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Better known for their speaker cables and interconnects, The Absolute Reference Audio Labs (TARA Labs) has quietly branched out into electronics and loudspeakers. Their Passage is a line-level–only preamp. I actually favor such a modular approach to preamp design. Standing as we are at the dawn of the digital audio age, the breakup of the traditional preamp into separate phono and line-level stages represents a more flexible, cost-effective design approach. Systems whose front ends are heavily into digital (CD and DAT), supplemented only by such other high-level sources as analog tape, could…
Sidebar 1: Measurements
The output impedance of the Passage preamplifier at its main outputs measured a highish 912 ohms at any volume control setting. The input impedance measured just over 27k ohms (left channel, slightly lower in the right) at full volume, increasing to just over 37k ohms in the 9 o'clock position of the volume control. The output impedance of the tape outputs measured about 47.4 ohms with either a 25 ohm or 600 ohm source, indicating that these outputs are buffered. Unity gain was at 2 o'clock on the volume control; the maximum gain of the preamp was 37.7dB. DC…
Sidebar 2: Specifications
Description: Tubed, line-level preamp. Tube complement: two 12AU7A (ECC82) twin triodes, one 12AX7A. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, ±0.2dB. Channel separation: >80dB at 1kHz. Total harmonic distortion: 0.05% maximum.
Dimensions: 16" W by 12.5" D by 3.75" H. Weight: 10 lbs.
Serial number of sample tested: 10154.
Price: $995 (1992); no longer available (2017). Approximate number of dealers: 28.
Manufacturer: TARA Labs, Inc., Ashland, OR 97520 (1992); 716 Rossanley Drive, Medford, OR 97501 (2017). Tel: (541) 488-6465. Fax: (541) 245-9119. Web:…
When you graduate from mass-market hi-fi to high-end audio, one of the first things you notice is that audiophile gear dispenses with the gadgets and gimmicks that clutter up the front panels of most stereo receivers and integrated amplifiers. The dominant philosophy in mass-market design is that features sell products: the more functions a product has, the more desirable it will seem in the store. High-end designers, on the other hand, prefer the KISS approach: Keep It Simple, Stupid!
Every added feature means that the audio signal must go through additional wires, plugs, switch…
Bernie Krause: Citadels of Mystery
Mobile Fidelity MFSL 1-505 (LP).
Mobile Fidelity MFSL 1-505 (LP).
This is a very hyped, contrived recording, but then nobody ever pretended that this kind of musical construction was supposed to approximate the sound of a live performance. The strings are quite steely on this but, in all other respects, the recording is is stupendous—unctuously rich, smooth and limpidly clear, with some awesomely taut low end and cuttingly crisp percussion sounds.
Much of the program draws from African and Haitian sources, and I must say I found some of the maddeningly repetitive passage to…
Palmer Audio's 2.5 turntable, with its laminated plinth of Baltic birch and metallic features, looks Scandinavian but is made in the UK. It shares a few conceptual similarities with the turntables made by Nottingham Analogue, another British brand. The review sample had the optional side panels of cherrywood veneer.
Like Nottingham's designer, the late Tom Fletcher, Jon Palmer believes that effectively spinning a turntable platter—particularly a heavy one like the Palmer's 21-pounder of aluminum alloy—requires less torque, not more. Flip the switch on the back of the 2.5's standalone…
Herb Reichert wrote about the Palmer & Origami in July 2017 (Vol.40 No.7):
The words right and wrong and good and bad make me uncomfortable. Assigning virtue or value is against my religion. And thinking that I know the best way to design a loudspeaker, amplifier, or record player would only prove that I'm a conceited old fool. Therefore . . .
When I feel the urge to upgrade my analog pleasures, I keep an open mind and endeavor to shop outside my comfort zone. And, because I can, I consult with me ol' runnin' buddy Michael Trei, contributing editor to Sound & Vision, and…
Sidebar: Specifications
Palmer Audio 2.5: Belt-drive, two-speed turntable with separate power supply.
Dimensions: 18.9" W by 7.5" H by 13.8" D. Weight: about 44 lbs.
Price: $7995 (2014), $8990 (2017).
Manufacturer: Palmer Audio. Web: www.palmeraudio.co.uk. US distributor: Fidelis Home Audio, 460 Amherst Street (Route 101A), Nashua, NH 03063. Tel: (603) 880-4434. Fax: (603) 880-4433. Web: www.fidelisav.com.
Audio Origami PU7: Tonearm available in 9" and 12" versions.
Price: $3000.
Manufacturer: Audio Origami. Web: www.audioorigami.co.uk. US distributor:…
One day before the Los Angeles Audio Show, Jason Victor Serinus, his fresh haircut, and I visited VTL Amplifiers, Inc. in Chino, California. We were given a tour of the factory by Bea Lam and Luke Manley, who were featured in this 2007 interview by Jason. While Jason has a certain sense of familiarity with Bea, Luke, and their amplifiers, I only became truly aware of VTL at the 2016 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, when Bea and I fatefully met in the women's restroom of the hotel lobby—a rare place to meet people at a hi-fi show! (I highly recommend it.)
It was interesting to see how small and…
To avoid disappointment and save yourself literally hundreds of dollars, it's a fine rule of thumb to remember that seeing solo acts, rock bands or even aging jazz stars that you might have loved in the 1960s, '70s, or '80s (can the '90s be far behind?) is almost always an exercise in frustration. That's the beauty of recordings. If they contained inspired music and were well-recorded, they age well. Musicians that were once young and vital . . . not so much.
And then there's the Rolling Stones.
If you can put aside the fact that what was once a rock 'n' roll band has now grown…