WINTER |
2001 |
 |
Page Three |
BITS
REGA: When first released, the Rega Planet
established a new performance benchmark for sub-thousand
Dollar CD players. The Planet brought a welcomed refinement
and smoothness not found in similarly priced digital gear
of the day. Just as that player did then, the Rega Planet
2000 promises to continue the tradition by setting the
standard for build quality and performance at the price
point.
At the heart of the Planet 2000 is a new chip,
the IC40, developed for Rega by Wolfson Microelectronics
of Edinborough, Scotland. The 24 bit high resolution design
utilizes a novel 64 level Sigma Delta philosophy providing
optimized signal to noise specifications and low clock jitter.
The sound is what you have come to expect from Rega –
spacious and non-fatiguing. The player throws a nice open
stage with good resolution and a likeable tonality that
should blend nicely with most any system. At $950.00, the
Rega Planet 2000 clearly earns a best buy rating.
In stock, and shipping.
If you can afford to spend a few more bucks on a CD player,
you simply must have a listen to this one. The new Jupiter
would be a remarkably good CD player at most any price,
it’s a real bargain at $1895.00. For less than two Grand
you can own a CD player that just a few years ago would
have cost twice that (or more). There is allot more inside
this player…
Housed in a custom Swiss-made extruded aluminum enclosure,
the Jupiter is both cosmetically pleasing and mechanically
solid. The various parts and pieces that go into the Jupiter
were laid out for inspection in the Rega suite, and it was
surprising to see such high quality and precision in a machine
at this price. But remember what your mama told you, looks
are only skin deep, so let’s go under the skin and snoop
around.
To define a Jupiter, take all the goodies found
in the Planet and add: dual differential DACs, a much beefier
power supply (twice that of the Planet) with double regulation,
seven independent power supplies (one each for the mechanism,
PLL, DACs, digital and analog sections, micro controller,
display, analog amplifier, and filter) and a heavy extruded
bottom plate for rigidity and heat dissipation.
So, is the Jupiter worth the extra dough? Oh yes,
my friends, indeed it is. The soundstage on the Jupiter
is even more spacious and incredibly well defined; the dynamics
flow with effortlessness. While I must confess, I do not
have any other $2000.00 CD players in my stable to compare
to the Jupiter, I do have some rather exotic fare
here, and the Jupiter is not embarrassed by the challenge.
A very nice player you’re sure to enjoy for a long time
to come. In stock, ready for immediate shipment.
Digital
Wars: The battle rages on. There was little evidence
at the 2001 WCES to suggest which of the new digital formats
will ultimately prevail. One facet of the stalemate exists
between the people who produce the software, and on the
other side, the hardware manufacturers. The software guys
want to see more hardware on the street before committing
to the format, the hardware guys would like to have something
to play in their machines before release. A real catch 22.
Nonetheless, it does appear that both the DVD-A and SACD
camps are making some headway. Indeed, it may not turn out
not to be a battle at all, with both formats coexisting
side by side, at least for the time being.
The prospect of universal machines, those designed to
play all the existing formats, sounds like the best solution
to me, and may ultimately be the avenue of choice. Stay
tuned, the plot thickens.
ANALOG
GRAHAM ENGINEERING: Graham presented an
all new bearing (the gold piece in the picture below)
for the celebrated 2.0 tonearm. To illustrate the differences,
Bob sat me down and played a portion of
track through their demo system (2.0, Nightingale, his new
step-up transformer (more about that in a moment) and into
the Phonomena). Sounded fine. Then he switched the old bearing
for the new. Oh, my word! I was astounded at the difference,
which was obvious from the first few notes. The breadth
of the improvement was almost universal, touching most every
aspect of performance. I heard significant enhancement of
the bass region, both speed, tightness and control, including
a good deal more impact, with less overhang. Clarity was
improved across the band, soundstage depth improved and
images became more sharply defined with better separation,
standing in greater relief from the background. Suffice
it to say that anyone could hear the difference.
It was that clear.
The bearing upgrade has had such an impact on improving
the performance of the arm that Graham has decided to change
the model designation to 2.2. So, anyone getting ready to
purchase a Graham, you’re in for a real treat.
But wait, that’s not the best news. No, the most exiting
part is that the 2.2 bearing upgrade is field
replaceable part, that can be changed on ANY Graham arm!
For $300.00 you can experience all the glorious performance
advantages outlined above. Even better, this is a simple
thirty second upgrade – simply unscrew the old bearing,
and screw in the new one. Viola! Instant gratification.
It’s a no-brainer, kids, if you own a Graham arm, any
Graham arm, buy this! You’ll be so happy you’ll
probably put me on your Christmas list (no ties, please)!
More Graham goodies. For a long time, Bob has talked about
offering a much less expensive arm. It appears as though
that vision is nearing fruition with the introduction of
a new prototype seen at the show.
Though a simple design, the Robin tonearm is built
in the Graham tradition of quality. Robin was designed
as a step-up from the popular Rega and Audioquest offerings,
and as an entry-level arm on more sophisticated turntables.
The mount is directly compatible with that found on the
2.2, allowing one to easily upgrade to the more expensive
arm at a later date.
The removable headshell works with the (optional) Graham
alignment tools, making set-up very simple and extremely
accurate. VTA adjustment is easily accomplished, and a special
design prevents the arm from falling when the VTA adjustment
screw is loosened. Estimated price is $800.00 – 900.00.
Yet even more Graham goodies. Both seen and heard was
the long awaited step-up transformer, the T40. Transformers
are making a big comeback as a simple way to increase gain
without additional active circuitry.
The Nightingale T40 device is wound with the same
pure Silver wire found inside the Graham tonearm. That superb
conductor material is also used in the attached external
lead, which eliminates the need for additional cables. You
can order the T40 in two versions; one with female
RCA inputs to accept your existing phono lead, another (T40A)
with a hardwired cable terminated in a five-pin DIN connector,
for direct connection to the tonearm.
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