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This is an integrated arm-and-turntable unit using single-belt drive from a stepped motor pulley to an inside platter (under the main one), and having a three-point suspension similar to that in the AR turntable for isolation from acoustic feedback and floorborne vibrations. Speed change is accomplished by a two-pronged "fork" which, actuated by the speed selector knob, throws the belt from one step of the motor pulley to the other. The motor is a special synchronous type that is actually two motors in a single case. Their speed is determined by the frequency of the AC supply, so there is no…
Manufacturer's Comment
While we have not yet had the opportunity to check the sample TD-I50AB sent to The Stereophile, there is little doubt but that the tonearm on this unit was seriously damaged in transit or has a serious manufacturing defect. The 5°tilt in the head shell and the ½-gram vertical friction are completely beyond the design and quality control limits established by Thorens.
The speed accuracy tolerances of this unit are ±1% of the nominal speed, which corresponds to 1/6 of a semitone. On early units the speed was at the upper limit of these tolerances, and slight…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Two-speed synchronous turntable with base and integral arm. Speeds: 33 1/3 and 45 rpm. Platter: 12", aluminum, 7.5 lb. Tonearm: tubular aluminum with perforated aluminum plug-in shell, balanced horizontally and vertically.
Dimensions: 15" W by 22" D by 5" H, overall.
Price: $99.75 (1966); no longer available (2019).
Manufacturer: Thorens, Germany. Web: thorens.com/en/. US Distributor: ELPA Marketing Industries, inc., New Hyde Park, NY (1966); American Audio & Video, A Division of JAM Industries USA, LLC, 310 West Newberry Road,…
Thirty-two years after it was recorded, pianist Keith Jarrett’s live reading of J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, has seen the light of day. Performed in the fabled acoustic of the Troy Saving Bank Music Hall in Troy, New York—a favorite venue of the early Dorian recording team—and recorded well by ECM New Series, the performance is now available on two CDs, downloadable in 24/44.1 from multiple sites (Acoustic Sounds, HDTracks, and Pro Studio Masters, for starters), and streamable in MQA on Tidal and in 24/44.1 FLAC on Qobuz. The recording’s engineering emphasizes contrapuntal…
I'm fortunate to have reviewed in recent years not one but three different pairs of horn-loaded loudspeakers. My jaw dropped when I reviewed what would prove the finest loudspeaker to ever grace my home, the Volti Audio Rival. Second came a pricey but pleasing pair from handlebar-mustache king Gordon Burwell, the Burwell & Sons Homage. Then, at the urging of occasional Stereophile contributor Steve Guttenberg, I took on the fat-boy Klipsch Heresy III. As the Beatles used to say, I was dead-chuffed.
Horn-loaded speakers achieve what few conventional cone-only speakers can: reproduce…
As I played different recordings, I kept thinking the low end should be better defined, given the woofer's high cutoff frequency. The Forte III's thin footers practically embedded themselves into the floor, so I slid four 2" by 2" by 7/8" Anti Vibration Isolation Pads (ribbed rubber with cork center, Amazon $6.99/4) under each cabinet. General focus improved, as did low-end definition.
A drummer (in his spare time) who well understands how bass frequencies can bloat, Delgado gave me his blessing to go further. "You don't want the speaker to couple too much to the floor because it will…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, horn-loaded floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: High frequency driver: K-100-T1 1" (25mm) titanium diaphragm compression driver on a K-79T horn. Midrange driver: K-70 1.75" (45mm) titanium diaphragm compression driver on a K-703-M horn. Low-frequency driver: K-281 12" (305mm) fiber-composite cone woofer. KD-15 15" (381mm) passive cone radiator. Crossover frequencies: HF: 5.2kHz, MF: 650Hz. Frequency range: 38Hz–20kHz. Sensitivity: 99dB/2.83V/m. Impedance: 8 ohms nominal. Power handling: 100W/400W. Terminals: dual binding posts/biwire/…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Kuzma Stabi S turntable & Stogi S tonearm; Kuzma Stabi R & Kuzma 4Point 11" tonearm; Thorens TD124 turntable & Jelco TS-350S tonearm; Denon DL-103 and Hana EL phono cartridges.
Digital Sources: Sony Vaio computer running Qobuz and Tidal; BorderPatrol DAC SE, Tascam CD-200iL CD player; Western Digital T2 Mirror Drives (2).
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 A23 moving-coil step-up transformer, Musical Surroundings Phonomena II phono stage, Shindo Laboratory Allegro preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: Mytek Brooklyn, Shindo…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Forte III's frequency response in the farfield and an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield responses.
The Klipsch's specified sensitivity is an extraordinary 99dB/2.83V/m; my estimate was lower, at 95.2dB(B)/2.83V/m, but this is still 8dB higher than the average sensitivity of the speakers I have measured over the past 30 years. This speaker will play loudly with a mere handful of watts. Klipsch specifies the Forte III's nominal impedance as "8 ohms compatible." I found…
By the time you read this, Munich's High End 2019 will be a distant memory (footnote 1). Yet as I write this, having just returned from Munich, the experience is fresh in my mind. It's the most compelling audio topic I can think of, crying out for commentary.
Munich is to audiophiles—to this one at least—what New York's 5th Avenue is to Black Friday shoppers. It's the audiophile version of flying through a canyon with a wing suit on. It's a giant rush, audio cocaine.
In early May, over four days, 21,180 people visited 551 high-end exhibitors from 42 countries. According to the…