For years, I remained firmly disappointed that my records sounded lacklustre, and CD became my preferred music recording medium for music reproduction. But today I can dip into my LP collection and find great thrills. I replaced my turntable and tonearm and pickup cartridge and phono preamplifier, and added DSP. I finally found a combination […]
Happy birthday to the Phonautograph, the earliest known sound recording device. Patented in 1857, it predats Thomas Edison’s Phonograph machine by around 20 tears. https://www.beachamjournal.com/journal/2022/04/audio-recording-is-162-years-old-today.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonautograph?wprov=sfla1 http://www.soundrecordinghistory.net/history-of-sound-recording/phonautograph-history/
I renovated an old Micro Seiki MA-77 branded manufactured tonearm with new parts. I also made one from salvaged bits. NZ$450 approx. vs NZ$30 approx. With the success of the latter, I wouldn’t have done the former!
I’m a frugal fidelity finder, and my latest project has turned out to be a (modest, humble even) reuse triumph. My wife spotted this $4 product in a local shop, and I immediately thought ‘tonearm’! Apart from super glue (which hasn’t been used on the arm), it’s almost the only thing purchased for the project. […]
My hi-fi hobbying began in 1972 and I’ve been a committed vinyl record player to this day. I’ve owned several turntables and tonearms, beginning with the humble high performing Connoisseur BD1 and progressing to a Linn Sondek LP12 and beyond, and have used many pickup cartridges. Today, I have two turntables, three arms, and five […]
I’ve have never felt comfortable with the attitude that home audio or music listening are competitive activities. In other words, when I listen to recorded music through a reproduction system, I’m not seeking the best of anything, or a show-off opportunity. Right is right, in my view. Sufficient satisfies. When I listen to music, does […]
As a devoted fan of the Puffin, I enjoyed reading this comprehensive account of its capabilities. Both the review and the Puffin are highly recommended. https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/the-parks-audio-puffin-phono-stage-etc-etc-etc-etc-etc/
I reviewed this DSP preamplifier and it’s still an integral part of my daiky listening experience. An outstanding product. https://www.psaudio.com/copper/article/shannon-parks-and-his-magic-puffin/ https://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/parks_audio_puffin_e.html
I’m fascinated with vintage gear that remains operational because it’s expertly engineered, and what seemed to be a Fidelity Research FR-24 Mk2 tonearm came up locally. The seller thought it was a 12″ Audio-Technica AT-1005 variant transcription (professional) model. That’s understandable, as it’s unbranded and it had an AT headshell attached, and looks like the […]
A fascinating website showing a host of delectable DIY projects by Jochen Soppa. http://www.schiller-phono.de/de See also….. http://www.schiller-phono.de/en
In this review of Audio Technica VM95, Goldring E3, and LP Gear Carbon Fidelity CF3600LE cartridges, Herb Reichert showed that you don’t need to spend mega-money to get satisfying record reproduction. What is necessary is a high-performing turntable and tonearm to enable the cartridge to deliver the music. As I await delivery of an old […]
This simple add-on is intended for plastic and metal bodied cartridges, to approach the performance of a wood bodied cartridge. It’s a way to sample the sound quality without the risk of permanently modifying, such as removing the case. https://www.miyajima-lab.com/e-others.html
Some thought-provoking views on cartridge and tonearm pairing performance. Part 1….. http://korfaudio.com/blog67 Part 2….. http://korfaudio.com/blog68 Part 3….. http://korfaudio.com/blog69 Part 4….. http://korfaudio.com/blog70 The Korf Audio blog has a lot of material on the engineering and mechanics of driving pickup cartridges on tonearms.
A few years ago, I visited a colleague/friend in New Jersey, and memorably we made a trip out to the former Thomas Edison plant (now museum) at West Orange, and we also drove past the Grado Labs factory in Brooklyn. I was struck by the sense of a family business with an international reputation. Joseph […]
If you’re serious about playing vinyl records, you might want to optimise your turntable, tonearm, pickup cartridge setup. https://www.wallyanalog.com/product-catalog
I found Dark Audacity yesterday, and now this first list shows various options for music listeners, several of which are also free of charge. I’ve been using Audacity to create digital album rips from vinyl records, with the click and pop removal function. This helps with making old recordings more listenable. I feed the tape […]
Some beautiful white and blue cartridges caught my attention, and then I discovered there’s a wide range of high performance audio products from Jasmine Audio Co. Ltd., of Shenzen, China. There’s art in this meeting of analogue technology and Chinese culture in these stylish products. I see growing interest in Hi-Fi gear from China and […]
Inshu-washi is a traditional handmade paper using kozo (paper mulberry), paperbush, and gampi (similar to clove). It’s often used for lamp screens and as a drawing paper. It has a fine, soft, flexible, durable texture. I love the JICO Seto-Hori porcelain-bodied cartridge, and am intrigued by the idea of a paper-cased pickup mechanism. Is the […]
https://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/jico_wood_stylus_e.html My latest review is now online. My first experience with a hand-carved wood cantilever stylus.
My latest review is online at TNT-Audio – a phono step-up transformer from Italy. This delivers outstanding dynamics and detail from my pickup cartridge. http://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/audiodinamica_step_up_e.html
My initial review of an artisanal turntable from Dunedin is now online at witchdoctor.co.nz http://witchdoctor.co.nz/index.php/2018/09/an-amazing-artisanal-turntable-from-dunedin/
Music & Hi-fi Appreciations 