Analog sources: Simon Yorke, Nottingham Audio Annalog, SME 30/2 turntables; Graham 2.2, Immedia RPM2 tonearms; Lyra Helikon SL and Helikon mono, Transfiguration Temper Supreme, Lyra Titan (prototype), Audio Tekne MC-6310, Sumiko Celebration cartridges.
Digital sources: Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 3D CD player & Tri-Vista SACD player.
Preamplifiers: Hovland HP-100; Manley Steelhead.
Power amplifiers: Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 300.
Loudspeakers: Kharma Midi-Grand Ceramique 1.0, Audio Physic Avanti III.
Cables: Phono: Hovland Music Groove,…
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Before I performed any measurements, I ran the big Parasound Halo at one-third power into 8 ohms for an hour, after which the heatsinks were way too hot to touch. I had one mishap: Before I measure anything, I experiment with the grounding between the amplifier under test, the AC supply, and the Audio Precision System One test setup, in order to reduce power-supply spuriae to their lowest level. With balanced drive, there were no problems. However, after I'd performed a full set of balanced tests, I hooked up an unbalanced connection and again started to…
I love a simple tweak—one so elegant that I bang my forehead in recognition, moaning "Why didn't I think of that?!"
Such as this little gem for smoothing out the bass and getting rid of those lumps down below. I must credit this one to Victor Tiscareno, he of Red Rose/AudioPrism, out Washington State way.
"Jonathan," he e-mailed me, "I have a simple tweak that may work for some people, and for some it won't." Victor's a forthright guy. "Most of us loony audiophiles have a pair of speakers that are not in use, hanging around the house like albatrosses," he went on. "So here's a…
Not only is it possible for a thinking person to now and then drastically change his point of view, if for no other reason than the sake of change—if one wishes to prevent self-seriousness and various other forms of mental decay, it's probably an outright must. So it was that I recently began to wonder if everything I know about record players might be wrong.
Some background: Because I didn't stumble on the whole perfectionist audio scene until 1979 or so, and because I'd already built a decent record collection by that time, I was an easy convert to the gospel of Rega and Linn…
The TD 124's platter is switched on and off with the same crow's-head knob that selects between the four basic speeds (78, 45, 331/3, and 16rpm). At the center of the knob is a fine-speed control, for slight changes in pitch, the workings of which are downright ingenious: A crescent-shaped permanent magnet sits adjacent to the idler pulley, and within the underside of the pulley is a magnetically permeable reflector that pivots slightly and slowly as the pitch control is turned. The position of the reflector determines how much of an Eddy effect (see "Listening" columns passim) the magnet…
The Complete Guide to High-End Audio
by Robert Harley
450+xxiv pp., $29.95 softcover, $39.95 signed hardcover. Published by Acapella Publishing, P.O. Box 80805, Albuquerque, NM 87198-0805. Credit-card orders: (800) 848-5099.
by Robert Harley
450+xxiv pp., $29.95 softcover, $39.95 signed hardcover. Published by Acapella Publishing, P.O. Box 80805, Albuquerque, NM 87198-0805. Credit-card orders: (800) 848-5099.
When Robert Harley's book, The Complete Guide to High-End Audio, was published, I had a pretty puzzle facing me: Should Stereophile review a book written by one of its three (J. Gordon Holt, Thomas J. Norton, and Robert Harley) full-time equipment reviewers? Ultimately, I decided that we should publish a review. To get opinions of the book from the two ends…
Robert Harley certainly makes a good attempt. The coverage is comprehensive, accurately directed at the High End without overlooking the potential for relatively inexpensive but well-chosen and -sited audio systems to perform very nicely, thank you. The book is certainly readable, its explanatory style clear, and layout and organization of subject material are well-thought-out. While The Complete Guide is clearly not written for experts, the book, with its wealth of information, will be a welcome addition to my audio library.
The book contains 13 good chapters, and three substantial…
Bob Harley and I were talking one day in the Stereophile editorial offices. I asked him to clarify something in an article of his I was copy-editing, and we ended up getting into an in-depth discussion on decibels. Bob ended the conversation by saying, "Read my book—it's written for people just like you."
So I couldn't wait to read Bob's The Complete Guide to High-End Audio. Sure enough, the back of the dustjacket says, "Written for beginners and experienced listeners alike!" I looked forward to Bob's explanations of the many new concepts I was encountering in copy-editing Stereophile,…
I also found the index inadequate. For example, in the middle of Chapter 5 ("Preamplifiers"), Harley discusses unbalanced vs balanced lines. As a beginner, I have no idea what either of these things are, and Harley doesn't offer any explanation at that point. I flipped to the index to look up "balanced" and "unbalanced," but found only "balanced interconnects" and "unbalanced interconnects," neither of which seemed to have anything to do with unbalanced or balanced lines—or are they the same thing? Again, Harley assumes either too much knowledge or too wide a vocabulary on the part of the…
Audiophiles have long had a love-hate relationship with dipolar loudspeakers. These devices are nearly always a pain to position properly, they tend to dominate a room, and more often than not they're fussy about amplification. But when it all comes together, the best of them can make magic.
Almost invariably, dipoles are flat panel designs—electrostatics such as those made by MartinLogan or Sound-Labs, or planar magnetics like Magnepans or Apogees. About six years ago, however, Mirage Loudspeakers, based in the Great White Northern wastes of Canada (well, okay, Toronto), came out with a…