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Why fret over friction at all? Because it causes distortion, and because it brings wrack and ruin to your records.

Below a certain level, residual friction in a tonearm's bearing—whatever the type—doesn't interfere with record play, and I doubt whether a change of, say, a tenth of a gram in either plane of motion would make an audible difference, all other things being equal. But as friction approaches a significant percentage of the tracking force, its effect becomes critical.

In the vertical plane, even very high friction wouldn't…

Graham Engineering's Robin tonearm ($645, reviewed by Art Dudley in April, p.121) has been designed to drop into a standard Rega mounting hole, using a base plate that permits spring-loaded VTA adjustability. Raise or lower the arm height, find the VTA sweet spot, then lock it down. The arm can also be fitted to a mount identical to the Graham 2.2's. That way, you can get your dream turntable and have it drilled for the 2.2, but save a few thousand by buying the Robin now, and switching when you can afford to.

The…

Editor: It's not often that I've had a chance to comment on two reviews/comments in one letter. However, with Art Dudley's review in the April issue, and now Michael Fremer's look in the May "Analog Corner," I will try to answer the questions that the reviews discuss.

First, the origin of the Robin tonearm is, as both reviewers suggest, Japanese manufacture, but with plenty of our design input from what we've learned in developing the 1.x- and 2.x-series arms. But where the quality and performance of those designs is intended to be state-of-the-art at any…

Because the SR-71 is the portable equivalent of a…

Description: Battery-powered headphone amplifier. Frequency range: 10Hz–100kHz. Input impedance: 50k ohms. Input sensitivity: 500mV–4V peak–peak. Voltage gain: 6dB. Output impedance: 16 ohms at 2kHz. Output stage current device: 250mA.
Dimensions: 3.5" (90mm) W by 2.5" (65mm) H by 1.5" (40mm) D. Weight: 11oz (315gm).
Serial number of unit reviewed: 6124.
Price: $395. Approximate number of dealers: 1 (sold direct).
Manufacturer: Ray Samuels Audio, 8005 Keeler, Skokie, IL 60076. Tel: (847) 673-8739. Web: www.raysamuelsaudio.com.

Digital Sources: Musical Fidelity X-RayV3 CD player, X-DACV3 D/A converter, Apple iPod Mini.
Headphone Amplifiers: HeadRoom Supreme, Musical Fidelity X-CanV3.
Headphones: AKG K-501, Etymotic ER-6S, Sennheiser HD-600 (with Stefan Audio Art Equinox cables), Sennheiser HD-650.
Interconnect: Cardas 1/8"-mini-to-1/8"-mini jumper, Audience Au24 mini-phone-plug-to-stereo-RCA cable.—Wes Phillips

The measurements were performed using a fresh set of alkaline batteries. I measured the Emmeline SR-71's maximum gain as 15.54dB, significantly higher than the specified 6dB. Its input impedance was a usefully high 23k ohms from 20Hz to 20kHz. I also found its output impedance to be less than 1 ohm, which is well below the specified 16 ohms, but perhaps contributes to the amplifier's excellent bass quality. DC offset on the amplifier's output was negligible.

The SR-71's frequency response was flat from 10Hz to 100kHz, and only just starts to roll off at…

Holding his bow up at an angle, violinist Pinchas Zukerman was helping me set up my mikes to record the final concert from the 1998 Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, where he was to lead an ensemble in a performance of the Mozart G-Minor Piano Quartet. (The resultant CD is scheduled for release in spring 1999.) Faced with an uncooperative acoustic at this year's event in the form of airconditioning noise, I was forced to abandon my usual purist, distant technique in favor of close-miking, multitracking, and…

Clearaudio's Champion 2 turntable is about as good-looking…