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Rega Apollo CD player Sam Tellig, March 2007

Sam Tellig wrote about the Rega Apollo in March 2007 (Vol.30 No.3):

Artie Dudley reviewed this CD-rotating apparatus (CD-only players have become nearly as obsolete as turntables) last June and went bananas over it. Quite rightly so, Mr. Dudley.

Now, $995 might seem a lot of money for a CD player to pair up with a $645 integrated amp, such as Rega's Brio 3 (footnote 1). But Rega doesn't make a less expensive CD player. Besides, Rega believes that it's always better to put as much money as possible into your source components: your CD player or turntable, and preferably both. Rega…

The Fifth Element #36

Were I trying to make a living by giving piano recitals, David Stanhope's new CD, A Virtuoso Recital (Tall Poppies TP184), just might tempt me to wash down a fistful of pills with a bottle of Scotch. The saving grace being that Stanhope seems to have enough things to occupy himself with in his native Australia. The risk of his showing up in New York City and playing a recital, thereby giving a lot of people existential crises and sleepless nights, seems remote.

Stanhope first came to my attention courtesy the nice folks at Stuart & Sons pianos, whose innovative refinements of piano…

Plinius SA-100 Mk.II power amplifier Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital Front-End: Krell KPS-20i/l.
Analog Front-End: Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Naim Armageddon power supply, Naim ARO tonearm, Transfiguration Temper cartridge; or VPI TNT Mk.III turntable, VPI JMW Memorial tonearm, van den Hul Frog cartridge.
Phono Section: Naim Prefix/HiCap or Krell KPE Reference.
Preamplifier: Ayre K1.
Loudspeakers: MartinLogan SL-3.
Interconnects: MIT balanced 350, Cardas balanced phono, Monster M-1000i.
Cables: MIT 850, AudioQuest Crystal/Argent bi-wire.
Accessories: The Shelf by Black Diamond Racing; Mark 3…

Plinius SA-100 Mk.II power amplifier Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

A full set of measurements of the second sample of the Plinius SA-100 Mk.II was made in its unbalanced mode, in class-A operation, with selected measurements repeated in class-AB. The amplifier would not function properly in balanced mode, producing noise and hum levels that swamped any attempt at accurate measurement. This is consistent with WP's observations, and is the reason no balanced results are presented here. This is a serious shortcoming for the user who desires balanced operation, and needs to be investigated by the manufacturer if they plan to market…

The Fifth Element #37

While you might have been paying attention to other matters, there has been a quiet revolution in affordable recording technology. What if I told you that I've been making pure Direct Stream Digital (DSD), SACD-quality two-channel recordings using equipment that, from soup to nuts, costs less than $6000? Read on.

I last covered recording equipment in "The Fifth Element" in the August 2002 issue (Vol.25 No.8). That column remains the best place to start if you're just getting going. This column reports on some spiffy new equipment I've been working and playing with over the past…

The Fifth Element #37 Page 2

There are two compelling and (one not so compelling) reasons to record this way, instead of just using two actual rather than virtual angled X-Y directional microphones. First, unlike X-Y pairs, in M-S technique the Mid mike is completely on-axis to the sound source. Obviously, this would make less of a difference for an orchestra than for a point source. But for natural recordings of voice, guitar, harpsichord, piano, or any other small source, it should make a worthwhile difference.

Second, by using M-S technique, very fine adjustments of the balance of direct and ambient sounds are…

The Well-Tempered Arm

Remember Rube Goldberg? He was a cartoonist during the late 1920s to early 1950s who specialized in devising the most outlandish and ingenious devices ever conceived by man, before or since. A Rube Goldberg mousetrap, for example, would occupy an entire small room. In taking the bait, the mouse would tip a balance beam, dropping a steel ball into a gutter, down which the ball would roll to strike a paddle whose spin would wind up a string that hoisted a weight into the air until it reached a trigger at the top, which would then release the weight to drop onto the unsuspecting mouse. Splat!…

The Well-Tempered Arm Bill Sommerwerck, August 1986

Bill Sommerwerck wrote about the WTA in August 1986 (Vol.9 No.5):

An ad from a famous-name-brand pickup manufacturer in the November 1985 Audio suggests that their "phono cartridge on the end of your tonearm is the best investment you can make to improve the sound of your stereo system." In my case, it was just the opposite; a new arm and 'table, "hanging" on my pickup, produced some amazing improvements.

A few years back, when I finally became convinced that turntables really do sound different, I decided to upgrade from my Luxman PD-121/Signet XK50 turntable and tonearm. But I…

The Well-Tempered Arm Robert Harley, January 1992

Robert Harley wrote about the Well-Tempered Arm in January 1992 (Vol.15 No.1):

The Well-Tempered Turntable (WTT) and Well-Tempered Arm (WTA) combination is one of those products destined for the audio hall of fame. This unusual design incorporated some innovative thinking and quickly established itself in the mid 1980s as a musical bargain in a world of similarly priced competitors...The Stereophile-owned WTT served as a reference in J. Gordon Holt's system and, just as tools are passed down from master to apprentice, I inherited the WTT and WTA when JGH moved up to the Versa Dynamics 2…

The Well-Tempered Arm More RH

Robert Harley wrote about the Well-Tempered Black Arm in April 1993 (Vol.16 No.4):

The Black Well-Tempered Arm is very similar to the original WTA, but with a few changes. The Black Arm features a thicker aluminum (instead of stainless steel) arm tube, a new headshell that has two mounting holes for a more secure mechanical connection to the cartridge, and a single large stainless-steel counterweight. The wiring is also updated, and the terminal block is fitted with higher-quality RCA jacks.

The Black Arm can be bought separately for $900. Owners of the original WTA can have…