The April Issue features an extensively revised "Recommended Components" feature—often copied, never equaled—while April Music's stylin' Aura Note V2 CD receiver gets the full review treatment from Art Dudley. In addition, we have:
Great analog playback gear from Abis, Jasmine, Mørch, Reed, SME, and TechDAS
A US-premier review of the AR-M2 hi-rez portable player from one of the great names in hi-fi, Acoustic Research, now under new ownership
A high-end server from Aurender is put through its paces
An interview with blues-ish singer/guitarist, Bonnie Raitt
And…
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Dr. Feickert Analogue's top-of-the line turntable, the Firebird ($12,500), is a generously sized record player designed to easily accommodate two 12" tonearms. Its three brushless, three-phase DC motors, arranged around the platter in an equilateral triangle, are connected to a proprietary controller in a phase-locked loop (PLL); according to the Firebird's designer, Dr. Christian Feickert, a reference signal from just one of the motors drives all three—thus one motor is the master while the other two are slaves. (Man, today that is politically incorrect, however descriptively accurate.)…
So, when Axxis Audio's Art Manzano offered a Reed 3P for review, I chose the 9" version and attempted to mount it in the Firebird's right-hand corner, with my Kuzma 4Point in the left. But that didn't work—the Reed's pivot assembly was where the Kuzma's long headshell wanted to be.
Nor was it possible to mount and conveniently use the Reed arm on the left with the Mørch DP8 arm (9.25" effective length) on the right. These shorter arms have a shorter pivot-to-spindle distance, which puts both of them closer to the platter; when correctly set up, these arms, too, interfered with each…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn turntable, Cobra tonearm, Castellon stand; Dr. Feickert Analogue Firebird, Kuzma 4Point, Reed 3P, SAT tonearms; Lyra Atlas & Etna, Miyajima Labs Zero (mono) and Madake, Ortofon Anna cartridges.
Preamplification: Ypsilon MC-10L & MC-16L step-up transformers; darTZeel NHB-18NS, PureAudio Vinyl, Viva, Ypsilon VPS-100 preamplifiers.
Power Amplifiers: darTZeel NHB-458 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Marten Coltrane 3, Wilson Audio Specialties Alexandria XLF.
Cables: Interconnect: Snake River…
Preamplification: Ypsilon MC-10L & MC-16L step-up transformers; darTZeel NHB-18NS, PureAudio Vinyl, Viva, Ypsilon VPS-100 preamplifiers.
Power Amplifiers: darTZeel NHB-458 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Marten Coltrane 3, Wilson Audio Specialties Alexandria XLF.
Cables: Interconnect: Snake River…
Sidebar 2: Specifications
Descriptiom: .Belt-drive turntable with three motors, POM platter, and the capability to accept two 12" tonearms.
Dimensions: 22" wide by 6.25" high by 18.25" deep. Weight: 68.5 lbs.
Price: $12,500.
Manufacturer: Dr. Feickert Analogue, Stegenbachstrasse 25b, 79232 March-Buchheim, Germany. Tel: (49) (0)76-65/9-41-37-18. Fax: (49) (0)76-65/9-41-37-25. Web: www.feickert.com. US distributor: VANA, 2845 Middle Country Road, Lake Grove, NY 11755. Tel: (631) 246-4412. Web: www.vanaltd.com
AudioVision SF (1628 California Street, San Francisco, CA 94109) are having a free event Thursday March 17, 7:30–9:30pm, to preview Technics' new Audiophile 1200GAE 50th Anniversary Limited-Edition turntable and tonearm. This is not the Technics 1200 your local DJ played but a fully redesigned table with just about everything taken upstream except for the basic look! The Technics 1200GAE will not be available till this summer but this is your chance to come see and hear why this was the hottest thing at the 2016 CES.
This event will also include the entire new line of Technics electronics…
We received the following email this afternoon. Sad, sad news. I shall remember the Richard Beers of unlimited energy and enthusiasm, pictured above at the 2013 T.H.E. Show in Newport Beach, CA. Richard made audio shows fun for all—exhibitors, press, and most all audiophiles of every persuasion. We’ll miss you, Richard.—John Atkinson
Dear Industry Friends,
My name is Maurice Jung and I am the interim President for T.H.E. Show Newport. It is with heartfelt sorrow that I must inform you of the passing of Mr. Richard Beers. He fought a good fight against lung cancer and because of…
While we were preparing our list of specifications for our perfectionist's tape recorder discussed elsewhere in this issue, we suddenly came to a screeching halt at the spec which started "Scrape flutter less than . . ."
What, we wondered, was the scrape flutter percentage in a recorder in which scrape flutter is audible? Would it be 0.5%? Or 1%? Or even 5%? We perused the readily available literature, and were informed that "scrape flutter is caused by the tape's tendency to move past the heads in a series of tiny jerks in stead of in a smooth gliding motion." We were also told that…
This is by no means a new product. It was available in a stereo version as far back as 1961, and apart from a couple of minor refinements—the addition of a bias compensator and a new, lightweight shell—it is still the same arm, and it still has the reputation of being the perfectionist's tonearm.
There are two models available, differing only in pivot-to-stylus distance and in total mass. The Model 3012 is 12” from pivot to stylus, to accommodate old broadcast-type 16” transcriptions, but its mass is too high for the majority of to day's high-compliance pickups. The 3009 (with 9” pivot-to…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Universal-type fully adjustable pickup arm. Stylus force range: 0.25–5gm, adjustable w/out external force gauge; will counterbalance pickups weighing from2–20 grams. Height range (motor board to top of arm base): 3.25–2.375". Nominal arm length: 9". Stylus-to-pivot-center distance: 8.43" adjustable ±0.5". Depth below top of motor board: 2.75". Rear overhang (max): 3.25". Pivot friction: 0.02 gram, measured at stylus. Head: Four-circuit plug-in, with screw collar.
Price: $92.50 (1965); no longer available (2016).
Manufacturer: SME Ltd., Steyning…