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Listening #136

"Perhaps we can shed some light on your problem in a new segment exploring pre-adolescent turmoil. I call it . . . 'Choices.'"—Sideshow Bob, The Simpsons

"For us, unlike other manufacturers, there are not degrees of clean. Our entry-level machine is as good as our top of our line when it comes to cleaning records; in between, it's just a matter of choices." Thus spoke Jonathan Monks, who inherited from his father, the late Keith Monks, an audio-manufacturing legacy built upon the world's first commercially produced record-cleaning machine.

Our conversation was prompted by last…

Listening #136 Page 2

The new model's vacuum arm moves more slowly, requiring about 70 seconds to traverse an entire LP side. (Older Monks machines do it in just over 50 seconds.) The nylon vacuum nozzle has a new shape, better suited, according to Jonathan Monks, to the slower platter and vacuum-arm speeds. And whereas the thread supply and its spooling mechanism are hidden from sight in the older, more expensive Keith Monks models, the discOveryOne keeps its thread aboveboard. With my own sample, the feeding of fresh thread into the system was not automated—I had to remember, after washing each side, to give…

Zesto Audio Leto line preamplifier

When Carolyn Counnas, co-founder of Zesto Audio, contacted editor John Atkinson to ask about getting the Leto, the company's tubed line stage preamplifier ($7500), reviewed in Stereophile, JA suggested that I do the job. I'd recently reviewed competing designs from Nagra and VTL (see reviews in April 2013 and June 2013, respectively) and I was thrilled—I always look forward to hearing a tube preamp from a company I'm unfamiliar with, and besides, I'd seen pictures of the drop-dead-gorgeous Leto. After nearly 30 years of reviewing all sizes and pedigrees of preamps, power amps, and…

Zesto Audio Leto line preamplifier Page 2

The Zesto's reproduction of the highs had one shortcoming, though it rarely raised its head as I listened to dozens of records. When listening to recordings with passages of significant high-frequency energy, I noticed a slight tense quality, as the preamp lost its normally relaxed demeanor. I heard this during the louder guitar-and-drum passages of the early Beatles recordings on Mono Masters (CD, Parlophone LC 0299-7), and even during the more active sections of "Ear Topology," from my jazz quartet Attention Screen's Takes Flight at Yamaha (CD, Stereophile STPH021-2). On the latter track,…

Zesto Audio Leto line preamplifier Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Tubed line-stage preamplifier. Tube complement: two gold-pin JJ ECC83S/12AX7, two gold-pin JJ ECC82/12AU7. Frequency response: 10Hz–100kHz, –1dB. Output polarity: non-inverting. Distortion: approximately 0.02% at 1V RMS input. Voltage gain: 12dB. Signal/noise ratio: approximately 100dB ref. operating level. Channel separation: >90dB.
Dimensions: 17" (435mm) W by 5" (130mm) H by 12" (305mm) D. Weight 23 lbs (10.5kg).
Serial number of unit reviewed: 120132.
Price: $7500. Approximate number of dealers: 12. Warranty: 2 years, limited.…

Zesto Audio Leto line preamplifier Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog Sources: VPI TNT IV, Rega Planar 3 turntables; Immedia, Syrinx PU-3 tonearms; Koetsu Urushi, Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood cartridges.
Digital Sources: Lector CDP-7T, Creek Destiny CD players.
Preamplification: Vendetta Research SCP-2D phono stage, Audio Valve Eklipse line stage.
Power Amplifier: Audio Research Reference 75.
Loudspeakers: Epos M16i, Monitor Audio Silver RS6, Nola Viper Reference III.
Cables: Interconnect (all MIT): Magnum M3, MI-350 CVTwin Terminator, MI-330SG Terminator. Speaker: Accent Speaker Technology Blue…

Zesto Audio Leto line preamplifier Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

I used Stereophile's loan sample of the top-of-the-line Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see www.ap.com and the January 2008 "As We See It") to measure the Zesto Leto. I carefully installed the four tubes—two 12AU7s, two 12AX7s—in the correct sockets, as instructed in the manual. With the Leto's volume control set to the maximum, the gain for balanced input and balanced output was 13.55dB in the left channel, 14dB in the right. For unbalanced input to unbalanced output, the gains were 12.1dB left and 12.52dB right. The Leto preserved absolute polarity (ie, was non-…

Parasound Halo P 5 2.1-channel D/A preamplifier

Asked how to make a guitar, the celebrated luthier Wayne Henderson offered a straight-up answer: "Just get a pile of really nice wood and a whittling knife. Then you just carve away everything that isn't a guitar." (footnote 1)

The making of a preamplifier seems more or less the opposite. You start with a simple volume control and a couple of jacks, then add whatever you think constitutes a preamplifier. Choices might include electronic source switching, line-level gain, phono-level gain and equalization, tone controls, tone-defeat switches, a balance control, a headphone jack, an iPod…

Parasound Halo P 5 2.1-channel D/A preamplifier Page 2

It will be to no one's surprise that the Halo P 5 is supplied with a remote control. Equally unremarkable is the fact that I had no real interest in using it, although I did note that the handset is about as straightforward and non-horrible-looking as such things get. It includes all of the most basic functions—power, volume, muting, source selection—and while one can't use it to adjust the bass and treble per se, the handset does have buttons for Tone Controls On and Off. Subwoofer level and balance—two functions that I believe would be useful from one's listening seat—are absent. (Yes, I…

Parasound Halo P 5 2.1-channel D/A preamplifier Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: 2.1-channel stereo preamplifier with phono stage. Line-level inputs: 4 single-ended, 1 usable as single-ended or balanced. Input impedance: 24k ohms single-ended, 100k ohms per phase balanced. Output impedance: 100 ohms single-ended, 470 ohms per phase balanced. Line-level gain: 10dB. Frequency response: 10Hz–100kHz, +0/–3dB. THD: 0.01%. Signal/noise ratio: >108dB (IHF A-weighted).
Dimensions: 17" (437mm) W by 4.5" (114mm) H by 14.5" (368mm) D (dimensions include knobs and feet). Weight: 13.9 lbs (6.3kg).
Serial number of unit reviewed:…