On a day like today, when the weather is clear and the neighbor’s tractor is roaring away in a nearby field, it’s Americana time for me, so out comes an old faithful, one that my good friend Bob Armbruster used to play on Sunday nights on KFUO. Here’s hoping to hear Bob on the new classical station coming in June.
I have quite a few recordings of this piece, and this is one of my favs.
where the deer and the antelope used to play....now just me and tractors
This is the new Cobra Zi-tron power cord from Shunyata. If you’re looking for an aftermarket upgrade, this is the hot ticket right now. We haven’t tried it with all our lines yet, and it may not even work well with some, but when it does, like with Audio Research, it will certainly seduce you. Makes it feel like you are listening more to the real thing than a hifi rig, and after all, isn’t that what everyone wants? Highly recommended!
Yes, that is today’s headline news. Not that JC got fired, not that the Blues are playing Saturday and today is Blues day in St Louis, no siree, the big news today is that St Louis has the magnificent Shunyata cables and power distribution devices.
Shunyata has been working hard on bringing the best power and signal cables to the market, without the pricing “programs” so many cable companies use that turn off the average hobbyist and inflate the egos of those that need trophies. This is a no-nonsense company that is making an attempt to right the lopsided market.
It’s been a favorite of Audio Research for a while now, and when we placed it in an all ARC system we can fully understand why. Schedule a listen, and expect to walk out with a smile, and a slightly less ravaged checkbook than one would expect.
A review kindly reprinted from the Audio Beat. Thanks, Marc!
Amidst the flurry and crazy crowds of record store day, the gigantic old gear yard sale put on by some of the Gateway Audio Society, and some DTS demo at Plush, I was lucky enough to spend my morning/early afternoon with a most wonderful customer, who extolled the virtues of the Well Tempered Lab Versalex much better than I. No surprise there. He claimed the WTL got to the heart of the music more than any table he has heard in all his long hifi years.
My second bit of luck came as I dashed back to Illinois and went to the 3pm showing, courtesy of the new Specticast digital broadcast system and the newly renovated Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville, IL, of Renee Fleming singing with the Berliner Philharmoniker at one of their Waldbuhne outdoor concerts in Berlin. Glorious, Renee. (if you’re reading this) I forgot how marvelous the Berlin Philharmonic is, and why they’re always ranked at the top. The sheer virtuosity of the principal players, the solid section playing, is something to behold. Many orchestras have something special, the brass section of the Chicago Symphony in the 70′s, the string section of the Philadephians, yet the Berlin seems to have it all. I had goosebumps from beginning to end, was never bored like last week’s unfortunate rendering of Rachmaninoff here. And Renee, whatever critique you want to lay upon her, just sounded sumptuous, and you can see why she is still today’s darling, with the right material. Her Dvorak, Strauss, Korngold, and Puccini were superb, unlike some of her renderings of popular music she recently performed on PBS. Renee, next time we eat strawberries together, we have to talk.
Here she is, at Waldbuhne with the Berlin Philharmonic
Just a few more shots to entice the wood lover, and tonearm enthusiasts. The hole in front of the ball, no, it’s not for a hole in one, is for the cueing lift mechanism. I prefer to go liftless, shall we say, but I will install one and show you a photo shortly. I must admit that after using an Amadeus for a long while, where I use no finger lift nor cueing device, I get all fidgety when I have to use a cueing device on a different table. It makes me not want to play a record. There, I’ve said it. Anything that will keep you from playing a record must be removed. A turntable must be so approachable that you want to play a record. I watch people approach their tables like they’re going into surgery, or handling a pit viper. Tables that are that finicky I want no part of, and you’ll see by what we have at the shop we mean it. Of course an easy cue from a Rega arm settles my nerves rather quickly, as does the Kuzma Stogi arm. Or the brilliant mechanics of the Dynavector DV-507 MK2. Still, I’m most at ease with the Amadeus arm, and I see many of you are as well. Brilliant!
Elvis, if you’re reading this, (that’s Costello, obviously), I hope you don’t mind me using one of your lyrics. It’s all I can think of when I start looking at these two tables from Well Tempered Lab, the WTL GTA on the left and new WTL Versalex on the right. Besides the wood plinth, the Versalex also sports the new LTD tonearm, which can be purchased separately and easily mounts to a table with a single armboard hole. The LTD also has, yes, hang onto your armchairs, a cueing lift mechanism, for those that feel like Mother Nature has started to take her toll. Personally I do not use them, and the photos shown from the loft are device less. I will install one soon to show you what it looks like, though I’m sure you have some idea.
Elvis, maybe Diana needs a new table to go with her Totem Arros. I’m just sayin….
The most musical of tables now in, by popular demand, wood.
If you’re up late ( like me) , tweaking your tables and listening to your speaker ports or giving bad advice on the forums ( not like me ), you might turn your attention to a classic of early French cinema, A Nous la Liberte. Filmed in 1931, it’s a satire on machinery and industrialization, revolving around two characters who meet in prison and our friend, the phonograph. Have a look – 2 AM- or set your DVRs.
Each piece is a gem on its own. Coupled with Leon Fleisher’s return to the concert hall, it will be a concert not to miss. Mr. Fleisher, who’s teaching pedigree goes back to Beethoveen, lost the use of his right hand in the 1960′s. With advanced treatments he regained the use of his right hand and in 2004 made a new recording, his first since the 60′s, entitled “Two Hands”, which also became the subject of a 2007 documentary by the same name.
If you’re tired of all that Mozart and overplayed _ _ _ _, come hear the Symphony in outstanding 20th century works that Robertson can usually do well with. You will certainly hear something to compare your hifi to, if you’re akin to that sort of thing.
I’ll be in my balcony seat, specially selected by my grade school band director. Hopefully he’ll be giving Maestro Robertson a few pointers from above.
Highly recommended! almost as much as the new Rega Apollo R, Shunyata Triton power distribution and associated cables, Dynavector electronics, Naim UnitiServe, and ……so much greatness, so little time….
Here’s the littlest member of the Leben family of amps, the Leben 300 integrated. Much lauded, much sought after, and sometimes even mis-used (meaning mismatched), the Leben 300 is gorgeous looking, and with its EL-84 tubes, wonderful sounding. I call it the happy amp, because it brings warmth and sunshine with the right speakers. And by the right speakers, I’m referring to something efficient. I see this amp being bought and traded on the used market by buyers who read about it, desire it, and try it with any number of speakers that are a poor match. We have it paired here in St Louis with several that make it shine, and show why it’s earned the accolades. And, hint hint, we have it in stock!
