Being called a "snake oil peddler" and a "haberdasher to emperors" is bad enough, but having high-end audio characterized as "the biggest shill industry ever to hit humanity since the age of alchemy," and as one based solely on greed, sets me…
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It was great fun having our editorial coordinator, Jana Dagdagan, shoot a video profile of me in my listening room. As I write this, it's had more than 88,000 views. While the ratio of thumbs up to thumbs down has remained consistently around 10:1, some of the negative comments, particularly about our industry and about this magazine, do enrage me.
Initial leveling is easily done: Unscrew the black caps atop each arm-mount post, then screw in or out the large hex-head screw under each. TechDAS advises checking the level after a few weeks, in case of settling.
Because the belt doesn't stretch, the most critical part of setup is to adjust the precise distance between the platter and the motor pulley. This is made relatively easy via a slide knob that can move the motor within its housing. There's no guesswork: You hold down the 45rpm and Pitch High # buttons, then adjust the slide knob until "45rpm" appears on the speed display;…
Superb tracking ability, very good imaging and extremely smooth frequency response, plus unusual freedom from mounting problems make this one of the best pickups available and, quite possibly, the best all-around performer we have encountered.
Like all Stanton pickups, the 681 sports a small integral, freely pivoted brush to sweep dust out of the grooves ahead of the stylus and also, incidentally, to take some of the normal inward-pulling side thrust away from the stylus. The brush does not appear to have any detrimental effect when reproducing warped discs, and may actually be of some…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Moving-magnet phono cartridge. Frequency response: 10Hz–10kHz ±0.5dB; each stylus individually calibrated for 10–20kHz range. Stylus: 0.2 × 0.9 mil, 681EE; 0.7 mil, 681A. Recommended downforce: 0.75–1.5gm, 681EE; 123gm, 681A. Weight: 5.5gm.
Price: $60, 681EE; $55, 681A (1970); no longer available (2022).
Manufacturer: Stanton Magnetics, Inc., Plainview, NY (1970); Stanton DJ (2022). Web: www.stantondj.com/stanton-history.html
The idea of a loudspeaker system whose frequency response could be tailored to suit room acoustics and/or personal taste is one that has always appealed to the high-fidelity perfectionist. Ideally, such a loudspeaker would allow you to raise or lower the level of any part of the audio spectrum to correct for, say, a sharp 370Hz room resonance or a mild absorptive condition that weakens, say, the 800Hz–3kHz range. Obviously, though, this kind of flexibility would require an infinite number of bandpass networks, each with its own volume control—which is an obvious impracticality.
In the…
Manufacturer's Comment
Any "perfectionist" loudspeaker is a difficult thing to evaluate, and we think that The Stereophile has gone at it very well on balance. But a few very important factors are worth talking about.
There is only one subjective disagreement we have: on the elusive subject of clarity" or "transparency." We certainly agree that, in a direct comparison between the Model Twelve and the Model Nine electrostatic, the former sounds a bit "veiled." We think it sounds less so, however, than any other moving-coil loudspeaker made, with the possible exception of our own…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Three-way dynamic system with frequency response contour control. Speakers: 12" acoustic-suspension woofer, two 5" cone midrange units, 1.25" cone-type tweeter. Impedance: 8 ohms. Power capacity: 100W program.
Dimensions: 29" H × 22¼" W × 15" D.
Price: $275 each, $550/pair (1968); no longer available (2022).
Manufacturer: KLH Research & Development Corp., 30 Cross Street, Cambridge, MA (1968); KLH Audio, 984 Logan St., Noblesville, IN 46060 (2022). Tel: (833) 554-8326. Web: klhaudio.com.
Son House: Forever On My Mind
Easy Eye Records EES-024, Dan Auerbach, prod., M. Allen Parker, Ryan Smith, engs.
Performance ***½
Sonics ****
Easy Eye Records EES-024, Dan Auerbach, prod., M. Allen Parker, Ryan Smith, engs.
Performance ***½
Sonics ****
This is the first recording Eddie "Son" House, one of the half-dozen or so greatest practitioners of the Mississippi Delta blues during its 1920s and '30s heyday, made after his 1964 rediscovery. The recording is from a live performance at Indiana's Wabash College on November 23, 1964. For an undisclosed reason, the audience has been edited out. The tape sat on a shelf, finally making its way to Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, a devoted…
Bill Evans: Inner Spirit
Bill Evans, piano; Marc Johnson, bass; Joe LaBarbera, drums
Resonance HCD-2062 (2 CDs, available as download, LPs). 1979/2022. Zev Feldman, prod.; Carlos Melero, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ***½
Bill Evans, piano; Marc Johnson, bass; Joe LaBarbera, drums
Resonance HCD-2062 (2 CDs, available as download, LPs). 1979/2022. Zev Feldman, prod.; Carlos Melero, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ***½
Bill Evans's discography is already gigantic, yet new titles keep coming. The Resonance label alone has put out seven albums of previously unreleased Evans music in the last 10 years. (Resonance does it with class. The documentation and sound restoration for Inner Spirit are exemplary.)
Evans fans are a cult. For them, he is personal. The great…
Eric Nathan: Missing Words
The Boston Modern Orchestra Project, American Brass Quintet, International Contemporary Ensemble, Neave Trio, Hub New Music, cellist Parry Karp and pianist Christopher Karp
New Focus Recordings FCR314 (2 CDs, download). 2022. Shauna Barravecchio, Andrew Bove, et al., prods.; Mario Correa, Joel Gordon, et al., engs.
Performance ****
Sonics ****
The Boston Modern Orchestra Project, American Brass Quintet, International Contemporary Ensemble, Neave Trio, Hub New Music, cellist Parry Karp and pianist Christopher Karp
New Focus Recordings FCR314 (2 CDs, download). 2022. Shauna Barravecchio, Andrew Bove, et al., prods.; Mario Correa, Joel Gordon, et al., engs.
Performance ****
Sonics ****
Ben Schott's 2013 book Schottenfreude is a glossary of German words invented by its author to describe contemporary life. Such notions as "tiny triumphs of nimble-fingered dexterity" and "the exhausting…