June 13th, 2007
Wobbly Stands
We've updated our FAQs page and split all discussions about shelves and stands into their own FAQs page.
The main menu bar still takes you to the general FAQs, and on the top of that page, you'll find a link to the
stands and shelves FAQ.
We've cleaned the page up, and added a link to the
Adona Shelf which is getting some great praise from a keen eared customer of ours.
We'll get one for evaluation soon.
We've also posted the text of an audiogon post on maple shelves as well some commentary on
Kevin Brooks' rickety stand. We hope it will add some perspective to this madness.
June 11th, 2007
More Audiogon threads
June 7th, 2007
Audiogon threads
As promised, some links to interesting threads on Audiogon ...
We'll dig some more up as time permits.
June 4th, 2007
Serial Monogamy ...
Firstly, we need to apologize to you for the scarcity of entries in this log. While surely we've been busy, the main culprit lies in
our extemporaneous thinking being directed at
Audiogon's Analog Forum. There is quite simply not enough time in the day to attend to both this blog and Audiogon
In the coming days, we'll post some links to comments made in these threads.
The topic of auditioning gear continually surfaces in our conversations with customers.
Some of you who have been following various Audiogon threads may arrive at the incorrect conclusion that we've been ignoring our ZYX
Universe cartridge for in favor of the Dynavector XV-1s. This has not been the case, but rather is due to our firm belief in practicing
serial monogamy with our gear.
We've found the only way to get to know a piece of equipment is by living with it for an extended period of time. This is fairly common
knowledge that most audiophiles ignore out of their enthusiasm for trying something new.
A secondary issue surfaces. The strengths of the component in your system can teach you much about the component which is lying fallow.
You will return to it and view it in a completely different light - a perspective which may well alter your approach to its setup.
This is a good thing.
Surely, a one or two week period is far too little time to get to know a piece of equipment, but even more important is that frequent
gear changes will take your attention away from matters of musical significance. This is a fundamental error and we should all have our
guard up against this.
This week, our trusty Universe received the attention it deserves, and our experience with the Dynavector has given us cause to re-visit
cartridge loading.
While certainly the Universe requires some loading, we're evolving toward advising that you let cartridges "breathe freely" at 47K before
you experiment with loading. Our experience with the Dynavector reinforced this point. Furthermore, any change you make to your system
(especially between the cartridge and the output from your phono stage), should be cause for re-visiting cartridge loading.
The phrase "breathe freely" was chosen carefully and meant to convey the idea of dynamics. You will find the two attributes of tonality
and dynamics to be at odds with each other, and you'll need to reach your own conclusions as to the sweet spot between the two as
you experiment with loading.
Now, quite a bit has been written by Doug Deacon and myself on the effect that both tracking force and anti-skate setting has on dynamics,
and it's not my intent to single out cartridge loading as the sole source of tuning this attribute. In the coming days, I'll dig up the
links to these posts for this blog.
