edgewear

Responses from edgewear

Analog Upgrade - Where to start?
The PS Audio Stellar is a new item that was most likely introduced very recently in your system. So my question is this: did you develop this desire for more dynamics before you purchased the Stellar or after? For this it would help to know what p... 
Phasemation (Phase-Tech) MC cartridges
@chakster I’m quite positive you will like the PP-300. It’s supposed to be very similar to the earlier P3G, which is a wonderful cartridge and indeed by far the best I’ve heard at a new price under $1500. The brand is not very well known in the We... 
Best vintage DD turntables from the 70's and 80's?
Lewm, I don't have any first hand evidence, but this is claimed on numerous forum discussions and websites, including vintageknob. I shouldn't have stated it as fact the way I did, but there is at least some circumstantial evidence. According to v... 
Naim introduce a turntable - the Solstice Special Edition
Established audio brands adding a turntable to their line-up is an interesting trend which confirms that vinyl is here to stay. Not that I ever doubled that, but for many years all these big companies did. They now seem to think the vinyl market i... 
Best vintage DD turntables from the 70's and 80's?
@chakster While I agree with you, I've always wondered why Micro Seiki built direct drives on this exalted level as OEM for other companies - like this Onkyo, the Kyocera, some Luxman models and allegedly also the Yamaha 'gigantic and tremendous' ... 
What ever happened to Mark Levenson?
True, he never designed anything, but he had a good ear and a great nose for talent. Hiring Takeda San of Miyabi to design ’his’ MLC-1 cartridge before anyone else in the west had heard of him was another prime example. He was a talented bass play... 
Refurbish Fidelity Research Tonearms
It all depends on the condition of the arm. I bought my 64fx with silver leads inside in mint condition and I wouldn’t dream of sending it to anyone for refurbishing as there’s nothing to refurbish. My 64s with copper leads inside had a longer, mo... 
preamp vs amp: relative effect on sound?
This sort of reductionist questions are useless, but they just keep coming. The audio system is what the word says: a system and a complex one. With a bit of imagination you could even draw a comparison with system theory in physics. When the audi... 
Upper Level Vintage DD Strenghts and Weaknesses
@pindac, using the word ’cornerstone’ like this in relation to turntable footers is tricky. For stability you’ll need 4....... Anyway, while upper vintage turntables (DD or otherwise) are still competitive, in most cases their designers didn’t spe... 
Old Amps that can still Kick Butt
I still use Luxman M-4000 on a daily basis (together with its C-1010 pre amp companion). Although it’s now 45+ years old, I’m still amazed at how musical and ’modern’ (as in transparent) it sounds. Then upcoming engineer Tim de Paravacini (RIP) di... 
Old digital that still kicks butt
I agree the good old R2R ladder dacs sound more musical than any of the one bit or bitstream dacs I’ve heard. But it also depends on the implementation. I’ve had two players with 2x PCM 1704k (Krell KAV 300cd and Bow ZZ-8) that both sounded very n... 
Mahler vs. Strauss
Interesting question! As for the music itself, the short version is that I admire Strauss, but I adore Mahler. This emotional distinction may color my judgement on the sonic differences as well, but I’ll try to be as objective as I possibly can.Ac... 
Refurbish Fidelity Research Tonearms
@chakster perhaps I’m mistaken, but reports have suggested that the coils of the Victor MC-L1000 were not printed, like MC-1 and MC-L10.  
Refurbish Fidelity Research Tonearms
@rauliruegas thanks for the info on the Xquisite cartridges that were unknown to me. I have no doubt that removing the joint pipe from the part list will make an audible difference, but as an innovation it's nowhere near as radical as completely r... 
Refurbish Fidelity Research Tonearms
@syntax mostly agree with your post (which I hadn't seen before posting mine), except that I slightly prefer my 'modern' top carts like vdH Colibri XPW Blackwood (platinum coils, nla), Transfiguration Orpheus and Proteus, Ortofon A90 and A95 in th...