Professional Studio DAC - AES/EBU and S/PDIF input
983-based preamp, all balanced inputs/outputs, excellent phono preamp
I have the E-line upgrade with balanced inputs.
I have the dual arm board option
Industrial vibration isolator. Added 75-lb granite surface plate. Outperforms Vibraplane, and doesn't need a pump.
I do transcription work, so a removable headshell is important.
12" tonearm - otherwise identical to SME 309. I do transcription work, so need removable headshell.
0.22mV low output
Classic moving coil with custom 2.8 mil truncated elliptical stylus for transcription work. Amazing sound on 78s. Custom fitted into SME headshell.
Very accurate - great monitoring speaker for mastering work, although a bit light on the low-end.
One of the best values in speaker cables. I use a double-run.
Multi-EQ high gain, super quiet phono preamp. Balanced/SE inputs and outputs. I use this for professional transcription work.
1/4" open reel half-track mastering deck.
1/4" open reel mastering deck with a range of headstacks (full- and half-track; butterfly)
A must-have component for consistent sound any time of day.
The Dragon is over-rated, and requires at least a 3 kHz signal for the automatic azimuth tracking to work. The CR-7A has manual azimuth adjustment - the only cassette deck ever made to offer this feature. A must for historical restoration work.
I have the logging version - 15/16, 1-7/8 IPS. Difficult to find, but an excellent tool for transcribing delicate logging tapes.
Re-fitted with balanced XLR terminations. Sounds wonderful with the Lyra Helikon and Ortofon SPU-GT. Works well with Boulder 1010 and Millennia Media LPE-2.
The best record cleaning machine available. Mark IV handles up to 16-inch transcription disks. Mine is custom built in all-black upon special request to the factory. With the Monks, the nylon string automatically advances, the one advantage that the Monks has over the Loricraft. I had Keith Monks personally sign my machine.
A great sounding and great looking tuner. Too bad the quality of most FM stations today is not up to the same level as the FM tuner.
Turntable motor controller
AC regenerator - strongly recommended
AC power regenerator
- Air Tight Orb disc flatter
Yes, it really works. You can finally buy that mint but warped collector record and turn it back into a perfectly mint and playable record.
I alternate between the M20 and F30. The Revels are far from perfect (I would even debate the M20 being a Stereophile Class A speaker), but I know the Revel sound and know how to work with it. And it's not unpleasant, just a little peaky in the middle.
The dCS 972 is a DD converter, allowing me to use high-order dithering when doing SRC work.
This is a work horse in my system. If you need to digitize anything - this is IT.
- ELP Laser Turntable LT-1XRC
Laser turntable has an amazingly detailed and real sound - timbre is as perfect as I've heard, but at the cost of slightly less dynamics and more background noise. There are always trade-offs. The lasers are non-contact - so no record wear. I can play rare and mint records as much as I like with impunity.
