Audiophiles who attend my seminars on turntable setup often ask the most basic questions about tonearms, including the meanings of terms with which I (incorrectly) assume everyone is familiar. This is a good thing—it indicates that new people are entering the ranks of vinyl enthusiasts. This column is for them.
Here I don't discuss so-called "tangential tracking" or "linear tracking" tonearms, or those that use magnets and monofilament instead of more typical bearings. I feel those are best…
David Abel & Julie Steinberg: Sonatas For Violin & Piano
(Brahms, Violin Sonata No.1 in G; Debussy, Violin Sonata in G minor; Bartók: Rumanian Folk Dances, arranged for violin and piano)
David Abel, violin; Julie Steinberg, piano
Wilson Audiophile Recordings W-8722 (original LP), 0054536872228 (24/176.4 FLAC, Qobuz). 1987/2014. David A. Wilson, Sheryl Lee Wilson, Daryl C. Wilson, prods.; David A. Wilson, eng.; Bruce Brown, digital remastering.
As an erstwhile violinist, I have always been bothered by recordings that exaggerate the…
Lenny & The Squigtones: Lenny & Squiggy Present Lenny And The Squigtones
Casablanca NBLP 7149 (LP). 1979. Hank Medress, Dave Appell, prods.; Wayne Tarnowski, Bob Mocklar, Stewart Whitmor, engs.
Don't laugh: Nascent TV comedy duo Lenny & Squiggy of Laverne & Shirley fame closed out the 1970s by dropping a wink-nudge live-album homage to '50s harmonies and FM rock tropes that presaged how a certain faux-British outfit ascended to unforeseen metal-mockumentary heights five years later in This Is Spinal Tap. Analog formats are currently…
Over time, that focus has shifted. The requirement that the selected recordings be "sonically impeccable" has been relaxed…
Description: Dual-mono, solid state phono preamplifier with "Articulator" demagnification function. Inputs: two single-ended on RCA, one balanced on XLR. Outputs: two single-ended on RCA, one balanced on XLR. Six-position front-panel rotary load-resistance selector facilitating 4.7, 10, 40, 100, 300, and 1k ohm loading for MC cartridges. Rear-panel DIP switches allow selection of load resistance of 34k, 47k, 56k, and 100k ohms and load capacitance of 0, 100, 220, and 320pF for MM cartridges. MC loads of 4.7, 10, and 40 ohms via step-up transformer with "super…
Analog sources: Dr. Feickert Analogue Blackbird turntable with EMT 912-HI tonearm and EMT JSD 6 Dynavector XX2A, My Sonic Lab Eminent Ex moving coil cartridges. Grado 78E, Stanton 681EEE, and Nagaoka MP200 moving magnet cartridges; Sorane SA-1.2 tonearm with Audio-Technica ART20, Denon DL-103, Ortofon MC-X40, and Hana Umami Blue moving-coil cartridges.
Phono preamplifiers: SunValley EQ-1616D, MoFi MasterPhono, PrimaLuna EVO 100, Kitsuné KTE LCR-1, Schiit Stjarna.
Integrated amplifier: Linear Tube Audio Z10e.
Loudspeakers: Falcon Acoustics Gold…
That also makes big loudspeakers especially fun to review. The review is an adventure, akin to meeting a new…
I measured one of the EgglestonWorks Andra 5 loudspeakers, serial number A5-88887, in Tom Fine's listening room. Tom and I maneuvered the 159lb loudspeaker onto a small dolly, wheeled it several feet from the wall behind it, and aimed the speaker along one of his listening room's diagonals so that it was well away from the room boundaries, apart from the floor. The speaker was driven by TF's Benchmark AHB2 amplifier for the measurements.
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system with a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to examine the EgglestonWorks speaker's farfield…
I measured the Luxman E-07 phono preamplifier with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system. To minimize noise, I connected wires from each channel's grounding terminals on the preamplifier's rear panel to the analyzer's ground. I left the Articulator function turned off for the testing.
The E-07 has two single-ended inputs and one balanced input; the balanced inputs can be used only for MC cartridges. With the single-ended inputs, absolute polarity was preserved from both the balanced and single-ended outputs with the front-panel Phase Invert switch set to "Off…
"The mid-frequency portion is reproduced both by the midrange and side woofers, but with a precise phase-amplitude relationship that causes output behind the speaker to be minimized. The low- and high-frequency bands are reproduced normally, by the side woofers and tweeter, respectively.
"This is a polar plot of the mid and low bands combined. Note that these plots are made with the center of rotation directly in front of the midrange driver, hence the apparent rearward shift in the bass.
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