search

High End is On Its Way Out? Letters part 2

Jumping the Gen-X gun
Editor: Barry Willis's commentary predicting the imminent extinction of the "audiophile" (April, p.3) was alarming and thought-provoking. But Barry might have jumped the gun. Let's not forget that the improvement in the musical experience that audiophile systems afford is mostly appreciated while listening to classical and jazz—decidedly mature musical tastes. I mean, how much can grunge, heavy metal, and rap benefit from a great sound? The other issue is disposable income, which grows with age.

If there is a problem with this hobby and industry, it is putting…

The Fifth Element #13

Aristotle, what a guy.

Aristotle (384-322BC) spent 20 years studying under Plato, and was himself the private tutor to the young Alexander, later "the Great." Aristotle's works include writings on biology, philosophy, and ethics. The relevance of Aristotle to audio hinges on one of his fundamental achievements: the development of the concept of purposefulness as an important part of intellectual inquiry.

Aristotle reasoned that what something "is for" is an important part of what it "is," and, conversely, that what something "is" provides important clues to what it "is for." For…

The Fifth Element #13 Page 2

The rear panel holds four pairs of RCA jacks for inputs and two for the tape-monitor loop, two pairs of substantial CE-compliant speaker-cable binding posts (single-wiring only), the power switch, power fuse, and an inlet for a detachable IEC power cord. I used Custom Power Cord Company's Top Gun HCFi AC ($1150) and Nordost's Blue Heaven interconnects and speaker cables. Replacing the stock cord with the HCFi brought about an increase in timbral palpability that surprised even me, and I'm a bit of a power-cord zealot.

The KT88 tubes stand about 3/8" taller than the top of the sheet-metal…

The Fifth Element #13 Page 3

The Philips SACD1000 had a slight advantage in articulation and dynamic detail, while the Marantz enjoyed a somewhat greater advantage in musical continuity and richness. Audition both if you can. The Marantz is slightly cleaner-looking and more intuitive to use, and includes a headphone jack, but the Philips has impressive video capabilities. For audio-only use, I call it the Marantz by a nose—despite the fact that you can reset the Philips player's SACD play-mode default from multichannel to stereo, but apparently can't do so on the Marantz. Grrrrr. But the Philips is undeniably a…

Judy Spotheim: Seeing & Hearing The Light

Judy Spotheim, maker of the SpJ arm and the gorgeous La Luce turntable that I reviewed a while back for Stereophile (October 1998) and that has subsequently become one of my references for LP playback. She's an intelligent, well-read individual who has a penchant for asking me, "You didn't read that in the manual?!" Ahem. Although the following interview was taped on the phone from her home in the Netherlands, I hope to meet her sometime soon.

Jonathan Scull: Your full name is Spotheim-Koreneeff, and you're originally from Israel. Did you live there before moving to the Netherlands?…

Judy Spotheim: Seeing & Hearing The Light Page 2

Scull: Can you tell us, briefly, how it works?

Spotheim: Well, think about an ice-skater spinning a pirouette on one skate. When he wants to slow down, what does he do? He drops the other skate to the ice and controls the spin, turning more slowly until he stops. But it doesn't mean that he couldn't continue turning. He would just lift the other skate back off the ice, you see? That is the basic idea of how the two pivots work.

Scull: They have to be close to each other?

Spotheim: Yes, so the second pivot doesn't hinder the travel of the main pivot. You must understand…

Judy Spotheim: Seeing & Hearing The Light Page 3

Spotheim: Well, you could use a prism...

Scull: Say, Judy, you're not an old hippie too, are you?

Spotheim: [laughs] Nooooo...

Scull: Let me ask you—when we listen to our high-end systems, should we be listening for the re-creation of the absolute sound in a real space, or a faithful reproduction of the master tape? Or something else?

Spotheim: What the microphones picked up. It can sound very faithful, it can be very flattering....It depends on how the microphones were placed, their frequency response, how the tape was cut, and even what cutter head was…

Judy Spotheim: Seeing & Hearing The Light Page 4

Scull: When I'd mentioned the Koetsu cartridge to you earlier, did I understand you to say you knew its creator, Sugano-san?

Spotheim: Well, you can say that the old man Sugano knows about me. I've actually received photographs from him. He knew me when I was living in Israel. At that time I hadn't yet designed the SpJ tonearm, and I'd made a tonearm from bamboo...

Scull: What? [laughs] You're so casual about it...

Spotheim: Don't laugh! [laughs] It was a so-called unipivot. It was working fantastic with a...how do you call it, a sewing needle?

Scull: What?

…

Recording of April 2005: Mozart: Piano Music

Mozart: Piano Music
Sonata in a, K.310; March in C, K.408; Courante in E-flat, K.399; Gigue in G, K.574; Rondo in a, K.511; Sonata in F, K.533/494 Richard Goode, piano Nonesuch 79831-2 (CD). 2005. Max Wilcox, prod., eng. DDD. TT: 59:32
Performance *****
Sonics *****

Richard Goode is, by any and all standards, a remarkable pianist. His recording of the complete sonatas of Beethoven, released in 1993, became an instant classic and was nominated for a Grammy. His CDs of Schubert and Chopin are as handsome as they are insightful, and he has recorded, for Nonesuch, five discs of…

EAR 834P phono preamplifier

No, folks, vinyl is not dead. And even though my colleague Mikey Fremer is beginning to sound like a broken record, the little guy is right: when it comes to the sound on offer, CD still doesn't come close. There are more turntables, phono cartridges, and tonearms on the market today than ever before. Moreover, with companies like Classic Records, Analogue Productions, and Mosaic offering a steady stream of ultra-high-quality reissues, there seems to be an increasing supply of quality vinyl at reasonable prices.

One of the big problems analog fans face today is in the preamp department.…