GRAHAM SLEE:
A confessed analog fanatic from Britain, Graham Slee toils
in
pursuit of the perfect phono stage. If the plethora of
reviews are any indication, he must be getting close.
The Absolute Sound (October/November 2003) has
bestowed the Editors Choice award to the Gram Amp 2 SE
($399).
"...all the earmarks of a giant
killer...the more you listen to this thing on its own, the
more you’ll discover that you can play it for hours without
fatigue...the presentation had a rare top to bottom
cohesiveness, with a tonal balance unusually rich, lush,
and, well, beautiful...It’s love at first sound between the
Gram Amp and vocalists, while violins are marvelously
silken..."
Paul Seydor, Absolute Analog, The Absolute Sound, Feb/Mar
2002. Another review trumpets: "...a
startling little machine. In the price versus quality
sweepstakes, it is a winner in every way that counts:
musicality, definition, preservation of instrumental and
human voice timbre, speed, fullness of sound and, finally,
price..."Neil
Walker, EnjoyTheMusic.com, issue 0402.
Big brother to the Gram Amp, the Era Gold Mk
V ($950), gets equally high marks.
“It was amazingly dynamic,
quiet, full-bodied, harmonically complete, supple, sensuous
and spectacular.”
Michael Fremer, Stereophile, January 2004.
"...the one the others have to beat"
Hi-Fi Plus, July/Aug 2003.
"...its sound has wings"
5-Star Test Winner, What
Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision, Feb 2004.
The Graham Slee designs are optimized for higher
output cartridges. You’ll need 2mV or above to run “straight in.” Lower output
cartridges require the Elevator MC Head amp.
GOLDRING:
A well known as a maker of
outstanding phono cartridges,
Goldring now puts their name on a turntable. The GR-1
is a simple, stylish design that is both easy to set up and
simple to use. Hand made in
Britain, the GR-1 offers outstanding performance at a
very reasonable price.
Fitted to the GR-1 is an OEM version of the
Rega RB-250 tonearm. This outstanding arm has proven itself as
the best value in the price range. The factory installed
Goldring Electra cartridge is a fine compliment to the GR-1.
The British Journal “What Hi-Fi” says of the GR-1:
"This turntable is a cracking value...Goldring is back in
business with a product to challenge the best in this price
range"
WILSON BENESCH:
This British firm specializes in the use of carbon fiber
technology for audio applications. Their speakers make good
use of the space
age material in their enclosures. With a strong background in
analog, Wilson Benesch applies the technology of carbon fiber
in their recent introduction of the
Full Circle
record deck.
The
Full Circle
is a complete turntable package. Nothing else to buy other
than your favorite vinyl! The package includes the
Full Circle
turntable, 0.5 tonearm and the Ply MC cartridge (a modified
Benz Micro Glider).
The 'table is a low mass design utilizing
unidirectional carbon fiber rods as the principal structural
components. The precision bearing is fashioned from phosphor
bronze and is mated with a tool steel spindle.
The tonearm is lovely sculptured affair employing an
exotic one-piece tapered arm tube of carbon fiber. In this
application, carbon fiber offers some enticing mechanical
characteristics to the designer: ten times stiffer than
titanium, half the mass of aluminum and excellent damping
properties.
A very complete (and very nice sounding!) package for
$3000.
MICHELL:
Just in, J.A. Michell’s cute TecnoDec turntable.
Borrowing technology from other turntables in the family, the
TecnoDec echoes many of
the qualities we hear in the lines pricier tables, such as the
Gyro SE. Inverted, oil-pumping bearing, DC motor and impedance
matched platter design endow the TecnoDec with
surprising performance.
TecnoDec is available with or without an arm,
but we think the best value is the $1395 combination that
includes the Michell TecnoArm, a modified Rega RB-250.
The unique TecnoWeight replaces the plastic stub
assembly and decoupled counterweight (the biggest limitation
of the 250) and adds one of the nicest VTA adjusters I've
seen.
Simple and straightforward, the TecnoDec
requires no complicated user adjustments making set-up a snap.
All in all, a very cool 'table at a very attractive piece.
Rega tonearm owners will be delighted to learn that
you can purchase the TecnoWeight and TecnoVTA
separately to upgrade their sound. The unique TecnoWeight
employs a precision under-slung counterweight with stainless
steel stub shaft whose center of mass is at stylus level to
improve tracking and reduce stylus/record wear. Unlike other
replacement stub and counterweight assemblies being offered,
the TecnoWeight provides 1/10th gram adjustments
without a stylus force gauge! Two counterweights are
provided, one for cartridges in the 3 - 6 and another to
accommodate cartridges of 6 - 16 grams in weight. $159
Digital
MBL:
When audio companies stray from their primary focus the
results are often disappointing. So, how does a company known
for their speakers pull off a stunning array of electronics? I
have no idea, but mbl of Germany have done just
that.
We brought in the mbl 111e speakers after being
taunted, year after year, with the great sound in their CES
suite. We knew the electronics had to be pretty darn good,
because of the wonderful sound, but I figured we could do
better. I was wrong. Case in point, the CDP2 CD player.
From the word go I was impressed with the sound of
this player. The CDP 2 possesses a liquidity and
cohesiveness matched by few and bettered by none. It has a way
with digital that is utterly musical. Grain is very low,
soundstaging is excellent and the bottom end is quite
extended.
The CDP 2 positively oozes quality; typical
fastidious German construction evident throughout. Everything
about the player suggests great care and attention to detail
went into the mechanical and ergonomic design, carrying on to
the high quality fit and finish.
Both balanced an unbalanced outputs are provided,
as is a digital volume control allowing the CDP 2 to
drive an amplifier directly (assuming the amp has a reasonably
high input sensitivity).
This player has impressed everyone that has taken
it home for an audition. At $4400, I think the mbl CDP 2
is an excellent value. It would be my choice in CD players at
the price.
MUSICAL FIDELITY:
Meet the all-new X-Ray CD player. The cute half-width
chassis matches the new X-150 integrated amplifier for a
side-by-side pair which occupies no more space than a standard
component. That’s convenient.
As with the X-150 integrated, the X-Ray CD
player borrows many circuit design elements from the superb
(and very expensive) Tri-Vista family. Amazingly, the X-Ray
utilizes the same DAC and up-sampling principles found in the
Tri-Vista, resulting in exceptionally low jitter, excellent
signal to noise ratio and high linearity. Careful attention to
detail in circuit layout, path length and parts orientation
results in superior sonic performance.
*24 bit up-sampling DAC * Very low 130pps jitter *.005%
distortion * Better than 110dB signal to noise ratio * Price
is downright CHEAP at only $999
