to radiated noise, both by their shielding and by their distance from the digital electronics. More important, however, are the thermal conditions under which the critical conversion to analog takes place. The towers were very carefully designed to…
In fact, I find it difficult to describe the No.30's "sound" or "character" because it is so neutral and transparent. I felt as though I were hearing exactly what was on the disc or digital master tape, not the No.30's interpretation of it. The No.30 didn't overlay the music with a common sonic signature. Instead, it seemed to get out of the way, taking the listener one step closer to the musicians. While other processors have been described as "laid-back," "forward," "smooth," "lightweight," or "detailed," the No.30 defied such descriptions. Rather, it seemed to convey the characteristics…
I should add that I enjoyed hearing the specific aspects of the presentation I've described not for their own sake, but for their musical significance. Music listening was a more fulfilling, complete experience through the No.30. Going back to the example of the click sound being replaced by woodblocks of varying pitch, this minuscule objective change in the signal produced a huge perceptual difference. The No.30 revealed a new dimension of rhythmic interaction in this music. Further, there was suddenly an impression of Flora Purim, who plays percussion when she isn't singing, standing…
