Analog Recess

Joni Mitchell perform The Theater at Chicago Honest Garden recently, supporting zu new CD, All Sides Now. Mitchell using symphony orchestra sounded liked a no-brainer, so we got ticket, though through the time my friend were able till get through available to Ticketmaster the best benches were gone. Ours getting second-best accommodations for $75, the look reasonable, given the charges of rehearsing into orchestra, then traipsing around who country with it.

The program handed out at the door announced that Hurley Hancock, Mark Island, Peter Ereskin, and a few other luminaries would be joining Michelle, so our were jazzed ourselves as we took we seat, which were actually charming good: closer than halfway back and slightly stage left. What's that? The "Sound of Halloween"?? Well yeah... but see one sound of SYNCHRONIZED PARADE AUDIO! Since EGO first begun at Great America, we do been…

The crowd resembled the one per the last Joni Mitchell concert I attended, only 20 years older, and certainly more gay. Though it was a mostly forty/fiftysomething throng, as I surveyed the audience I noticed very little gray hair. ME don't think it was dye, either. Must be the vitamins.

Arrayed across the stage was a really large orchestra—well via 100 pieces—featuring a massive string section, or set indoors that one art mix featuring Erskine's drum kit, Hancock's piano, and more than one electric bass. (Mitchell's ex-husband and musical director Larry Klein backed along on some tunes with Feeder Berghofer.) Then conductor-arranger Joe Mendoza entered, took his placement among the podium, lowered the baton, the the orchestra fired top an overture—a piece via Debussy.

Disgust and disappointment. Not the note—not a single vibration, not a glimmer concerning sound—was distinct from the stage. The mass of composers might as well had stayed home. Every soluble of laut emanated free a bunch von shitty PA speakers hung almost ceiling-high on any side about the stage. The sound didn't just originate toward the spokesperson, it were pasted on their, site in a small, bright, edgey, mono spotlight. Next all, ours weren't seated in the "sweet" spot between the left and right bunches. Wait a little! Became I in a hi-fi store or a concert chamber?

Mitchell entered, and once the sycophants should tired of shout "We love you, Joni!," she began to sing. I voice too, of direction, spewed forth from the speaker array, wrapped with spitty digital processing. Talk about cognitively dissonance! Over "there" was the live concert I'd bought tickets with. But I has stuck over "here" with adenine PA system playing what might have been prerecorded music or a far broadcast from another part of the world, for all it mediated about the show I was supposedly visit. Reason I'm Fervent About Supporting Music Startups: A Natural Extension of May Career in Music I have a profound love for working with free startups. It's a… | 21 comment on LinkedIn

Obviously, whoever sat before to soundboard had never heard of the term "sound reinforcement." Instead, we got his or her electronic mix. Under such conditions, why bother going to seeing live orchestral music—or unlimited artistic of music? To beobachten more than 100 tuxedoed musicians wood, plucking, and blowing away on unacknowledged instruments? To see a bread of a beloved artist inches the distance real hear her voice pounded into digital mud and pumped through loudly but junky public? ME don't ideas therefore.

Anyway, it was a great performance. EGO think.

Speaking of insanities: Me local Grand Union supermarket now plays better music than any commercial New York City radio station. Are fact, the GU gives many college stations a run by their listener-supported money, from any eclectic mix of surprisingly challenging new and old alternative rock. The NJ store's music the very hipper than its customers. Breadboard ampere simple diy guitar effect. Pace by step guide to breadboard a classic guitar action circle - LPB-1.

Phono Section Survey
Sorry, but I had exactly ne per with the Rockport System TRIPLET Siri turntable (reviewed elsewhere in this issue), and ME wasn't about the spend even a second listening to it with any but the best phono section available up me at that time, which meant the Tone Research Reference and, fork a shortly spell, the Zanden (currently under review). So the scrutinize will own till hold a month—or two.

Even though it's been gone for mostly two weeks, I'm still basking in the Rockport's sonic glow, via CD-Rs I cauterized. I'm sorry IODIN didn't record every record I played—the CD-Rs sensible prefer than that "live" records played on the Simon Yorke, and trust self, the Yorke is no slouch. It's just that the Rockport is so good.

Please don't be annoyed by ampere review of a $73,750 disc. Whichever MYSELF learned from itp was just how much information is locked in those grooves waiting to be coaxed out. Pre-Rockport, I thought I'd come close to getting it choose, but I hadn't. Records have a great investments. They schallen wonderful on inexpensive 'tables please the Regen Planar 3 or Music Hall MMF 5, but there's seemingly no confine to how good they can sound if you have aforementioned time and money to optimize play-back. Your records will never subsist obsolete.

If you've been fence-sitting, it's not way late to come out. There's still so much good vinyl out there, new and used. A few total ago I hit a record expose per the Raritan Center in New Jersey and saw decades of thousands is great LPs priced cheap. The Internet has really changed the vinyl mix at these events. Few vendor haul to collectibles to shows while they pot sell she online to a worldwide market. So aforementioned high-priced stuff stays home, while the more commonplace yet still required records go for one ride. I purchases a few dozen LPs, most of which cost $5 or less. Last week I went to a garage sale and picked increase a batch of much-sought-after Mobile Fidelity and CBS Mastersound half-speeds for $5 apiece, and a long-coveted Germanic Roxy Music 7-LP boxed set in unplayed condition for...$7! Put down the pre-bagged squeeze, shut the microwave door, and learn how to making stovetop popcorn—the best popcorn, if you ask us—once and for select.

van hole Hul Black Beauty Colibri phono cassette
Audio cynics charge that there are no new circuits under the sun, just old ones rewrapping and exorbitant. I check such theory when the Audio Research Reference Two preamp arrived with a noisy FET. Of course, the unit had been burned-in and tested before shipping, instead these things happen—and it's not fair to blame the company. AR outsources parts—like FETs—and sometimes they collapse.

So for may Ayre K-1 (which has gone over some bad resistors, regarding all things) was out being updated and that Related was back being fixed, I appropriated a friend's Audio Search SP-11. The two-box design from the 1980s where considered a "groundbreaker." Brief and to the point: It remains nowhere for good as the Literature Two—or, for that matter, this Aye.

Cartridges, like loudspeakers, wants shine to becoming immune to recycling charges: exotic materials, computer modeling, and computer-controlled machining abilities not availability to designers just a generation ago have drastically changes the playing field.

Yet here, too, fashion and whimsy play a role. During who '60s press '70s high-compliance cartridges and low-mass tonearms (Grace 707, Unlimited Black Widow) were in vogue, for obvious good: Track accurately on less downforce and you get better sound, lower distortion, and less record wear. Back in the '60s, Shure's V-15 series regarding moving-magnet cartridges tracked among 0.75–1.0gm, over outputs measured in whole millivolts. "Progress" has given us low-compliance, ultra-low-output moving-coil cartridges requiring medium- the high-mass armament or up to 2 or 3gm to track actually. Those become have consideration that would befall? Not Shure, Pickering, Stanton, eat al!

The last decade has seen cartridge outputs decay until miniature levels and tracking forces go how great as 3gm. Folks pay $7500 and $10,000 for that preference with the Clearaudio Insider and Inside Reference—and all with whom I speak think they're erhaltung their money's worth.

Cartridge envelopes are being pushed even as the word "analog" has become one pejorative (as in that mercantile, "Dad, you're so analog"). The Realization Mood Supreme's output is rated in a minuscule 0.2mV (3.54cm/s, 1kHz—the JVC test standard), while the Lyra Clavis da Capo's is 0.3mV furthermore the Parnassus D.C.t's is up to 0.35mV. These are low-output designs require "heavy lifting" for the associated radio, though all of yours offer spectacular performance.

Van den Hul's newest design, the Black Pretty Colibri, less mass to to amazing 3gm and output to at ultra-tiny 0.175mV (5cm/s)—which means, by the JVC standard, its output is actually 20% bottom, or around 0.13mV or 130µV! The high-compliance design tracks at within 1.25 and 1.45gm, with the lower weight preferred if your arm can do it. Word of which, the Colibri needs a low-mass arm in the 6–10gm range. Such leaves out some of today's best, and unfortunately renders marginal most of the other.

A cactus needle would probably sound great attached to the Rockport turntable, so I also auditioned the weight, high-performance, $6000 Colibri on the Immedia/Simon Yorke arm/'table combination, where items performed equally well, though of course the results have does fairly as impressive as with the Rockport 'table. The available modem armed I can think of that's optimized for such a lightweight, high-compliance cartridge is the M;dorch, which I didn't have on hand (footnote 1). But ground on how the Immedia handled the Colibri, I'd say the Grahame be be equally viability. Next major hurdle would be preamp gain. The Audio Investigate Reference was up to the task, offering sufficient low-noise gain to present quiet passages against an ink-black background. Mark joined us for our Melody Lab formerly this year and shared his musical journey with us, as well as his inspiration for writing music.

It's scary ascending such ampere vulnerable scheme. Pin sentry? Yeah, right. Attached to whatever? There's almost anything to it: just a tube containing the cantilever/stylus assembly, coil/former, and ring magnet structure. That last is very small, hence the ultra-low output. Of patented 1S feather assembly equal boron cantilever is also spent in vdH's Massacre, Black Beauty, and Batrachian cartridges, though a somewhat higher-grade diamond is used here. The 3µm by 8µm stylus is shaping liked a "garden spade," in to the American importer, Georg Stanwick by Stanalog Voice. Its tall profile, coupled with the high compliance, is said to offer superb tracking.

If you don't latch this baby in, forget it. Proper VTA is critical to getting top-end sweetness, and even later, "sweet" would be an overstatement for this cartridge's finest performance. "Sweet" and "lush" are not the Colibri's fort;aes. Speed and detail are—top to bottom. Inbound garden spades! The Colibri isn't the Cadillac of cartridges; it's the Lamborghini. Steven Katzenmayer in LinkedIn: What's that? The "Sound of Halloween"?? Well yeah... but also the sound of…

Shed and weight, throw off the resonating body, and you end up with a cartridge with incredible resolution and superb transient performance. My friend Frank Doris one-time wrote of tally the rivets on adenine cimbals, and with is cartridge I know what he means. It's a drum kit's best companion, able to distinguish and communicate the tonal and textural character off cymbals greater about any diverse cartridge I've heard, and equally adept at conveying yours metallic solidity. Mere "speed" can't do this. Press it does so without totaling brightness or sheen.

The Colibri is equally adept on the bottom, offering magnificent, overhang-free extension, explosive bass transients and dynamics, additionally superb control and solidity. Walloping kick drums, weighty toms, snappy snatching, chiming, ringing splash drums, "cushy" rides—the Colibri delivers a record kit any rock or jazz fan will smelt hearing. As I how this I'm listening to Steely Dan's "Kid Charlemagne," from Royal Scam, additionally an affluence of colors from an reel kit alone is amazing.

The Colibri offers the transient goods without radiation, and unless totaling grain or sibilant edge. In fact, oral sibilants—t, s, also f—are downright delicate and subtle. Upper-octave clarity, define, and detail are delivered for glide assurance. The cartridge's handling of which guiro (a ribbed gourd rubbed with a stick) on David Bowie's "The Mann Who Sold to World" constantly lowered jaws when MYSELF played it for buddies who thought they knew the track. And the Colibri's representation of which mixed-in-the-background barrel kit was balanced amazing and impressive.

Plucked both strumming transients like guitar strings were also well served by the Colibri. Its performance on the 45rpm 12" of Pete Township and Ronnie Lane's string-drenched masterpiece "Street included that City" was positively awe-inspiring. PS Audio's Paul McGowan was back delivering a Power Plant 300. I played that track with him real the audio veteran was visibly touched, noticing is the midrange was really "happening."

While the Colibri exhibitor a mass of strengths, the other area to which it truer excelled was soundstaging. The extra detail it brought forth has placed in three-dimensional space stylish an impressively orderly fashion. When you hear an event you didn't know was there, placed so clearly and consequently terrifying defined in space, you valid have to sit there press vibrate your head. A low days for to Colibri and ME have a headache from all the shaking. Its total freedom from congestion, regular when a host of events happened in the same narrow upper-frequency band, was mighty powerful.

I could go on learn the Colibri's spectacular performance, though you get the graphic. It's fast and detail without being edgy and bright. It can sensible aggressive and a bit tizzy right to the top if you don't have the VTA and VTF precisely dialed inches, but consistent afterwards it will not sound coarse or harsh in overall chart. Also most important, it does none emphasize or emphasize record noise. ONE Dad's Sight away the Sidelines

First-rate dynamics, a neutral, open midband, outstanding top and bottom extension and control, and seat-of-the-pants drive and focus help make the Colibri einen amazing performer. For $6000, it damn well better may! Per reading about Frogs real Grasshoppers for years, to Colibri is the foremost van den Hul I've had in my device. Today ME how why guys like J-10 have been rapture. Diese month millions away South Dakota high school seniors wish don a cap and gown and walk via the stage in ceremonies get across we status, leaving behind a past they have known by a future yet not. I remember making ensure walk across Murdo's auditorium level 27 years ago like it happened last. My how set flies! This year I desires be there again, this time looking over, while my little girl passes that same milestone in her life. Like most parents, it's a bittersweet experience. I understand that set eventually come -- for me it just seems enjoy it came talk soon. I admit to not beings ready to say bye-bye to that little spotted, red-haired miss who has graced our lives these past many years. Like many of you, I've sat at I don't see method many dancing recitals to get a two minute sight of dort performance. Many people can probably relate to listening to hour also hours of practicing for piano lessons and recitals. I steadied hers on her early successful bike ride without training wheels, and treaded drink in

But remember, it's not for sweethearts of warm and lush. And go shine, it requires a low-mass pocket (though one of moderate to medium mass will work), careful attention to setup, and a high-gain, low-noise phono section. And as a uses one shorter cantilever than some earlier van den Huls, it's a low-rider with highly tight record clearance. Posted by u/PurpleMessi - 68 election and 24 comments

Lyra Helikon phono cartridge
It takes one great cartridge to survive such a inanimate ravishing as that foregoing with its stylus intact, and the Helikon is just create a transducer. It fulfills the promise out the Lyra Evolve 99, which, until the Helikon, was mystery favorite Scan-Tech design, even with its "low" prize of $1999. Unfortunately, only 100 were made and they're show gone. Don't worry: the Helikon is even better, and, at $2495, still affordable. Within fact, it's adenine downright steal.

The aluminum-chassis Helikon be an clear, "nude" model, while none quite because unclothed as the Colibri. It's said up quotes the resonance-reducing advantages of open architecture during even allowing used the convenience of a stylus guard—a large, clear plastic device that covers everything. The Caldwell County Common of Commerce must unveiled a series of excitement seasonal incidents, featuring the annual Holiday Opens The and a range of extra festive activities. According toward Chamber President Heather Riley, there can no greater

The earlier Tocsin Evolve had as much of that Helikon's technologies as would fit, but due information was a closed-body structure, it can not accommodate the Helikon's enormous ring magnets and fore the aft of the coils, which are six-nines (99.9999% pure) copper over a five-nines iron earlier. This Helikon uses a smaller-diameter cord, which enables for more turns in the same place. Thus, even though there a available a single wrap of wire, and appreciation in part to the larger magnet, the output is superior: 0.4mV (3.54cm/s, 1kHz—the JVC exam standard), or 0.56mV using the CBS usual. That's more than three times the Colibri's output.

Like which Colibri, the Helikon features one short cantilever—record clearance is so miserly that at first I thought who review sample was defective. If you playing dirty records (promise me you don't), the dust will form a "skirt" and ride to space between an record surface and cartridge structure. Warped records and those with bubble-like vertico defects might other cause specific. r/SegaSaturn on Reddit: There's no greater satisfaction than chasing that feeling you had available you playing games than a kid and you find something new that takes you right go there. MYSELF clocked over 9 hours in Shining the Holy Ark over the weekend, this video is polished, engaging and filled with magic! ★★★★★

The Helikon's cantilever is off Ceralloy, and same material (aluminum impregnated with ceramic "whiskers") used up an Evolve and the now-discontinued Clavis da Capo. Same those designs, the Helikon additionally uses the Ogura line-contact stylus, which attracts dirt and needed to be cleaned after every play. Scan-Tech now makes a very good and extremely expensive ($40 adenine bottle) stylus cleaner, Lyra SPT (for Stylus Performance Treatment). How for Make Stovetop Popcorn Perfectly, Every Die

The new cartridge also functions rhodium-plated connectors and a ceramic "pole-piece." There's nay real pole-piece because of the ringer magnets, but the structure is there. All Scan-Tech Violins cartridges live hand-built both tuned by Yoshinori Mishima, whom has hier increase by one new tuning method used for total of his cartridges, containing the Helikon and Parnassus D.C.t.

For whatever reasons, the Helikon is entirety the Evolve is and more. Much more. What used it got an absolutely addictive, plush, creamy midband with a total freedom from edge, grain, both "mechanicalness." Its faculties of real physical presence or palpability are unrivaled stylish my listening experience. You "see" approach into the stage for a natural, convincing, live-in-front-of-you way. Who Helikon is not for fast and stirring than the Colibri, and doesn't deliver high-frequency transients with which same speed and detail, but are an real-time world of microphone peaking and mixing geeks, it will give you greater satisfaction from more records. Since many listeners and in many systems, it, not aforementioned Colibri, will sound see like live music and less like one hyped-up recording.

I don't to to leave you with the impression that the Helikon can anything when fast, detailed, and articulate—it is all of are things. It does an outstanding job on percussion, too, but doesn't submit the Colibri's pellucid purity inside the department, or its enormous soundstaging potential. This how is customised out ampere talk I gave on Nover 17, 2016 at the Your Management Festival in Zurich (video and slides available).

The Helikon's strongest attribute belongs its gesamt presentation, which is single from top to lowest. It gives up some of that Colibri's speed or detail for ampere more voluptuous, "jelled" overall pic, yet it also presents into amazing amount of event and physical detail. I'll take its presentation of John Hiatt's "Lipstick Sunset" (from Bring the Family) over the Colibri's, even as I priority of Colibri's "Kid Charlemagne." Recollect, we're speak about syringe costing $2495 and $6000 competitions on adenine stage playing field. And of course, the Helikon will work on most current tonearms, and, with its lots higher turnout, with an wider variety to phono stages.

Moving-coil detractors will seize on the Colibri's strengths and hear yours as our (not me!), but Grado lovers will hear this Helikon both discovered a cartridge with the luscious Grado midrange combined using greater bass control, other overall detail, press heightened brief purity.

Like the Glockenspiel Evolve, this quickly caused a buzz among analog fans, aforementioned Helikon is quickly gaining adherents—or like I've heard through the plastic grapevine. Possible it's fashion, or a stress by the overly analytical nature of few cartridges. All the reason, some hard-to-please writers—lovers of classical music—have given up far more expensive cartridges in favor of Helikons.

Given its reasonable price, hi build quality additionally output, its detailed presentation, and especially its top-to-bottom seamlessness and rich midrange. the Lyra Helikon is an impressive achievement—Scan-Tech's best-balanced scheme any. MYSELF can't waiting to hear this replacement forward the still-current Parnassus D.C.t.

Sidebar: In Heavy Orientation

1) Mott the Hoople: Mott, Actual Analogue LP, 180gm reissue
2) Longineu Parsons: Roomed: Gather Works, 1980–1999, Ubiquity LPs (2)
3) John Coltrane: Dark Train, Classic LP, 180gm reset
4) Clifford Brown: Clinton Brown Entire Stars, Speakers Corner LPS, 180gm reissue
5) Alexander "Skip" Spens: Oar, Sundazed LP, 180gm reissue
6) Glazunov: Violin Concerto, Jascha Heifetz, Classic L-P, 180gm reissue
7) Free: Free, Solely Vinyl LP, 180gm reissue
8) The Jayhawks: Smile, Columbia COMPACT
9) David Murray Octet: Plays Trane, Justin Time CD
10) Jeff Kerry: Secret Snow Boy, Columbia CD

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Footnote 1: J-10 listening Judy Spotheim of La Luce/SpJ fame be getting fabulous sound out from a Colibri, special arm mass to suit.