Luckily, this is easy to do: Remove the arm, place one or two standard Rega shims (available…
search
Given the above, you should know what it takes to use the DV10x5 in that setting. In particular, because the new Dyna is taller than the average phono cartridge—almost 19mm from the surface of the record it's sitting on to the top of its mounting platform (15mm is about average)—there's no escaping the fact that the owner of a Planar 3 absolutely must reposition the tonearm in order to raise it slightly, relative to the platter, to bring the stylus angle within spitting distance of the ideal.
And most of all, it made Guided by Voices' Bee Thousand (Scat 35) sound messy and fun, which it is. What else is there?
The only other thing that comes to mind is the issue of vinyl noise, be it steady-state (groove grunge) or not (tics and pops), said performance being a function of stylus profile, stylus condition (the extent to which it's been properly polished), and the cantilever's ability to shrug off rather than store resonant energy. Here the DV10x5 gets a solid "Good" rating: It was better than all the MM cartridges I know and even some of the MCs, pricier ones included,…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: High-output moving-coil cartridge. Output: 2.5mV (at 1kHz, 5cm/s). Compliance: 12cu (1cu = 106cm/dyne). Channel balance: 1dB (at 1kHz). Channel separation: 25dB (at 1kHz). Stylus profile: elliptical. Cantilever: 6mm aluminum tube. DC resistance: 150 ohms. Recommended tracking force: 1.8-2.2gm. Recommended load impedance: 1k ohms or greater.
Weight: 6.6gm.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 45449.
Price: $360. Approximate number of dealers: 30.
Manufacturer: Dynavector Systems, Ltd., 16-15 Iwamoto-cho 2-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0032,…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Rega Planar 3 turntable with Rega RB-300 tonearm. Linn LP12 turntable with Naim Armageddon power supply; Naim Aro tonearm; Supex 900 Super, Lyra Helikon Mono phono cartridges.
Digital source: Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player.
Preamplification: Linn Linto phono preamplifier; Audio Note M3, Naim NAC32-5 preamplifiers.
Power amplifiers: Audio Note Kit One (300B), Naim NAP110.
Loudspeakers: Quad ESL-989.
Cables: Interconnect: Nordost Valhalla, Linn Analogue, Naim SNAIC (various), homemades. Speaker: Nordost Valhalla & Flatline,…
Last month (click here for previous Fine Tunes) I tipped you on how to check the AC plug orientation for transformer current leakage—the best sound is often found at the lowest voltmeter reading. Roger Skoff of XLO suggests another technique that's worth passing on to you, if only because the imagery is so . . . piquant: Leave the speaker cables hooked up and pull the interconnects from the power amplifier. Turn it on and "stick your head in the speaker," as Roger puts it, checking for the level of hum. (Imagine a pair of bony audiophile legs waving crazily out of the bell of an Avantgarde…
By the way, ground loops and rectifier buzz aren't the same as induced 60Hz hum, which is altogether more difficult to hear. You don't often notice that kind of "pure" and "clean" single-frequency hum, especially if you've been reading "Fine Tunes" and have taken the time to properly dress your cables and power cords. Ahem.
So, what to do? The first, easiest, and best way to avoid ground loops and improve the sound of your system in one fell swoop is to run all your components on the same AC line. A single-supply outlet box with a single low-impedance (you hope) ground connection to the…
A letter in response appeared in June 1999:
It's the amps what kills you
Editor: Please tell Jonathan Scull and Nagra ("Fine Tunes," April '99, p.63) that it is current that kills you, not voltage. Shame on them for not knowing their physics.—Tim O'Connor, Tim.Oconnor@ecolab.com
We also received the following two letters on the subject, neither of which was published at the time.
It's current and voltage that kills you
I read in "Letters" a criticism of Jonathan Scull for saying that high voltages can kill you. This guy said that it was the current that…
The audiophile electrician speaks out
Editor: As an electrician and audiophile, I thought I should correct some errors in Jonathan Scull's recent comments on grounding ("Fine Tunes," March '99, p.51). According to the National Electric Code, the neutral is the grounded conductor, whose job it is to carry the current back to ground. The "ground" is actually the equipment-grounding conductor and has no electronic purpose whatsoever. The sole purpose of the grounding conductor is life safety.
If a short were to occur in a piece of equipment, the chassis might become energized, and…
In his April 16, 2001 website essay "Where's Our Freedom of Audio Choice?" reader Jim Tavegia railed against the ubiquitous policy of manufacturers only allowing their products to be available through selected retailers. "If I'm willing to pay the UPS costs, it should be my prerogative to buy equipment anywhere I please," he wrote. This echoes a controversy that appeared in the print magazine 15 years ago. The affair started with some innocent-looking text written by Audio Cheapskate Sam Tellig in the December 1985 Stereophile (Vol.8 No.8):
Where to Buy
I generally recommend…
Papa Bach is gone now, along with almost every quality bookstore we had. A Los Angeles Times book reviewer recently pointed out that it's becoming harder than ever to get poetry or scholarly works published; with no retail outlet, such books have nowhere to go. Crown won't carry them, and the bookstores that would have are gone. Art suffers; literature loses some creative spark; new writers are never fledged—the stakes are too high. Remember, Crown orders 10,000 each of 20 titles, not 20 each of 10,000 titles. McBook has proved massively successful at driving out excellence with mediocrity…