More
Sibelius
August
26, 2018
Roy,
Following
Simon Goodall’s letter about recordings of the Sibelius Violin Concerto in your review of the Stenheim Reference Ultime loudspeakers, it may have
slipped your attention that Lisa Batiashvili’s 2016 recording with Daniel Barenboim
is her second of the same work. She also recorded this in a 2007 Sony issue [Sony
88697129362] along with Magnus Lindberg’s Violin Concerto with the Finnish Radio SO
under Sakari Oramo. Both are outstanding recordings of a firm favorite of mine too.
Andrew
Liepins
Analog
upgrade: "a good starting point"?
August
20, 2018
Marc,
I
plan on upgrading my analog playback. I'm not sure if I should begin with the cartridge or
phono stage. I can’t do both the moment. Would the cartridge be a good starting
point?
Sheldon
Simon
While
changing any part of an analog system will certainly change the sound you hear, I would
begin with the turntable, because the tonearm (presuming you buy that with the 'table)
will affect your choice of cartridge -- low or high mass, low or high compliance. Then,
choose the cartridge. Finally, choose the phono stage, which depends on the cartridge you
choose -- either moving magnet or moving coil, and then ultimately how much gain you will
need. The pieces of an analog-playback rig are very interdependent, so if you're going to
upgrade the whole thing, you need to do it in a certain sequence to ensure that you get
the most from your new hardware. -Marc Mickelson
Recordings
of the Sibelius Violin Concerto
August
13, 2018
Roy,
I
was very taken by your discussion of the Sibelius Violin Concerto in your Stenheim Reference Ultime review, specifically the
Haendel/Berglund, which I will have to pick up (I agree with you completely regarding the
symphony series, one of my favorites).
I
was stunned by this recent purchase. If you haven’t got it, it's
definitely worth the cost, all of the LPs from this series are great, by the way.
I
always appreciate reading your work!
Simon
Goodall
Tube-preamp
bass
August
5, 2018
Marc,
I
just traded in my very excellent Audio Research Reference 5 SE for a dealer-demo Reference
6. The dealer offered me a very favorable trade-in deal. The Reference 6 had 610 hours on
it, so I was grateful that the unit was presumably broken in, courtesy of the
dealer.
In
any case, I’ve been listening to the Reference 6 for about two weeks now. I share
many of the comments that Dennis Davis made in his July 2016 review. Like Dennis and other
reviewers who wrote about the Reference 6, if I didn’t know better, I would think I
bought a new amp or even a subwoofer. The bass kick and low-end grip are quite noticeable.
But
I have a question. Is the Reference 6 augmenting (rather than controlling) the low end
beyond what is on the original source material? Let me rephrase the question this way. If
I were running my rig on top-of-the-line solid-state equipment, would I be hearing the
same type of low-end presentation?
As
you may recall, all of my electronics are Audio Research tube units, specifically:
Reference 150 SE amp, Reference 6 line stage, PH8 phono stage and Reference CD8 CD player.
Last
question: you may also recall that my front speakers are Paradigm Signature S8 v3s.
Although my Reference 150 SE has a lowish output impedance (about 1 ohm or less in the
low-end region off the 8-ohm taps), if I were to replace my speakers, I would be biased
(pun intended) to think about speakers that are tube friendly (i.e., flatish and
high impedance levels, especially in the low-end spectrum, and high sensitivity). I'm not
looking to break the bank. Any suggestions?
I
mention in passing that it is very difficult to audition speakers. There are not many
brick-and-mortar audio dealers around. My Audio Research dealer suggested pairing
my electronics with the new Audio Research Reference 160 monoblocks and Magico S5 Mk II
speakers. I didn’t have time to audition the setup, but I do not want to drop $30,000
on speakers.
Bruce
Feinstein
It has been a while since I've had a Reference 6 in my system, but my comments
about its bass would mirror yours. It's well-controlled and potent, and not in some
prescribed or unnatural way. That isn't just the case with the Reference 6. My VTL TL-7.5
III has notable weight and detail down low as well. The days when the best tube preamps
have bass that's best described as a tradeoff from that of solid-stage competition are
over. Even tube amps are catching up, due to newer output tubes like the KT120 and KT150.
I'm confident that you'd hear generally the same thing with top-flight solid-state
equipment, with any differences coming down to personality more than one technology being
better or worse.
In
terms of tube-friendly speakers, while your Paradigm Signature S8 v3s will be hard to
beat, the first speakers that come to mind and won't "break the bank" are Wilson Audio Sabrinas. They are slightly smaller than your Paradigms,
but don't let that fool you. They can throw a huge soundstage, especially in terms of the
height of the performers. They would sound especially good with your Audio Research
electronics too. -Marc Mickelson
Reader
list
August
1, 2018
Marc,
Please
add me to your reader e-mail list.
Ed
Vink
You've
been added. To join TAB's reader list and find out about new articles first,
send e-mail to rl@theaudiobeat.com.
-Marc Mickelson
