But occasionally, Audio-Technica likes to show off its technological chops by launching a cartridge that breaks new ground. Last year, they celebrated their 60th anniversary by stunning everyone with the AT-MC2022, which uses an outrageous…
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I think of Audio-Technica as the maker of some of the best high-value cartridges out there. From the ubiquitous AT3600L, which can be had for a little more than a Big Mac meal at McDonald's, to the popular OC9 moving coil series, A-T's cartridges have long been easy-to-recommend options that deliver great sound mounted on just about any turntable.
A Few Thoughts On Stylus Cleaning
All the rules for keeping the ART1000x's stylus clean got me thinking about the methods for cleaning that tiny chip of diamond. Before you even attempt to clean your stylus, you need to be able to see what you're doing. We are fortunate to live in an era when inexpensive digital microscopes are widely available; they are a welcome aid for inspecting a cartridge's tiny parts. For cartridges that are mounted on a removable headshell, I use a small, standmounted scope with a built-in screen, by Annlov. For fixed-shell 'arms, I use a handheld version…
A chance after-dinner encounter with Jacek Grodecki, owner of Warsaw-based Closer Acoustics, impelled me to visit their room. So did my memories of the positive listening experience I had with Closer Acoustics in 2023.
This time, highs sounded a bit too tinkly, but the system's midrange was positively seductive. Because the quality of musical selections was a major cut above much of what played on repeat in many rooms at the show, I stayed for some time.
Spinning on a Polish J. Sikora Reference turntable with 9" KV9 entry-level tonearm and an Aidas Durawood Bee CU series cartridge…
Hailing from Lithuania, which lies right across the Northeast border of Poland, one-year-old audacious speaker company Silent Pound made its second consecutive appearance at the Warsaw Show. The company returned to the same large, irregularly shaped room that allowed them to place four listening chairs, one behind the other, in a straight line, midway between the standmount speakers on active display.
Silent Pound speakers are designed to control all lateral reflections. "Silent Pound wants to maximize direct signal and minimize reflections," said Chris Dahl of amplifier company Perreaux…
Sisound of Poland's Product Manager Rafal Wofczyński presented the world premiere of his 3-way Sisound Solidus S loudspeaker (15,000€/pair). The speaker, which is currently available only in Poland, claims a frequency response of 26Hz-20kHz, a 4-ohm nominal impedance that dips to 2.5 ohms or lower in the extended LF setting, and 90dB sensitivity.
Its key design elements include a twin paper cone Scan-speak Revelator 13" twin paper cone woofer in a sealed box, a planar ribbon 21cm x 7.5cm dipolar midrange whose enclosure's back panel can be opened or closed, and a planar ribbon tweeter.…
Gramophone Dreams’ columnist Herb Reichert has written glowing amplifier reviews of Elekit of Fukuoka, Japan, and Sun Valley, of Nagoya, Japan, both distributed by Victor Kung’s VK Music.
At CAF2024 Victor showcased many amplifiers at his CAF booth, most boasting fat tubes and open circuit boards, the kind of which activates my reviewer’s twitch.
VK Music’s wares included the Elekit TU-8888 monoblocks ($1375 per block), featuring two KT170s, one EF86x, and 12AU7X1 tubes. Next, the Elekit TU-8900 with Lundahl Amorphous Core transformers ($1945), also available as the…
Closing his review of the AirTight ATM-1S amplifier in the November 2014 Stereophile, Art Dudley wrote, "The AirTight ATM-1S is right up there with the best I've heard: the artisanal, the small, the artistically sensitive, the colorful and characterful, the smart. The AirTight is as serious an EL34 amplifier as I've heard, offering texture, color, poise, musical drive, and rightness, all in good proportion to one another. It also looks nice and represents at least decent if not outrageously good value for the money."
Art's ATM-1S was a step in a long succession of tube amplifiers produced…
The ATM-1E has just four main user controls: a pushbutton for power, separate attenuation knobs for the left and right channels, and an identical-looking knob for checking and bias, labeled "IP Monitor" ("I" for current, "P" for plate). This five-position knob—"Operate" plus a position for each power tube—lets you adjust the plate current using a meter and four trim pots on the top panel, adjacent to the choke enclosure.
Installation and setup
I positioned the easy-to-lift ATM-1E on top of four A/V RoomService Ltd. Equipment Vibration Protectors (EVPs). Norman Varney's EVPs…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Tubed stereo power amplifier. Tube complement: One 12AT7/(ECC81), two 6CG7/(6FQ7), four EL34/(6CA7). Inputs: Stereo pair single-ended (RCA). Output power: 35Wpc into 4 or 8 ohms (15.3dBW & 12.3dBW). Input sensitivity: 700mV (35W). Input impedance: 100k ohms. Output impedance: two taps, 4 ohms and 8 ohms. Frequency response: 20Hz– 30kHz (–1dB). THD (1kHz) <5%. Damping factor: 6.7. Power consumption: 250VA.
Dimensions: 14.37" (365mm) W × 8.85" (225mm) H × 12" (305mm) D. Weight: 47.39lb (21.5kg).
Serial number of unit reviewed: R06006.…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Thorens TD 124 turntable, Korf TA-SF9R tonearm, Kuzma CAR-30 MC cart; J.Sikora Standard Max Supreme turntable, J.Sikora 9" KV9 MAX Tonearm, EMT JSD Pure Black MC cartridge.
Digital sources: HoloAudio May DAC, Sonore opticalRendu, Roon Nucleus+, Small Green Computer power supply, TRENDnet switch, Apple iPad mini.
Preamplifiers: Shindo Allegro line; PrimaLuna EVO 100 phono, Manley Chinook phono, Tavish Audio Design Adagio phono.
Power amplifier: Rogue Stereo 100.
Loudspeakers: Volti Audio Razz, Voxativ Ampeggio 2024, DeVore…