It's time for some system maintenance, with my Classic 301 turntable off to visit Ray Clark in the UK for a little tune-up, and my vintage McIntosh MX110Z's volume pot finally died, so it's getting a new volume pot installed. So in the interim I've put together a really sweet combination of hifi gear for... Read More »
My Soundsmith MMP3 Mk II Phono Preamplifier review is now live at Positive Feedback! You can read it HERE. It has been a real pleasure writing this three part series about the Soundsmith Carmen Mk II (HERE), Soundsmith Zephyr Mk III (HERE), and the Soundsmith MMP3 Mk II Phono Preamplifier. Seldom do I run across... Read More »
I enjoy giving you a "sneak peek" into my Positive Feedback reviews before the full review gets published by ye ol' editors Dave and David. I am in the process of writing up the final listening impressions of the Soundsmith MMP3 Mk II phono preamplifier review now, and I hope to have the full article... Read More »
I finished up the review of the new Soundsmith Zephyr Mk III phonograph a little bit ahead of schedule, and it is now live at Positive Feedback. The new $1500 USD Soundsmith Zephyr Mk III is one heck of an impressive phonograph cartridge, and it dethroned my Ortofon SPU Classic GM MkII stereo phono cartridge... Read More »
I'm nearing the point of finishing up my Soundsmith Zephyr Mk III photograph cartridge review for Positive Feedback, and as is my custom I thought I'd give you a sneak peek before I send it off to ye olde editors Dave and David for review and publication! I hope you enjoy it! ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪... Read More »
I'm working on Part 2 of my Soundsmith review series for Positive Feedback right now, the Zephyr Mk III phonograph cartridge, and hope to have it published in the next few weeks. In my Part 1 Soundsmith review for Positive Feedback I reviewed the Soundsmith Carmen Mk II phonograph cartridge (HERE). I found the Carmen Mk II to... Read More »
I didn't think I was going to be able to get the Soundsmith Carmen Mk II phonograph cartridge review finished up over the weekend, but I was able to put in some long hours and get it finished up! The Positive Feedback review of the Soundsmith Carmen Mk II phono cartridge is now live HERE!... Read More »
I was hoping to get the Positive Feedback review of the Soundsmith Carmen Mk II phonograph cartridge finished up this weekend, but it's looking like it is going to be next weekend instead - it's turned out to be a busy weekend! Also, something very interesting happened during the review of the Carmen Mk II - in a... Read More »
I am hoping to finish up writing my Positive Feedback review of the new Soundsmith Carmen Mk II phonograph cartridge next week, with the reviews of the Soundsmith Zephyr Mk III phonograph cartridge and MMP3 Mk II phono preamp to follow in separate articles in due time. I thought you would enjoy reading a little "sneak peek"... Read More »
As I've reported earlier, I found the Soundsmith Zephyr Mk III phono cartridge to be a match made in heaven for my Leben RS-30EQ valve phono stage, and the Zephyr Mk III has provided the most satisfying analog playback I have ever heard from my A5-based system. Given the superb result with the Zephyr Mk III ($1500 USD), I was eager to give... Read More »
As I've reported earlier, I found the Soundsmith Zephyr Mk III phono cartridge (above) to be a match made in heaven musically & sonically in my vintage Altec A5-based system, so I've been very eager to hear what the new Zephyr Mk III can do on my CTC Classic 301 turntable in my Westminster-based system (details HERE). If you've... Read More »
I really like having a couple of different hifi systems to try components in, as each different system and room combination gives somewhat different results, which helps to provide additional insights to a component's musical & sonic performance across different contexts. Take, for example, my first impressions of the Soundsmith MMP3 Mk II phono preamp... Read More »
I'm into my fifth month of retirement from the day job now. My internal clock is still mostly geared to the hours that I worked, up at 4:30AM, arriving at the lab at 6AM, and getting home by 4PM. I'm sleeping in later and staying up later every day, but not by much. Even though... Read More »
I had a nice 3-day cycling getaway with my buddy Chad as we cycled around the greater Seattle area over the weekend. The weather was mostly beautiful and we covered a lot of miles. Chad is a craft beer aficionado, so we made a few rehydration stops at a couple of his favorite breweries along... Read More »
I always get excited when a new hifi component arrives to write about, as it's an adventure in music & sound that I never seem to get weary of. I decided that I should mount the Carmen Mk II on my Classic 301 turntable first, and give it a listen in my Tannoy Westminster Royal... Read More »
There was a knock at the door just a moment ago, and it was the man in the Big Brown Truck dropping off a package from Peter Ledermann of Soundsmith fame. As I mentioned in a previous post, I get quite a few emails asking for a recommendation of a relatively affordable phonograph cartridge that is... Read More »