Easy to use, little required maintenance
Once the dealer setup was accomplished, the Zero was practically maintenance free for the six months it spent in my listening room. You turn it on by turning a single knob, and then a screen tells you if air is required and where. The easily activated pump with attached air hose lets you "top up" the feet as…
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The Zero can accommodate two 9"–12" tonearms mounted on massive titanium armboards drilled for your choice of arms. The review sample was supplied with two standard titanium armboards drilled for the Graham Elite and SAT CF1-09 tonearms.
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Belt-drive, air-suspension turntable with vacuum hold-down and electronically controlled AC synchronous motor. Speeds: 33 1/3 & 45rpm. Motor type: synchronous AC (Papst). Bearing type: Air. Number of tonearm fittings: 2. Dust-cover: none. Accessories supplied: 2 titanium bases, 1 disc stabilizer, 1 platter cover. Power supply: 115/230V, 50–60Hz.
Dimensions: Turntable: 35.5" (902mm) W × 26.6" (677mm) D × 13.18" (335mm) H. Weight: 750lb (340kg). Power supply/air units (3): 16.9" (430mm) W × 14.3 (365mm) D × 8" (205mm) H. Weight: 33lb (15kg),…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: OMA K3, SAT XD-1 turntables; SAT CF1-09 and Graham Elite tonearms; X-quisite ST, Lyra Atlas Lambda SL and Etna Lambda SL, and TechDAS TDC01 Ti cartridges.
Digital sources: dCS Vivaldi One SACD player DAC; Lynx Hilo A/D–D/A converter; Roon Nucleus server; Pure Vinyl and Vinyl Studio software.
Preamplification: darTZeel NHB-18S, Ypsilon MC-10L, MC-16L, and MC-20L and X-quisite SUT X-20 step-up transformers; Ypsilon VPS-100, CH Precision P1 with X1 PSU.
Power amplifiers: darTZeel NHB-468 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio…
I don't like being pigeonholed as a reviewer of exclusively expensive audio components—because I'm not, as anyone who regularly peruses Analog Planet knows. So, to ease the pain of reviewing the half-million-dollar Air Force Zero turntable—you'll find that review elsehere in this issue—I figured I'd cover some more reasonably priced analog gear here in Analog Corner.
Plus, I need to do some spring cleaning and tidy up a few loose reviewing ends: Only products reviewed in Stereophile qualify for the Recommended Components list, so when I review something at Analog Planet that I think…
When you select an input, the front panel displays the input number, MC or MM, and the selected gain and loading. Only the "Warp" filter isn't available as a preset, which makes sense. If you need it, you push the front-panel button.
The associated equipment I used was over the top for a product at this price point (because I have no choice); it included the new Lyra Etna Lambda SL and Miyajima Labs Infinity mono cartridges, mounted respectively on the SAT CF1-09T and Kuzma 4 Point arms on the SAT XD-1 turntable. I also moved the AR turntable into the main room and tried that with the…
A few audio retailers have recently closed their doors due to pandemic-related hardship or retirement—Lyric Hi-Fi in NYC is a landmark case. So it's refreshing to hear about a longstanding bricks-and-mortar dealer- ship that has avoided that fate: House of Stereo in Jacksonville, Florida.
Jacksonville is unusually well-served for a city its population size. It is home to three audio dealerships, all started in the 1960s: House of Stereo, Hoyt Stereo, and Behrens. The three owners "grew old together," Joe Parvey, the business's new owner, told me in a telephone interview.
Bill…
No one taught me more about the heralded tone of Ortofon SPU cartridges, the magical pacing of idler-drive turntables, or the dynamics and speed of horn-loaded speakers than Art Dudley, Stereophile's late deputy editor. His equipment reviews and monthly Listening columns weren't merely tutorials on how to review audio equipment with insight and an individual voice; they were also an entertaining, informative immersion into the kind of hi-fi he loved. We also shared many conversations, though too few.
Whenever Art lacked the time or interest to review a horn-loaded speaker, I pounced.…
Reproduced by this system, the voices of female vocalists sounded full and natural. Listening through the circuslike production and extreme dynamics of St. Vincent's "Pay Your Way in Pain," from Daddy's Home (16/44.1 MQA, Loma Vista/Tidal), bass drum and toms were rock-solid and tight and electric bass was oily and deep. St. Vincent's vocals imaged beautifully within a wide, immersive stereo spread: The IVs imaged better than the IIIs, no doubt about it. Daddy's Home was detailed and colorful through the IVs—although this album's production is much too slick and processed for my tastes.…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, horn-loaded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: titanium-diaphragm, K-100-TI 1" (25.4mm) compression driver affixed to a 6" × 4" K-79T horn, tweeter; K-702 1.75" (445mm) polyimide compression driver paired with a 10" × 7" K-703-M horn, midrange; K-281 12" (305mm), fiber-composite cone woofer; KD-15 15" (381mm) passive radiator. Frequency range: 38Hz–20kHz. Sensitivity: 99dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms.
Dimensions: 35.75" (908mm) H × 16.63" (422mm) W × 13" (330mm) D, Weight: 72lb (32.7kg) each.
Finish: American walnut,…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Thorens TD124 turntable & Jelco TS-350S tonearm; Denon DL-103 phono cartridge.
Digital source: Tidal streaming via Roon from my laptop, Ayre EX-8 2.0 D/A section.
Preamplifiers: Ayre EX-8 2.0, Shindo Allegro.
Integrated amplifiers: Ayre EX-8 2.0, Parasound Halo Hint 6.
Power amplifiers: LKV Research Veros PWR+, Shindo Haut-Brion.
Loudspeakers: DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/96, Klipsch Forte III.
Cables: AudioQuest Forest (USB), Triode Wire Labs Spirit II (interconnects), AudioQuest Robin Hood (speaker cables).…