Natalie was either impressed by my impeccable taste in music or high on Brussels sprouts: At some point during the meatloaf dinner at my place (see last month's column), with a smile so wicked and dazzling it could knock a stylus from a groove, she asked if I would be the DJ at her next house party.
"Really?"
"Yeah. I've loved everything you've played tonight."
Delighted, I tried not to show it. I turned from Natalie's brilliant smile to stare at the hi-fi, as if the hi-fi would be the guiding light for my next few moves. I was worried, of course, because worrying is what…
Fortunately, I needed only 30 minutes. I'd noticed that the shelves were somewhat wobbly, so I began by tightening their corner screws. While this made them sturdier and had a positive effect on my mental well-being, it did almost nothing to damp vibrations: records still skipped. Next, I dismantled the system, emptied the turntable's Expedit of all picture frames, vases, and other items, and flipped it on its side. Finding that the unit's bottom surface lacked felt pads or anything else to isolate it from the wood floor, I placed a glob of Blu-Tack at each bottom corner, stood the unit…
While I've never thought of the PSB Alpha B1s as sounding dark or laid-back, they certainly seemed that way when set against the light of the Klipsch Synergy B-20s, which consistently offered a snappier, more percussive, more physical presentation of Fahey's technique. At times through the B-20, Fahey seemed to deepen his concentration, playing his guitar with more force and discipline. Through the PSB, "In a Persian Market" seemed slower, with perhaps a bit more swagger and sway, but less spectacle. I was less impressed by Fahey's quick runs up the fretboard and more inclined to nod my…
Sidebar: Contacts
Audioengine. Tel: (877) 853-4477. Web: www.audioengineusa.com.
Bright Star Audio, 22647 Ventura Blvd., Suite 366, Woodland Hills, CA 91364-1416. Tel: (818) 577-7924. Fax: (818) 704-1978. Web: www.brightstaraudio.com.
Klipsch Group, Inc., 3502 Woodview Trace, Suite 200, Indianapolis, IN 46268. Tel: (800) 544-1482, (317) 860-8100. Fax: (317) 860-9170. Web: www.klipsch.com.
Music Hall, 108 Station Road, Great Neck, NY 11023. Tel: (516) 487-3663. Web: www.musichallaudio.com.
Enticing more music lovers to try vinyl requires a foolproof, plug'n'play solution. Asking a member of the digital generation to install a cartridge in a tonearm and then set up the VTA, SRA, VTF, etc. is asking too much. It's easier to make such a request of someone already bitten by the analog bug, but with turntables, wishing someone beginner's luck will not guarantee success.
With that in mind, companies from Pro-Ject to Rega to Clearaudio have produced such products. A few years ago, Marantz commissioned Clearaudio to build one for them. The Marantz TT-15S1 ($1700) was essentially an…
My review sample came equipped with Clearaudio's Concept MC moving-coil cartridge already installed. The MC weighs 8gm and has a moderately high output of 0.4mV at 5cm/s. Its body is made of an alloy of aluminum and magnesium coated with a layer of ceramic, and its boron cantilever is fitted with a Micro Line stylus. The suggested vertical tracking force (VTF) is 2gm, ±0.2gm; the recommended loading is 100 ohms.
Setup and Use
The Concept was really easy to set up. Leveling the turntable was a simple matter of placing the included spirit level on the platter and turning the three…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Belt-driven turntable with decoupled DC motor and integral Clearaudio Verify tonearm. Speeds: 33.33, 45, 78rpm, ±0.04%. Bearing: polished, tempered-steel shaft in polished-bronze sintered bushing, mirror-polished Teflon thrust pad. Platter: polyoxymethylene, 1.1" (30mm) thick. Signal/noise: not specified. Tonearm: effective length: 239.31 mm. Overhang: 17.31mm. Offset angle: 23°. Null points: inner, 66.0mm; Outer, 120.9 mm.
Dimensions: 16.54" (420mm) W by 5.51" (140mm) H by 13.78" (350mm) D. Weight: 16.5 lbs (7.5kg).
Serial Number Of Unit…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn, Cobra, and Castellon turntable, tonearm, and stand; Graham Phantom II, Kuzma 4Point tonearms; Ortofon A90 cartridge.
Digital Sources: Playback Designs MPS-5 SACD/CD player–DAC, BPT-modified Alesis Masterlink hard-disk recorder, Sooloos music server, Pure Music software.
Preamplification: Ypsilon VPS-100, Einstein Turntable's Choice, Lejonklou Kinki & Kinki 3 phono preamplifiers; darTZeel NHB-18NS preamplifier.
Power Amplifier: Musical Fidelity Titan.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties…
Throw your hands in the air!
In our July issue, I open “The Entry Level” by discussing some recent nights spent with my dear friends, Natalie and Nicole, dancing and drinking and laughing at our favorite local bar, Lucky 7, in downtown Jersey City. I go on to discuss the loneliness I sometimes feel when the night is over and the time has come to walk back home, beneath the pale yellow light of streetlamps and through the neon-puddled streets.
I know that sounds sad and all, but, come on, I’m writing about music. I’m trying to be evocative, emotional, musical. When I go on to…
Getting on two years ago, in an effort to identify the best bargains for music lovers on a budget, I wrote a series of columns exploring the field of affordable loudspeakers and CD receivers (footnote1). I hadn't planned to revisiting that topic so soon, but two developments have convinced me to: first, my encounter with one of the most idiosyncratic budget loudspeakers ever to grace my listening space, and in some ways is a new benchmark for performance vs price, especially for classical-music fans; and second, the advent of a new product category: Affordable Internet-Radio-Capable CD…
