Workers were repairing a roof on an oft-reused movie set, heating asphalt tiles with a blowtorch. Protocol required the repairmen to stick around for one hour until the asphalt had cooled, to guard against fire. But shortly after they left, a fire broke out. Hundreds of firefighters fought it, pulling water from the lake once inhabited by The…
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If you're a music fan—and if you're reading this, you probably are—you've heard this already: On June 11, the New York Times Magazine published an investigative report about a 2008 fire that destroyed a vault at Universal Studios in Los Angeles.
I expect every lover of jazz and classical music will want to check out Decca’s new recording of jazz great Wynton Marsalis’ thoroughly engaging Violin Concerto and Fiddle Dance Suite. Both were written for the superb Nicola Benedetti, who joins with Cristian Macelaru and The Philadelphia Orchestra to give us a definitive interpretation, guided by Marsalis. In addition to the recording’s release on CD, it can be streamed on Tidal (in 16/44.1 and 24/96 MQA—the sound I prefer—albeit without liner notes) and Qobuz (24/96, with liner notes), or downloaded in hi-rez from HDTracks, ProStudio…
On Saturday, August 24th, Command Performance AV will be hosting an open house event in collaboration with MoFi Distribution. Also in attendance will be IsoTek's "headmaster," Keith Martin, visiting from the U.K.
Featured brands will be TAD, including the award winning ME-1 loudspeaker, Koetsu, SolidSteel and of course IsoTek. Music will be from Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs (MFSL) with MoFi Distribution's Jon Derda and Ben Newhall spinning several unreleased UltraDisc One-Step (UD1S) test pressings.
This event runs from 11:00AM through 4:00PM. Refreshments will be served, and there…
This is a story about a $1375 commercial turntable accessory and a free tweak—the latter discovered while installing the former, although the two things exist quite independently of one another.
Here's how it all went down: Earlier this year, I was sent a review sample of a perfectionist-quality platter bearing called the Buddha Bearing, intended for Garrard 301 and 401 turntables (footnote 1). I was happy to receive such an interesting product but slow in trying it, partly because my record player sounded so good at the time that I didn't want to go tearing it all apart, and partly…
The final touch, before lowering the turntable's platter to the spindle's tapered top, is to add oil to the lubricant trough machined into the well's upper edge. The manufacturer says that the pressure from the lubricant supply maintains the appropriate rigidity without the need for even tighter machining tolerances—in which case, the bearing would require a lengthy running-in period, punctuated with many consecutive cleanings and re-oilings. No one has that kind of time!
Died of a theory
As I've already suggested, I went into this project without quite the same headlong rush I…
Unless a truly budget-priced Air Force model is in the works, the TechDAS turntable lineup now seems complete: The recently introduced Air Force Zero ($450,000) is at the top, and the "affordable" Air Force V ($19,500) is at the bottom. The Air Force One, Two, and III turntables, all available in both standard and Premium versions, sit in the costly middle.
There's no Air Force IV because in East Asia that number is considered bad luck—which also explains why Japanese golfers shout "Six!" when someone hooks a shot into an adjacent fairway (joke alert).
Yes, the Air Force V still…
Elastomer supports between the chassis and its wide-diameter feet provided reasonably effective isolation, although light taps on both the support platform and chassis produced somewhat greater impulse throughput than what I remember hearing through any of the more costly Air Force turntables.
Setup and use
I'll keep this short: Setup was easy. Just keep in mind the need to level the 'table using the adjustable feet, before and after installing the tonearm of your choice, then check it yet again after cartridge installation. Importer Graham Engineering supplied the latest B-44 Mk.…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Non-suspended belt-drive turntable with air-bearing platter and vacuum record clamping. Speeds: 33 1/3 rpm, 45rpm. Motor: AC synchronous, 110V, 60Hz. Speed adjustment: None. Wow and Flutter: >0.03%. Platter cover: acrylic. Motor: AC synchronous, 110V, 60Hz.
Dimensions: Turntable: 12.3" (312mm) W by 6.6" (168mm) H by 14.5" (368mm) D. Weight: 39.6lb (18kg); Pump/Power Supply: 13.8" (350mm) W by 6.3" (160mm) H by 10.6" (270mm) D. Weight: 19.8lb (9kg).
Finish: Chassis: Satin silver; Platter: Gloss black.
Serial number of review sample:…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn turntable with Castellon stand; SAT CF1-09, Graham Phantom B44, and Kuzma 4Point tonearms; Lyra Atlas, Atlas SL, Atlas SL mono, Etna, and Etna SL cartridges; Ortofon MC Century, Anna Diamond, and A95 cartridges; Miyajima Labs Infinity (mono) and Destiny (stereo) cartridges; Grado Epoch (mono), Gold Note Donatello Gold, and Goldring Ethos 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:…
Ever go on a blind date? If you've been on more than one, you know what it's like to encounter an entirely new product at an audio show: Sometimes it's love at first listen, your only question being, "When can we get together again?" Other times, you can't wait to say goodbye.
My blind date with the Dragonfire Acoustics Mini Dragon DFA 2.1 nearfield monitor system ($10,000), accessorized with its Kimber Kable Axios Goliath cable upgrade ($1500), took place during its coming-out reception at the 2018 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest (RMAF) in Denver. After listening to a 24/96 file of Cassandra…