Every time I play a black disc, I am aware that I am participating in a rite that's been passed down through generations. This feels especially true now, as I use Linn's new, flagship Klimax LP12 record playing system. I've been using it now for several months.
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When I asked Joe Rodger to break that price down, he sent me this:
Sondek LP12 (mechanics only, dustcover and Karousel bearing…
Description: Linn Klimax LP12 two-speed (33.33 and 45rpm), belt-drive turntable with Karousel Bearing, sprung Keel subchassis, and separate Radikal power supply. Equipped as a package with the Linn Ekos SE tonearm, Ekstatik moving coil cartridge, and built-in Urika RIAA phono stage.
Dimensions: 17.4" (445mm) W × 5.5" (140mm) H × 14" (356mm) D (turntable); 13.8" (350mm) W × 2.3" (60mm) H × 13.9" (355mm) D (Radikal power supply).
Serial number of unit reviewed: 1546559. Manufactured in Scotland.
Price as tested: $30,120. Approximate number of US…
Analog sources: Dr. Feickert Analogue Blackbird turntable with Thomas Schick 10.5" tonearm, My Sonic Lab Ultra Eminent Ex moving coil cartridge, and Sutherland Engineering Little Loco phono stage.
Integrated amplifier: Linear Tube Audio Z10e.
Preamplifier: HoloAudio Serene.
Power amplifiers: Parasound Halo A 21+, Pass Labs XA25.
Loudspeakers: Falcon Acoustics LS3/5a (Gold Badge).
Headphones: Audeze CRBN, HiFiMan Susvara.
Cables: Interconnect: Auditorium 23, AudioQuest Mackenzie and Thunderbird, Black Cat Coppertone, Cardas Iridium…
But now ERC has put out a meticulous mono pressing of Giant Steps, John Coltrane's first auteur masterpiece, so it's a good time to step in and say something about the company in general and this album in particular.
Many eyeballs have popped about this label's eccentricities: its obsession with replicating the…
It's rare to find an album recorded with an audiophile process that's musically compelling. Barry Diament has struck the balance consistently on his Soundkeeper Recordings label. Diament, a former Atlantic Records mastering engineer, has honed his minimal-miked, hi-rez-digital recording technique over the last decade or so. This is his seventh release on the Soundkeeper label. It's a mellow country-bluegrass affair…
Anything but mainstream when they were recorded in 1958 and '59, Coleman's first two albums, combined in this minibox set, sound relatively conventional today. Coleman had yet to form his classic quartet with bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Ed…
The Seventh, Bruckner's most accessible symphony, has proved elusive on record. Traditionalists have emphasized its "vertical" aspects, its tonal and harmonic weight, at the cost of forward motion; "horizontal," Italianate conductors (Abbado, Chailly) have reversed that imbalance.
François-Xavier Roth gets it right. Tempi, save in a conventional Scherzo, are…
One positive sign: After several years of dueling Southern CA audio shows, the Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society (LAOCAS) has finally invited its huge membership to enjoy T.H.E. Show. Along with the 11th-hour invite came a $5 show admission discount for society members.
Belated or not, it'…
The Graham LS5/5f is an augmented reissue of the original LS5/5 monitor that was designed by Dudley Harwood and Spencer Hughes for mixing and mastering purposes, and issued by the BBC in 1967. Withdrawn not long thereafter because, in the age of the Beatles, it could not play loud enough, and…