Mawhinney owns and runs three businesses: Spin-Clean, the longstanding, inexpensive record-cleaning system; Northern Audio, a high-end audio dealership; and Music To My Ear, a record store…
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It's a truism in business—or if it isn't strictly true, it's at least a cliché—that you can't please everyone. But Mark Mawhinney sees everyone as a potential customer. He does his best to cover all customer bases, from old-school audiophiles to newcomers, from Boomers to Gen Z. "As long as they have two legs and two ears, they can be our customers," he told Stereophile in a recent phone interview.
Of all the albums in the Grateful Dead catalog, American Beauty is the one with the widest appeal. Its proto-Americana tunes are neither antique nor modern; instead, they are timeless. The album's sound is clean and lean, up to modern snuff even more than a half-century after its original release in November 1970.
The tunes seem to roll like a Sunday drive on a country road, in and out of dark hollows and up and down hills (footnote 1). Three of its 10 songs have become folk-rock standards: "Friend of the Devil," "Sugar Magnolia," and "Truckin'."
As you'd expect, the album has…
For 16 years, I bled jazz. Countless hours alone in my practice shed, honing technique, recording myself for brutal self-analysis, dissecting and transcribing master drummers' solos note for note. My dream was to transcend technique, to exist in a state of pure reaction among musicians in perfect communion, where improvisation flows as effortlessly as thought.
The years melted away—George Lawrence Stone's sticking variations, Benjamin Podemski's concert drum solos, dog-eared "Real Book" charts, college big band concerts, smoky jam sessions, a basement practice routine that nearly deafened…
Setup
The 2A3 EVO found a comfortable home on the lowest shelf of my Salamander rack. To optimize performance, I arranged three of Norman Varney's A/V RoomService large Equipment Vibration Protectors (EVPs) under the amp. I have found that the EVPs reduce noise and improve clarity without sacrificing dynamics or character; in this respect, they're better than various cork and rubber isolation options I've tried. Then I simply connected it to the rest of the system—see Associated Equipment for details—turned the system on, and started listening.
The 2A3 EVO found a comfortable home on the lowest shelf of my Salamander rack. To optimize performance, I arranged three of Norman Varney's A/V RoomService large Equipment Vibration Protectors (EVPs) under the amp. I have found that the EVPs reduce noise and improve clarity without sacrificing dynamics or character; in this respect, they're better than various cork and rubber isolation options I've tried. Then I simply connected it to the rest of the system—see Associated Equipment for details—turned the system on, and started listening.
Listening
I began…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Tube-rectified single-ended triode integrated amplifier capable of outputting 3.5Wpc into 8 ohms (5.4dBW). Tube complement: Input/preamp, one pair each: Sophia Electric 12AX7, Northern Electric 6SN7; rectifier: Sophia Electric Aqua 274; power, one pair each Electro-Harmonix 2A3 EH or KR Audio 2A3. Maximum gain: 21.7dB. Input sensitivity: 350mV for max power. Total harmonic distortion: 1% at rated power. Bandwidth at rated power: 20Hz–20kHz. Frequency range (at 1W): 20Hz–2kHz. Input impedance: 220k ohms. Output impedance: Not specified.
Dimensions…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: VPI Avenger Direct turntable with 12" VPI FatBoy tonearm, Hana Umami Blue MC cartridge; Thorens TD 124 turntable with 9.5" The Wand Plus tonearm, Luxman LMC-5 MC cartridge.
Digital sources: HoloAudio May DAC, Sonore opticalRendu, Roon Nucleus+, Small Green Computer power supply, TRENDnet switch, Apple iPad mini.
Preamplifiers: PrimaLuna EVO 100 phono, Aurorasound Viva II phono.
Integrated amplifiers: PrimaLuna EVO 400.
Loudspeakers: Heretic AD614, Volti Audio Razz, Voxativ Ampeggio 2024.
Cables: Interconnects: Agent Pur,…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
After carefully installing the Triode Lab 2A3 EVO's tubes, I performed a complete set of tests of the amplifier with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system using the Electro-Harmonix 2A3 Gold output tubes, then repeated the testing with the KR 2A3 tubes that KM told me he preferred. As usual, I waited for an hour after powering up the amplifier before starting the testing.
The 2A3 EVO inverted polarity from both the 4 ohm and 8 ohm output transformer taps. The input impedance was a usefully high 61k ohms at 20Hz and 1kHz, 41k ohms at 20kHz. The source impedance…
Unfortunately, there are always manufacturers at shows from which I fail to gather enough information to file a thorough report, so then I have to to follow up later. I finally caught up with Berlin-based cartridge manufacturer Tedeska Vinyl Groove Pick-Up Technology and their kind representative Francesa Lee, who explained their new wares, which were on static display at High End Munich.
Tedeska cartridges are all moving coils. They make mono and stereo cartridges. And this is where ordinary ends. Each Tedeska cartridge is a unique combination of tone wood, cantilever, and tk.…
As one of Munich’s most prestigious distributors, Mansour Mamaghani’s Audio Reference again pulled out all the stops in a huge, glass enclosed central Atrium space that showcased more brands than there is space to list.
One of the highlights of their mobbed, standing-room-only press event was a presentation in which Impex Records’ Abby Fon shared the company’s new, 1STEP, all-analog pressing of the best-selling Getz/Gilberto with jazz saxophonist Stan Getz’s son, Nick Getz. Standing as I was at a terrible angle, way to the left of the soundstage, I scribbled some notes while…
A few summers ago, I briefly got it in my head that I could become a wine connoisseur. This was due to a very generous and unexpected gift. A local acquaintance had passed away, and his wife wanted to rid her basement of his small wine collection.
I don't know why I was chosen as the lucky recipient, but after stammering half a dozen thank-yous, I suddenly owned about 150 fine wines. A few carried four-figure price tags.
Reliably telling a Pinot Grigio from a Chardonnay isn't part of my skill set. Grape varieties, terroir, vintages? You might as well ask a toddler to become…