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Listening #118 Page 2

Minutes later, the armboard was drilled—a 20mm hole to accommodate the tonearm's bearing pillar, and three 2mm holes for the collet-fixing woodscrews—and the Ortofon was in place, ready to make music.

Surprises
Count me among the hobbyists who think that 12" tonearms and old-fashioned, low-compliance pickup heads such as the EMT OFD series and Ortofon's own SPU series go together like cucumbers and Hendrick's gin. True enough—but that's where the surprises come in.

Fig.1: Starting out with a freshly made board, fixable to the plinth with sturdy bolts and…

Listening #118 List of the Month

Sidebar 1: List of the Month

The land that time forgot: a dozen audio products that have been continuously available for over 30 years

Klipsch Klipschorn loudspeaker (66 years)
Ortofon SPU pickup head (53 years)
EMT OFD 25 pickup head (53 years)
Lowther PM4 drive-unit (52 years)
Denon DL-103 phono cartridge (50 years)
Klipsch La Scala loudspeaker (49 years)
EMT TSD 15 pickup head (47 years)
Linn Sondek LP12 turntable (39 years)
Naim NAP 250 amplifier (37 years)
Shahinian Acoustics Obelisk loudspeaker (35 years)
Shindo Laboratory Western…

Listening #118 Contacts

Sidebar 2: Contacts

Ortofon A/S, Stavangervej 9, DK-4900, Nakskov, Denmark. Tel: (45) 54-91-19-15. Fax: (45) 54-91-19-11. Web: www.ortofon.com. US distributor: Ortofon Inc., 500 Executive Boulevard, Suite 102, Ossining, NY 10562. Tel: (914) 762-8646. Fax: (914) 762-8649. Web: www.ortofon.us.

Clearaudio Ovation & Clarify turntable & tonearm

Like many audiophiles, I cohabit with someone who understands my audio obsession but has no desire to share it. That someone is my wife. Since I began writing for Stereophile, Ashley has helped me carry amplifiers, tape up boxes for shipping, and found room in our house for all the extra components and their boxes—which sometimes make the place look like a scene from an episode of Hoarders. She's a peach. Every time new gear comes to the house or to my studio, my wife has calmly helped me move stuff around while I dance around like a six-year-old on Christmas morning.

Occasionally, as a…

Clearaudio Ovation & Clarify turntable & tonearm Page 2

The Ovation typically ships with the Clarify tonearm. Please describe it.

"The Clarify has a machined aluminum headshell with azimuth adjustment, a carbon-fiber armtube, a magnetic bearing, and a low-center-of-gravity counterweight with integral mechanism for adjusting the vertical tracking force (VTF). The magnetic bearing has two opposing magnets, for a friction- and wear-free bearing. The armwand is suspended via a wire loop that threads through the lower section of the tonearm bearing. A knob on the bottom of the arm is used to tension this wire for antiskate adjustment. The…

Clearaudio Ovation & Clarify turntable & tonearm Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Belt-driven turntable with resonance-optimized chassis and decoupled DC motor, self-adjusting speed control, and dynamically balanced POM platter 1.5" (40mm) thick. Speeds: 331/3, 45, 78rpm. Main bearing: polished ceramic shaft in sintered bronze bushing, Ceramic Magnet Bearing (CMB). All turntable feet fine-adjustable. Rumble (DIN IEC 98 by method A): –92dB. Speed accuracy: <±0.03%.
Dimensions: 16.5" (420mm) W by 6" (115mm) H by 14" (350mm) D. Weight (with Clarify tonearm): 34 lbs (15.5kg).
Serial number of unit reviewed: 0330017 (…

Clearaudio Ovation & Clarify turntable & tonearm Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog Sources: Clearaudio Concept turntable & tonearm with Concept moving-magnet cartridge.
Digital Sources: Benchmark DAC1 HDR, Bel Canto e.One DAC 3.5VB Mk.II D/A converters; Bel Canto e.One CD 2 CD player & VBS1 power supply; Sony Vaio laptop computer.
Preamplification: Clearaudio Nano & Basic+ phono stages.
Power Amplifiers: Rogue Audio M-180, Simaudio Moon Evolution 880M (both monoblocks).
Loudspeakers: Revel Performa F30, Marten Django.
Cables: Digital: Stereovox HDVX coaxial, Silver Sonic D-110 AES/EBU. USB: Cardas…

The Entry Level #22

The Tannoy Mercury V1 loudspeakers ($320/pair; see last month's column) were already carefully packed in their box, pushed into a corner of my messy kitchen, ready to go to John Atkinson for a Follow-Up—but I couldn't stop thinking about them. Their delicate, graceful highs and tight, properly balanced bass had entranced me, and, now, as I listened over and over to a recent reissue of Bill Dixon's amazing Intents and Purposes (CD, International Phonograph LSP-3844), I felt a strange urge to unpack the Tannoys and return them to my listening room. I had to know how Intents and Purposes would…

The Entry Level #22 Page 2

Like the ZphonoUSB, the Zcd packs a lot of versatility into its compact chassis. The rear panel is fairly busy but neatly organized: Variable and Fixed analog outputs; a video output; a 3.5mm stereo line input; coaxial and optical digital outputs; an RS-232 control jack; IR Control In and Loop output jacks for custom-install applications; a USB input for MP3 playback; a three-way turn-on switch with positions for Manual, AC, and 12V; 12V input and output jacks; and, finally, a standard IEC AC receptacle for the included power cord.

The Variable output jacks carry the audio signal at a…

The Entry Level #22 Contacts

Sidebar Contacts

Parasound Products, Inc., 2250 McKinnon Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94124. Tel: (415) 397-7100. Fax: (415) 397-0144 Web: www.parasound.com