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The TA-1000 permits adjustment of VTA/SRA and azimuth—important adjustments, especially when using a cartridge fitted with a line-contact stylus, as is the Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC (see sidebar). Adjusting azimuth involves loosening and then tightening three screws that hold the armtube in the bearing housing. Michael Tang, doing the setup for me, at first expressed concern about the difficulty of adjusting azimuth in this manner, but afterward told me that it had actually been quite easy. He used the Dr. Feickert record and software to adjust the azimuth to produce equal left–right and right…
Sidebar 1: Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC phono cartridge
The Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC ($1499.95) is a new cartridge that uses much of the technology of the Soundsmith Sussurro ($4799.95), which Michael Fremer raved about in the March 2012 issue. Like all Soundsmith cartridges, the Zephyr MIMC uses what's usually called a moving-iron design, but which Soundsmith designer Peter Ledermann prefers to call fixed-coil. Ledermann makes a persuasive argument about the superiority of fixed-coil over moving-coil cartridges, lower moving mass being the major factor (footnote 1).
Like the Sussurro,…
Sidebar 2: RD's Associated Equipment
Analog Source: Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Lingo power supply, Linn Ittok LVII tonearm, AudioQuest AQ7000nsx cartridge.
Digital Source: PS Audio PerfectWave Memory CD/DVD transport & DirectStream DAC.
Preamplifier: Convergent Audio Technology SL-1 Renaissance Black Path Edition.
Power Amplifier: McIntosh Laboratory 50th Anniversary MC275.
Loudspeakers: Avantgarde Uno Nano.
Cables: Interconnect, speaker, AC: Nordost Valhalla 2.
Accessories: PS Audio PerfectWave P5 Power Plant AC generator, Arcici Suspense Rack,…
Everyone in the room can hear the difference when I swap one phono cartridge for another. Same thing happens with loudspeakers. This is because both of these magnet-based transducer technologies are electromechanical devices, traditionally made of paper, wood, iron, and copper. (Nowadays, polymers, aluminum, and carbon composites are more typical.) Both are motor-generator mechanisms that either convert mechanical energy into electrical energy (cartridges) or vice versa (speakers). As audio devices, they are spool-and-wire simple, but even tiny changes in the materials and/or how those…
In my sophomore year of high school, one of the greatest challenges my friends and I faced was the search for the perfect after-school hangout, perfect being defined as "having the least amount of adult supervision." Some of us lived in single-parent homes, but only one had a single parent for whom weekday surprise inspections were impossible, and that was Scott. So Scott's place—a downstairs apartment in a nice older house not far from school—got the nod.
Scott's place was also where I learned to distinguish the differences between monophonic and stereophonic playback. Most of us had…
Mat Weisfeld, the President of VPI, told me, "The Scout was originally named after Sheila Weisfeld, since she was very active in the Girl Scouts. After her death, we had made the Traveler in her memory, but the Traveler was not easily upgradable and had the inboard motor. The Scout Jr. was made to replace the Traveler, and serve as a 'table to celebrate Mom's life rather than her passing."
The Scout Jr. record player ($1600) offers, at a reasonable price, the ability to play now—and then, later on, if you so desire, you can opt for a slew of upgrades, including: the 1 3/8"-thick platter…
When the MH40s arrived, I enjoyed the M&D experience as would a paying customer: The packaging and presentation were first-rate, and the headphones themselves appeared well made. The MH40s' earcups are machined from aluminum alloy, while various structural bits—most notably the pins around which the size-adjustment mechanisms pivot—are stainless steel. The earpads, made of a memory foam, are covered in soft, supple lambskin, as is the headband's underside; the headband's top is made of cowhide. (Obviously, this is not a product for vegans and/or biocentrists.) The MH40s weigh 360gm, and…
Sidebar: Contacts
Acoustic Signature, AS Distribution GmbH, Ulmer Strasse 123, 73037 Göppingen, Germany. Tel: (49) (0)7161-3898135. Fax: (49) (0)7161-3898137. Web: www.acoustic-signature.com. US distributor: Fidelis Music Systems, 460 Amherst Street, Route 101A, Nashua, NH 03063. Tel: (603) 880-4434. Fax: (603) 880-4433. Web: www.fidelisav.com.
VPI Industries, 77 Cliffwood Avenue #5D, Cliffwood, NJ 07721. Web: www.vpiindustries.com.
RTOM Corporation, 550 Industrial Road, Carlstadt, NJ 07072. Tel: (201) 507-8282. Fax: (201) 507-8890. Web: www.rtom.com.
Sidebar Contacts
Master & Dynamic, New York City, NY. Tel: (888) 814-5411. Web: www.masterdynamic.com.
The Electric Recording Company, 123 Westbourne Studios, 242 Acklam Road, London W10 5JJ, England, UK. Fax: (44) 207-575-3047 Web: www.electricrecordingco.com.
Metronome’s CD8 S, which adds digital inputs to the French company’s well-regarded CD player, graces our March issue’s cover. As is often the case these days, we loved the sound but hated the measured performance—madness indeed! Melco’s affordable server and Merging’s expensive network-connected NADAC multichannel D/A processor get our nod of approval, as do class-D amplifiers from Theta, NAD, and Spec, while Herb Reichert finds much to enjoy with Simaudio’s Moon Neo 340i integrated amp. And on the music side of things, Robert Baird praises Acoustic Sounds’ new stereo releases of classic…