It wasn't being played, there was no way to tell how it sounded, but it certainly looked the business. Delays due, among other things, to…
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Once upon a time, SME made "the best tonearm in the world." That claim may have been justifiable through the 1960s and early '70s, but then something happened—SME failed to keep pace with their competition in coping with the increasing popularity of low- to medium-compliance, highish-mass, moving-coil cartridges. I had just about written SME off as a serious high-end company when, at the 1984 Summer CES, I saw the first prototype of the Series V.
Anthony H. Cordesman also reviewed the SME V in September 1986:
I get quite a number of excellent products to review, but I only want to steal a few of them. This list, naturally enough, includes those items where performance has been the design goal regardless of price, or which have superb performance but also some minor quirk that limit their value as references to a reviewer (footnote 1). It is, in many ways, an honor roll of the high-end, including such items as the Koetsu Signature Red, Audio Research SP-11, New York Audio Laboratories OTL-1, Apogee Scintilla, and so on.
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Thomas J. Norton commented on the SME V in August 1991 (Vol.14 No.8):
My auditioning of the Oracle Delphi Mk.IV turntable began with the Oracle SME 345 tonearm and the Dynavector XX-1L cartridge. The sound of this combination would not surprise anyone who's read my review of the Dynavector (Vol.14 No.5), though the arm in that case was the SME V. The presentation was tight, focused, open, and detailed, yet without unnatural roughness or brightness. On good recordings, that is. Mike Garson's The Oxnard Sessions, Vol.1 (Reference Recordings RR-37) definitely tended toward the sparkling…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Pivoted, dynamic balance tonearm with fiber-damped, tapered, straight magnesium arm-tube with a fixed headshell, optional viscous pivot damping, spring sidethrust correction, sliding base overhang adjustment, ballrace bearings. Effective mass: 10–11gm. Length (pivot to stylus): 233.15mm. (Pivot-to-spindle distance, 215.35mm (8½"); offset overhang, 23 ° 38 minutes; overhang, 17.8mm ±9mm; tracking error, 0.012 °/mm maximum with 0 ° error at 66.04mm and 120.9mm from the record center.) Cartridge balance range: 0–14gm. Vertical tracking force: 0–3gm.,…
Veteran phono-preamplifier designer Ron Sutherland has been partial, of late, to battery power. Getting off the grid can produce superb results, as demonstrated by his Hubble phono preamp ($3800), powered by 16 alkaline batteries.
I favorably reviewed the Hubble in the February 2010 issue, and remember loving most everything about it—particularly its drop-dead-quiet backdrops, its solid, weighty bottom end, and its fully fleshed-out instrumental textures. I was less enthused by its somewhat soft, muted high-frequency transients, though of course tastes and associated gear will differ. I…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Solid-state MM/MC phono preamplifier. Voltage gain: 40, 45, 50, 55, or 60dB. Input impedance: 100, 200, 1k, 10k, or 47k ohms. Power reqirements: 86–260V AC, 5W, universal, no adjustment required.
Dimensions: 17" W x 2½" H x 12" D. Weight: 11 lbs. Shipping weight: 19lbs.
Price: $1399.
Manufacturer: Sutherland Engineering, Kansas City, MO. Web: www.sutherlandengineering.com
The name "Mark Levinson" has for some years been equated with absolute, no-compromise perfectionism in audio design. Mark Levinson's equipment is highly esteemed by many audiophiles and audio-oriented musicians (most musicians just don't care about reproduced sound), and he has produced some of the best recordings that have ever been made. Each side of his HQD loudspeaker system comprises a pair of Quad electrostatic speakers, one pair mounted upside-down below the other in a wooden frame with the extreme highs reproduced by a central Kelly ribbon unit. two separate cabinets feature Hartley…
Components listed here have been formally reviewed in Stereophile and have been found to be among the best available in each of four or five quality classes. Whether a component is listed in Class A or Class E, we highly recommend its purchase.
Each listing—in alphabetical order within classes—is followed by a brief description of the product's sonic characteristics and a code indicating the Stereophile Volume and Issue in which that product's report appeared. Thus the May 2014 issue is indicated as "Vol.37 No.5."
Some products listed have not yet been reported on; these are…
Sidebar: How to Use the Listings
The classes each cover a wide range of performance. Carefully read our descriptions here, the original reviews, and (heaven forbid) reviews in other magazines to put together a short list of components to choose from. Evaluate your room, your source material and front-end(s), your speakers, and your tastes. With luck, you may come up with a selection to audition at your favorite dealer(s). "Recommended Components" will not tell you what to buy any more than Consumer Reports would presume to tell you whom to marry!
Class A: Best attainable sound…
Turntables
Editor's Note: We strongly recommend those interested in LP playback visit our sister website, www.AnalogPlanet.com, which is edited by Michael Fremer.
A+
Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn: $200,000 with tonearm and stand ★
Part New Jersey diner, part Wurlitzer jukebox," the 160-lb Caliburn is the brainchild of Mark Doehmann, whose clever, purposeful design is based on rigorous scientific methodology using finite-element analysis computer programs. While the only serious competition for the Caliburn is the Rockport System III Sirius, MF decided, "The…