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Oracle Delphi Mk.VI turntable

Thirty years have not diminished the beauty and elegance of Oracle's Delphi turntable. In my opinion, it still ranks among the best-looking turntables ever made. I bought an original Mk.I, used, in 1982, and very positively reviewed the Delphi Mk.V in the December 1997 Stereophile.

In its three decades the Delphi has undergone many upgrades both technical and aesthetic. Not surprisingly, so has the price. The Mk.II Delphi sold for $1250 in 1986; the Delphi Mk.VI with Turbo power supply and dedicated power cord now sells for $8500, which, in today's market, I think is reasonable…

Oracle Delphi Mk.VI turntable Page 2

Oracle's Micro Vibration Stabilizer silicone damping system was designed to diminish, as much as possible, all of these potential problems without reducing the spring suspension's effectiveness. It sounded as if it was working as intended. I could hear the Delphi Mk.VI with MVSS system engaged or not by rotating the three Delrin paddles in and out of the silicone and listening each way. Oracle says that 3.25 turns' worth down into the fluid sounds best. I took their word for it and compared that setting with 0.0 turns.

The suspension's ability to isolate the system from…

Oracle Delphi Mk.VI turntable Specifications

Sidebar: Specifications

Description: Belt-drive turntable. Speeds: 331/3 & 45 rpm. Built-in drive electronics; electronically controlled speed adjustment (±5%). Finish: silver and black (other finishes available at extra cost).
Dimensions: 20" W by 15" D by 5.5" H (w/o arm). Weight: 28 lbs.
Price: $8500 without tonearm.
Manufacturer: Oracle Audio Technologies, 6136 Blvd. Bertrand Fabi, Suite 101, Sherbrooke, Quebec J1N 2P3, Canada. Tel: (819) 864-0480. Fax: (819) 864-9641. Web: www.oracle-audio.com.

Ultimate Ears 18 Pro in-ear headphones

Headphone listening is hot these days, due not only to the ubiquity of the iPod as a music source but also because it is possible to get state-of-the-art headphone playback without having to have stupidly bottomless pockets. A plethora of affordable high-quality headphone amplifiers are available, and high-performance 'phones can be had for a few hundred dollars. Used with a computer or iPod to play uncompressed WAV or AIF files or losslessly compressed FLAC or Apple Lossless (ALAC) files, a headphone-based system can offer the audiophile on a budget seriously good sound.

My own…

Ultimate Ears 18 Pro in-ear headphones Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: In-ear headphones with custom earmolds, 1/8" (3.5mm) stereo plug, and optional Ambience feature. Drive-units: 6 balanced armatures with three-way crossover. Frequency range: 20Hz–18kHz. Sensitivity: 110.6dB SPL at 1kHz. Efficiency: 115.6dB/m. Impedance: 21 ohms at 1kHz. Noise isolation: 26dB.
Dimensions: Weight: 1 oz. Cable length: 48" (1220mm); 64" (1626mm) available for $45 as an accessory.
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed: 3511-1.
Price: $1350 plus custom earmold fee; includes personalized aluminum carrying case and cleaning tool. Optional…

Ultimate Ears 18 Pro in-ear headphones Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital Sources: Apple iPod 160GB, iPod Touch; Ray Samuels Emmeline The Tomahawk portable headphone amplifier; Benchmark DAC1 D/A converter–headphone amplifier driven by S/PDIF optical output of MacBook laptop running iTunes 10 and Pure Music 1.4; CEntrance DACport portable headphone amplifier driven by USB output of MacBook.
Headphones: Sennheiser HD650, Ultimate Ears UE-5c.—John Atkinson

Ultimate Ears 18 Pro in-ear headphones Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

Determining a pair of headphones' optimal frequency response is neither obvious nor trivial, and is compounded by the fact that I lack a microphone small enough to insert in my ears. The only parameter of headphones that I measure, therefore, is their electrical impedance, to determine how difficult they are to drive. To take these readings, I inserted the Ultimate Ears 'phones in my ears so that they had the correct acoustic loading.

The Ultimate Ears 18 Pros' impedance and electrical phase are shown in fig.1. The impedance meets the 21-ohm specification…

Bruce Springsteen: <i>The Promise</i>

I walked home from Nicole and Natalie’s place late Sunday night, during the height of the blizzard. It was a stupid thing to do. Normally a pleasant five-minute walk, that short stretch from their place to mine turned into the most painful and unpleasant experience I’ve ever endured, the fierce wind shooting little daggers of ice into my face and covering my body in snow. Somewhere around the corner of Newark Avenue and Second Street, I thought about just giving up and dying in it. It was so pretty. When I finally made it home, panting uncontrollably and hoping I hadn’t caused some…

Was 2010 a good year for high end audio?

Audio Research LS8 line preamplifier

While high-priced equipment can easily acquire stature on grounds of outright performance and physical appearance, we critics have more admiration for genuine achievement at lower price levels. One such product was the all-triode SP8 preamplifier from Audio Research, launched back in 1982 and priced at $1400. This classically tasteful preamplifier came equipped with a medium-sensitivity phono equalizer and the usual tape and line inputs.

In my review of the SP8 in the February 1983 edition of Hi-Fi News & Record Review, I described a topnotch performer that was equally adept at…