TONEAudio MAGAZINE The Concierge of High End Audio

Combining the “stunning immediacy” of SETs with the reliability of a solid-state design, this 15wpc amp from the kitchen table of Nelson Pass was extraordinarily composed and detailed. The F3 surpasses the performance of most tube amps in its ability to remain absolutely quiet while retaining complete control of the lower frequencies. If you want to make the SET plunge but are put off by the idea of constant re-tubing, this is the solution.

Features

Old School: Girls, Shoes and Speakers
The MartinLogan CLS
By Jeff Dorgay

Budget Gear: The Emerald XL –
Another Classic From ACI
By Jeff Dorgay

The Vinyl Anachronist:
Why Old Cartridges Never Die
By Marc Phillips

Tube Rolling In China:
The Good Fortune of Hong Kong Shopping
By Jerold O’Brien

The Collector: Going Deep Into Rubber Soul Pressings:
What to Look For and What to Avoid
By Randy Wells

Tone Style

Photoshop CS4
Adobe’s Latest…Not Greatest

AudioEngine W2
Making a Music Server Out of Your iPod

Modul furniture
The Newest Concept From Finite Elemente

DVDI 10
The CD/DVD, AM/FM Tuner With a Built-In Amplifier
From Primare

Sphere Glasses
Style That’s Easy On Your Eyes From Gunnar Optics

The Otterbox
iPod and iPhone Storage

Music

Live Music: Recent Shows by Metallica, Flobots
Greg Laswell, Black Eyes & Neckties and The Whore Moans,
The Herbaliser, Nine Inch Nails and Duran Duran
By The TONE Staff

Why Miles Still Matters:
A Look Into the Jazz Influence of Miles Davis on the
50th Anniversary of “Kind of Blue”
By Anne Farnsworth

Current Releases:
Fresh Releases in the Pop/Rock World
By The TONE Staff

Audiophile Recordings:
Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash, Pixies, Guns N’ Roses
and Little Hatch
By Marc Phillips

Gear Reviews

Style and Performance
Meridian’s DSP 7200 Speakers and 808.2i CD Player
By Jeff Dorgay

The Musical Surrounds Phonomena II
Phono Preamplifier
By Todd Sageser

A Choice of Character: The Lyra Skala
Moving Coil Cartridge
By Randy Wells

The Stunning CLX from MartinLogan
By Jeff Dorgay

PS Audio Digital Link III DAC
By Sandy Greene

The Shunyata Hydra V-Ray
Power Conditioner
By Jerold O’Brien

Spiral Groove’s SG-2
The Essence of Analog
By Jeff Dorgay

Get Better Sound
The Must-Have Set-Up Book
By Marc Phillips

Make Mine MM
The Clearaudio Maestro Wood Cartridge
By Jeff Dorgay

Tune In, Turn On!
The Pro-Ject Tuner Box
By Marc Phillips

Features

Old School: PS Audio’s Digital Link:
The Beginning of the Digital Revolution
By Jeff Dorgay

Budget Gear: The Perfect Compact:
AV123’s EL525T Tower Speakers
By Jeff Dorgay

The Vinyl Anachronist:
The Continuation of the Technics SL 1200 Chronicles
By Marc Phillips

Chuck D of Public Enemy Talks About His
Continuing Mission and How Rap Is Changing
By Richard Simmons

Tone On Tour: A Visit to Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab:
Shawn Britton Tells Us What it Takes to Make Great Recordings
And the Real Threat to Vinyl
By Jeff Dorgay

The Computer Audiophile:
Focal’s XS, The King of Desktop Sound
By Jeff Dorgay

Tone Style

Breaking the Sound Barrier Bowers and Wilkins
Teams Up With Jaguar On Their New XF
By Jeff Dorgay

The Amazing Loiminchay Fountain Pens
By Ken Kessler

Premium Storage! A Safe Place for Your
Greatest Hits Collection
By Jeff Dorgay

A Tale of Two Compacts The Canon G9 and G10
By Jeff Dorgay

Nagra’s Vibration Free System
A Platform Worthy of the Name
By Jeff Dorgay

The iPod Nano Just Try to Resist One
By Jeff Dorgay

DJ Shirts Show Off Your DJ Style
By Jeff Dorgay

Music

Club Mix: New Releases from David Byrne and Brian Eno,
Mr. Scruff, Thievery Corporation and Hotel Costes 11
By Scott Tetzlaff

Live Music: Recent Shows by Lindsey Buckingham,
Alejandro Escovedo and Carrie Rodriquez, TK Webb, Squeeze,
Vampire Weekend, Fleet Foxes, Al Stewart and Dr. Dog
By The TONE Staff

Todd Rundgren Interview: What Keeps Him Rocking
By Jeff Dorgay

Current Releases Fresh Releases in the Pop/Rock World
By The TONE Staff

On The Road With Curtis Peoples:
An Interview with One of Manhattan/EMI’s Newest Talents
By Jeff Dorgay

Audiophile Recordings: Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins,
Frank Sinatra, Little Feat, Linda Ronstadt and a Record
Company to Avoid
By Jeff Dorgay

Classical Music A To Z Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky:
The Ying and Yang of Russian Classical Music
By Dan Babineau

Gear Reviews

Exquisite In Form And Function
The Loiminchay Chagall Speakers
By Jeff Dorgay

The Whest Audio PS.30R
By Randy Wells

Let’s Get Small: The Paradigm Reference Signature S1
By Jeff Dorgay

The McIntosh MA 7000 Big Power
By Jerold O’Brien

A Quick Turntable Upgrade Furutech AG-12 Phono Cable
By Jeff Dorgay

The Ficion F200SE Speakers A Very Intriguing Newcomer
By Jeff Dorgay

Major Versatility Red Wine Audio’s Isabella Preamp
By Jeff Dorgay

Raising The Bar: The New Dmitri Power Conditioner
From Running Springs Audio
By Jeff Dorgay

The Audioquest SUB-3 Cables Subwoofer Supreme
By Jeff Dorgay

features

Old School: The Krell PAM-5
By Jeff Dorgay

Budget Gear: A Current Classic:
The Rotel RX 1052
By Jeff Dorgay

The Vinyl Anachronist:
Exploring Eric Whitacre’s Advent 300
By Marc Phillips

Jerry Horton of Papa Roach
Talks About His Passion for HiFi and Working With
The B&W Society of Sound
By Jeff Dorgay

Jenni Potts
The Struggles and Hope That Influence Her Music
By Marc Phillips

Tristan Prettyman
A Chat With Country’s Bright New Star
By Kimberlye Gold

The Collector: Fantasy’s Reissues of
Mingus, Miles, King Curtis and Eric Dolphy
By Tom Casseli

Tone Style

The Bentley Continental Featuring Naim HiFi –
Luxury At Its Best
By Jeff Dorgay

Lyra’s Olympos Cartridge Unobtanium!
By Jeff Dorgay

The Leica M8 Analog Sensibilities
With Digital Convenience
By Ken Kessler

The Twang Bar King
Pick Up Your Clean T and Show Your Support
By Jeff Dorgay

David Lynch Signature Cup
Coffee With Intense Aromas and a Mission
By Jean Dorgay

Pulse Speaker Stands A Whitworth Design
By Jeff Dorgay

Kingston Technology 32 GB of Picture-Taking Heaven
By Jeff Dorgay

Music

Audiophile Recordings: Remasters of Chuck Berry, The Byrds,
ZZ Top, Kansas and the Dead Can Dance Collection
By Jeff Dorgay

Current Releases: Fresh Releases in the Pop/Rock World
By Marc Phillips and Jeff Dorgay

Live Music: Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band, the Strange Noize Tour,
Peter Frampton and Boz Scaggs Grace the Stages of the Northwest
By Jeff Dorgay and Michael Kilfoil

Club Mix: A Selection of Female Favorites
By Scott Tetzlaff

New Jazz Releases from Eastwind
By Anne Farnsworth

Reviews

Manley’s Massive Passive EQ Equally Effective for Work and Play
By Todd Sageser

The Lehmann Black Cube SE Phono Preamplifier
First Among Equals
By Marc Phillips

Mystere ia21 Integrated Amplifier
By Marc Phillips

Stirling LS3/5a V2 Speaker The Little Legend Revisited
By Randy Wells

The Channel Islands VDA•2 DAC
By Jeff Dorgay

Composite Products CF-2080 Keep Vibration at Bay
By Jeff Dorgay

The Nagra VPS Phono Stage A Perfect Balance
By Jeff Dorgay

The Audio Research PH7 A New Reference
By Jeff Dorgay

Headphone Planet: TTVJ Millett 307A and Lehmann’s
Black Cube Linear Amplifier
By Marc Phillips

Features

Old School: The Essence of Tone:
The Conrad-Johnson MV-75
By Jeff Dorgay

Budget Gear: A Great Anchor
For a Small System: The Decco
By Jeff Dorgay

The Last Interview With Jim Morrison
One Door Closes; Another One Opens
By Ben Fong-Torres

Bernie Grundman Tells Us About
His Work on The Doors Project
By Jeff Dorgay

Mutlu: The Newest Soul Sensation From Philly
By Jeff Dorgay

The Vinyl Anachronist Invites You to Shred
By Marc Phillips

Something Not So Simple
Inside the World of Stuart Davis
By Marc Phillips

What Makes Us Tick: Part Two
Dragsters, Hot Rods and Tube Amps-
Technological Enthusiasm and the User
By Kieran Downs

The Dave Wilson Interview
We Get a Front Row Demo
By Jeff Dorgay

The B&W Music Club A New Music Model
That Benefits the Musician as well as the Consumer
By Jeff Dorgay

Show Report: The HiFi Chick Checks Out
Audiokarma Fest 2008

Music

On the New Music Front: Fresh Releases in the Pop/Rock World
By Ben Fong-Torres, Marc Phillips and Jeff Dorgay

Live Music: The Return of Return to Forever
By Anne Farnsworth

Slack Key Grooves From Hawaii’s Makana and
Local Boy Dan Reed Appears in Portland
By Marc Phillips and Jeff Dorgay

Audiophile Recordings: LP Remasters of Herbie Hancock,
Joni Mitchell, U2, Fred Simon and Three From MoFi
By Jeff Dorgay

Secret City Records Andrew Rose Talks About Growing a
Music Label in Montreal and Three Releases From Its Artists
By Sandy Greene

Classical Music A to Z: Music Conquers Politics and
Finland Gets a National Hero: Shostakovich and Sibelius
By Dan Babineau

Gear Reviews

The Simaudio Moon i-7 Dual Mono Integrated Amplifier
By Randy Wells

Dynavector XV-1s Analog Excellence
By Jeff Dorgay

Furutech DeMag and the Furutech DFV-1 LP Flattener
By Jeff Dorgay

Conrad-Johnson’s TEA-1 Phono Stage
By Dan Babineau

The Thorens TD-160 HD Turntable
By Marc Phillips

The Dynavector P-75 Mk II Phono Preamplifier
A Pocket Full of Miracles
By Marc Phillips

SOTA’s Nova V Revisiting A Classic
By Jeff Dorgay

The Shelter 9000 A Worthy Successor
By Jeff Dorgay

Harbeth’s Compact 7ES-3 A Whack on the Side of the Head!
By Jeff Dorgay

The Grado Statement A Serious Threat to Your Favorite Moving Coil
By Jeff Dorgay

The TW-Acoustic Raven Two
By Jeff Dorgay

Rega’s los The Essence of Quiet
By Jeff Dorgay

Features

Old School: Table Radios From the Vault
By Kieth Guisinger

Budget Gear: Making Music Fun Again With
The ZU DL-103 Phono Cartridge
By Jeff Dorgay

Wadia 170 i Transport Compact Audiophile Sound
By Jeff Dorgay

The Vinyl Anachronist: Nitty Gritty Record Cleaners-
Sucking Dirt for Decades
By Marc Phillips

Anti-Tone: The Smart Car for Two Invades America-
Save Your Gas Money for Records
By Jeff Dorgay

Shine A Light The New Stones
Concert Film That’s More Than Rock ‘N’ Roll
By Marc Phillips

Makana Marc Phillips Interviews the Artist About
His Passion for Slack Key Guitar and Its Evolution

Show Report: Sandy Greene Does the Montreal Show

Music

On the Music Front: Fresh Releases in the Pop/Rock World
By Jeff Dorgay and Marc Phillips

Five From Polyvinyl
By Marc Phillips

Live Music: Recent Shows by Adrian Belew’s Power Trio,
K.D.Lang and a Night With X
By Jeff Dorgay and Marc Phillips

Audiophile Recordings: The Long Awaited Doors Box Set,
Santana and Much More, Plus Three Classics From the
Works of Revel, Elgar and Dvorak
The TONEAudio Staff

Club Mix: Celebrating Ubiquity
By Scott Tetzlaff

Four Releases From Asthmatic Kitty
By Marc Phillips

Classical Music A to Z:
Some Light, Middle and Heavyweights-
Saint-Saens, Schumann and Schubert
By Dan Babineau

Reviews

Continuum Criterion The Entry Level Table Explored
By Jeff Dorgay

Shunyata The Anaconda Power Cord and Dark Field Cable Elevators
By Jeff Dorgay

Luxman’s L-590 A II Old and New School in One Big Box
By Jeff Dorgay

Gemme Audio’s Tanto Speakers Beauty and Performance
By Jeff Dorgay

GamuT SI100 Integrated Amplifier Fantastic Sound and Build Quality
By Sandy Greene

The MartinLogan Grotto i Subwoofer A Baby Boomer
By Jeff Dorgay

Sutherland Ph3D Phono Stage Battery Power At Its Best
By Marc Phillips

Dynaudio’s Contour S1.4 Understated Powerhouse Speakers
By Jeff Dorgay

The Naim SuperNait Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts
By Jeff Dorgay

Verity Audio Rienzi Speakers Versatility Is The Key
By Jeff Dorgay and Marc Phillips

PrimaLuna ProLogue Eight CD Player Tubed Magic
By Marc Phillips and Jeff Dorgay

Headphone Planet: Rudistor NX-02 Sistema, Stefan AudioArt Equinox GS1000,
Stefan AudioArt Equinox K701 and Sennheiser’s PXC 450 Headphones
By Marc Phillips and Jeff Dorgay

Slummin’

Meaghan Smith has definitely overcome her issues with stage fright.

Playing to a full house at Berbati’s Pan, she took charge of the stage immediately. Thirty seconds into the set her dreamy yet powerful voice had everyone in the audience smiling as they swayed side-to-side, many slow dancing out on the dance floor.

Make no mistake; Smith can belt it out as well, as she did on a few numbers, in a style somewhat reminiscent of Patsy Cline.  Read More »

You have to have something up your sleeve to open for Metallica.

Unlike the pompous guys from Down that were the middle act in the Death Magnetic show, this brilliant metal band from Austin delivered the goods.  Rather than parade around the stage, demand that everyone “get up off their seats” and use a limited vocabulary to converse with the audience (mostly limited to the word, fuck) Sword did it old school and played their asses off. Read More »

If you’re still reluctant to acknowledge the musical skills of modern DJs and turntablists, a night with Jon Ragel might change your mind. As the lone member of Boy Eats Drum Machine, Ragel mixes his sampling wizardry via beatbox and turntable with live percussion, tenor sax and a voice strong enough to create a successful career without the digital accompaniments. Read More »

Check out TONEAudio issue number 18 for the full review of this performance….

Here are a few extra shots that we didn’t have space for in the magazine. Read More »

Having just reviewed Alejandro’s CD in the last issue of TONE, I was anxious to see him live.  Alejandro has a long musical history with roots rock/alt country music, including time in Rank and File, The True Believers as well as a few others.

But tonight’s show was far beyond that.

Playing a wide range of his music, he performed the title track from his current CD, Real Animal along with a few other tracks from this disc.  This show was a lot more rock than alternative with Escovedo jumping around the stage like a 25 year old.

Towards the end of the set, he told us about performing at the Democratic convention and that he was now playing “Castanets” again.  (Escovedo had stopped playing it for a few years because he found out President Bush had the song on his iPod) Read More »

If you’ve listened to Carrie Rodriquez’ new album She Ain’t Me, you know this lady can sing.  However, it might be easy to pass her off as yet another highly competent singer/songwriter that blends in with the fold.  The disc is good, but somewhat subdued.

Her live show is a completely different story.  Opening for Alejandro Escovedo, she calmly walked onto the stage to introduce herself and then exploded.  Alternating between the fiddle, electric mandolin and tenor guitar, she matched licks with guitarist Hans Holzen to offer up a powerful presentation.

The combination of such a good band with such a powerful voice was the surprise of the evening. Read More »

Arriving at the show a little bit early, we found that Curtis’ original gig (with his full band) had been cancelled and he managed to put together this show with a friend from Portland.  Definitely the mark of a man committed to the music. Peoples played an acoustic set, consisting mostly of work from his recent self-titled release to a sold out crowd and was very enthusiastically received.

While the CD has more of a pop feel, perhaps in a Wallflowers or Tom Petty kind of way, his acoustic set was a bit reminiscent of early Ryan Adams. Read More »

With 101 dB efficiency and 11-ohm impedance, the Druids can be mated to flea-powered SETs and high-powered monoblocks equally. Using a full range driver mated to a super-tweeter, the Zus were extended in the bass and very dynamic. While they require careful set-up to sound their best (which includes Zu speaker cables), these Druids were “one of the most enjoyable speakers” we’ve heard.

Take an old Denon 103, replace the plastic body with one made from milled aluminum and you have one of the most intriguing and blissful cartridges that has ever sold for under $400. You may have to pinch yourself when you mount this heavy (14g) cartridge on your expensive analog rig and still have a sound that is supremely musical. Oh, and it works wonders for inexpensive ‘tables such as the Technics SL1200 as well.

This beautifully made SET amp is “detailed, smooth…and expensive” and made us think of Ferraris and Porsches while it was in our systems. $7500 for 10wpc may seem crazy, but this amplifier is work of art. It’s also “merciless with anything you attach to it,” so choose your other components very carefully in order to be rewarded with “some of the best sound you will ever hear.”

This beautiful and compact floorstander is comprised of two separate enclosures for the drivers, and can be positioned with the low frequency driver facing toward either the front or back. This results in a very flexible speaker that excels in both small and larger rooms, presenting a huge soundstage in a variety of room placements. Sound from the Rienzis consistently “expanded beyond room boundaries.”

This British-built solid-state phono preamp sounded “tight and dynamic with fantastic inner detail” but is still able to provide a balanced soundstage that is neither forward nor laid-back. While some audiophile desire a more warm and natural presentation form analog, the Whest will satisfy those who require a “ruthlessly revealing” tool that also counts impressive holographic imaging among its strengths.

The first dock for iPods that truly makes this format sound great, the Wadia can produce CD-quality sound as long as you hook it up to a decent DAC. Offering the same impressive Wadia build and design in a much smaller chassis, the 170 retails for only $379 yet provides “everything you require from good digital.” We found it to be a truly revolutionary product.

We loved the original Wadia 581, but this “i” version adds full digital inputs and variable output so that you can plug it directly into a power amplifier. The 581i, unlike its predecessor, now plays SACDs as well, rekindling our excitement for that format. The Wadia is so versatile, it’s very easy to “make it the center of your digital universe,” especially considering the ability to upgrade software in the future.

This 200wpc hybrid powerhouse from South Africa provides just a touch of warmth that differentiates itself from its solid-state competition. The Predator produces a truly textured sound that will satisfy tube die-hards and may be an excellent and solid anchor for systems in the five to ten thousand dollar range. It’s a winner if you’re “dedicated strictly to the music.”

We were looking for a turntable that could accommodate two tonearms to perform cartridge and tonearm comparisons, but little did we know that we would find one that offered so much performance at a relatively modest price. This German rig offers most of the performance of many five-figure rigs, making those behemoths seems a little indulgent. “The gap is not that big,” we summarized, so we bought it.

This lightweight and compact update to the legendary TD-160 offered a fast and exciting sound due to new plinth materials that control resonances. With the included SME, the Thorens provided a very precise sound, allowing listeners to hear “new details in familiar recordings.” It’s easy to set up as well, providing an almost “plug and play” experience.

Form follows function with these funky-looking yet exquisitely crafted loudspeakers, and its large ported enclosure with triangular top created a soundscape that was “very open and dynamic.” The 506’s high sensitivity made them a perfect match for many SET amplifiers, and we found that we could rock at very high listening levels even with just a couple of 300Bs at the helm.

Battery power may be the future of phono stages, and we felt that this relatively affordable model from designer Ron Sutherland was one of the quietest preamps available at the $1000 price point. Throw in 16 “D” batteries, and you’ll have great analog sound for around 1200 hours. The Ph3D was “energetic and expansive,” and emerged as a top contender in a very crowded field.

This reworking of the venerable classic features new drivers and builds upon the strengths of the original¨Ü (we even compare them directly to an older pair of Rogers LS3/5as). Perfect for small rooms and near-field listening (for which they were originally intended), these are much more balanced mini-monitors and will not sound dated, unusually small or ordinary. The version with Cicable external crossovers are also reviewed.

This updating of the classic British Class A integrated will warm up your soul as well as your listening room. Modestly powered, the A21SE still offered a surprising amount of headroom while still sounding about as “tubey” as solid-state can get. “The pinnacle of audio simplicity,” the Sugden is the perfect amp for those who consider themselves music lovers first.

After reviewing quite a few cost-no-object analog rigs over the last few years, we’re absolutely smitten with this one. Paired with the Tri-Planar mk. VIII arm, the SG-2 offers a HUGE sound for a relatively affordable price. It’s simple, beautiful and offers an exquisite level of fit and finish. We chose it as our Product of the Year in the analog category, and we recommend that you audition it before writing a check for one of those mega-buck contenders.

If you’re wondering whatever happened to SOTA, maker of some of the finest turntables throughout the ’80s, you’ll be happy to know they’re still around and still making great products. The Nova V features vacuum clamping via a very quiet air pump, and offers an innate sound quality that is lush yet balanced. The SOTA features a “classic look with fantastic performance…that never goes out of style.”

An unsung hero in the world of affordable turntables, the Comet does a “great job on the fundamentals” and offered extended bass, detail and texture galore. Mated with a good cartridge in the $500 range will offer “very involving analog playback” for journeyman audiophiles looking to take it to the next level (we found it to be a perfect match with the wooden-bodied Grados).

A 10wpc push-pull tube amplifier, the Music Baby is a viable low-powered alternative for those who believe SETs lack extension at the frequency extremes and inner detail. Beautiful and robust in construction, the Sophia had plenty of finesse and will offer plenty of magic with the right room and the right high-efficiency speakers.

While a music server can be bought (or even built) for significantly less, the Sooloos is simply unequaled in terms of user-friendliness. Almost every person who came in contact with the wonderful touch screen was reduced to blubbering; play with the Sooloos once and you’ll immediately want one, regardless of the price. We called it “the ultimate music lover’s treat” that possessed “a touch of greatness.”

With their 95 dB sensitivity and stunning good looks, the Concerto 2 monitors are a perfect match for SET amplifiers-even those with 2A3 output tubes. The Sonists provided a very romantic sound (they were voiced with SETs in mind), and they can convey a big presentation with extremely smooth high frequencies as well. While not detailed, these speakers are nevertheless very musical.

$110,000 buys you two slim tower speakers, two subwoofers, a DEQX digital preamp/controller with remote control and custom-designed power cords and interconnects. It also buys you a magnificently-machined aluminum work of art that offers fantastic build quality and “a maniacal attention to detail” that propels this design into the realm of “the best sound systems available today.”

On the outside these are mild-mannered medium-sized 2-way monitors, but on the inside dwells some serious engineering that made the Argentas “confounding at first listen.” Modestly priced at $1500 a pair, these are very accomplished speakers that go deep in the bass (down to 38 Hz!) while sounding smooth and seamless through the treble. Highly recommended.

From the former designer at Audio Physic, the Allegras are “a real contender” for the money and are gorgeous to look at as well. Efficient and friendly to tube amps, these Germans were anything but clinical and completely disappeared into the room thanks to their wide dispersion patterns. If you like Audio Physic speakers, we concluded, “you’ll love these.”