Guy Lemcoe

Luxman D-105u CD player

Guy Lemcoe Sep 08, 2020

The $1200 D-105u, the top of Luxman's CD-player line, is novel in its twin-triode vacuum-tube amplification in the analog output stage. This configuration is said to provide high linearity with low distortion and that hard-to-quantify musicality found in tubed products. In addition, the D-105u incorporates an anti-vibration laser pick-up mechanism and a high-mass magnetic disc clamper, the latter feature said to mass-load the disc center to minimize spindle-motor microvibration, thus improving tracking accuracy for lowest error rate.

Analog Corner Phono Cartridge Reviews

Analog Corner #296: Grado Epoch3, Lyra Atlas Lambda SL, Ortofon MC A Mono phono cartridges

Michael Fremer Sep 07, 2020

We're 30 years into a cartridge design revolution, particularly at the top end of the market, where manufacturers charge upward of $10,000 for their best efforts: prices that well-off consumers have amply proved they are willing to pay. There doesn't seem to be an innovation end in sight.

Music and Recording Features

Rudresh Mahanthappa: The Time Is Now

Thomas Conrad Sep 04, 2020

An outburst of saxophone flurries sits you straight up in your chair. The tone is rich but with a cutting edge.

It has to be Rudresh Mahanthappa. The riveting cry of his alto saxophone is one of the most recognizable sounds in jazz.

But those darting runs coalesce into Charlie Parker's "Red Cross." So it can't be Mahanthappa, can it? He has made 15 straight albums of original music. He doesn't do covers, right?

Headphone Reviews

Sennheiser HE 60 headphones

Thomas J. Norton Sep 03, 2020

In February 1994, when I reviewed the pricey ($12,900 with amplifier) Sennheiser Orpheus headphone systemHE 90 headphones and HEV 90 D/A processor/amplifierI commented that the company had a similar, but less expensive, alternative available: the HE 60 headphones combined with the HEV 70 amplifier. At the headphone end, the HE 60s aren't so different from the HE 90s furnished with the Orpheus system. Both are extremely lightweight and supremely comfortableeven for long listening sessions (I logged up to four hours without a break on the HE 60s). In fact, the less-expensive HE 60s are about 100gm4 ounceslighter than the HE 90s.

Miscellaneous Turntable Reviews

Andover Model-One turntable music system

Julie Mullins Sep 02, 2020

Apart from the Beatles and Hendrix I heard in my audiophile father's basement, one of my earliest rock'n'roll memories involved a multipurpose record player at school. In third grade, six of us were moved as a separate group to a round table to watch a filmstrip in a darker part of a large, open-plan classroom. A clunky old record player in a self-contained carrying case with a half-dozen headphone jacks sat on the table.

Solid State Preamp Reviews

Ayre Acoustics K-3 preamplifier

Michael Fremer Sep 01, 2020

The challenge for Ayre's Charley Hansen was formidable. Having already designed a world-class preamplifierthe highly acclaimed $7100 K-1 (see Wes Phillips' review in March 1997)Hansen set out to offer audiophiles "80 to 90%" of the K-1's sound and build quality at a price more of them can afford. Not that the new K-3 is a piece of "budget" gear. It's not. But at $4500, the fully loaded K-3, complete with phono section and remote control, is within reach of many.

Analog Corner Phono Preamp Reviews Tonearm Reviews

Analog Corner #297: van den Hul The Grail SE+ phono preamplifier & SAEC WE-4700 tonearm

Michael Fremer Aug 31, 2020

The catastrophic February 6 fire at the factory where Apollo Masters produced LP-mastering lacquersflat aluminum discs covered with nitrocellulose lacquerwill be old news by the time this column gets to you, but the repercussions of the loss will be ongoing for at least the next year and probably beyond.

Digital Processor Reviews

HoloAudio May (Level 3) D/A processor

John Atkinson Aug 28, 2020

The email from Herb Reichert was intriguing. "I am, with great difficulty writing about HoloAudio's new two-chassis May DAC," he wrote. "It is death quiet and very natural. It makes every recording sound non-digital."

Once Herb had finished writing his review of the HoloAudio for the August issue's Gramophone Dreams column, I sped to his Bed-Stuy bothy and grabbed the May DAC, both to get it on my test bench and to take a listen for myself.

Integrated Amp Reviews

Yamaha A-S3200 integrated amplifier

Jason Victor Serinus Aug 27, 2020

Yamaha: The name evokes memories of my youth when those much-coveted receivers were out of financial reach, leading me to rely upon entry-level Kenwoods and Pioneers and others that sounded worse. Everyone who ever had a cheap receiver blow upthat's what caused me to move from Kenwood to Pioneeror heard an old Akai that made LPs sound like 128kbps MP3s, please raise your hands.

Floor Loudspeaker Reviews

Manger s1 active loudspeaker

Jim Austin Aug 26, 2020

My first exposure to Manger Audio loudspeakers, which are based on the "bending-wave" technology invented years ago by the company, was to the Manger p2, their passive flagship speaker, at the 2019 AXPONA. I heard it again a month or so later at High End Munich. I was impressed both times, especially by its transient and spatial performance.