Cheaptubeaudio has had a long history of advocating reasonably priced but excellent tube gears, particularly Singled-Ended Triodes. This Blog however covers a lot more than SET, and is not exclusively tube-related. Cheaptubeaudio prioritizes coverage of unusual and rare gears, particularly vintage ones, on which little info can be found on the internet.
New York Diary (20-20): Technology and Green Credentials in Our Daily and Audio Lives
Revised 6/30/20: More details on the JBL system added. Also, filled in on Simon's vinyl credentials, as well as his servicing of vaccum pumps.
Technology is a doubled-edged sword. While raising our standards of living and health care, our environment is being ruthlessly destroyed. Advances in many fields, ranging from transportation to farming, have probably done more harm to the environment than coal-burning plants. And it can be argued that growth is not equitable - it benefits the have's disproportionately more than the have-not's.
I pride myself on my Green Credentials, but this pandemic makes me re-examine myself, and how things are done. First of all, understand that I have never owned a car, and I live in a neighborhood where most big national chains do not have a nearby presence (exceptions being BJ's, Target, Best Buy and pharmacies like Walgreen).
I have tried my best to curtail my desires and online orders. I don't order food or easily obtainable household items online. But I did end up with still more orders than I'd have liked. One reason is, as I have relayed before, all my old computing devices gave up on me, so I bought computers and accessories. First a cheap Chromebook, than another cheap Windows laptop and an iPad. Some extras too, like wireless mouse and keyboard. Another important reason is, many items are not available in-store. It is a fact that during the pandemic things tend to fly off the shelves and re-stocking can be slow; but it is not only that, and the pandemic made me gain some insight into the logistics of operations.
Rather, the illogical, and immensely wasteful way of doing things. Say, I order three things from Walmart or Staples and it comes in THREE packages from different warehouses. What a waste of cardboard and packing material! Making this even worse is that some items come in packaging much bigger than their sizes mandate. I discussed this with Andy and he finds the same thing. He thinks they are just packing things into the same few boxes available. I also think perhaps they are spending less time than before in packing due to labor shortage. In any case, these make me feel much guiltier than usual.
Green Credentials in Audio Let's face it, while music is essential, audio, as practiced by fanatics like us, is not. No matter what, we waste quite a bit of electricity. Tube, which consumes more energy, is the Archilles' heel of my green armor. Right now I feel better, as I am streaming via bluetooth to a low consumption all solid state system which I shall later write about. Manufacturers, particularly those in the "high-end", should re-examine their own lack of environmental concerns in their excesses: to name a few, low efficiency loudspeakers with terrible impedance curves (which require muscle amps to drive); solid chunks of aluminum just for looks (most of these in solid state amps that do not sound great); large chassis for meager content (particularly prevalent in digital equipment and preamps); futile Class-A solid state attempts to emulate tubes (I have heard a lot of them, from Gryphon to Krell to Pass; I used to own the Aleph 3, which though good was not a 300B amp by far). Low powered amps and high efficiency loudspeakers are the way to go. Now, there are some who are deserving of praise, like David Berning and Linear Tube Audio (LTA) for the efficient and great sounding ZOTL design and, in the case of LTA, very beautiful but compact and not extravagant industrial designs.
The Greatest Advance in Audio What do you think it is? Sampling Frequency? Class D? Super Earphones? None of the above. It is Social Media. Manufacturers, critics, dealers, everyone has taken to social media, and Youtube. If not for social media, I'd not have been able to bring you Virtual Home Visits (many more coming).
Virtual Home Visit (3): JBL Horn System
If you are a regular reader, you would have encountered Simon before. He is in Andy's entourage. Simon is quite an experienced audiophile but now he has long sold just about everything and just keeps a simple system. That's commendable and environmentally friendly. As I have said many times before, good enough is indeed good enough. Forget about endless upgrades.
Simon is a JBL expert, and has considerable experience with different JBL horns and components. As a matter of fact, he is behind Andy's sorrowfully under-utilized JBL system (here). Whenever the gang get together, the heated topic of JBL vs Altec invariably comes up.
Simon is a technician who services dental equipment. His expertise comes in very handy for people like Andy (and by extension R, whose fabled lunches had been featured on this blog many times) when their vacuum pumps (for their turntables) break down. God knows how many times I have watched them do repairs. In the case of R, he would make us wait for lunch and go famished to make sure work was done. Fanatics!
Simon had once been an avid vinyl collector. His work takes him all over Manhattan, and over the years, whenever possible, he would pop into the record store and spend a few minutes sifting through the New Arrivals. By Andy and his own accounts, he had once owned every LP on the original HP list. Again, being such a sensible fellow, Simon sold off all those he did not really care for, which was a lot. Simon is a seasoned Classical Listener. I particularly remember his comments on how weary he feels after listening to Mahler. Again here, in terms of possessions, Simon serves as a model for those of us who wallow in excesses.
According to Simon, the JBL horn system is basically a DIY variant of L-300 (my model of choice). The mid-drivers are Le-85 horn,16 ohms (same as L300); Woofers are LE15B, 4 ohms; JBL 2045 tweeters. DIY Crossover (which evolved over a long time). The "L300" critically retains the soul (midrange driver) of the original. Apparently, Simon has had the iconic 375 but prefers the original's Le85. As for the original's 077 tweeters, he's had them too but he prefers the 2045. It should be noted that the woofer enclosure is a DIY variant of the Tannoy GRF! Boy, a lot of work there!
Ancillary equipment comprise: Cary SLP-98P Special Upscale Audio Edition Full-Function Preamp; McIntosh MC-225 amp; Technics SL-1200 Turntable with old Audio-Technica OC-9 Cartridige connected to his friend's no-name SUT; JVC K2 CD Player.
I didn't get to hear this present setup, but did hear a slightly different previous iteration with the same partnering equipment, and it was quite enjoyable.
Editor's Notes: 1) I am not a fan of Cary, but I have heard a lot of their stuff. This particular preamp uses the larger 6SN7 tubes in the line section, and is definitely much better sounding than the previous models which use smaller tubes, as Art Dudley mentioned in Stereophile; 2) I am pretty sure the JVC CDP is the legendary XL-Z 1050 (without suffix TN) with JVC's proprietary K2 circuitry (here and here).
Click all pics to enlarge. The Ever Changing Landscape. Compared to before, the Infinity Ribbon Columns are further back, and the Resurrected B and W Matrix 801 are in more advantageous positions.
Virtual Home Visits (2): Man of the Year at Work
Regular Readers know all about Kevin, our super-diligent friend who is constantly on the move. In my 2019 Year in Review (here) I named him "Man of the Year": "...This category is a First! Of course, it has to be Kevin, who has acquired and done so much this year that this blog has worked hard to track him. I thank him for all the good time, the great food, and of course for making my Thorens TD-124 arm board! His DIY and restoration efforts are also deserving of praise. I am still amazed by his DIY Tonearms (bottom pic; feel my admiration? description here) and Cactus Cantilever/Stylus (left pic, click to enlarge, here). This man re-invents himself virtually every minute; watch this space!.."
Well, that happened to be the last time he was mentioned in this blog! I actually saw him a couple more times before the lockdown but did not write about it. Fear not, his tinkering has not stopped. I just got a lot of pics from him to update you. He mostly worked on DIY turntable plinths and tonearms.
According to him, the sound just kept improving. Most gratifyingly, he resurrected his B and W 801 Mk II and now the sound fills the room (as it should, and didn't last time).
Sometime ago he helped repair the Wadia Transport of Andy's brother-in-law. He could not forget the sound (better than the computer for sure). He consulted with Andy and I about transports. I asked him to try out hid DVD players first. He did and told me the result with a Marantz was not bad (though not quite a Wadia). This morning I asked him to try Bluetooth; I hope to get something from him later! Sorry, no food pics...
A newly acquired Garrard 301 Grease Bearing, with DIY Plinth and Tonearm. Cartridge is
VdH tipped Decca Super Gold
Thorens TD-124 in a New Plinth, with Decca Professional Arm
and H4E Cartridge. Note a Pair of Bell 2122C Behind.
Lenco L-75. Note the Modifed Double Platter. The Plinth has a New Top. The DIY
Tonearm Employs SME Bearings. Cartridge is Ortofon MC-5000
At the very back is the VPI with Decca SC4E Cartridge.
Next to the Thorens 124 is the Citation I
He is Working on his Digital (Computer Music) too. The box with the screen is the
Digital Interface, which connects to the small TEAC DAC next to it.An old
Marantz professional DVD Player serves as Disc Player.The cheap
Chinese "Blue Velvet" Tube Preamp Buffers the signal before the Preamp
Letter from Hong Kong (20-2): Eric L pitches $7 generic Bluetooth Device against $125 name brand. Editor's Preface: This Second Article from Author Eric L is a delight. It starts with how he got into HiFi in a Hong Kong era that I had missed, but that would be familiar to many of my HK friends. And then he went into Critical Mode and the Result Surprised him! I absolutely relish his completely unbiased comparisons. At the End I'd like to say a few things in the Postcript. The above is another of Eric L's photos. How I started my HiFi Journey I started listening to music when I was a little kid of 6. I grew up with music from LPs, played through a Thorens Turntable and a Sansui SS Stereo Amp [Editor: HK in that era was not what it is now; that setup would be at least mid-fi]: Sound of Music, Beatles and Carpenters. For some reason, I also liked to play Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, even if I was not exactly a classical guy. When I grew older (still some 40 plus years ago) I started to hang around HiFi shops like Excel in Central, HK, a renowned stereo shop selling Linn Sondek , Naim (I'm still a fan of older Linn and Naim stuff), Mark Levinson and JBL 4343 etc [Editor: Excel is still around]. There was also Radio People, that carried B and W, KEF 105, Quad, Nakamichi cassette deck etc. Of coz, the salesmen knew exactly that I could not afford to buy even a screw off any of their products but they still had fun teasing me and occasionally would allow me to sneak behind the big spenders to listen to some of their exotic setups [Editor: how heart warming! Try that today!]! That would have definitely made my day and enabled me to boast to others; but wait, there's none like me at my age group to boast to...
My UnclesI'm lucky in a way that I have a few uncles who owned some really expensive and exotic equipment. One owned a full set of Cello (total 8 pieces): Performance Amps, Preamp , their crazily expensive equalizer and flagship Stradivarius speakers, plus dCS DACs. He would invite me to his place from time to time to "enlighten" me and my friends (I got company finally~). Of course, no matter the sound was good or not, or if I knew if it was good or bad, I would pay him back with generous eulogies and praise to secure a future invitation, hehe! Down the years, as I came to know a bit more about the meaning of good sound, I can safely say that his stereo system did have amazing dynamics and sound effects. Another uncle had a completely different approach and they both would laugh at each other's setup; this one was using a Philips CD100 connected to unnamed 845SET monoblocks driving a pair of Top Tannoy. Imperial Sound? Quite musical to my limited ears.
All through my journey, I kept asking what the best sounding system should sound like. I kept finding cheap ghettoblasters with poor HiFi attributes to be extremely musical despite exhibiting a lot of distortions. On the contrary, the more expensive the equipment, the better the soundstage, depth and slam, the more embarrassingly the lack in excitement and musicality! It is so hard to have HiFi attributes coexist with feet tapping musicality! One thing I truly look for is honesty of a system. After all, the sound coming out of it cannot be better than the actual recording or performance, be it live or a studio effort! Well, stereo equipment is not an art to me, it's more like a craft instead. It has to portray the essence of music such that one can effortlessly immerse in it. Back to HK Coming after the LP era, CD was hailed as the most convenient format that can replace cassette and analog. Since my Red Dog RCA LPs that I bought with my pocket money were all given away generously by my cousin (thanks a lot pal!), I sold my system in Canada (LP12/Ittok2/OrtofonMC20 Naim pre-power/ Linn Kan) before coming back to HK. I had to start from scratch again, yet another painful search for musical truth! After a long search for the absolute sound of my own, with limited financial capacity, and numerous failures, I finally came to realise what I'm looking for. Thanks to a few experienced veterans, in particular Dom (HK distributor of 47 Lab, Sparkler Audio, Mussette, TotalDac etc; he persosnally uses the Pitracer CDP and 47 Lab's top turntable and the extremely scarce Miyabi cartridge, among other exotic stuff), I settled down with Gaincard as my ultimate amp. With a mere 25Wpc, it fits the job perfectly for my purpose - that is to play music which can touch my soul. I'm also extremely satisfied with my Dynaudio Crafft, which I think can sound as natural and dynamic as many speakers up to 3 to 4 times its price today. Even after 30 years, the sound is still as good. Is it the best? By far no, but it ticked all the boxes for me!
Everyday you learn something new! Three Bluetooth Receivers under 125 USD Face Off So much for the babbling. After you heard about my $7 USD cheapo BT receiver (H-9A), I got another cheap BT (Wenliang) from my friend. AI also acquired an iFi Zen Blue. So I was ready to carry out a mini face off of the three! Source is still the almighty You Tube through my ancient 10 year old Mac Air which no longer supports the latest IOS.. Plus I have my Sparkler CDP 503 II Spiral back. I also borrowed from my friend Kwong a pair of Silvercom silver I.C. and some cones bought from Taobao (again). I was ready to rock and roll.
My anchoring system is the 47 Gaincard and the newly acquired icOn4 TVC AVC Line Control and Dynaudio Crafft. The newly acquired icOn 4 is so good that it blends into my system effortlessly and seamlessly. I would talk about it more perhaps in another separate post. But this is definitely one of my most important purchase recently, since finding the perfect linestage to match with my Gaincard is actually more difficult and demanding than one would imagine!
Fast forward to Father's Day weekend; I negotiated a full weekend's privilege to listen to music almost all day long (if not, it would take another week or two to complete this A/B/C comparison). Analyzing is usually demanding in terms of the focus and concentration needed to critique the minute difference between one piece and another. But interestingly this time, this was not so much the case!
H9A out, ZB in I unplugged the cheapo H9A and hooked up the iFi Zen Blue (ZB). I was expecting some sort of improvement over the H9A, but the sound , though different, did not seem better. I decided to run more songs through it. The night before, the ZB somehow refused to produce sound even when paired but it miraculously worked smoothly the next morning. Occasionally it would get unpaired but pressing a few buttons would make that work again. It's a nice looking device made of metal and has a "zen stone" shape. After fiddling with different combination, I sensed something was missing with the ZB which I could not explain. ZB out, Wenliang in I then hooked up the Wenliang that my friend Kwong lent me to see if I had missed anything. The unit is well built with a built in LPS but unfortunately once it was hooked up the sound became one-dimensional and soundstage had collapsed completely. I immediately unplugged it and listen to my CDP which was a treat but I sensed the sound can be further improved (perhaps another post). Now I began to question myself if my previous wonderful BT experience was for real??
H9A back in On the morning of Father's Day, with the special freedom granted me in full effect, I woke at 7am and the first thing I did was to unhook the ZB and swap back in the H9A. Voila, everything came back to live again!!! All the musicality, involvement, soundstage, airiness, PRAT were in full swing and I was involuntarily tapping my feet and following the tunes with immense pleasure and delight!! I tried all the songs that I have used as reference, esp the Youtube Tiny Desk 's Free National mini concerts. I just loved the vibrancy and sophisticated dynamics of the musicians ! I even tried Chris Jones' No Sanctuary and compared it to my Audiophile CD version - I must say perhaps the BT is 80% in hifi terms but I feet no loss of musicality. Man I can live with it any single day! ZB may have an edge on speed and instrument spacing, but the airiness as well as the ebb and flow of music have been largely missing, even simply lacking. Sadly my very high hopes did not pan out; of course, I would not give up that easily. Be prepared for a follow up once I can get a handle on it. In the end, I am keeping my H9A. I also learned that they have a latest version with BT 5.0 and an additional USB input too, and for almost same price! I have already asked my friend to buy a few more H9As for me as spare, LOL!
Free Nationals at Tiny Desk Chris Jones "No Sanctuary" Nils Lofgren' keith Don't Go"Nils Lofgren's guitar is so fierce and piercing and his voice so sincere that how can one not be touched by it? Liang Bo 's "That Boy" is so polished, forceful, soulful that I think even those who don't understand Chinese will like the song. [Editor: this video is from a Chinese version of America Got Talent; this fellow took the crown]
FKJ performance at "Live at Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia" is so spiritual and uplifting that I can dive into music while watching the grandiose and breathtaking scenery. Such a treat. These are songs that I must play once or twice every other day or two~ Another live performance from FKJ at La Fee Electricite is shorter but no less impressive and this is the one that i would loop as well! Yet another favorite is FKJ and Masego playing "Tadow" and I can't stop tapping my feet on this one. Those slickest saxaphones, but both of them are crazily skilled and talented!
Man, am I having so much fun listening to Bluetooth! With a sea of live performances not available on Spotify and CDs, I am in heaven! Editor's Postcript: 1) We thank Eric here for bringing us more Virtual Home Visits as well as more music suggestions, and we look forward to more articles from him in the near future - a round of applause for cheap fun!; 2) After I posted my BT experience, Eric left comments that echoed mine and one thing led to another. I think I can relate to his experience (and that of my HK friend icefox) but those who have not yet used BT, or who dismiss it (including some of my friends), may not. The important thing of course is: does BT get across the music experience? We obviously think so, but you have to try it as a musical, not hifi, experience to see; 3) The H-9A may be viewed as a David by some, but I actually think there are many David's, such as my Aukey and HK-008 that I wrote about. BT is very basic, and there is not much that you can do to improve or degrade the sound. Newer chips may be more inclusive but they are still functionally similar to older ones. In all these devices, the onboard digital to analogue conversion and power supply are generic and rudimentary. I think there is no need to hunt for a particular model - just experiment on your own. As a corollary, the still inexpensive iFi is not a Goliath either. After run in, who knows? Perhaps Eric L will reconsider. Also, it has digital outputs, which from my experience is unquestionably an upgrade path, though that feature can be had for much less too. Of course, that's an extra component and another cable. As I have said, the built in digital to analogue conversion in cheaper devices cannot be very good and an extra DAC of one's choice will reap benefits. Until the next round...
Today in 1982, Vincent Chin, a Chinese American around my age who was about to be married, died after 4 days of coma that followed a brutal lynching. The incidence galvanized Asian Americans and is bitter memory.
The incidence is recounted in Hong Kong's SCMP today, but not in the US media. Everyday I read online news from various sources, msn, New York Times etc. I found no mention of this incidence in the last few days, not even in the local Chinese Newspaper.
One day in the early eighties, I was waiting in a New Jersey town for a bus back to New York. A convertible drove by, a guy pumped his fist and yelled at me: "Remember Pearl Harbor!!" Luckily, they just sped away and I went on with my life. Despite occasional tribulations I was able to enjoy life a bit, travel a little, like any human being would like to. Vincent Chin had all that taken away from him by an animal wielding a baseball bat.
Five years before his death, NASA launched two Voyagers into Space. Each carried a Golden Record with an eclectic selection of music, to be played to Aliens in the event they are encountered. Meanwhile, down on the continent, there were, and are, still a huge number of people who look at people different from them as aliens. The irony is, we make overtures to aliens, but become violent to human beings that look different from us.
Basic Repertoire
Beethoven's Quartet's are among the greatest works in the genre. The Cavatina, from String Quartet No. 13, Opus 130, a late work (played by the Budapest String Quartet), is the last track on the Golden Record. I listened to it with Vincent Chin on my mind.
Trivia: Find out more about the Golden Record from Wiki. Note that the record is to be played back at 16 2/3 rpm, a speed half that of our usual 33 1/3. This means each side can yield about an hour of music. This speed is basically only used in studios.
Click all pics to enlarge. Top, what a place! Fantastic! this must be one of the "simplest" systems I have ever seen in the high-end.
Virtual Home Visits (1): Two Systems in Mumbai! Overview: JBL
Amended 7/24/20: audiopro's listening experience on the first system added.
Editor: Readers, it is terrible that during this Lockdown we cannot hang out with friends, whether it is having a pint at a bar or sharing a meal. Home Visits are even more of a no-no. Hence, this is the first in a new series. Today, we visit two audiophiles in Mumbai (Bombay), India. For quite a while, I have been in occasional email communication with one of them (Vivek) and got to email too with his friend Prem recently. I hope to meet up with them some day! It is too bad they are too humble to write, despite their perfect English! I tried to entice them to be the Blog's Indian Correspondents but did not succeed. Both use loudspeakers that were Monitors. For today's Home Visit, some of the equipment are close to my heart (or experience), so I shall ramble quite a bit. So that you can skip, some of my rambles are in italics. At the end of the article I shall write a concise Overview of JBL.
Big Loudspeakers, Simple Setup First we meet Prem, an engineer. The equipment he has now and the stuff he had before add up to a mightily impressive list, even by my standards! And his curiosity knows no bound.
Prem is one of the few audiophiles I know who only listens to vinyl (at least at home). His main diet is Bollywood Classics, Indian Classical Music, Classic Rock and a bit of Fusion. This is analogous to many HK audiophiles, who enjoy Canto-pop and Cantonese Operas. For myself, as one who knows Chinese Opera, I relate to Indian (the region's) classical music. In fact, I really admire a lot of their classical music, so sophisticated (when I was younger, like many Westerners, including prominent musicians, I loved to listen to raga's as well as sufi music - I should dig out those CDs!)
EMT 950 with the 929 arm, TSD 15 cartridge and the built-in EMT phono with their step up transformers. I am green with envy! Prem's unit had been completely serviced and restored to original specs by ex EMT engineers in Germany. At the time of purchase he had the option of opting for the original tube phono supplied with the 927 and 930 instead of 950's Soild State Modules. But both the ex EMT engineers and Stefano Passini, who’s written a book on EMT, suggested he stuck to the SS one supplied with the 950 since it mates best. They said if EMT engineers thought the tube sounded better, they would have supplied the tube phono and not the SS phono, and Prem went with their advice. The 950 was a statement product, used by most prestigious radio stations, including the BBC. On this complete unit, one can adjust the output voltage gain anywhere from 0.77 v to 10v (!). It has 2 gain controls, one each for left and right. Since it has a built in pre, Prem just uses it to drive the power amp directly.
Having encountered many EMT's in Hong Kong, I know this is the Centerpiece of Prem's System, something he will never change. And why should he? Few can afford it and it goes up in value steadily (better than volatile stocks). The EMT's I heard in HK varied in condition; all had EMT arms and cartridges, and they always sounded musical. Ditto the 930's of my friends Andy and Mark in NYC. I used to wonder why I never owned an EMT; I guess that is because my smaller abodes in crowded HK and NYC made me adverse to over-sized TT's. I can only take solace in the fact that my Thorens TD-125 is basically an EMT 928. Now, if I have a whole basement (and the dough)...
JBL 4343 This needs no introduction. It was actually the Centerpiece of a 2009 Home Visit in Shenzhen, China, a rare early entry that I wrote in Chinese (English here). In 2017 we also heard it briefly in NJ, but it was too casual a visit to record much (here). I am glad this iconic loudspeaker makes a formal return in this blog! Prem's are the more coveted earlier alnico version.
JBL's, because of their easy load, generally work as well with tubes as solid state, so the HK users are kind of split down the middle in terms of what they use. Though a benign load, despite the spec's, like latter day TAD's, db for db, JBL's are not as easy to drive as, say, Klipsch, Altec and Tannoy. Generally, you don't find SET and low power amp lovers using JBL. It should be noted, HK has close ties to Japan, and is heavily Japanese influenced. The Japanese revel JBL and the subset of HK Japanese gear aficionados (I am one foot in) also are JBL fans. In HK, I have listened to a lot of 4343's (both alnico and ferrite), as well as quite a few pairs of its sibling 4344 (largely for the Japanese market), and I prefer the 4343 for its greater versatility. See, JBL, because of its rich sounding midbass, are often favored by jazz, pop and rock listeners. In many setups that I have heard, classical music was not reproduced as well. This tendency is worse in 4344, which I personally think sounds better with ss amps. I have more to say in my JBL Overview at the bottom.
Quicksilver Integrated This is a current QS product (official site). The stereo amp uses 4 x EL84/6BQ5 and 1 x 12DW7/7247 (remember Dynaco ST35, which also uses the same EL84?). The topology is not that dissimilar to the now legendary VTL Tiny Triode's, which differ in that they are monoblocks and run in triode mode.
I have always loved the EL84 tube. Prem's words "...I like the EL 84 sound. It’s got good tone, it’s pretty quick, immediate and lithe..." are completely in sync with mine.
Although Prem has had all kinds of brand name cables before, he now prefers Radio Shack speaker cables and generic interconnects with connectors upgraded to Rean (a Neutrik sunsidiary). This kind of preference may be anathema to the average audiophile, but it is not at all uncommon among horn users (my friend Andy uses lamp cords for his Altec A5's).
What are Prem's priorities and where does he want to go? He said: "...I am looking for an honest, natural sound. Focus is on tone, presence and dynamics. The Quicksilver is very decent. In fact the designer Mike Sanders too has a vintage JBL which helped. While the Quicksilver is very musical, I am looking at a bit more resolution and transparency but not at the cost of tone, immediacy and dynamics." He is constantly moving his loudspeakers little by little to maximize their performance. Some of these exercises are discussed in HiFiVision Forum, an Indian high end forum, where everybody posts in English. Judging by some of the posts, that's a pretty high end crowd! Audio seems thriving in India!
I cannot resist to list some of the stuff Prem had used before. He had owned a variety of speakers from Tannoy 15 inch Gold's to B and W 801 Matrix Series 3 to Audio Artistry Beethoven to Martin Logan’s to Rethms (Lowther-like loudspeakers). For amps he had used Mark Levinson ML2, Parasound JC1 monoblocs, DeHavilland 845 monoblocs, Dave Slagle customised 2a3 amp and a few others. He had also tried an Audio Note amp but it was too warm and rich for his taste (I agree). As if that's not enough, here is one more for you (mrgoodsound will take note), in his own words:
"...Prior to Quicksilver I had a David Berning customised class A zero feedback amp using 6b4g triode tubes in a push pull configuration. It was a 10 watter but could easily drive my JBL. It’s the same amp that David uses for his personal listening. I found this amp made it a bit lean in mid bass but otherwise it was excellent. Probably not a good match. This amp according to Berning is probably the best he’s designed..." FYI, he preferred that amp to LTA's current Ultralinear amp.
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Graham LS5/9 on stands. Norma IPA140 on bottom shelf. BBC Bent, Small System and Big Music
Now we meet Vivek. How time flies! I was sifting through my emails with him and was shocked that it has been 8 years! As one who is soon to be eligible for Medicare, moments like these are kind of frightening.
Like me, Vivek is a big classical music fan. By big, I mean he doesn't just listen to the usual suspects; instead he is adventurous (aside from me, I have never heard anyone mention Martinu!) Just like me in the HK and even the US audio communities, he is among the minority. Vivek enjoys live music and frequently attends concerts. Given that India has its own (and very sophisticated) classical music, it surprises me some of the names that appear in Mumbai with the Symphony Orchestra of India, including conductor Alexander Lazarev, one of my favorites. Western music seems to be thriving there.
Graham Audio LS5/9 Given his classical bent, and given that the space available to him is modest, Vivek is wise in preferring loudspeakers with a BBC heritage. Graham Audio specializes in reproducing classic BBC loudspeakers, and from a humble beginning has evolved quite astonishing a range (not surprising, as Spendor is behind them). Their products are generally well received, including the LS5/9 (TAS review by fellow BBC enthusiast Robert Greene).
I'll weigh in here. I have previously used the second generation Rogers LS5/9 (also called Mk II, bi-wired; now, please don't confuse this with the current reproduction Rogers LS5/9 - it must be lucrative that everyone wants a piece of the pie). The sound of the old Rogers was quite mesmerizing but I did have one issue with it: during that time I only used tube amps and the bass was too loose for my taste. I am sure solid state will do better. I have also heard several times the original (Mk I) and I think it is better than Mk II. When we listened to the larger and excellent Graham LS5/8 (here), I didn't write about it but we actually briefly listened to the Graham LS5/9 (not a fair comparison to its much more voluminous sibling) and I did think the bass was more tightly controlled than both Rogers Mk I and II. BTW, there is a Chinese company called Bestvox that also reproduces BBC LS loudspeakers (not BBC sanctioned, but at a fraction of the price). They are pretty popular in Taiwan, especially the LS3/5A. There is a U-Audio review of Bestvox LS5/9 (translated to English; original) . This review is actually thorough and went into details about the design and it talked about the bass issue. For this article, I read some other netzine Graham reviews (LS5/9 reviews as well as some LS5/8 reviews that came after mine) and I think they are mediocre. These lousy reviewers write the same thing about everything and are boring; you wonder whether they use the same template and just change the brand name. Of course, they know little about the BBC sound and design philosophy. I'd personally avoid those sites for any review.
Norma Revo IPA 140As of this writing, Vivek is testing out this amp, which is on loan to him. This is a new name to me, designed by yet another Rossi (no relation to Vinnie). It has been well reviewed in HiFi+ but, interestingly, Vivek said he was even more swayed by a review in Taiwan's U-audio (in Translation; in Chinese). Obviously, the Translators have gotten so much better to allow English speakers to comfortably read Chinese articles and, as in this blog, for Russians to read English!. That has not always been the case, and does represent progress.
I asked Vivek what he thinks about the Norma and he said: "...I have the perfect description for the NORMA...Take the LFD that you reviewed (here). Strip away some excess warmth and add some more resolution, mid-range solidity/palpability, more bass control and less sweetness (a pinch) in the treble and voila!" That sounds pretty good to me! FYI, Vivek had previously used LFD Mk III.
Analog - Rega P3-24
Digital - Cambridge audio CD player and SOtM player (Pi with JRiver as server) feeding into RATOC RAL 24192DM1 (link).
Vivek also has the TEAC PD-H600 CDP, Elekit TU-8500 preamp and a Clones (gainclone) amp. Previously I recall he had used the Harbeth C7ES and Leben integrated amp.
I am very grateful to my two Indian friends for entertaining us! A round of Applause!
Brief Overview: JBL
Although in HK I have likely heard more JBL's than any other loudspeaker brand, this Overview is brief. Why? Because on the internet there is so much information already. JBL's own pages are not worth anything; Rather Lansing Heritage is a good place to start. Here I shall only briefly chronicle my own impressions, experience and assessment.
General Character Because of its popularity in home use, people tend to forget that JBL is a company with a professional monitor heart. As with other monitors, they usually have a flat response and are easy loads. Because of that, they generally work as well with tubes as solid state, so the HK users are kind of split down the middle in terms of what they use. Despite the spec's, like latter day TAD's, db for db, JBL's are not as easy to drive as, say, Klipsch, Altec and Tannoy. Generally, you don't find SET and low power amp lovers using JBL. It should be noted, HK has close ties to Japan, and is heavily Japanese influenced. The Japanese revel JBL and the subset of HK Japanese gear aficionados (I am one foot in) also are JBL fans. Mid-bass and Bass When JBL lovers tell of their love for the bass, they are really talking about the full sounding midbass. This is not to say there is a midbass bump, rather the bass rolls off very cleanly. Inch for Inch, JBL (and TAD) actually has less bass extension than many other loudspeakers (like Tannoy). For classical replay this is a disadvantage. Electronic Crossovers Perhaps influenced by Japanese, in HK, there are a number of people who insist on using electronic crossovers. My view is simple: it can do good but it always do some wrong too. Basically it is a more hifi kind of sound if done well, and subpar when not. It is also more demanding of power. Not my cup of tea.
Now this is something: I have almost never heard a really bad JBL setup. An easy choice for audiophiles. Also, despite the time span and evolution of drivers, the basic JBL sound is pretty consistent. Now, I don't know the current products, but I doubt they are better than the vintage classics.
4343/4344: adapted from above. The 4343 needs no introduction. It was actually the Centerpiece of a 2009 Home Visit in Shenzhen, China, a rare early entry that I wrote in Chinese (English here). In 2017 we also heard it briefly in NJ, but it was too casual a visit to record much (here).
In HK, I have listened to a lot of 4343's (both alnico and ferrite), as well as quite a few pairs of its sibling 4344 (largely for the Japanese market), and I prefer the 4343 for its greater versatility. See, JBL, because of its rich sounding midbass, are often favored by jazz, pop and rock listeners. In many setups that I have heard, classical music was not reproduced as well. This tendency is worse in 4344, which I personally think sounds better with ss amps.
L300 For me, if I have the chance and dough, I'd grab the now very expensive L-300, which is time aligned, more home oriented and I have heard that perform very well with classical music. One of my dream loudspeakers.
4310-L100/4311/4312 Because of the large number of units out there, these are the most commonly encountered, particularly the long running 4312 series. I have heard a lot of these. My own experience with 4312A included stacking two pairs 4312A (here). That was a high point of my audio journey and I remember it with fondness. I have also heard some 441x, of similar sound.
4430 This Bi-Radial model is also frequently seen. I have heard it several times (even its larger sibling), and they do a good job, but personally I think the 431x and 441x sound better.
K2 SeriesIn my opinion, these are very suitable for home and they sound wonderful. They are truly home-friendly horns. I have heard the 9500but I prefer the later 9800 (with a supertweeter). I still remember my 25 wpc Fisher X-101-C driving the latter to perfection in a 200 sq ft room (outperforming the very expensive and artificial sounding Swiss FM Acoustics). Too bad I never got to hear the Everest.
Everest DD66000 I got to hear this several times! In HK, at an audio show and at an audiophile's big house; in NYC, in a small house(!), and in Guangzhou, China, in a warehouse. They all sound "good" but I was never impressed. The experience in the HK audiophile's house was seminal. This fellow has always been a JBL man, "upgrading" all the time. He "upgraded" from the K2-9500 to the DD66000, and we all thought it was for the worse (I heard he later went for the current 67000). The most incredible thing is, bass was seriously lacking, despite the double 15" woofers. It should be noted that he used electronic crossover. He later added 2 Wilson Thor subwoofers I heard. I shake my head. If you ask me, I have never heard good bass from this .5 way of dividing the bass duties between 2 drivers (a lot of loudspeakers do that). Maybe on paper, but not in action.
Hartsfield Although my experience here was not perfect (placement in particular) I could tell these could be superb. But any corner horn is difficult to implement.
Paragon Yes, I have heard it. This odd duck can make OK background music but there is no way it is serious audio!
Century Gold Excellent. My experience here. The sound is tighter and more modern than the 43/441x series.
Studio 5 Series mrgoodsound reports on Studio 590.
Professional By this I mean older professional products. I am not familiar with the model numbers of the drivers but I have heard them to good effect in DIY horn systems in HK, as well as in NYC, with my friend Simon and Andy (here and here).
Subwoofer In HK I loved my vintage JBL subwoofer (mine is Digital 12). It has a paper woofer, and I prefer the sound to the more famous and upmarket REL Strata III (rubber). Look up craiglist and you may get a pair for next to nothing.
New York Diary (20-18): Rehash! What are you Reading?
Whenever I research for my articles, particularly on more obscure things, I am astonished by websites that I don't know at all (and I thought I know them all) that only do rehash! So many sites are doing that - it's basically AI Bulletin Boards, with no humans behind (aside from a desire to make money)!
I do rehash too, but when I do that I do it for a reason. To promote products or people that I like; but I always put in a comment (often more) on why I am doing that. Ditto this post (and the last).
Klipsch La Scala AL5
I have not heard the most recent incarnations of Klipsch Classics. Aside from the official Klipsch forum, I have probably published the most on Klipsch. The La Scala is particularly close to my heart. I have never accomplished my dream of stacking 2 pairs (I harbor the extravagant hope that my colleague mrgoodosound can one day do that).
This HiFi News review of the Kilpsch La Scala AL5 is the best trade magazine Klipsch review that I have read in the last few years. Author David Price is someone I have always liked, from eons ago when he wrote for HiFi World. Some of these British writers honed their craft on very modest equipment but their hearts are in the right place.
This one is particularly interesting to me because it shows the back! The top part is now closed, so one cannot easily access the crossovers! I'd rather think we prefer the older versions, where we can easily change everything. Grant you, I am not a fan of the aftermarket mods, but it is reassuring that a backdoor is left open.
Why are Horns the Best? SPL, Loudness, and Dynamics
Editor's Note 6/19/20: This article was originally published in mid-2018. At that time, the article it is based on was not available online. I am briefly republishing it because I found out accidentally today it finally is available online! It is worth reading in its entirety. You MUST.
The May 2018 issue of HiFi News had just arrived at the local library. I was shocked to read that HiFi News had just absorbed Stereophile. Well, I suppose that is good, two of the better HiFi magazines (Ken Kessler notwithstanding). But that is not what I want to talk about.
In the issue there is an excellent article by Keith Howard (as usual) on how loudspeakers struggle to reproduce musical peaks. He cites the research of Marshall Chasin, which is basically the benchmark. The table below is from Chasin:
Basically there are several points to note:
By Peak Level it is meant the instantaneous oscilloscope peak, which can be very short (milliseconds), not the much slower averaging response you see on the average VU meter.
Basically nearly all loudspeakers fail BADLY trying to reproduce such peaks. EXCEPT horns! This is incontrovertible, as Keith Howard had made dynamic simulations.
Aside from horns, only Line Source Loudspeakers need apply. The Infinity IRS V (more info here) is cited as an example (others would be Carver, McIntosh etc). Indeed, I have heard these, and can attest they are great. Note that for a stereo pair, there are 108 driver units, and 4000 watts of built in power amp for the woofers. By my calculation, the surface area of each woofer column is equivalent to a 30" driver.
Seen in this light, the large total area dedicated to bass reproduction in our friend Eric's horn system (last article; just roll down) is not at all extravagant (30" subwoofer, plus double 15" woofer each side).
Horn Colorations?I reckon the horn's ability to play loud and sound dynamic, and real, is tied to its ability to reproduce peaks. This is why horn lovers, including myself, find the horn's realism unrivaled. Keith Howard freely admits horns can achieve these peaks naturally, but he pointed out the horn colorations. Now, this so-called cupped-hand phenomenon is commonly quoted, and indeed can be heard in badly implemented horn systems. However, in a well implemented horn system, such as Eric's, or the many I heard in NYC, including mine, I almost never hear such undesirable sounds.
Horn is the ONLY way to go, if you have the space!
Letter from Hong Kong (20-1): Eric L on how 47 Labs Gaincard and $7 Bluetooth from Taobao came to his Rescue.
Editor's Preface: The author of today's article, Eric L, periodically communicates with me by email. After his recent comment on Bluetooth I invited him to write as a guest on his experience. Readers, do not be misled by his humility; he is actually quite an experienced audiophile who had things like Metrum DAC. I don't know his whole story, but I suspect he has left a lot behind him. Like any odd man out, Horn People, Infinity People, "Simple is Best" People just don't get to their desert islands without having wandered in the wilds for eons (and "paid their dues"!) I'd reckon too, someone who uses 47 Labs and Sparkler values Authenticity and Aesthetics. Enjoy!
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Click Pics to enlarge. From Left: Sparkler CDP; icOn4 AVC; 47 Labs Gaincard. The thin cable is 47 Labs; the white thing is part of their proprietary connector. Eric is having a hard time installing them. Below is pic of the BT device which unusually plugs directly into the outlet (rather than use USB battery charge or connected by wall wart). From Eric L
For my first post, I'd try to be concise and not to bore you. I'll start by declaring that I’m not a hifi hobbyist nor a DIY enthusiast, just a music lover on the cheap (hence a follower of this Blog). Gone were the days that I would spend days to fine tune my system. When I listen to music now, I would like to play at least one whole song/movement, and likely prefer playing the whole disc instead of just an excerpt (say, track 15 from 0:15s to 0:37s for the fathomless cymbals and ocean deep bass).
None of my equipment is expensive in today’s sense but neither are they are too cheap since I believe there’s a certain amount of money you have to pay to achieve decent quality; but I would stop at a price point and I think anything beyond is for the building up of ego. I do believe there are many cheap tricks which really work and are worth exploring as they do not hurt my wallet. I listen to mostly CDs as my LP collection was GIVEN away in Canada many years ago by my cousin when I moved back to HK…. CAS was untreaded territory for me until recently, when on the recommendation of a friend I started to explore Bluetooth.
Size matters or not? I no longer worship massive 100 kg heavy rigs to stroke my ego and bad back, nor will I chase after Carnegie Hall ambience in my modest 200 sq.ft living room. I just want to sit back and relax and tap my feet with the music playing though my system. My theory is simple: as long as music makes me tap my feet or draw my focus constantly when I’m doing something else, it must be something good!
I also believe in less is more, the simpler the better. There is a Chinese saying: one more incense urn only attracts one more spirit (多只香炉多只鬼), meaning the more you design the more trouble you create. That’s why my appetite runs to 47 Lab’s Gaincard and NOS DAC. My latest setup:
Sparkler S507 CDP (upgraded to version ii) Cheapo BT receiver from Tao Bao played through my vintage Macbook Air (recent discovery~) Recently acquired Life-Changer Audio icOn4 AVC (autoformer volume control) 47 Lab Gaincard (single Power Humpty, Duo before) Dynaudio Crafft 47 Lab cables and Mogami speaker cables
As you can see, since I have a bad back, the smaller the equipment, the better for me. All my gears can be easily pulled or dragged down by inch-thick interconnects and power cords, which luckily I never use. Stock 47 Lab and Sparkler power cords are decent enough for me! Also WAF is sky high on the scale due to the innocent, cute and tiny looks of them!
I describe my system as extremely musical and with great microdynamics, which makes you understand what is playing and why the musicians play that way. Great PRAT, transparent sound with lots of purity and no trait of its own personality. I'd characterize my equipment as natural, not neutral, in character. If the musicians and recordings are superb, I will be rewarded by great performances that entice me to press the repeat button if not restrained by my wife.
Bluetooth
Regrettably, my Sparkler CD/Amp combo I had acquired a couple years ago cannot effectively drive my Crafft loudspeakers [Editor: See Footnotes 1 and 2]. I borrowed a pair of 47 Lab Lens, which are supposed to be easier to drive, but the results were still far from what I got previously [Editor: See Footnote 3]. I was wondering what my next step would be…
One day, my friend called me as he had found a great “gadget”. He is a bit more adventurous than me anyway. He told me that his 7 USD Bluetooth receiver from Tao Bao (yes you heard me correct, seven bucks) directly plugged in, worked a treat in his system! Of course I was nonchalant about it but he was so kind to get me one for free~ thx man!
I hooked it up to my Sparkler integrated amp and, without any difficulties, it connected with the Macbook Air in my system and produced sound which was good enough for background music.
Fast forward to the day that I finally decided to pull the trigger and send my CDP to be upgraded to version ii and to be switched back from current mode to voltage mode so that I could again hook up my Gaincard, which was boxed. As Sparkler is a one man band (the designer DIY's every single order) I expected I would only get my CDP back in a month or two, which was fine as I had become used to no music.
While waiting for the upgraded Sparkler CDP, I took my Gaincard out from the box and hooked it up to my little BT device and connected it to my Crafft [Editor: See Footnote 4]. And my, oh my, everything came back to life! All the missing dynamics, details, musicality and even tuneful bass were again present and, surprisingly, the source was my humble Macbook Air paired to a cheapo BT device only!! The YouTube video channel Tiny Desk Concerts, which specializes in Indie music, was music to my ears again (especially the videos of The Free Nationals with Andy .Paak and Chronixx, as well as Raveena). I couldn’t stop tapping my feet with the tuneful and rich bass lines! Overall, the sound was way better than using Spotify on my old Android phone. So I would happily stick to the current combo. The only drawback is the finicky connection between my Mac Air and the BT: sometimes it works perfectly with no glitches but often I'd need to restart by unplugging the power from the outlet, which could be a compatibility issue. But that doesn’t bother me one bit as long as I have got music!!!! Perhaps the iFi Zen Blue will be the perfect solution…….lol
How would I describe the sound? With the right music channel, it’s organic, dynamic, tuneful, with reasonable details to get me going. No, you won’t pick up the breathing of the singer, nor the unlimited decay of instruments, and it lacks ultimate resolution in hifi terms. But I am enjoying every bit of the music it reproduces. I can imagine listening to internet radio or high quality music files using a better BT device; it will be heaven for me!!! Looking forward to getting the iFi Zen Blue!
Next time, I would like to talk about my impression of my newly acquired icOn4 AVC line control unit from Life-Changer Audio, plus, possibly, covering the ceramic balls used to support the gears and speakers. Old technology, cloned, bought so cheaply from, again, the almighty Tao Bao! My friend raves on and vows they significantly improve the overall performance and are probably among the best accessories he has ever had!
Update from Editor:As I neared the end of my edit, I received an email from Eric. Just as I thought in my preface, he is definitely an aesthete. Guess what? Not only was he previously a blog writer on the now defunct Yahoo Wine and Dine, he is an avid photographer. Visit his Instagram Account @ericlovesfuji to see his works, one of which I chose to place on top. As an Indie Audio Blog, I also dig his liking of Indie Music. Mind you, given the current music landscape, classical music is kinda Indie.
Editor's Footnotes: The casual reader may want to know [1] The Dynaudio Crafft, circa 1989, is Dynaudio's first monitor loudspeaker. Among audiophiles, it is known for its Esotar tweeter (though not the most coveted version) and its inefficiency (supposedly 86 db but much harder to drive than similarly spec'ed LS3/5A!). It has its adherents, but Eric's Sparkler amp likely only has 7 watts, an impossible task; [2] Sparkler favors current mode connection so its CDP can work with its own amp but not with conventional voltage mode operations (like the 47 Labs) unless converted back to voltage mode. The amp though likely has 1 voltage mode input; [3] The 47 Labs Lens (4722) is 47 Labs' first loudspeaker. I once had its alnico younger sibling, the 4737 and it definitely benefited from more solid state power (here); [4] The Gaincard only has one input. Also, if I remember correctly, the HK fellow I bought my 47 Labs Shigaraki digitals from used the Gaincard to drive the equally inefficient KEF 107. Comments (1) Old Apple products have terrible BT compatibility problems, so a better BT device may bring better sound but not necessarily better connectivity; (2) I can't wait to read about the icOn4. As it can have more inputs I'd like to hear about BT vs Sparkler CDP; (3) I sampled some of the music Eric mentioned. Tiny Desk Concerts is an NPR production which one can follow. They are excellent and in fine HD sound. I sampled others which are just as good. I embedded two at the bottom; the Chronixx is not from the NPR series.
New York Diary (20-20): Technology and Green Credentials in Our Daily and Audio Lives
Virtual Home Visit (3): JBL Horn System
Simon is a JBL expert, and has considerable experience with different JBL horns and components. As a matter of fact, he is behind Andy's sorrowfully under-utilized JBL system (here). Whenever the gang get together, the heated topic of JBL vs Altec invariably comes up.
Simon had once been an avid vinyl collector. His work takes him all over Manhattan, and over the years, whenever possible, he would pop into the record store and spend a few minutes sifting through the New Arrivals. By Andy and his own accounts, he had once owned every LP on the original HP list. Again, being such a sensible fellow, Simon sold off all those he did not really care for, which was a lot. Simon is a seasoned Classical Listener. I particularly remember his comments on how weary he feels after listening to Mahler. Again here, in terms of possessions, Simon serves as a model for those of us who wallow in excesses.
According to Simon, the JBL horn system is basically a DIY variant of L-300 (my model of choice). The mid-drivers are Le-85 horn,16 ohms (same as L300); Woofers are LE15B, 4 ohms; JBL 2045 tweeters. DIY Crossover (which evolved over a long time). The "L300" critically retains the soul (midrange driver) of the original. Apparently, Simon has had the iconic 375 but prefers the original's Le85. As for the original's 077 tweeters, he's had them too but he prefers the 2045. It should be noted that the woofer enclosure is a DIY variant of the Tannoy GRF! Boy, a lot of work there!
