Audiophilepure

https://www.hifinews.com/content/garrard-301-advanced

With my Ortofon Cadenza Black MC fitted, the 301 Advanced provided a trip down memory lane. To my shame, my own Garrard 301 has been unused for several years, but I was instantly reminded of everything that I always loved about it, such as its sheer drive, power and timing. This turntable locks onto rhythms and basslines with scarcely believable precision. Low-end elements simply arrive, stun you with their impact and leave. There is no wallow, no overhang and no uncertainty. And if that bass note is a proper deep, juicy one, then you’ll know about it.

And yet the 301 Advanced can be soft, subtle and beautifully restrained when the occasion demands. It can reveal everything on the record and has an impressively wide dynamic range. Sounds ranging from a very

soft background effect to a huge percussive crescendo are handled with ease, the former helped by something that may be a concern to many reading about an idler drive deck… Don’t worry – the 301 Advanced is as quiet as a church mouse in terms of background noise and rumble.

I mentioned that you could replace the cork platter mat with something that would make the acrylic platter stand out like the plinth. All you need to do is get some silicone rubber bumpers that are used for drawers. They are sticky on one side, so they can be attached to the platter. They are available at Amazon. You need to make sure they are the same thickness as the cork mat. They come in clear and black. I used the clear ones that are about 3mm thick and about 1/4″ in diameter. Black ones are shown in the lower photo. You just want to make sure you place bumpers so that some support the outer perimeter as well as some that support the inner perimeter.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/clearaudio-concept-signature

I couldn’t resist swapping the Concept V2 MM pick-up for my regular Clearaudio MC Essence and was surprised by the uplift in performance. The Concept V2 MM is no slouch, despite being a ‘budget’ pick-up, but the MC Essence opened the door to a wider soundstage and a generally punchier sound, all the while illustrating what the Concept Signature turntable and Profiler arm have lurking in the tank.

It also added a welcome crispness to the high treble that is otherwise slightly muted by the softer balance of the Concept V2 MM. The good news, clearly, is that while the package reviewed here makes for a potent combination, there’s still untapped potential to be realised.

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/turntable-buyer%E2%80%99s-guide-five-or-six-or-seven-things-look-when-you%E2%80%99re-market-new-turntable

With the vinyl resurgence, we live in a golden age of well-made turntables, many of them at prices affordable to one and all. From Rega to Pro-Ject, Thorens to AMG, Acoustic Signature to VPI Industries, J. Sikora to Clearaudio, E.A.T. to Michell, and many, many others in between and beyond, modern turntables come at every price point, using materials as common as MDF and glass to brass, aluminum, carbon fiber, copper, glass, and even gold.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/clearaudio-concept-signature

I couldn’t resist swapping the Concept V2 MM pick-up for my regular Clearaudio MC Essence and was surprised by the uplift in performance. The Concept V2 MM is no slouch, despite being a ‘budget’ pick-up, but the MC Essence opened the door to a wider soundstage and a generally punchier sound, all the while illustrating what the Concept Signature turntable and Profiler arm have lurking in the tank.

It also added a welcome crispness to the high treble that is otherwise slightly muted by the softer balance of the Concept V2 MM. The good news, clearly, is that while the package reviewed here makes for a potent combination, there’s still untapped potential to be realised.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/cor-lumley

The Lumley components keep their character so well hidden that all you have to listen to is the music. If I have to pick a character that is just discernible after listening for months to this system it is just a trace of hardness in the midband – an effect that I ascribe to moving-coil drive units being forced to do what they naturally would not do – sound like panel diaphragms! But this is such a small effect that it is hardly worth commenting on. Otherwise the system sounds incredibly lifelike irrespective of the listening level chosen.

The Model 20’s transparency is highlighted when we switch to Orff’s Carmina Burana. The soundstage grows massively, giving a firm sense of the recording venue’s scale. The stereo imaging is as stable as it gets with the orchestra and massed choir firmly planted in place. There is never a hint of stress or loss of focus even as the music becomes dense and demanding. Dynamics are explosive and delivered with breathtaking impact. There is a palpable feeling of power here, and the kind of authority that one rarely hears, even at this level.

A cartridge largely dictates the tonality of a record player. The Ortofon Windfeld Ti is about as even-handed as they come, delivering voices and instruments in a natural way. That said, if you partner this cartridge poorly it wouldn’t be hard to make it sound a little thin and lacking in body. We would expect the selling dealer to advise on the specifics. Make sure that the partnering phono stage has enough gain and quality to cope with the Ortofon’s relatively low output, too.