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Miscellaneous Accessories
AI Technology ELGR-8501: $160.75/1 oz
AI Technology's ELG-8501 is thermal grease made of more than 80% silver. JM uses a light smear on the mating surfaces of wall-wiring connections to prevent oxidation. He warns: "Never use any kind of silver paste on audio connections such as RCA plugs or amplifier speaker terminals." (Vol.36 No.10 WWW)
Audio Research Tube Damping Rings: $5 each
Damping rings for all AR products are now available to the public at large. They're made of a proprietary polymer material that converts kinetic energy to heat, and…
Interconnects
AcroLink 7N-DA2090 Speciale: $2375/1.5m pair
The less-than-snappily named 7N-DA2090 Speciale is technically laudable; commendably, AcroLink publishes the specs for this product's resistance (18milliohm/meter) and electrostatic capacitance (56pF/meter). It's made of 99.99999% pure multistrand copper, arranged in what AcroLink calls a "balanced twin core structure." According to MF, substituting the AcroLink interconnect for his TARA Zero Evolution "produced sharper but not unnaturally defined transients, shorter sustain and decay, and an overall well-detailed and more…
Designing and building a turntable isn't all that difficult. All that matters is in plain sight: Start with a base of wood, MDF, or acrylic; add some isolation "feet" for it to rest upon, and a spindle bearing such as any competent machine shop can fabricate, topped by a platter of acrylic or aluminum or suchlike. The motor can be an off-the-shelf AC synchronous type, fed directly by the electricity from a wall socket. Machining a correctly sized pulley and driving the platter with a belt requires minimal math skills to achieve the correct speeds. Build the motor into the base, or put it in…
The Mk2 features an internal "mechanical crossover" system that addresses frequencies above 100Hz by providing a smooth mechanical pathway for higher frequency vibrations to travel away from critical areas and dissipate. The motor, platter bearing, and armboard are on separate, interlocking plates (think of leaves on a tree, or think of the bearing as the sun, with the motor and armboards as "planets"), precisely mounted within the turntable in carefully optimized locations away from the center to further isolate the stylus/record interface from unwanted, internally produced vibrations (…
The Minus K suspension meant I could pretty much pound on both the HRS platform and the Helix One Mk2's base and hear nothing through the speakers. It's a really effective isolation device! A stethoscope placed anywhere on the 'table revealed zero motor and/or bearing noise.
Explosive, visceral sonics
Not surprisingly, the Döhmann Helix One Mk2's sound was more similar to the Continuum Caliburn's than it was to the TechDAS Air Force One Premium's; the TechDAS sounded smoother and, you might say, more elegant, refined, and relaxed—probably something to do with the air-bearing platter…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-speed, belt-drive turntable. Speeds: 33.3 and 45rpm (78rpm available upon request). Platter: 12" alloy/thermoplastic sandwich, 30lb. Integrated Minus K isolation system.
Dimensions: 23.6" (600mm) W × 18.9" (480mm) D × 9.8" (250mm) H. Weight: approximately 200lb.
Serial number of unit reviewed: DA-1019-058.
Price: $49,000 in black anodized aluminum, $55,600 in plated nickel and titanium finish. Approximate number of dealers: 5. Warranty: 5 years.
Manufacturer: Döhmann Audio Pty Ltd, Unit 2, 11 Friars Road, Moorabbin, Victoria 3189…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn turntable & Castellon stand; SAT CF1-09 and Thrax/Schröder CB tonearms; Lyra Atlas Lambda SL, Ortofon Anna Diamond cartridges.
Digital sources: dCS Vivaldi One SACD player DAC; Lynx Hilo A/D-D/A converter, Roon Nucleus; Pure Vinyl and Vinyl Studio software.
Preamplification: darTZeel NHB-18S, Ypsilon MC-10L, MC-16L, step-up transformers; Ypsilon VPS-100, CH Precision P1 with X1 PSU.
Power amplifiers: darTZeel NHB 468 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Alexx.
Cables:…
I am the world's worst consumer. Not only have I made more than my share of disastrous purchase decisions, I'm also inexplicably luckless: If there's one defective sample or repack in an inventory, it will find me.
I'm also a deceit magnet, and I'm spineless: More than once in my life, I have made abominable purchase decisions solely to please a manipulative salesman or a disinterested third party (read: girlfriend). There is abundant photographic evidence that I don't know how to shop for clothes, my glasses are wrong for my face because I trust the advice of opticians with bad or no…
Happily, those and similar sounds became more listenable after my first week of daily listening with the Orchestra Black. During that time, I ran it in by playing background music (while I edited other people's copy). Then, while playing the new Blue Note Tone Poets LP reissue of Lee Morgan's Cornbread (Blue Note/Music Matters BST 84222), there came a surprisingly sudden moment when the notes I was hearing simply refused to be ignored: Muzak time was over as the Jadis grabbed my ears and said, "Listen to the timing of [bassist] Larry Ridley! Do you hear the subtle tension he's putting into…