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Rock of Life: The <I>Brothers In Arms</I> CD Turns 40 Page 2

How Dorfsman set up the room in AIR Montserrat tells more of the sonic tale. He deployed Sennheiser MD 421 microphones on the toms, an Electro-Voice RE20 and AKG D12 on the kick, Shure SM57 and AKG C451 with a 20dB pad on the snare, more 451s for overheads and the hi-hat, and Neumann U87s a bit farther back in the room for ambience.

Clark's piano sat alone in a very tight, dead-sounding booth in the far-right corner of the live room and was miked with AKG C414s. His Hammond B-3 sat diagonally across from it, just beyond the barrier and to the right of the drums. The B-3's Leslie…

Voxativ's Latest: Another Charge for the Senses

Inés Adler's contagious passion for audio is built right into her components, and it makes every Voxativ visit a blast. At this year's High End Munich, Adler showed two new products: the Voxativ Streamer/DAC with FM-DAC technology ($16,000), and the Hagen2 Monitor Compact full-range loudspeaker with AF-2A AlNiCo driver ($6900/pair), the first iteration of which Herb Reichert recently reviewed for Stereophile.

The system also featured the 30Wpc single-ended Voxativ T805 class-A tube amplifier ($34,900); the Voxativ 9.88 loudspeaker system, a modular setup with Pi monitor, mid-module,…

Tonar — A Cartload of Cleaning, Clamping, and Candy

If it's large and yellow, it's got to be Tonar! The European analog-accessories giant showed up in full force at Munich, its towering yellow signage and jam-packed booth instantly switching my brain into consumer overdrive.

A partial list of accessories included the Knosti Disco Antistat ($86, review forthcoming at AnalogPlanet.com), the Tonar Wash & Dry vacuum machine ($600), Tonar Vinyl Cleaner ($16/0.5L, $24/1L), Tonar Stylus Timer ($27), Tonar Trackurate scale ($38), Tonar No Rumble Pads ($24), Tonar Simple Alignment Protractor ($17), Tonar Record Clamp ($76), and the Tonar Eco…

Ypsilon, The Wand, and Speakers That Matter

Having previously reviewed Simon Brown's The Wand 9.5"-tonearm for Analog Planet, I was eager to experience the Wand 14-4 Master turntable ($7500), equipped with the world-premiere Wand Dark Light Tonearm ($7550, or $13,675 for the package) and a My Sonic Lab Eminent EX MC cartridge ($3995).

Demetris Baklavas, co-founder of Ypsilon Electronics, showcased the VPS-100 phono preamplifier ($25,000), the MC10-L step-up transformer ($6600), the DAC-1000 SE ($50,000), and the CD-100 transport/player ($25,000). A Ypsilon PST-100 Mk.2 SE line preamplifier ($68,000) was paired with…

A Dane and a Greek Walk Into a Convention Center…and Create Something Joyous

No joke. Epaminondas Gaveras of Greece's hARt Lab and Joakim Juhl of Denmark's OePhi Audio joined forces to deliver a sound that wasn't just loud and forceful, but joyous—igniting both mind and body. These two lesser-known brands deserve your attention. They certainly demanded mine.

Their setup began with a Technics SL-1200G turntable and Supatrac Nighthawk tonearm, fitted with an Ortofon MC Anna Diamond cartridge, feeding an HSE Swiss Masterline 7 phono stage (about $89,000, all prices approximate when converted from Euros). Digital came via the OePhi Streamer-DAC ($13,500), while the…

AMG, SoundSpace, Vitus, AudioQuest: Joy to the World (of Analog)

The combined talents of Analog Manufaktur Germany (AMG), Dr. Michael Plessmann’s SoundSpace Systems, and Denmark’s Vitus Audio produced a distinctive and sophisticated sound at High End Munich.

The system, presented by AMG USA’s Michael and Silvia Fajen alongside AMG Deutschland’s Julian Lorenzi, centered on the Viella Turbo turntable ($25,500) with its 12JT tonearm and cherry skirt. This analog front end included AMG’s new silver internal wire upgrade for the 12JT tonearm ($1600 for existing arms, or a $1000 upcharge for new ones), the debuting Silverclear XLR tonearm cable ($…

Boenicke Audio, Nagra, Luphonic

Alma Music & Audio's Room 266 featured the Boenicke W8 SE speakers ($18,254/pair), from Switzerland—the smallest of the W lineup's three towers. Speakers in the W series—W is for wood—have cabinets made of that substance, American Walnut in this case. Each W8 SE rested on a patent-pending "SwingBase" suspension, which allows the speaker to move more freely within the horizontal plane, the company says.

Designed by Sven Boenicke, who in addition to designing speakers has been a recording engineer for more than 20 years, the Boenicke speakers appear small in scale but contain unique,…

Analog Corner #223: Acoustical Systems SMARTractor & Hagerman Trumpet Reference Phono Preamp

On analogplanet.com you'll find coverage of my visit in November 2013 to the 10th annual Manila Hi-Fi Show, which took place the weekend of the devastating typhoon Haiyan (Filipinos call it Yolanda). Because the people I met there are such big Stereophile fans, I wanted to be sure to give them a shout-out in this column, too.

Despite the weather, which prevented audiophiles living on other islands of the archipelago from flying in for the event, at least 2000 managed to attend. These are passionate, enthusiastic audiophiles—and the high proportion of young people, particularly among the…

Analog Corner #223: Acoustical Systems SMARTractor & Hagerman Trumpet Reference Phono Preamp Page 2

So . . . which alignment curve? If you look at a graph on which all of the various geometries are superimposed, you'll see that every one of them has higher distortion in the outer-groove area, which diminishes as the stylus reaches the first null point—ie, the first point at which there is zero tracking error.

The position of the first null point depends on the curve used. With Löfgren A, it's about 119mm;, with Stevenson (not included in the SMARTractor) and Löfgren B, about 117mm; and with SMARTractor designer Dietrich Brakemeier's UNI-DIN curve, 113mm.

From the first null…

Smaller, Sleeker, Still Estelon

To celebrate its 15th anniversary, Estelon unveiled its new non-tower A‑Series speakers: the Aurelia ($19,300/pair including stands), the Aurelia Centre ($8100 each), and the Aurus ($14,600 each).

What began as a request from space-conscious Asian buyers now suits a wave of American downsizers. The Aurelia is a two‑way passive speaker with a sealed box. It has two 5" paper-cone midrange drivers from SB Acoustics and a 1" textile-dome tweeter from Scan‑Speak. The cabinet is a “thermoformed mineral-filled composite,” says Estelon. The speaker comes with feet that are designed to minimize…