Lorenzo’s assemblage included the classic Linn Klimax LP12 turntable ($32,880) and Linn Klimax DSM ($45,500)—an all-in-one preamp/streamer featuring Linn’s Organik DAC. Also on hand was the new Linn Klimax Solo 800 power amp ($90,000/pair), which delivers 800W into 8 ohms (and up to 1.2kW into 2 ohms).
Driving the recently introduced Linn 360 loudspeakers ($71,500/pair)—Linn’s flagship that uses their Passive with Aktiv Bass (PWAB) technology—familiar flat Nordost cables connected…
Which brings us back to public listening spaces. They first became widespread after World War II in Japan, where many could afford neither hi-fi gear nor the imported jazz records they wanted to hear. Most also didn't have enough square footage or privacy to enjoy them at home. These spaces are becoming popular again, this time beyond Japan, partly for the same reasons. Listening in public, young music connoisseurs can enjoy great records in superb sound among their friends for the price of a drink, sparing themselves the skeptical side-eye of…
Wally Tools WallySkater V2.1 Pro
They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, and while I learn new things about setting up turntables all the time, I long ago settled into a set of skills I have been using to adjust turntables professionally for decades. What has changed is the tools available to assist that work, which have improved immensely over the decades. I have added many of those tools to my arsenal.
Founded by turntable setup obsessive and inventor Wally Malewicz in 1994, WAM Engineering introduced a range of innovative setup tools that dug deep into setup issues…
Also interesting to me was the company’s…
Scheduled for introduction in the U.S. in mid-April, the LINK range will include speaker cables (models L-LS3, L-LS4, and L-LS5), subwoofer cables (L-SUB3, L-SUB5, and L-SUB10), analog stereo RCA (L-RCA0.5, L-RCA1.5) and XLR cables (L-XLR0.5, L-XLR1.5), and digital cables including coaxial (L-COAX1, L-COAX2) and optical Toslink cables (L-OPT1, L-OPT2…
When it comes to playing records, I too have a ritual. It involves carefully cleaning the vinyl, first on a Pro-Ject VC-33, followed by immersion in a HumminGuru Ultrasonic vinyl cleaner. Before and after, I inspect the record's grooves with a pricey VisibleDust Quasar R magnifier (footnote 1). Only then—black coffee hot, glasses…
Setup
I wasn't required to set up the SMS, as Sikora and Fox enlisted a three-man crew to bring the turntable's four wooden crates up the stairs and into my apartment. Notable Audio's Jessie Bentley did the setup work.
This was not a reviewer perk. "All J.Sikora dealers are required to set up the 'table and tonearm for the customer," Jeff Fox explained. "If a dealer gets permission to ship a 'table to a location where there is no dealer, then the dealer must do the installation there."
Supplied accessories include a pair of J.Sikora–branded interconnects, an umbilical…
Description: Mass-loaded, belt-driven turntable with two EBM-Papst DC asynchronous motors, external power supply. Speeds: 33 1/3rpm, 45rpm. Upper platter: 10mm thick glass and aluminum. Platter: Delrin and cast iron, 13" (330mm) diameter, 40lb (18kg). Wow and flutter: ±0.03%. Base platter of brass, steel, copper; plinth and isolation platform of lacquered aluminum; inverted bearing, inverted bearing of steel and cemented carbide with ceramic (zirconium dioxide) ball.
Tonearm: Silicone-damped inverted-bearing unipivot with an armtube of Kevlar fiber and a…