Description: Montana NEO: Nonsuspended, mass-loaded, triple–belt-driven turntable. Speeds: 33.3rpm, 45rpm. Platter: 12.2" (310mm) diameter, 1.97" (50mm) thick. 3 AC synchronous motors. Wow and flutter: not specified. TA-7000 NEO: Ball-race bearing, carbon fiber, pivoted tonearm. Effective length: 239.9mm; pivot-to-spindle distance: 222mm; overhang: 17.3mm; offset angle: 23.9°. Effective mass: 10gm. Weight: 683gm.
Dimensions: Montana NEO: 16.8" (426mm) × 16.8" (426mm) × 6.77" (172mm). Weight: 79lb (36kg).
Finish: Black or silver anodized or bicolor.
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Sidebar 1: Specifications
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: OMA K3, SAT XD-1 turntables; SAT CF1-09, CF1Ti-09, Schröder K3 tonearms; Lyra Etna Lambda SL, Ortofon A95 phono cartridges.
Digital sources: dCS Vivaldi One SACD player/DAC; Lynx Hilo A/D-D/A converter; Roon Nucleus server; Pure Vinyl and Vinyl Studio software.
Preamplification: Line: darTZeel NHB-18S. Phono: MC-20L step-up transformer, Ypsilon VPS-100 phono preamp, CH Precision P1 with X1 PSU.
Power amplifiers: darTZeel NHB 468 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Chronosonic XVX.
Cables: Interconnect: TARA…
My As We See It column in the November 2021 issue of Stereophile was a sincere expression of regret over my inability to connect with current rock music. It ended with a request for recommendations. I got 'em. What's more, most (but not quite all) of those who responded found themselves in the same situation: They too found most current rock'n'roll difficult to relate to.
So, it seems appropriate to share some of the responses, right here on this page. But first, I'll note a few bands and albums from the last couple of decades that I like very much but failed to mention in that column:…
Herb Reichert reviewed the Sutherland Little Loco Mk2 in January 2022 (Vol. 45 No.1):
Sutherland Engineering's Ron Sutherland has been building highly respected conventional RC-type phono stages since the first settlements at Jericho. But in 2018, on the urging of a friend, he developed a current-drive/transimpedance phono stage and thought it was crazy-good, so he called it the Phono Loco. As I recall, the Phono Loco arrived to a fanfare of praise and curiosity, but it cost a lot ($8200), and a lot of audiophiles were skeptical about its unusual (but not unprecedented) current-mode…
The boxes sit there in our storage unit, opposite the 20 banker's boxes that hold 33 years' worth of product-measurement workbooks. The two large boxes are for the Bowers & Wilkins Matrix 801s my wife owned when we got married in 1987 (footnote 1). The four smaller boxes are for the B&W John Bowers Silver Signatures and their stands, which I purchased after reviewing them in June 1994. Both pairs of speakers gave superb sound quality back in the day, but now they sit there in the storage unit, their boxes giving me recriminatory looks when I visit.
Stereophile has reviewed many…
The music source was my Roon Nucleus+ feeding audio data over my network to an MBL N31 CD player/DAC, which was connected to a pair of Parasound Halo JC 1+ monoblocks. The speakers were single-wired with AudioQuest Robin Hood cable.
Listening
Listening to the dual-mono pink noise track on the Editor's Choice CD (Stereophile STPH016-2), I noticed too much treble energy. I followed the advice in the manual to toe-in the speakers so that they point at a location just in front of the listening position. This reduced the treble excess sufficiently that I could now hear that the pink…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, reflex-loaded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive units: 1" (25.4mm), diamond-dome tweeter; 5" (130mm) Continuum-cone, FST midrange unit; two 6.5" (165mm) Aerofoil-cone woofers. Crossover frequencies: not specified. Frequency response: 24Hz– 28kHz ±3dB. Frequency range: 20Hz–35kHz. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Minimum impedance: 3 ohms. Sensitivity: 89dB/2.83V/m. Recommended amplifier power: 50–200W into 8 ohms, unclipped program. Supplied accessories: jumper cables, rubber-tipped feet, and spikes, with a spanner and rod to fit the latter.…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Lingo power supply, Linn Ekos tonearm, Linn Arkiv B cartridge, Channel D Seta L phono preamplifier.
Digital Sources: Roon Nucleus+ file server; Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP universal player; MBL N31 CD player/DAC; Ayre Acoustics QA-9 A/D converter.
Power amplifiers: Parasound Halo JC 1+ monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: PSB Synchrony T600.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Vodka (Ethernet), AudioQuest Coffee (USB), DH Labs (1m, AES/EBU). Interconnect: AudioQuest Wild Blue (balanced). Speaker: AudioQuest Robin…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system, a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone, and an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the Bowers & Wilkins 804 D4's frequency response in the farfield. My primary axis for the measurements was level with the tweeter, but I also performed a series of tests on an axis level with the midrange unit, which is 36" from the floor, the height of my ears in my listening chair. I used an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield and in-room responses.
Bowers & Wilkins specifies the 804 D4's anechoic sensitivity as 89dB/2.83V/m.…
Tattoo You is near and dear to me. It came out in August 1981, just before I entered 10th grade, the age when a person's rock'n'roll aesthetic begins to take shape. This album was formative.
I knew about the Rolling Stones mainly through the Hot Rocks compilation, from listening on radio to hits from Some Girls (which came out when I was too young and sheltered in leafy suburbia to understand the urban grit and decadence described in its lyrics), and from Emotional Rescue, which I owned, and which I thought (and still think) lacks interesting music in the grooves to match the cool cover…