Yoshiaki Sugano’s Koetsu cartridges were characterized by his unique combination of skills. He was described as a musician, artist, calligrapher, and even a swordsman. According to legend, his life was a study of his hero, Honami Koetsu, a 17th-century Japanese painter. Sugano san’s Supex cartridges, which were released in the 1970s and put moving coils […]
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The ARO is one of the most unusual performance-focused tonearms ever built, reputedly made “hand in glove” for the Linn Sondek LP12 turntable and Troika cartridge. The narrative begins in 1987, when Naim Audio decided to end its particular partnership with Linn Products; Linn was a manufacturer of electronics (remember the LK1/LK2? Some might not!
Although it benefited from designer Jonathon Carr’s vast experience, this was not totally hand crafted by Lyra’s artisan Yoshinori Mishima when it was first released in the UK in 2007. Instead, the initial construction was outsourced. It was also the first to use a Namiki MicroRidge line-contact stylus, however it was wrapped in the traditional
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Garrard had been a turntable specialist for nearly half a century by the time this immensely successful record player was originally unveiled in 1967. The pedigree dates back to 1721, when Garrard and Company was designated Crown Jewellers of London, with the responsibility of looking after the British Crown Jewels and Royal Crown. The company
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Turntables are a particularly highly contested niche in hi-fi’s arena of items that aspire to be ‘the greatest.’ Others claim it’s a Garrard, Roksan, Oxford Acoustics, Voyd, Pink Triangle, SME, Oracle, or Continuum, while others swear it’s a Garrard, Roksan, Oxford Acoustics, Voyd, Pink Triangle, SME, Oracle, or Continuum. The Goldmund Reference, on the other
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The Amplification and Recording Company of Cambridge (A&R Cambridge, later ARCAM) began work on a line of high-quality inexpensive moving magnet cartridges not long after introducing its award-winning A60 integrated amplifier. The P77, which cost £45 in 1977 and featured a (then) trendy parabolic (extended line contact) stylus, was the first to reach retailers. The
Few people have ever seen or heard of this piece of Plexiglas perfection, which first debuted in the mid-1970s. It was allegedly designed and constructed by IMF Electronics, and a deeper examination reveals why… The deck featured an electronic speed controller to drive the split-level podule platter through a fine rubber belt, which was unusual
IMF Transcription 300 Review Read More »
Sure, it’s a beautiful nation, but it’s not the first location that comes to mind when you think of hi-fi pickup arms. New Zealand, on the other hand, is full of surprises, including the Design Build Listen Wand tonearm. Designer Simon Brown has created an intriguing product that reminds us that there are few new
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The Honda Civic of cartridges has arrived. There are better ones, there are worse ones, but you always know what you’re getting – a quality product that does the job you bought it for. It’s neither flashy or very entertaining, but it’s competent, surprisingly sophisticated, and excellent value for money. As a result, it has
Audio Technica AT-95E Review Read More »
For audiophiles of a particular generation, the term “direct-drive” conjures up images of a whole generation of cheap, poor Japanese turntables that swamped mass market retailers like Laskys and Comet in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The British hi-fi press did not have much good to say about them at the time. There was
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