The best turntable $64,000 can buy?

Attention audiophiles, old-school vinyl listeners and the very rich: Do we have a piece of stereo equipment for you.

It's called the Gabriel Turntable, and you won't find it at Wal-Mart. Crafted in limited editions by an Italian company that will engrave each buyer's name on it, the Gabriel is to a Kenner Close 'N Play what a Ferrari is to a Yugo.

"When I look at it," said Placido Pappalardo, co-owner of maker Angelis Labor, "the only word that comes to mind is love."

Each arm of the turntable is made in a Modena, Italy, factory that also builds Ferrari parts.

Angelis Labor executives proudly unveiled their turntable last week at the International Consumer Electronics Show, where its retro appearance and mechanical design set it apart from the cacophony of digital gadgets on display. That, and the price: up to $64,000, depending on which model is ordered.

The Gabriel is made from aluminum, bronze and stainless steel and can be customized with up to four arms. Each arm is made in a Modena, Italy, factory that also builds Ferrari parts. A one-armed model costs about $27,000, while a four-armed version runs for $64,000, including installation. Watch the Gabriel in action »

"It is a thing of beauty," said Jonathan Valin, executive editor of The Absolute Sound magazine, who saw the turntable in Las Vegas but didn't get to hear it. "Whether it is a world-class turntable, I don't know."

Why would anyone want four arms on their record player? Different pickup cartridges produce different types of sound, and some audiophiles like to match their record players' arms to different genres of music without going through the hassle of swapping cartridges.



The Gabriel is a magnetic suspension turntable, meaning that calibrated magnets are used to lift the platter a few millimeters above its bearings. This helps reduce vibration, which can affect sound quality.

"It's as if the whole turntable is floating in air," Pappalardo said.

The entire device rests on a custom-built, vibration-dampening table. It takes half a day for an Angelis Labor technician to set the whole thing up and calibrate the turntable.

The Gabriel is not yet in stores. Angelis Labor is now seeking a distributor to sell the turntable through specialty audio retailers who can demonstrate it personally for customers. Unlike most manufacturers, the company has no interest in selling it on the Web.

"We will never allow anybody to sell our products on the Internet," said Pappalardo, perhaps the only business executive at CES this year to make such a statement.

The Gabriel is not the only four-armed record player on the market. Nor is it the most expensive: the German-made, 770-pound Clearaudio Statement turntable costs twice as much.

But with vinyl making a comeback, the Gabriel may appeal to audiophiles who believe that listening to old records on a high-end player is like going back in time.

"They're not just eye candy. They actually sound better," said Valin, who prefers analog sound to the digital sound produced by CDs and MP3 files.


But even Valin wonders what kind of person would pay $64,000 for a turntable.

"You'd have to be very wealthy, very much into vinyl or very crazy," he said. "Or all three."

[CNN]

Stax SR-007MK2 Open-Back Electrostatic Earspeaker

Don't even dare call these headphones. These are earspeakers baby!! Electrostatic ones no less. If you have never experienced the sound of electrostatic speakers before, you don't know what you are missing. The sound is crystal clear, the warmth is breathtaking, but my favorite part is the sounds becomes multi-dimensional. I've not listened to these earspeakers, but I'm sure they are just out of this world.... if you can afford them. For my budget, I'll stick with the incredible AKG K701's.

STAX SRS-007MK2 Electrostatic Headphone System

SR-007MK2 Open-Back Electrostatic Earspeaker   Powerful Sound with Utmost Delicacy The rationale is the development of the new SR-007MK2 Earspeaker was to provide deep powerful sound previously unobtainable in Earspeakers. STAX engineers developed a unique new electrode structure. Visible through the outer case, gold plated on the outer edge this new electrode has no holes unlike conventional STAX Earspeakers and thus provides an increases diaphragm vibration area allowing for rich and powerful sound yet retaining all the delicacy STAX is famous for.   Rigid Metal Housing To maintain clear distortion free sound it is most important that nothing other than the diaphragm should vibrate. Within the STAX SR-007MK2 the sound element is encased in a thick insulated resin case firmly fixed to the rigid body. The results are nothing short of spectacular.   Fully Adjustable Earpads Utmost comfort for maximum enjoyment of your STAX SR-007MK2 is provided with earpads that are fully adjustable to the shape of your head that are made of genuine sheep skin..     SR-007MK2 Specification   Type :Push-Pull Open Back Electrostatic Headphone Frequency Response :6 - 41,000Hz Impedance :170k Ohms (10kHz) Sensitivity :100dB / 100V r.m.s. 1 kHz Bias Voltage :580V DC Left & Right Channel Identification :Left (L) and Right (R) indicators are provided at the cable entrance points on the Earspeakers. Left channel cable is marked with a solid Line. Right channel is marked with a dotted Line. Ear Pads :Crafted from high quality sheep leather for durability and comfort. Cable :Low capacity wide format, PC-OCC (Pure Crystal Ohno Continuous Casting) 2.5m/8.2ft Ambient Temperature & Humidity :0 to 35ºC / 90% max. without condensation Weight :12.9oz without cable / 1.1lbs with cables SR-007MK2 :       SRM-007tII Vacuum Tube Driver SRM-007tII Vacuum Tube Driver   Improved Frequency Response Newly improved circuit raises the frequency response to 100kHz (from 70kHz) to accommodate newer generation audio formats such as SACD and DVD-A.   Pure Balance Amplifier The electrostatic transducer is driven by electrodes set on both sides of the diaphragm which carry the push-pull signals. This is thus virtually the only replay system that enables the listener to enjoy replay unique to balance transmission without the need to pass through a transformer or inversion amplifier.   Heater Power Supply Adopting a rectifier circuits combining low-noise, low-loss Schottky barrier diodes and large electrolytic capacitors. Low-ripple DC power source improves the SN ratio.   Output Stage A simple two-stage amplifier configuration using high-voltage dual triode tube 6FQ7(6CG7) delivers straightforward properties that are transparent and clear sound quality.   Input Stage Employs Hand pick low noise FET and 6 acoustic high sound quality relays. Simultaneous switching system adopted from SRM-T2 , input source is isolated of direct current and no interference between different devices.   High Quality Volume Control High sound quality quadruple volume unit which makes XLR inputs as well as any analog line level inputs possible     SRM-007tII Specification Type :Vacuum tube output stage Low noise dual FET input Class A operation, Pure balance DC amplifier configuration Earspeaker driver unit Vacuum Tube :4 (6FQ7 / 6CG7) Frequency Response :DC to 100,000Hz +0,-1.5dB w/ SR-007 or SR-404 High Harmonic Distortion :Max. 0.02% (with 1kHz, 100V r.m.s. ) Gain :54dB (x500) Input Terminal :3 ( XLR x 1, RCA x 2)) with 1 RCA parallel out Max. Input Level :30V r.m.s. at min. volume Input Impedance :50Kohm, 50kohm x 2 during balance Max. Output Voltage :340V r.m.s. (1kHz) Standard Bias Voltage :PRO 580V x 2 Operating Power Voltage Frequency :117V (50Hz / 60Hz) Power Consumption :55W Ambient Temperature & Humidity :0 to 35ºC / 90% max. without condensation External Dimensions :7.7 (W) x 4.1 (H) x 16.5 (D) in Weight :10.4lbs Color :Silver or Black SRM-007tII SRS-007II System Suggested Retail :$4220

Stax

Need a new Turntable Cartridge ... that costs as much as some people's cars?

AIR TIGHT PC-1 SUPREME MC CARTRIDGE 0.4mV


Item Number: AIRTPC1S
Brand/Label/Format: *AIR TIGHT*
Unit Price: $8,999.99
In Stock

The Air Tight PC-1 Supreme offers an astounding inner impedance as low as 1 ohm. To make this possible, on top of the epoch-moking SH-uX, Air Tight employed thicker wires, succeeding in reducing winding number in the coil by as much as 40%.

"As good as the AT PC-1 is, this new, considerbly pricier moving-coil cartridge from Air Tight is substantially better. Like the PC-1, the Supreme is a model of low internal impedance and high energy. Killer good on transients top to bottom, with phenomenal grip and definition in the low bass, it is also exceptionally lifelike in the midband, with even more of the gorgeous density of tone color, high resolution, and superior soundtaging that made the PC-1 one of JV's (Jonathan Valin) mc references. A top contender for best mc." - Jonathan Valin, The Absolute Sound, October 2008 Issue 185, page 92

Further advantages achieved include:
• Expansion of reproduction bandwith
• Extension of dynamic range
• Improvement of transient characteristics
• Bettermnet of phase characteristics (smaller phase shift)

In terms of playback music, expansion of both the bandwidth and dynamic range provides clearer, life-like soundstage presentation, whilst improvement in transient and phanse characteristics makes it possible to seperate ultra heavy bass range and to offer higher resolution in orchestral performance, making it possible to distinguish individual instruments.

The Air Tight PC-1 Supreme steps forward to the perfection of the theses "High Energy Output and Low Impedance." These two inconsistent themes were made successfully compatible thanks to the acclaimed SH-uX core material and the lowest turning number in coil windings.

SH-uX core offering ultra Hi-Bs & ultra Hi-u:
Suprisingly high performance magnetic circuitry composed of the newly developed core realised, in an optimum combination with the maximum reduction in coil windings, an unprecedentedly high-efficiency energy output: 0.4mV output voltage under 1ohm inner resistance.

Semi-line contact stylus:
Microscopic .1mm-square diamond tip featuring 3 x 30um semi-line contact stylus offers a superb trackability with remarkable abatement of tracing distortion.

Boron cantilever:
The step-taper holding structure by duralmin pipe assures tight, stable support of the cantilever made of pure boron.

Thick wire & lead-free solder:
Unusually thick coil wire notably lowers inner loss conjointly with minimisation of coil windings given by the SH-uX core material, and particularly for sonic excellence newly employed is the lead-free silver solder.

PC-1 Supreme Specifications:
Type: Ultra-low impedance MC cartridge
Output Voltage: 0.4mV/1kHz
Magnet: Neodymium #50
Channel balance: within 0.5dB (1kHz)
Weight: 12g
Frequency response: 10-50.000Hz
Inner impedance: 1 ohms (DCR)
Stylus pressure: 1.9-2.2g
Crosstalk: more than 30dB (1kHz)
Plating: Gold

Today's Average Music Listener is Content Listening to Sub-Average Quality Audio

The Death of High Fidelity
In the age of MP3s, sound quality is worse than ever

Incredible article (shown here in excerpts) from the recent Rolling Stone issueDavid Bendeth, a producer who works with rock bands like Hawthorne Heights and Paramore, knows that the albums he makes are often played through tiny computer speakers by fans who are busy surfing the Internet. So he's not surprised when record labels ask the mastering engineers who work on his CDs to crank up the sound levels so high that even the soft parts sound loud.

Over the past decade and a half, a revolution in recording technology has changed the way albums are produced, mixed and mastered — almost always for the worse. "They make it loud to get [listeners'] attention," Bendeth says. Engineers do that by applying dynamic range compression, which reduces the difference between the loudest and softest sounds in a song. Like many of his peers, Bendeth believes that relying too much on this effect can obscure sonic detail, rob music of its emotional power and leave listeners with what engineers call ear fatigue. "I think most everything is mastered a little too loud," Bendeth says. "The industry decided that it's a volume contest."

Producers and engineers call this "the loudness war," and it has changed the way almost every new pop and rock album sounds.



The idea that engineers make albums louder might seem strange: Isn't volume controlled by that knob on the stereo? Yes, but every setting on that dial delivers a range of loudness, from a hushed vocal to a kick drum — and pushing sounds toward the top of that range makes music seem louder. It's the same technique used to make television commercials stand out from shows. And it does grab listeners' attention — but at a price. Last year, Bob Dylan told Rolling Stone that modern albums "have sound all over them. There's no definition of nothing, no vocal, no nothing, just like — static."

Too much compression can be heard as musical clutter; on the Arctic Monkeys' debut, the band never seems to pause to catch its breath. By maintaining constant intensity, the album flattens out the emotional peaks that usually stand out in a song. "You lose the power of the chorus, because it's not louder than the verses," Bendeth says. "You lose emotion."

To an average listener, a wide dynamic range creates a sense of spaciousness and makes it easier to pick out individual instruments — as you can hear on recent albums such as Dylan's Modern Times and Norah Jones' Not Too Late. "When people have the courage and the vision to do a record that way, it sets them apart," says Joe Boyd, who produced albums by Richard Thompson and R.E.M.'s Fables of the Reconstruction. "It sounds warm, it sounds three-dimensional, it sounds different. Analog sound to me is more emotionally affecting."

Rock and pop producers have always used compression to balance the sounds of different instruments and to make music sound more exciting, and radio stations apply compression for technical reasons. In the days of vinyl rec- ords, there was a physical limit to how high the bass levels could go before the needle skipped a groove. CDs can handle higher levels of loudness, although they, too, have a limit that engineers call "digital zero dB," above which sounds begin to distort. Pop albums rarely got close to the zero-dB mark until the mid-1990s, when digital compressors and limiters, which cut off the peaks of sound waves, made it easier to manipulate loudness levels.

Just as cds supplanted vinyl and cassettes, MP3 and other digital-music formats are quickly replacing CDs as the most popular way to listen to music. That means more conven- ience but worse sound. To create an MP3, a computer samples the music on a CD and compresses it into a smaller file by excluding the musical information that the human ear is less likely to notice. Much of the information left out is at the very high and low ends, which is why some MP3s sound flat. Rob Cavallo, who produced Green Day's American Idiot and My Chemical Romance's The Black Parade, says that MP3s don't reproduce reverb well, and the lack of high-end detail makes them sound brittle. Without enough low end, he says, "you don't get the punch anymore. It decreases the punch of the kick drum and how the speaker gets pushed when the guitarist plays a power chord."

But not all digital-music files are created equal. Levitin says that most people find MP3s ripped at a rate above 224 kbps virtually indistinguishable from CDs. (iTunes sells music as either 128 or 256 kbps AAC files — AAC is slightly superior to MP3 at an equivalent bit rate. Amazon sells MP3s at 256 kbps.) Still, "it's like going to the Louvre and instead of the Mona Lisa there's a 10-megapixel image of it," he says. "I always want to listen to music the way the artists wanted me to hear it. I wouldn't look at a Kandinsky painting with sunglasses on."

Producers also now alter the way they mix albums to compensate for the limitations of MP3 sound. "You have to be aware of how people will hear music, and pretty much everyone is listening to MP3," says producer Butch Vig, a member of Garbage and the producer of Nirvana's Never- mind. "Some of the effects get lost. So you sometimes have to over-exaggerate things." Other producers believe that intensely compressed CDs make for better MP3s, since the loudness of the music will compensate for the flatness of the digital format.

So is music doomed to keep sounding worse? Awareness of the problem is growing. The South by Southwest music festival recently featured a panel titled "Why Does Today's Music Sound Like Shit?" In August, a group of producers and engineers founded an organization called Turn Me Up!, which proposes to put stickers on CDs that meet high sonic standards.

How does MP3 work?
MP3 reduces a CD audio file's size by as much as ninety percent, with an algorithm that eliminates sounds listeners are least likely to perceive — including extremes of high and low frequencies.

What is dynamic range compression?
This studio effect reduces the difference between the loud and soft parts of a piece of music — recently, mastering engineers have used it to make sure every moment on a CD is as loud as possible.

RESOURCE
Turn Me Up!
This organization of producers and audio engineers wants to encourage artists to bring dynamic range back to music by certifying albums that comply with certain standards.

The Future of Digital Downloading - HIGH-FIDELITY Shopping

Soundbuzz Starts High-Quality Online Music Store

Singapore-based digital-music services provider Soundbuzz on Dec. 18 launched what it claims is the first online music store in Asia to offer high-fidelity downloads.

Soundbuzz says the store - at www.soundbuzz.com/sls - uses a technology called Scalable-to-Lossless (SLS), which was jointly developed by Soundbuzz and Singapore-based Exploit Technologies, the marketing arm of the Singapore government's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

Standard-quality files recorded at a rate of 256 kilobytes per second are available on the site for $2.50 Singapore ($1.72) each, while high-fidelity MPEG4 audio tracks sell for $3.00 Singapore ($2.06). Users can also upgrade standard-quality downloaded tracks to higher-fidelity versions by paying an additional $0.80 Singapore ($0.55).

The service also includes a "synch to mobile" function that lets users transfer to their mobile handsets tracks they have downloaded to their PCs from the Soundbuzz hi-fi online store.

"Exploit Technologies is pleased that we have successfully commercialized A*STAR's technology in digital media, and offer a Singapore company like Soundbuzz a competitive edge in this growing market," said Exploit Technologies executive chairman Boon Swan Foo in a statement.

Said Soundbuzz Asia GM Yen Ong in a statement: "It is critical with any new digital music offering that we give consumers a number of flexible and simple options so they can tailor the experience to their own tastes. With A*STAR's technology, consumers can now purchase incredibly high-quality songs that they can enjoy on the most sophisticated home entertainment system, but can also transfer easily to their mobile handsets if they want to take their music with them."

Source [Billboard]

Soundbuzz has been an Australian online music retailer for 7 years now, with operations in Australia, Singapore, United States, India and Hong Kong. Soundbuzz is Asia's largest online and mobile music company, with its 50 plus collective stores attracting the majority of online and wireless purchases. The company operates its own store, soundbuzz.com, as well as providing content and/or technology infrastructure to partners such as Telstra BigPond Music, Singtel, Windows Media Player 10, Creative Technology, Optus Zoo and SONY BMG.

Vinyl Turntables are Alive and More Expensive than Ever

I need me a pair of these babies on my next DJ gig...

The Caliburn, made by Continuum Audio Laboratories, costs a hefty six figures. PLATTER: The record sits on a large 80-pound “platter” designed to flatten the record and minimize vibration. CHASSIS: Cast from a special magnesium alloy, the chassis works with the platter to eliminate vibration in the tone arm and ensure that the cartridge receives a strong signal. THE TOP SHELF: The shelf on which the turntable legs rest is magnetically levitated to isolate it from vibration in the room. CONTROLS: The dials at far right control the turntable speeds: 33 1/3, 45 and 78 rpm. The dial at top left engages the vacuum that holds the record in place on the platter. The other two dials are used to make fine adjustments in the turntable speed. VACUUM PUMP: Provides the pressure needed so the record adheres firmly to the platter. Once that pressure is reached, the vacuum shuts off so it doesn’t interfere with the music.

The LP turntable went the way of the Hula-Hoop. Now it’s back—and more expensive than ever.

In the biggest show business comeback since Sinatra after throat surgery and Cher after her infomercial, long-playing records are back. Of course, if you were born during or after the mid-1980s, when compact discs were taking over the recording industry, you may never have seen an LP (stands for long-playing) record except inside a dusty box in your parents’ garage. They were flat, cumbersome vinyl discs —much larger than CDs—that were hard to stack and easily scratched or broken. And audiophiles never gave up loving them. “A record sounds so much better than a CD,” says Michael Fremer, a columnist for Stereophile magazine. “It’s more real. There is a three-dimensionality to the sound . . . like the singer is right there in the room with you.” Although vinyl love sounds vaguely kinky, it’s moving from audiophile cult status to the edges of mainstream. In addition to a few hip-hop artists (who helped keep vinyl alive) and alternative rock bands, some major stars, such as Bruce Springsteen, have released new material on LPs. Want more proof? Amazon.com recently opened a vinyl section on its site, and Urban Outfitters, the all-purpose general store for hip grunge, has begun selling turntables. Now, where was that dusty box?......

A Price That’ll Make Your Head Spin

Vinyl guru Michael Fremer says his records sound fantastic on his Caliburn turntable made by Continuum Audio Laboratories (www.continuumaudiolabs.com) of Australia.

They’d better.

The price of a Caliburn, according to its U.S. distributor (www.signals-superfi.com), is $125,595. But that includes a technician who will travel almost anywhere in the U.S. (Alaska and Hawaii are extra) to set up the turntable. It makes it practically a steal.

If that price is still too high, Fremer recommends turntables from Project (www.project-audio.com) that start at about $300. Otherwise, a Sony turntable is available at Target for $90. And Urban Outfitters online (www.urbanoutfitters.com) offers a retro-style unit from Crosley Radio that includes a USB output to download records to your computer. It’s $140.

Source [LATimes]