Today's Fresh Catch is the ASR Audio Systems Basis Exclusive Phono Stage designed by Dr. Friedrich Schaefer. which I'll be reviewing for Positive Feedback Online. The Basis Exclusive was supposed to arrive at the same time as the Emitter II but a FedEx shipping game of 'hide & seek' took place that had Dr. Schaefer, Zed (US importer), and myself holding our breath for an extra four weeks that everything would be found and delivered. It was, we were all relieved, and I'm now charging up the battery power supply (seen on the walnut shelf in the photo above) for a day so I can give it a listen. The power supply is enormous for the Basis Exclusive, being about the same size as a Leben CS-600 amplifier - impressive!
I've got the top cover off so I could go in and set all of the Dip switches to optimize the Basis Exclusive for my EMT TSD 15 phono cartridge. The Basis Exclusive offers extensive adjustment possibilities with gain and cartridge loading (and other parameters) that allow you to get the maximum performance out of a cartridge. You can see the rows of Dip switches in the photo below towards the back of the chassis.
I'm starting out with a setting of 221 Ohms for the EMT TSD 15 phono cartridge, and then I'll try some different settings from there until I find the optimum one for this system and my tastes. The quality of construction of the ASR Basis Exclusive is extremely impressive!
Update! It's Sunday morning here at Jeff's Place and I've got one eye on the computer to keep an eye on the racing action at the Motocross des Nations in Lommel, Belgium - wish I was hangin' with my friends in Belgium today at the des Nations!
Well if you can't be hanging out in Lommel with friends, I suppose the next best thing is to be listening to some really great music, which is exactly what I'm doing.
I've got Greg Brown's new Freak Flag album on the turntable. Greg Brown is an American singer/songwriter in the folk tradition and has put out some really great albums, two of my favorites being Covenant and Milk of the Moon. Freak Flag is sounding really great through the ASR Basis Exclusive battery powered phono stage. On Freak Flag the sound is a bit dark, rich, detailed, and colorful, or in other words it's just like I like it to be. Timbre is extremely good, tone is ravishing, and musicality is top-notch. It's easy to see why my audio pals around the world like the combination of ASR and Tannoy, as they really do complement each other. With less than hour of listening time on it the ASR Basis Exclusive phono stage is making a really fine showing for itself this morning.
Another Update: Tonight I've been listening to great music non-stop while writing the introductory parts of the review for the Tannoy Kingdom Royal loudspeakers, which right now are sound amazing with the ASR electronics. My nerd genes took over so I had to snap a few photos of the ASR gear in a dark listening room for you!
Above is the ASR Basis Exclusive phono stage with it's top cover removed. In the dark it's as beautiful to see as a vacuum tube phono stage.
In the photo above you can see the battery power supply for the ASR Basis Exclusive phono stage, with the Tannoy Kingdom Royal to its front right.
Here's a photo of the ASR Emitter II Exclusive Blue (lower left). It's an amazing amplifier, and it's easy see why owners are so enthusiasitic about the Emitter. Ok, that's it for now.
More to come!
