Analog Corner #212: Analog Comparisons, New Phono Products from Zesto & Miyajima
How was last fall for you? Mine was crazy. I traveled much of October: the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest one weekend, emceeing Chad Kassem's Blues Masters at the Crossroads Blues Festival the next, and the week after that, appearing at two Audio Advice stores, in Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina. From there I traveled to Los Angeles to attend a 30th-anniversary celebration for Tron at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
Analog Corner #213: the TechDAS Air Force One turntable
In vinyl's heyday, Roy Matthews ran EMI's record-pressing plant in Hayes, Middlesex, in the UK. He even had a hand in designing and building new presses for the company. But when EMI shut down their plant and scrapped most of their presses, Matthews retired. I thought of Matthews when, at the 2013 CES, I spoke with the chief designer of TechDAS's Air Force One turntable, Hideaki Nishikawa.
Analog Corner #214: The Ortofon MC Anna Phono Cartridge
Ortofon's limited-edition MC A90 was the first phono cartridge made with selective laser melting (SLM). Using this technique, metallic powder is fused to build up, layer by layer, a specific shape. SLM allows the creation of complex constructions impossible to fabricate from a block of wood or metal using traditional machining techniques.
Analog Corner #215: B.M.C. Phono MCCI phono preamplifier
In July 2008 I reviewed the intriguing Phono 2Ci moving-magnet/moving-coil phono preamplifier from Aqvox Audio Devices. Though it then cost only $1400, the Phono 2Ci's current-input circuitry represented a high-tech departure from the typical voltage-gain circuits used by almost everyone else. Although keeping its retail price so low resulted in some sonic compromises, it sounded remarkable, and tough to beat at the price.
Analog Corner #216: The Power of Vinyl and the NVO SPA-II phono preamplifier
I was in Seattle last February to take part in one of the popular "Music Matters" events promoted by retailer Definitive Audio. Definitive's Mark Ormiston and Craig Abplanalp and their crew really know how to produce a memorable evening for both their customers and the manufacturers who fly in to demonstrate their gear. I was there to talk about . . . guess what?
Analog Corner #217: AMG Viella 12 turntable and 12J2 tonearm, Teresonic Clarison Gold interconnect
There are incredible values in audio, and then there are incredible values. The ones that deserve italics are those like Pioneer's SP-FS52 floorstanding speaker, designed by TAD's Andrew Jones and recently reviewed.
Analog Corner #217: Sutherland Engineering Insight phono preamplifier
Veteran phono-preamplifier designer Ron Sutherland has been partial, of late, to battery power. Getting off the grid can produce superb results, as demonstrated by his Hubble phono preamp ($3800), powered by 16 alkaline batteries.
I favorably reviewed the Hubble in the February 2010 issue, and remember loving most everything about itparticularly its drop-dead-quiet backdrops, its solid, weighty bottom end, and its fully fleshed-out instrumental textures. I was less enthused by its somewhat soft, muted high-frequency transients, though of course tastes and associated gear will differ. I need more grit, particularly for rock; you may not.
Analog Corner #218: I've Been Everywhere, Man
In the old days, this column would have covered last May's High End show in Munich and T.H.E. Show Newport Beach. Today, live online blogging renders obsolete magazine reports that arrive in your mailbox months after the events. It also makes life difficult for a monthly magazine columnist. I wasn't home a good part of the month, so how much serious listening do you think I managed? But what a month!
Analog Corner #219: DSA Phono II preamplifier, Stein Music and Miyajima phono cartridges
Shortly after the July 2013 issue of Stereophile hit the newsstands, I received an e-mail from audio restoration expert Doug Pomeroy, who specializes in the digital preservation of disc pressing metal parts, acetates, and 78s . . . His and my opinions about digital sound couldn't be more divergent.
Analog Corner #220: Rega's RP8 turntable Aims for Mass Extinction
Rega Research sold more turntables in 2012 than in any of its previous 40-odd years of business, and is on target to do so again in 2013. How many turntables is that? I know but can't yet say.