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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…
The S5, and its companion preamplifier, the Michi P5, which Ken Micallef reviewed in our November 2020 issue, arrived fully broken in. (I only had time for a brief listen to the P5, which I'll discuss in a follow-up review in a later issue.) Orth assured me that 20 minutes was sufficient time to warm up the S5 from its standby temperature of 22°–23° C to an ideal temperature in the mid-40s. My S5, though, never got above 38°–39° C. The right channel was invariably 1° warmer than the left, for reasons that John Atkinson may discover in his measurements.
I powered the S5 through one of…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid state, dual-mono class-AB power amplifier. Inputs: 1 balanced (XLR), 1 single-ended (RCA). Outputs: 2 pair custom binding posts. Continuous output power: 500Wpc into 8 ohms (27dBW), 800Wpc into 4 ohms (26dBW). Input impedance, balanced (XLR): 100k ohms; single-ended (RCA): 12.5k ohms. Voltage gain, balanced (XLR): 24dB; single-ended (RCA), 28dB. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz (+0dB, –0.15dB); 10Hz–100kHz (+0dB, –0.4dB). Input sensitivity, balanced (XLR): 4.2V at full rated output; unbalanced (RCA): 2.6V. THD: <0.008%. Damping factor: 350. S…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: dCS Rossini SACD/CD transport, Rossini DAC, and Rossini Clock; EMM Labs DV2 Integrated DAC; Synology 5-bay 1019+ NAS, content/roon-labs-nucleus-music-server">Roon Nucleus+ music server, Uptone Audio EtherRegen with AfterDark Giesemann Emperor Double Crown Master Clock, Small Green Computer Sonore opticalModules (2) and Deluxe opticalModule, Linksys router and Arris modem, all powered by HDPlex 300 (3) and HDPlex 200 linear power supplies (3); Nordost QNET Ethernet Switch; Apple 2017 iPad Pro and 2017 MacBook Pro laptop with 2.8 GHz…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Rotel Michi S5 with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system, preconditioning the amplifier by operating it at 1/8 the specified power into 8 ohms for 30 minutes. At the end of that time, the top panel's temperature was 86°F/30°C, and that of the side panels next to the heatsinks 101.1°F/38.4°C. Though the rear-panel fans had turned on and were venting hot air, they were silent.
The Michi S5's voltage gain at 1kHz into 8 ohms was 23.6dB for the balanced input and 27.7dB for the unbalanced input, both values close to the specified gains. Both inputs…