Playback Accessory Reviews

Sort By: Post DateTitle Publish Date
Michael Fremer  |  Apr 10, 2018  |  23 comments
The longevity of Denon's 103 cartridge series, first introduced in the 1960's and still in production speaks to the design's enduring popularity. The design's weak point is its flimsy mounting system. As my colleague Art Dudley put it in the December 2007 issue of Stereophile: "The most common complaint about the DL-103 is also the truest: Its good motor is compromised by a too-flimsy mounting arrangement, with open-edge bolt channels that prevent the cartridge from being rigidly fastened to a head shell."

Michael Fremer  |  Jul 11, 2014  |  62 comments
Here are eight excerpts of Vivaldi's "Concerto for 2 Mandolins" from the audiophile sampler record Chasing the Dragon (VAL007) produced and engineered by Mike Valentine. Also find the entire 96k/24 bit file generously provided by Mr. Valentine that you can enjoy as well as use as a "control" in helping you determine which mat (if any) helped produce the most accurate vinyl rendering of the file.

The original 96/24 Nagra digital recording used three Neumann M50 tube microphones in the classic "Decca tree" configuration.

The turntable/tonearm used was the recently reviewed Zorin Audio combo fitted with a Lyra Titan i feeding a feeding the recently reviewed Swan Song Audio Cygnet MC phono preamplifier. The A/D converter was the Ayre QA-9 currently under review. The files are 16 bit/44.1K WAV.

The mats were: 1) the stock carbon fiber one supplied with the Zorin 2) a Boston Audio Graphite mat 3) "The Simple Mat" made from synthetic cork 4) a now discontinued one of what feels like ultra-thin 1/16th of an inch cork from a fellow who shall remain nameless and whose mat was nameless so I'll call it the Brooklyn mat 5) the Hideinthesound suede mat 6) the Hideinthesound split mat with suede on one side and a smooth hide on the other side, 7) The Music Hall cork mat with the raised discs 8) the Moo mat made of cow hair and hide.

There are dozens of other mats worthy or coverage but we'll start with these.

Please download the files and listen. The plucked, percussive mandolin is an ideal instrument to demonstrate differences (if there are any) among the mats in terms of transient speed and clarity, sustain and decay—especially given the recording technique, which produces stable, three-dimensional images.

There's no "best" or "worst" (assuming you hear any difference at all). It will just be interesting to see if a consensus develops around one or two of them.

After voting, please leave a comment about what you heard and why you voted as you did.

File "1"

File "2"

File "3"

File "4"

File "5"

File "6"

File "7"

File "8"

Master File

Master File "redbook"

A "gift" for you

Do Record Mats Really Make a Sonic Difference? And if So, Which of These Do You Prefer.
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 29, 2018  |  22 comments
At CES 2018 optical cartridge maker DS Audio introduced the ST-50 an elegant-looking "pad" type stylus cleaner that uses a transparent urethane pad developed for semi-conductor "clean room" air scrubbing.

Michael Trei  |  Aug 24, 2022  |  20 comments

One problem that seems to plague many turntable designers is they frequently start with the assumption that the record you’re going to play on their creation is perfect — as in, it’s flat, smooth, and perfectly centered. Unfortunately, this is rarely true, as most records do have errors of one type or another. Thankfully, the DS Audio ES 001 eccentricity detection stabilizer is here to help determine just how off-center your records might be, and how to fix the issue. Read on to find out more about how the ES 001 does its job. . .

Michael Fremer  |  Sep 18, 2015  |  14 comments
Electronic stylus cleaners have been around for decades. Though very popular in the 1970s and 1980s, these vibrating devices rapidly fell out of favor for a very good reason.

Michael Fremer  |  Jun 23, 2021  |  57 comments
The Hart Audio Special Source Vinyl Super Cleaner Mk3 is a wooden block to which is attached microfiber brush, which is a synthetic fiber finer than one denier or decitex/thread, having a diameter of less than ten micrometers. It's a mix of polyester, polyamide, and polypropylene.

Michael Fremer  |  Aug 26, 2018  |  8 comments
Minimizing inter-channel crosstalk maximizes channel separation and helps produce a maximally wide and balanced soundstage. Azimuth is a critical cartridge set-up parameter.

Many if not most gimbaled-bearing tonearms don’t allow for axial tilt adjustment to set azimuth.

With arms that do, unipivot or gimbal bearing, physically making sure the head shell is parallel to the platter or setting cantilever perpendicularity using a mirror, does not insure correct azimuth setting just as an arm parallel to the record does not assure correct SRA/ VTA.

Michael Fremer  |  Jun 27, 2017  |  25 comments
It's an age-old problem and a problem of old age— particularly in a cluttered listening room: you put the record on the turntable, put the jacket down and then forget where you put it. Has that ever happened to you?

Koeppel Design, maker of neat record dividers and the snazziest LP carrying bag has the solution with its new LP Block.

Michael Fremer  |  Aug 18, 2019  |  18 comments
Mind-Pop Revolution's Presslift is a complex, approximately 1.6 pound machined brass record stabilizer that is also designed to act as an end of side tone arm lift.

Michael Fremer  |  Sep 23, 2014  |  19 comments
Phoenix Engineering’s $379 Falcon PSU is a remarkably compact but high-resolution motor controller designed to be used with A.C. synchronous motor turntables drawing 5 or fewer watts.

Michael Fremer  |  Jun 06, 2012  |  1 comments
So you've got a Rega turntable and you love the sound and the performance bang you get for the buck, but you don't like that you can't easily adjust VTA/SRA because the rear of the arm is bolted down?
Michael Fremer  |  Feb 04, 2020  |  45 comments
While there's some debate about how many hours a phonograph cartridge stylus lasts and how often it should be replaced, one thing's for sure: not keeping track of your cartridge's "mileage" makes difficult knowing when the time's come for a re-tip or replacement.

Michael Fremer  |  Mar 27, 2020  |  1 comments
The recently reviewed StylusTimer, not quite ready for purchase then, is now available for sale at the StylusTimer website.

Michael Fremer  |  Jan 08, 2016  |  17 comments
The Sugarcube from Musical Surroundings, shown at CES 2016 in prototypical form represents a brand new product category in the vinyl world according to SweetVinyl's Leo Hoarty and he's not spewing hyperbole.

Pages

X