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Clearaudio @ CES
Clearaudio always has the most turntables on display at CES. Last time I checked there were more than 20 turntables in their arsenal! The "Statement" was the eye-catcher in their room, prominently displaying Clearaudio's utlimate knowledge in turntable design and manufacturing. Fun starts at just a tad over $1000 and virtually every turntable they make is upgradeable for improved performance and sonics! Way cool...
COMMENTS (6) | Permalink | Turntables , Vegas 08 , Writer: Danny Kaey | Posted by Danny Kaey on Jan 17 '08
47 Labs Koma Table
We don't cover turntables much, but the new Koma from 47 Labs is just too damn cool. Here's their briefing:
Two solid aluminum platters, suspended by powerful neodium magnets, rotate opposit direction eliminating wow-flatter inherent in the conventional single platter design. The resulting low noise floor gives you an incredible resolution you have never heard from an analog playback.
It just makes sense, no? Shocking someone hasn't done this before. The rubber band actually runs both platters, wrapping over a little wheel on one end to provide single, uniform tension over both platters.
47 Labs, if you're not familiar with this brand, is what happens when Japanese engineers become audiophiles. Really innovative digital gear, 47 Labs departs from the rest of the Japanese hi-fi crowd and focuses on tiny watt solid state amplification and tweaky CD players rather than tubes and analog. The Koma is their first TT and should get the vinyl heads at TAS and Stereophile rioting. Pearson frothed during his review of the PiTracer CD player, the $25k digital extraction unit.
Likewise, the Koma is not cheap at $10k. That Transformers tonearm is the Tsurube and goes for $2k. 47 Labs also makes their own super lux cartridges, spanning from $3250 to $7500. The rest of the 47 Labs line isn't that expensive, with their famous GainCard amp starting at $1500. Check 'em out.
COMMENTS (10) | Permalink | Turntables | Posted by Josh Ray on Dec 06 '06
Technics SL-1210M5G Turntable
What keeps kids up all night (again?)? Yep, sure enough, it’s the Technics SL-1210M5G turntable. Going on 30 years of age, Technics most recent introduction to the awesome 1200 series is selling like hot cakes. With recent reports that vinyl is again (again?!) picking up in sales and this by the hot and young 19-27 crowd, we may yet see the creation of new fresh audiophile blood.
Priced at around $600 excluding cartridge, you pretty much get everything you could ask for in a first TT. Personally, I think audiophiles have not given the 1200 series enough credit – I think its one hell of a design and certainly the build quality is fantastic at this price point. Sure, it has the dj usual pitch control, nearly instant start/stop performance, but its not like this should be a hindrance to enjoy it. If you want the audiophile treatment go get it at KAB – Kevin is awesome to work with and will make sure the TT is checked out and adjusted properly. PS: check out the cool blue LED’s!
COMMENTS (3) | Permalink | Turntables | Posted by Danny Kaey on Oct 18 '06
The Only Portable Audio Player
It's official: the iPod and Zune are finished. John DeVore's only portable audio player, the Audio-Technica "Mister Disc" is easily the greatest DAP ever created. Yeah, you have to carry a DJ bag with you where ever you go, but sacrifices must be made for audio of this caliber.
Cut Chemist (formerly of Jurassic 5) did a scratch routine with a "table" similar to this. He rolled onstage with this little pink TT hanging from a gold chain around his neck and proceeded to bust out some serious turntabilism. Don't ask me how it worked, but it was awesome.
The Mister Disc, also known as the "Sound Burger" (wtf, right?), was, not surprisingly, produced back in the 80s. It's belt driven and comes in many fruity colors which, obviously, Apple ripped off. Search eBay and you just may find one. Not sure if they come with the fuzzy, wax-sucking headphones, but I'm sure your AKG1000s are a good visual match. If you're in the market, mint Sound Mister Burger Discs usually go for about $300.
Read more about it here and be sure to watch this video(on left side) where the sales pitch is "no bigger than a man's shoe!" Words can't even describe...
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Vinyl Factory Tour: Part 5
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Vinyl Factory Tour: Part 4
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Vinyl Factory Tour: Part 3
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Vinyl Factory Tour: Part 2
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Acoustic Signature Mambo Turntable
It's the end of the week so what better time to ogle audio eye candy? The Mambo turntable from Acoustic Signature does German design justice with massive slabs of solid aluminum and razor thin precision. 20 holes are drilled in the aluminum slab and filled with rubber and brass "silencers" to help reduce vibration. Sound? It's said to sound about how it looks -- big bass, power, dynamics, etc. The Mambo runs $5000 and is part of Acoustic Signature's lineup of progressively larger, thinker and heavier tables. Below is a pic of the family from HE2006. Shown with the big Eben X-5 speakers was the new AS Grande Reference Turntable, a $20,000 beast the size of a torpedo. Imagine stretching the Mambo's plinth down to the floor and tripling the thickness of the platter. Yeah, huge. Sadly, no picture. Update: Beto has a twitchy camera finger and snapped the Grande Reference at HE2006. Read full article to see the big pic.
Permalink | | Posted to Turntables
Vinyl Factory Tour: Part 1
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HE2006: Lamm, Metronome, Wilson
Metronome Technologie of France makes absolutely gorgeous space-age CD players and turntables. Shown are the $20,000 Kalista CD player above and the Gaia turntable below. Can anyone guess what the speakers were? Yup, Wilson Sofias.
Lamm drove the Wilsons with their ML1.1 tube amps and M1.2 tube hybrid amps. More pictures of the Lamm equipment next page.
Permalink | | Posted to Disc players $10k and up | Shows and Expos | Turntables
HE2006: Mobile Fidelity Carbon Fiber Cartridge
"Just look at it! Carbon fiber shell! Designed by Mr. Takeda of Miyabi Standard! Avid Reference table! Dynavector arm! Mother-have-mercy, aaaaahhhh!" And then the crazy vinyl-head runs out of the room only to return 30 minutes later wearing different pants. Yeah, gross.
I'm not a total viinyl-maniac (yet), thank god, but the wax fans were getting all hot and bothered by the new carbon fiber MC cartridge from Mobile Fidelity. Luscious sound, this was some good stuff. The table was hooked up to an E.A.R. phonostage, Valve components and Focus 20/20 speakers, all covered in our earlier post.
The world's only carbon fiber cartridge has no price yet, but you can pick one up at Music Direct when they go on sale. Below, the $18,000 Avid Reference table with the $4250 Dynavector DV-707 tonearm. This pic was before the carbon fiber cartridge was subbed in.
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HE2006: Nola, ASL and Kuzma
Nola's big-ol' $45,000 Pagasus speakers with Antique Sound Labs $5000/pr Hurricane tubed monoblock amps. Below, Kuzma, the crazy turntable guys out of Slovenia, spun wax with their $18k Stabi XL and the $2400 Stabi S.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Posted to Amplifiers $3k to 6k | Shows and Expos | Speakers $20k and up | Turntables
ELP Laser Turntable
Remixing the best of turn tables and CD players, the ELP Laser table replaces your tonearm with a good ol' laser. Yup, this product has been around for ages now, though it's bouncing around the gadget net and getting all kinds of new press. Price? $15000.
The general consensus on the ELP is: "wow! It uses a laser...now give me back my other table." With all the recent discussion about the inferiority of CDs, laser pickup, jitter and DA conversion, using a laser on vinyl makes little sense these days. The gentle caress of the stylus is what gives a deck its romance.
Now what we need to see is a CD player that uses a tonearm and stylus to capture the goods. Ridiculous, you say? No no, nothing is too ridiculous for high-end audio.
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Kuzma Stabi S Turntable Review
Vinyl, probably more than any other area of audio, is a festival of oddities. A trip to a audio show will reveal numerous alien-inspired turntables with crazy protrusions and copious amounts of bizarre materials. Much innovation for a medium that's been dead for ages, no?
Above is the Kuzma Stabi S table, a $2450 attack on traditional plinth TTs. The plinth, for those who don't speak audiophile, is the big base on most tables. Instead of a plinth, the Stabi S uses brass poles, as you can see in the pic below. The goal of the brass T is, unsurprisingly, to reduce vibrations and provide stability. Does it work?
The Kuzma Stabi S/Stogi S combination is a hands-down winner, and in my opinion, one of the world’s great turntable bargains. It played every piece of vinyl put to it with a welcome wink-wink nod-nod and proceeded to reveal the record’s true nature, good, bad or glorious.
Go read the American Wired review for more details and analysis on this bargain from, of all places, Slovenia. Table and the Stogi S arm can be purchased from The Music.
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