Analog sources: Kuzma Stabi R turntable/4Point tonearm; EMT TSD 15N Super Fineline moving coil phono cartridge.
Digital sources: Denafrips Ares II DAC; Sonore opticalRendu; Roon Nucleus+; Small Green Computer power supply; TRENDnet switch; Apple iPad mini.
Integrated amplifier: Parasound Hint 6 Halo.
Loudspeakers: DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/96.
Cables: Interconnect: 2m Triode Wire Labs Spirit II (RCA), 2m Analysis Plus Silver Apex (RCA). Speaker: 10' Analysis Plus Silver Apex Speaker (bananas). AC: Triode Wire Labs Obsession NCF,…
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The Technics SU-G700M2 appears to be a less powerful, less–well-equipped sibling of the Technics SU-R1000 integrated amplifier that KM reviewed in December 2021, which offered superb measured performance. I measured the SU-G700M2 with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system, and as the amplifier has an output stage that resembles class-D, I inserted an Audio Precision AUX-0025 passive low-pass filter between the test load and the analyzer. This filter reduces RF noise that would otherwise drive the SYS2722's input circuitry into slew-rate limiting. (Without the filter,…
I am an artist by trade. Saws and brushes and cameras are some of the tools I use. The aesthetic quality of the things I make is determined not by my skill with tools but by the dynamic relationships I establish among space, color, tone, and shape.
Of those elements, shapes are the most important because they are the first thing a viewer notices and the chief vehicles for transmitting sentiment and artistic intent. Stylized shapes, like those in popular art, may induce superficial responses in the viewer. Taut, Euclidian shapes suggest their author is of a higher mind; the Parthenon and…
As always, my search for maximum data retrieval leads me to JPS Labs' higher priced ($5995) Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC open-back (and front) planar-magnetics, which, as they have done for years, rewarded me with about 1000 pieces of previously unnoticed information. The Abyss TC is specified at 47 ohms, 87dB/mW, which is electrically similar to the Stealth. In comparison, the AB-1266 presented recordings more raw—more like a recording-studio monitor—than the more sumptuous-sounding Stealth.
Dan Clark's new flagship appealed to me as a hip, tech-looking, smartly engineered, planar-magnetic…
There's an enduring debate among the turntable-tech intelligentsia between opposing theories of turntable design. Some designers, notably Roy Gandy of Rega, follow a less-is-more approach, building stiff, lightweight turntables that release energy rather quickly. Others, such as Franc Kuzma, whose Kuzma Ltd. manufactures my reference Kuzma Stabi R turntable and Kuzma 4Point tonearm, believe in heavy mass-loading to dampen vibrations, including transparency-miring resonances. Though analog sages and savants have argued for decades, the question remains: Should turntables be light or heavy?…
Following the manual, I arranged three dime-sized aluminum pads in a loose triangle on my Ikea Aptitlig bamboo board; the Reference Jubilee's three adjustable spiked feet fit into the dimpled pads. I squeezed three drops of supplied bearing oil into the Jubilee's ceramic bearing shaft, then fitted the upper magnet bearing through the hole in the stainless steel subplatter, securing it with a supplied collar then tightening it with an Allen wrench. (The collar is a placeholder of sorts.) I gently lowered the subplatter over the ceramic bearing shaft. The larger POM platter slid easily over…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-speed, belt-drive turntable with 9" Clearaudio Universal carbon-fiber tonearm.
Turntable: Plinth made of aluminum and laminated Panzerholz wood. 33 1/3, 45, and 78rpm speeds with Optical Speed Control. Speed accuracy (measured): ±0.05%. 24V DC motor suspended via 18 O-rings. Inverted Clearaudio Ceramic Magnetic Bearing (CMB). 1.97" (50mm), 11.2lb (5.1kg) POM platter and 0.59" (15mm) stainless steel dynamically balanced subplatter. Silicon rubber elastomeric belt. Power consumption: 5W.
Tonearm (included): Aluminum (black/silver),…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Kuzma Stabi R turntable/4Point tonearm; Clearaudio Jubilee MC v2 phono cartridge.
Preamplification: Sugden LA-4 line preamplifier; Sutherland Little Loco and Tavish Adagio phono preamplifers.
Power amplifier: Pass Labs XA25.
Loudspeakers: DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/96.
Cables: Interconnect: 2m Triode Wire Labs Spirit II (RCA), 2m Analysis Plus Silver Apex (RCA). Speaker: 10' Analysis Plus Silver Apex Speaker (bananas). AC: Triode Wire Labs Obsession NCF, manufacturers' own.
Accessories: Pro-Ject VC-S2 ALU Record Cleaning…
Certain albums stand as monuments because of the influence they had on contemporary and future musicians despite having little commercial success. The Velvet Underground & Nico comes to mind. So do the early Ramones albums. And then there are albums that had just as much influence but were megahits—a much rarer thing.
One of those, surely, is Rush's Moving Pictures, a multiplatinum seller with hits that have stayed in rotation on certain FM radio stations ever since the album's release more than 40 years ago. Moving Pictures has influenced generations of rock, prog, grunge, and even…
Like an immense night bird aloft in the gold'n sky.
I should like to sail off towards islands of flow'rs
While list'ning to the perverse sea singing
In its old and bewitching rhythm.
I should like to sail off towards islands of flow'rs
While list'ning to the perverse sea singing
In its old and bewitching rhythm.
It took some time to figure out why, in the middle of auditioning Rotel's Michi S5 stereo power amplifier ($7499.99) with the room-shaking opening of Richard Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra, Ravel's far subtler and perfumed setting of Tristan Klingsor's lyrics from Shéhérazade came to mind. And then the pathway opened: As mundane a task as reviewing a component may be—listen to this, listen to…