On my first visit, I noticed that a group member had asked for speaker cable suggestions. Another member posted a picture of a 100' spool of 16-gauge lamp cord costing $14, accompanied by the suggestion "This is all you need." The implication: That's all anyone needs, because cables are "snake oil.
I responded, "Do you think the people marketing this product considered inductance, capacitance, and resistance?"
"You don't even know what…
I had planned to write a sequel. I had three trips to Europe booked for 2020—all canceled of course. The loss of live music is not the worst casualty of the pandemic, but it matters. For now, the only sequel possible must be drawn from…
Schiit Audio, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2020, is a relative upstart, but I think it belongs in that company. Schiit's trademark sonic signature is defined by force, what Art Dudley used to call drive. That trait translates as…
Baerwald (Löfgren A) geometry, the 11" tonearm's effective length is 279.65mm—almost exactly 11.01"—with a pivot-to-spindle distance of 265mm, resulting in a 14.65mm overhang and an offset angle of 19.52° (stats confirmed by Conrad Hoffman). The arm's effective mass is 13gm.
The Sol is available with either of two moving magnet cartridges, allowing for different sonic flavors and price points. An Audio…
Description: Belt-drive turntable with half-inch (12.7mm) inverted steel Igus bearing and 11" carbon-fiber unconstrained unipivot tonearm with adjustable horizontal and vertical tracking angles and antiskate. Tonearm effective length: 11" (279.4mm). Effective mass: 13.0gm (without cartridge). Overhang: 14.65mm. Supplied with either Audio-Technica AT-VM95EN or Grado Opus3 (Timbre Series, high output version). Platter: 11.75", 3lb (1.36kg), diecast aluminum alloy. Speeds: 33 and 45rpm, selected via pulley size. Rumble: –74dB. Signal/noise: >72dB. Wow and…
Analog sources: Audio-Technica AT-VM95EN and Grado Opus3 cartridges; Thorens TD 124 turntable/Jelco TS-350S mkII 9" tonearm/Audio-Technica AT-VM95EN cartridge.
Integrated amplifier: Schiit Audio Ragnarok 2.
Loudspeakers: Klipsch RP-600M.
Cables: Speaker: Auditorium 23. AC: manufacturers' own. Interconnect: 1m pair Triode Wire Labs' Spirit II (RCA).
Accessories: IsoTek EVO3 Aquarius line conditioner, Salamander five-tier rack; IKEA Aptitlig bamboo chopping boards (under turntable; mahogany blocks (2" × 2" × 0.5"); 3"-thick studio-treatment…
As I reported in these pages about a year ago, companies including VPI and Bowers & Wilkins (the latter recently acquired by Sound United) have begun selling products online or expanding existing online sales. McIntosh is selling some of its products through…
Sound Quality
Generally speaking the ZMF Eikon has a smooth, warm sound overall. Bass is slightly emphasized and well extended. I wouldn't say the bass bleeds into the mids so much as there is just an overall mild warm tilt on this headphone overall making them a relaxed listen. Bass has a slightly gruff distorted sound and doesn't hit quite as hard as the best headphones, but remains a solid performer and a pleasant listening experience. Response bass through mids is quite even, though the presence region is a little more relaxed than the rest of the spectrum giving the headphones a…