Occasionally I am reminded of the old Ivor Tiefenbraun of Linn fame philosophy that he used to create the charisma of the original Linn Sondek LP12 turntable in the UK in the late seventies.
Ivor pointed out that a HiFi system was only as good as the weakest link in the reproduction chain. He would use his magnificent turntable to show how an inexpensive amplifier and loudspeakers worth 50 quid each would bloom when fed with a signal from his 500 pounds worth of analogue engineering. Traditional wisdom was to split a 600 pound budget along the lines of 200 each for source amp and speaker, or less for the front end and spend most on the speakers 'cos after all they are what make the sound …
Ivor demonstrated to an industry that the greatest gains per dollar for a consumer seeking better quality through an upgrade were to be found in adding a higher quality source to the system. Putting an LP12 on a budget amp and speakers would realise so much more information and detail in the music signal than any other path of upgrade.
Now when I first wrote a version of this blog in 2003 and I commented then how long ago it seemed that we were in a position to purvey high end vinyl based systems and that our emphasis on source was all CD.
Actually now with the upsurge of Vinyl awareness and our recent acquisition of Linn LP12 as a product to purvey I can see client circumstances where I will be once again recommending Ivors’ classic recipe for Audio Nirvana with the most expensive component being the record player.
In the digital world our best source on display in Carlton Audio Visual is undoubtedly the DCS Puccini Cd / SACD Dac and clocking mechanism (click here for details) worth about $25,000 and able to make your hair stand on end. On an SACD recording through an Audio Research Pre and Power and a pair of Sonus faber Stradiveri playing Pink Floyd will take your breath away … DCS have since produced the amazing Vivaldi multi box CD player that sells for approx $120,000 ...
By contrast yesterday I was able to sell a delightfully well balanced system for $2000 comprising a pair of Monitor Audio RX1 with a NAD C326 Amplifier and a NAD C546 CD Player. Playing Johnny Cash “One” from his 2003 American Pie Album really bought his rich emotional presence into the room. This is an immensely satisfying high value audio system to purvey at a very reasonable cost, and one that I know the client is still likely to be enjoying in twenty five years time.
I note that when I first wrote this Joy of Source blog eight years ago the client for the minor system was concerned about its performance on his proud new iPod device … yesterday however the client of similar age was most concerned about how the system was going to perform on his new and most important music acquisition, that he had even bought before the rest of the kit … being his Project Debut Carbon record player ...
Thus the essence of the old argument was reminded to me in this now post digital age. Rather than the chap being concerned for the quality of the sound card in his computer, or the compression ratio of his recordings, he would be paying particular attention to the quality of the Phono stage and the cartridge for the Vinyl reproduction chain.
We have a few sources that stand out in our inventory at the moment…
Cyrus CD8SE/PSX-R for about $3500
This is the latest version of the British CD Player that make you stay up late listening to silver discs, detailed but warm and full.
Cambridge BD752 Blu Ray Player at $1499
Our favourite Blu ray Player for sound quality and vision. Immensely versatile media player and universal digital disc spinner.
Linn Majik Record player
An LP12 with carbon Tonearm that's a snip at less than $5000 but allowing new insights into the music.
Rega Planar 9
Still on inventory … an ultimate turntable with a ceramic platter that lets you “feel the wallpaper in the studio” when playing records. Available with a Rega Atheta cartridge and the matching Ios Phono stage ... about $12,000
Regards
Rab Turner
Occasionally I am reminded of the old Ivor Tiefenbraun of Linn fame philosophy that he used to create the charisma of the original Linn Sondek LP12 turntable in the UK in the late seventies.
Ivor pointed out that a HiFi system was only as good as the weakest link in the reproduction chain. He would use his magnificent turntable to show how an inexpensive amplifier and loudspeakers worth 50 quid each would bloom when fed with a signal from his 500 pounds worth of analogue engineering. Traditional wisdom was to split a 600 pound budget along the lines of 200 each for source amp and speaker, or less for the front end and spend most on the speakers 'cos after all they are what make the sound …
Ivor demonstrated to an industry that the greatest gains per dollar for a consumer seeking better quality through an upgrade were to be found in adding a higher quality source to the system. Putting an LP12 on a budget amp and speakers would realise so much more information and detail in the music signal than any other path of upgrade.
Now when I first wrote a version of this blog in 2003 and I commented then how long ago it seemed that we were in a position to purvey high end vinyl based systems and that our emphasis on source was all CD.
Actually now with the upsurge of Vinyl awareness and our recent acquisition of Linn LP12 as a product to purvey I can see client circumstances where I will be once again recommending Ivors’ classic recipe for Audio Nirvana with the most expensive component being the record player.
In the digital world our best source on display in Carlton Audio Visual is undoubtedly the DCS Puccini Cd / SACD Dac and clocking mechanism (click here for details) worth about $25,000 and able to make your hair stand on end. On an SACD recording through an Audio Research Pre and Power and a pair of Sonus faber Stradiveri playing Pink Floyd will take your breath away … DCS have since produced the amazing Vivaldi multi box CD player that sells for approx $120,000 ...
By contrast yesterday I was able to sell a delightfully well balanced system for $2000 comprising a pair of Monitor Audio RX1 with a NAD C326 Amplifier and a NAD C546 CD Player. Playing Johnny Cash “One” from his 2003 American Pie Album really bought his rich emotional presence into the room. This is an immensely satisfying high value audio system to purvey at a very reasonable cost, and one that I know the client is still likely to be enjoying in twenty five years time.
I note that when I first wrote this Joy of Source blog eight years ago the client for the minor system was concerned about its performance on his proud new iPod device … yesterday however the client of similar age was most concerned about how the system was going to perform on his new and most important music acquisition, that he had even bought before the rest of the kit … being his Project Debut Carbon record player ...
Thus the essence of the old argument was reminded to me in this now post digital age. Rather than the chap being concerned for the quality of the sound card in his computer, or the compression ratio of his recordings, he would be paying particular attention to the quality of the Phono stage and the cartridge for the Vinyl reproduction chain.
We have a few sources that stand out in our inventory at the moment…
Cyrus CD8SE/PSX-R for about $3500
This is the latest version of the British CD Player that make you stay up late listening to silver discs, detailed but warm and full.
Cambridge BD752 Blu Ray Player at $1499
Our favourite Blu ray Player for sound quality and vision. Immensely versatile media player and universal digital disc spinner.
Linn Majik Record player
An LP12 with carbon Tonearm that's a snip at less than $5000 but allowing new insights into the music.
Rega Planar 9
Still on inventory … an ultimate turntable with a ceramic platter that lets you “feel the wallpaper in the studio” when playing records. Available with a Rega Atheta cartridge and the matching Ios Phono stage ... about $12,000
Regards
Rab Turner