search

Analog Corner #257: AJ Conti, Audio Research Reference Phono 3, TARA Labs Air Evolution cables

Armando "AJ" Conti, 1957–2016
As I began writing this column, the terrible news arrived that Armando "AJ" Conti, founder of Basis Audio, had died of a heart attack at 59. A talented designer of turntables and tonearms, AJ was one of the warmest and more thoughtful people in the High End. Whenever I entered the Basis room at a Consumer Electronics Show, I had to be prepared to spend the next hour or more talking with AJ—not only about audio, but about coffee, motorcycling, metallurgy, or any other of his many passions.

After I'd reviewed, in the January 2000 issue, AJ's Basis Debut Mk.…

Analog Corner #257: AJ Conti, Audio Research Reference Phono 3, TARA Labs Air Evolution cables Page 2

Sound: Out of the box, the Reference Phono 3's sound was an embarrassment of tonal riches, with silky, textured delicacy emerging from "black" backgrounds. Over time, these qualities only improved. Probably thanks in part to its FET front end, the Phono 3 was very quiet, even in its High gain mode, and even with moving-coil cartridges of very low output—eg, the Lyra Etna SL (0.25mV) and Ortofon A95 (0.2mV).

Because the Phono 3's circuitry appears to be similar to the Reference 6's, I expected its sound to be as well. It was. Forget for a moment the typical sonic descriptors: like the Ref…

Spin Doctor #1: Shaknspin2 & Miyajima Kotetu Mono Phono Cartridge

Have you ever asked yourself how you ended up an audiophile? I certainly have, and I haven't been able to figure it out. Other audiophiles tell me that their father, uncle, neighbor, or whoever introduced them to quality home music reproduction and the equipment needed to achieve it, but that was never the case for me. My fascination with music and gear goes back further than I can remember: My mom once told me that by age 3 I was climbing the bookcase to put records on the turntable and already knew how to operate the whole hi-fi rig by myself.

Like most American households in the early…

Spin Doctor #1: Shaknspin2 & Miyajima Kotetu Mono Phono Cartridge Page 2

Miyajima Laboratory Kotetu Mono Cartridge
If you were shopping for records in the early years of stereo—or if you've bought many older, used records since—you probably recall the stern warning on the back of many early stereo records, that they should be played only with a stereo or stereo-compatible cartridge. The warning was necessary because mono cartridges were made to only move laterally—left and right—while the grooves on a stereo record are vertical as well. Older mono cartridges were designed so that the cantilever and stylus could move freely from side to side, following the…

Some Things Change, Others Stay the Same; Introducing the Spin Doctor

This, Stereophile's June 2023 issue, is the 50th I've produced as editor. That seems like a lot—yet the four-plus years it took have flown by; it seems impossible that I've done this 50 times already. Still, the main thing it makes me think is how inexperienced I remain: It will take another 28 years to match JA1's record. That's unlikely to happen: I'm not sure when I'll retire, but I hope it will be before I turn 87. What have I learned? I've learned a lot about producing this magazine, and I've gained a lot of detailed knowledge, especially about specific hi-fi components. I've gained some…

Recording of June 2023: <I>Barbra Streisand Live at the Bon Soir</I>

Barbra Streisand: Live at the Bon Soir
Streisand, vocals; Tiger Haynes, guitar; Peter Daniels, piano; Averill Pollard, bass; John Cresci, drums
Legacy/Columbia 19658713762 (reviewed as 24/96 WAV, also available on CD, Gold CD, SACD, 2LP). 2022/23. Barbra Streisand, Jay Landers, Martin Erlichman, prods.; Roy Halee, Adjutor Theroux, Paul Blakemore, Jochem van der Saag, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics ***

When Columbia Records dragged some recording gear into a small Greenwich Village nightclub, the Bon Soir, on November 5, 1962, it was a good evening for music—a great one in…

TAD CE1TX loudspeaker

The most money I've ever spent on a pair of loudspeakers was back in the early 1990s, when I bought a pair of used TAD TH-4001 wooden horns and their associated TD-4001 compression drivers. The TAD horn's smooth, micro-resolved response was a refinement upgrade from my multicell Altec horns; plus, the TADs' French-polished wood looked radically less industrial than the soldered-tin, tar-filled 1005/288C horns they replaced. None of my horn-fanatic friends had anything sonically or aesthetically comparable, and all of them were envious. I didn't keep the TADs long, because the friend who…

TAD CE1TX loudspeaker Page 2

While Shake Sugaree was playing, a retired audio dealer friend came over to pick up an amplifier. The moment he walked into the room, he stopped and said "Whoa! What are those speakers?" He told me that he knew instantly, "That was how that recording was supposed to sound." And like me, he'd never heard of Elizabeth Cotten.

I asked him how many Japanese-made speakers he had sold back in the day. He couldn't remember any but said, "This here is a different type of sound than most Americans are used to." "In what way?" I inquired. "It's more finely balanced," he opined.

…

TAD CE1TX loudspeaker Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Three-way, bass-reflex, "bookshelf" speaker system. Drive units: 7 1/16" (180mm) woofer with aramid-composite cone; Coaxial driver with a 5.5" (140mm) magnesium-cone and a 1 3/8" (35mm) beryllium-dome tweeter. Crossover frequencies: 250Hz, 1.8kHz. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Frequency range: 34Hz–100kHz. Sensitivity: 85dB/2.83V/m. Max. power handling: 200W.
Dimensions: 11.3" (287mm) W × 20" (510mm) H × 17.6" (447mm). Weight: 63.9lb (29kg).
Serial numbers of units reviewed: BJMM000023WM/... 24WM. Made in Japan.
Price: $32,500/pair, optional…

TAD CE1TX loudspeaker Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog sources: Dr. Feickert Analog Blackbird turntable with Schick 10.5" tonearm, Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum with Koetsu SUT, My Sonic Lab Ultra Eminent Ex powering Sutherland Engineering SUTZ transimpedance step-up; PTP Audio Solid6 idler-drive turntable, with Abis SA-1.2 tonearm, with a Denon DL-103 moving coil cartridge mounted, into an EMIA SUT and a Tavish Design Adagio phono stage.
Digital sources: Roon Nucleus+ music server; Denafrips Terminator Plus DAC; dCS Bartók DAC/streamer.
Preamplifier: HoloAudio Serene.
Power amplifiers:…