The magical white belt!
After reading endless discussions on this little grey (a/k/a “white”) belt, I finally decided to grab one to see what the fuss was about. I have a wonderful Rega P9 table, and have used the stock belt for nearly 2 years. Supposedly, this little belt is made to tighter tolerances, and ultimately yields better sound… I’ll let you know, as I’m going to put it to action to night!
Update: Dang, I need 2… Need to order the second. What was I thinking?
Our freedom is priceless! And without it, things like this would never exist!
My apologies for running behind on my evaluation of the AcousticPlan Digimaster DAC. I’ve just been very busy. You know, FWIW, I have a new found appreciation for what part-time reviewers go through…
So please check back the first week of June. In the interim, I will say this – I think it is incredible. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever heard handle digital. The bass extension is ridiculous! And it’s ability to make even an iTunes download sound good is a shockingly good development. As for high-resolution files, they’re sweet, but not enough to make me forget my analogue front end, but damn good at making me enjoy my music!
My ONLY gripe – you can’t use it (or any other DAC for that matter) to handle ANY SACD source material! Copyright issues preclude that. Thankfully, I only have a handful of SACD files, but a whole lot of digital files!
3 Amigos? Maybe, but clearly 3 darn good guitarists!
I stumbled upon this album this week, and I have to say that it has been one of the finest musical discoveries for me here in 2012.
The album, Friday Night in San Francisco with DiMeola, McLaughlin, & DeLucia, has been nothing short of spectacular for me to listen to. ORG has done a mighty fine job with this reissue, and while I don’t have an original to compare it to, I do find it to be incredible treat to listen to!
The ambience of the live setting really comes through in this recording. At times it almost had an audiophile quality reminiscent of Jazz at the Pawn Shop with all of the ambient noise and activity picked up during the live concert recording.
Overall sound quality seems quite nice. Again, without an original reference it is difficult to comment. But the sound is solid. That said, one thing that I do wonder about is if the original recording was as good as it could have been. There are times when things seem ever so slightly muffled. Particularly when you hear the crowd. This is not the case with the guitar playing. But it is something I’ve noticed and have wondered about. Still, if you figure the recording was likely miked for the 3 guitarists, then it makes sense to me that the other would be an after thought.
Ultimately, if you fancy yourself a guitar lover, do yourself a favor and grab this album. It’s well worth the price of ~$55 for the 2 lp’s inside the gatefold cover. You’ll really enjoy what must have been an amazing evening that Friday night in San Francisco way back when…
With the platitudes done, let me quickly comment on the quality of the pressing. First, I note no discernible issues. I’ve run these 2 albums through my system a few times now and everything just pops ever so nicely! The music really jumps from the system. The packaging is also really nice. Kudos to ORG on a fine job. ORG pulled together Bernie Grundman to master this from the original analog master tapes. The album was then pressed at RTI. Packaging is solid, and extra props to ORG for putting together the gatefold! Included are 2 top quality static eliminating linings of top quality. But there is one down side – BOTH side “B’s” for my albums have a quirky label tear or rip right around the spindle. Go figure! Other than that – NO complaints. Now back to my concert with Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucia, originally recorded recorded at The Warfield Theatre on December 5, 1980, in San Francisco.
Today I pack up and send along to the next select individual a set of speaker cables that really impressed me. Candidly, I’d rather just keep them here…
These are either a final beta release or the gold master release for Sablon Audio of its soon to be released Panatela Speaker Cable. Sablon’s Mark Coles was kind enough to share these with me before they head out on their journey to a few others he’s sharing this pre-release version with. I suspect that after he gets their feedback he’ll make the decision on whether these are the GM or a final beta. If you ask me, they might as well be GM’s. They were that good!
Regardless of what their status is, I am grateful that he gave me the opportunity to first listen to the pair shown here!
Sablon Audio's new Panatela Speaker Cable
While I had them I was able to compare them to my existing “reference” cable, the Auditorium A23. My initial impressions were quite favorable, and as I reflect back on my experiences with them and my notes from listening, I would quickly say I REALLY liked these! I’ll get to an abbreviated review in the near future, meaning sometime Q2 2012…. I have a few other reviews in the pipeline that need to be posted. But it’s not a stretch for me to say that Mark hit another one out of the park with this new product.
Great work, Mark!
I’m wrapping up my thoughts on the AcousticPlan Digimaster DAC and finally plan to put fingers to keyboard for a lay person’s review. This has taken a little longer than I expected, but I really should not be surprised. This side endeavor is just that, a side activity and not my main priority.
In the interim, I thought it might be helpful and interesting to put in context my DAC samplings. To begin with, my sampling is limited. There’s the standard garden variety non-sense, then a Grant Fidelity specialty Tube entry level product, a MHDT Havana, and I’ve had the Rega in my system for a trial run. I have also owned a few Oppo players, including the current reference BDP 95.
Using this for some perspective, I can share at this point that the APD is in a completely different league. Frankly, I was never really impressed or pleased with any DAC that I’ve heard or owned. Sure, they sounded nicer than an iPod, but nothing to really make you go wow, like I do with vinyl.
The APD, however, gives you reason to go wow! Is it on par with vinyl? Well, not exactly, but wow! For now, until I finally get a review completed, let me just say this, unless you can afford one, don’t ever listen to this DAC. Otherwise, you may just find yourself bummed and coveting the APD!
I recently went fishin’ and caught the little catch on the right… The one on the left, a sweet little Zu Audio Bok, just wasn’t legal…
Yep, I caught a pair of Gran Coronas custom made by the incredibly kind and gracious audio craftsman in the UK, across the pond. That’s right, Mark Coles at Sablon Audio. These power cords are simply amazin’! And Mark’s customer service is beyond what words can adequately describe!
Well fingerprints aside on the faceplate, I hope you will agree with me that this Vosne Romanee is pretty beautiful!. So to answer the poll last month on whether this was a oenophile or audiophile acquisition, it was an audiophile one! And let me just say it’s been spectacular!
As for oenophile interests, my winter allocations of Kosta Brown, Larkmead, Saxum, and Alban have all arrived!
I recently had the good fortune and pleasure of meeting Mark Coles. Mark, you see, is the founder and proprietor of Sablon Audio. This is a terrifically forward thinking company out of the UK – which means, as I love it said, they’re right across that pond we call the Atlantic.
Well, at first glance, you’d wouldn’t appreciate that Mark has a slight interest in and passion for Cigars. But after spending some time with his products, you might begin to see how he likes to smoke the things around him.
All kidding and amateur comedic remarks put aside, I’ve had his Panatela interconnect in my system now for about 3 weeks, including the current multiple pairs that I NOW own! And I can wholeheartedly share that these little innocuous cotton sheathed gems smoke the few cables that I’ve owned and have had the opportunity to compare them to. Are they the be all end all? I’m sure they’re not, how else can you explain the Über priced Nordost Odins…. But at this price point and anywhere near them I don’t think they can be beat! Seriously! And if you don’t want to take my word for it, then check out Jeff Day’s recent “Fresh Catch” post about them! They really are spectacular and even if I could justify spending Odin kind of money, I really doubt that I would! The performance gap just doesn’t justify price gap…
So let me share some preliminary broad concept thoughts?
Revelatory? Yes, for me it’s been beyond what words can describe! More time is required for me to fully digest these cables impact, but they’ve been great.
Detailed? You got that right! I continue to be amazed hearing things I never heard before, and even at a micro level!
Neutral? Well, you may not truly “get” neutral until you plug these babies in and find out just how biased your existing cables are. Wow!
Check back in early April for my full review!
I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I have the Acoustic Plan Digimaster DAC. Wow, incredible! I will hope to have a formal review out soon by the end of the month,. But time and time again, when I listen to this little indigo box I’m blown away by how good digital can sound! Props to my dealer, Matthew Rotunda over at Pitch Perfect Audio for patiently answering questions for me about it. I really questioned how good a DAC might be and found my way to this little gem through numerous discussions and e-mails with Matt!
As for this little DAC – dang!
