Newsletter #01 from 2006

Well hello again. This is the June 06 newsletter. You didn’t miss the May 06 issue – because there wasn’t one. Okay – to set the scene, when I started this one, England were on the box playing Sweden in Germany. Not my kind of thing. I’m writing this while listening to The Jayhawks “Hollywood […]

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From the archives: The amplifier designer hall of fame / Eva-Anne Manley, Bob Stuart / Meridian 107 power amp.

Editor McCauley in conversation with Howard Popeck: Can we stick with potential valve amp hero-designers for a moment? Certainly. If only I could think of any. (Long pause). Well ….. Hmm. I very much love the sound of Manley amps. Their preamps and their power amps and the magnificent Stingray. Their idiosyncratic site alludes to […]

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HELIUS DESIGNS: If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it…

Geoffrey Owen: Thus wrote Shakespeare as his opening line of Twelfth Night… More than simply a line from a play, it’s a reflection of my life. I come from a musical family – my Grandfather sang opera and operetta in the 1930’s and my second son is a blindingly good guitarist. As for me, I’m […]

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Guest writer and contributing editor Howard Popeck get interviewed by Neil McCauley. Part 1 of 3

Editor’s introduction Mr. P has been around the block in this industry since 1976. Behind his occasionally abrasive stance he’s got a treasure trove of memories, anecdotes and opinions. I managed to prise a few of these out of him in this 3-part series. I hope you enjoy the ride. Thank you / Neil McCauley […]

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SYRINX: The PU2; any good?

Zstereo write: The tale begins at the end of the nineteen seventies, with the arrival of Linn’s Ittok LVII tonearm. It put the cat amongst the pigeons in an analogue landscape dominated by the SME 3009S2, which appeared on virtually every turntable motor unit at the time. There was also the Grace G707, which had been Linn’s tube […]

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Quill

MICRO SEIKI: RX 1500. User observations + quality images

MICHAEL VRONSKY – staff writer I owned one of these, with the FR 64S tone arm and Supex 901 cartridge, on a heavy shelf. At moderate volume, it sounded very good and was a welcome alternative to the Linn LP12. However, at increasing volumes, the feedback was unacceptable. Isolation products in those days (over 45 […]

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CHORD ELECTRONICS / Ultima Pre 3: News.

Chord Electronics will be exhibiting at High End 2022, Munich, (19-22 May) with a wide range of British-made products across three sites. In addition, the newly announced ULTIMA PRE 3 preamp will be making its European debut in the main Chord Electronics room (Atrium 3.1, C122). Chord Electronics’ products both large and small will also […]

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MICHELL ENGINEERING: Gyro to Orbe upgrade; is it sensible in this system?

Can you advise me in my quest to enhance my current hi-fi system please? It looks like this: Michell GyroDec + Rega RB600 + Sumiko Blue Point Special cartridge. The phono stage is a Clear Audio Basic MM/MC. Loudspeakers are Linn Ninkas and CD player a Linn Genki. The power amp is a Linn LK140 […]

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AUDIO INSIDER

MICHELL ENGINEERING: Synchro test review

Howard Popeck … The Synchro was mid-priced turntable inspired by the original GyroDec, but with an inverted-pendulum suspension and a glass platter. It looked dazzling 20 years ago, and it still does today. In the John Michell tradition, all the working parts are exposed, superbly engineered and impeccably cosmetically finished. It has a cast-ring sub […]

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ACOUSTIC RESEARCH: AR-11 turntable – so … what happened?

Audio Tools write: Although this company is mostly famous for their loudspeakers they did indeed make a line of hi-fi from the early 60’s into the late 80’s. Their turntables were almost legendary in the US but are seldom seen in Europe with their 80’s models being an exception, but those were actually manufactured at […]

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CAD: Scott Berry of CAD / Computer Audio Design interviewed by Howard Popeck

Good afternoon readers – and welcome to the next in my ongoing series of interviews with designers of audiophile equipment. Today I welcome Mr. Scott Berry of CAD. Before we get to the first part of the series you’ll perhaps find the following background information to be useful. Thanks Howard Popeck ::::::::::: “The engineer responsible […]

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SUBJECTIVE AUDIO Ltd: The great sounds; Radford, Spectral, Lecson, Infinity, SoundLabs, JBL Century, Beveridge, Beard and more

Neil McCauley asks Howard Popeck: What were the best reproduced sounds you ever heard in the early days? Not easy to answer. Depends on one’s definition of best. If you take just listenability i.e. the customer’s sound is so good right now that I’m not going to unpack my demo gear, then it would have […]

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ALPHASON: What happened?

Apparently … Made the HR100S and HR100s MCS arms in the late 80’s early 90’s, it’s a medium compliance unit featuring a ultra rigid design machined from titanium right from the bearing to headshell as a one piece, features a ceramic gimbal bearings and was designed by Mike Knowles, the Xenon was a slightly cheaper […]

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