When my wife and I got engaged, we each bought each other a "bubble-back" Rolex watch from an antique shop in San Francisco. Mine was a 1939, hers was a 1940; both watches still run fine, though I am not sure for how much longer, as Rolex no longer services watches that old. My respect for Swiss engineering is based in part on my experience with the Rolexes. So I readily agreed when Editor-in-Chief Jim Austin proposed that I spend some time with the current version of the I1 Universal integrated…
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John Atkinson wrote about the CH Precision I1 Universal in August 2023 (Vol.46 No.8):
Herb Reichert reviewed the Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-600M II in August 2023 (Vol.46 No.8):
The grandest perk of being a reviewer is when sniffing through the grass leads me to a high-performance product capable of wide-ranging appeal at a price point that shouldn't scare anyone. In my sniffing, I have encountered a few products of this type, whose success I've applauded because it is so much fun to see legions of happy audiophiles united in their approval of a product so unusual that they may not have considered it had it not been ardently championed in the audiophile press.
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Not long after I moved to New York City, in anticipation of some summer-holiday meal, I went out into the city searching for lambchops. The closest butcher shop I found, Harlem Shambles (thank you, Google Maps), was at roughly my latitude but across Morningside Park in a gentrified section of Harlem. I walked over and entered a large area occupied by a refrigerated glass case of the sort common in butcher shops. The case, though, was nearly empty—just a few cuts of meat, filling perhaps 5% of the available space. Adding to the vibe of neglect was that none of the half-dozen or so skinny young…
Creating a new flagship model is never an easy task for an audio company. A good designer will have already incorporated all his or her best ideas into the prior flagship. For a follow-up, you typically get a scaled-up version of what came before, incorporating the kind of improvements a bigger budget will allow.
SME's history is well-documented. The company started out, in 1946, as an engineering company for hire. In 1959, after a few years supplying parts for the scale modeling and various other high-tech industries, company founder Alastair Robertson-Aikman wanted a better tonearm for…
The Model 60's platter and bearing are identical to those used on the Model 30, although on the 60, the bottom part of the bearing housing sits in a bath of silicone damping fluid to further suppress vibrations. SME felt that these components had already reached a level of performance that would be tough to improve on, so no further changes were made. The top surface of the platter has a built-in record mat made from a material called Isodamp, which is permanently bonded to the platter. To ensure perfect mat centering, the raw, unfinished Isodamp sheet is bonded to the platter, then the…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Suspended, mass-loaded, belt-driven turntable with two-phase AC synchronous motor. Speeds: 33 1/3, 45rpm. Platter: 13" (330mm) diameter, 16.6lb (7.5kg). Wow & flutter: not specified. Tonearm: Series VA, gimbal-bearing polymer resin. Effective length: 233.15mm; pivot-to-spindle distance: 215.35mm; overhang: 17.8mm; offset angle: 23.635°; effective mass: 10–11gm. Signal output: chassis-mounted RCA sockets; balanced XLR outputs optional.
Dimensions: 21.93" (557mm) × 16.42" (417mm) × 8.35" (212mm). Weight: Turntable 105.8lb (48kg); speed control…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: SME Model 30/2A, Roksan TMS, Brinkmann La Grange, Garrard 301, Thorens TD 124, Linn Sondek LP12, and Technics SL-1000 Mk2A turntables. Graham Model 2.2; SME Series V, IV.Vi, 309, 3009; Brinkmann 12.1; Breuer Dynamic Type 8; Technics EPA-100; Linn Ittok LVII; Fidelity Research FR-64S; Eminent Technology ET2 tonearms. Lyra Atlas, Dynavector DRT XV-1s, Grado Legacy Epoch, Ortofon Cadenza Blue, Koetsu Urushi and Rosewood, Linn Troika, Luxman LMC-5, Kiseki Purple Heart, Red Rose Petal 2, Denon DL-103, Audio Note IQ3 phono cartridges. Technics RS-…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Speed stability has been a given with previous SME turntables, but the switch from DC to AC motor drive has taken its Model 60 to another level. Its approximately 0.005% absolute speed accuracy and mere 0.01% peak-weighted wow (fig.1) are comparable with the best of today's direct-drive offerings, including Technics's fabulous Grand Class SL-1200GAE. Few other belt-drive decks get this close.
In my high-school days, I visited a friend whose well-to-do dad proudly demonstrated his new Quad ESL system for us. First up was a recording of a man with heavy footsteps traversing the space from left to right. Next came a speeding police car, siren engaged, complete with Doppler tail. I found it impressive, and a little lame at the same time. My friend and I, in love with our own artsiness, preferred Fear of Music by Talking Heads and Drums and Wires by XTC, or (in a pinch) U2's Boy.
It wouldn't have occurred to me that I'd ultimately derive frequent joy from listening to sound effects…
Helpless against such beauty, and partly in anticipation of the TD3.8s' eventual arrival, I purchased a U280 SC. In my room, the synergy between the Mexican tube (ch)amp and the TD3.8s was apparent from the get-go. The music flowed easily, beautifully, without a hint of strain. But it wasn't perfect. I now felt that heft and authority were on the skimpy side compared to what I'd heard before. After a few weeks of belly-aching and telling myself it was all in my head, I called Bruce Ball to get his take. He wasn't surprised. Essentially, he relayed the old Doublemint chewing gum motto ("double…