Phono Cartridge Reviews

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Art Dudley Listening Phono Cartridge Reviews

Listening #202: Altec 604 & Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103

Art Dudley First Published: Oct 02, 2019
Godzilla and I are precisely the same age: We were both born in 1954, Godzilla as an expression of the postwar fears of a nation uniquely aware of the horrors of nuclear armaments, I as an expression of the postwar comfort felt by an American veteran fresh from foreign wars. We both dislike being awakened from our slumber, and we're both unusually handsome.
Historical J. Gordon Holt Phono Cartridge Reviews

Audio Dynamics ADC-1 phono cartridge

J. Gordon Holt First Published: Aug 01, 1963
We tested two samples of the ADC-1 phono cartridge, both of which were taken from a dealer's stock. One was a demonstrator that had been in use for some months. The other was brand new, right off the shelf. Both were tested in an Empire 98 tonearm and in a Gray 108-C tonearm with its damping lightly adjusted, but results with both cartridges were for all intents and purposes identical in both arms.
Art Dudley Listening Phono Cartridge Reviews Tube Power Amp Reviews

Listening #200: Tzar DST1 & Shindo Montille CV 391

Art Dudley First Published: Jul 25, 2019
Products come and go. Some impress more than others, and in our little world, the ones that impress the most wind up in Class A of our semiannual "Recommended Components" feature.

After a product makes it to that list, if Stereophile's reviewers go more than a few years without hearing it again—in a home system or a dealer's showroom or even at an audio show—that product falls off the list, usually quietly. Thus, if a reviewer is maximally knocked out by a piece of playback gear, yet the fates allow neither a purchase nor an extended loan, he or she or someone else on staff must endeavor to borrow it again so it can stay recommended.

Historical J. Gordon Holt Phono Cartridge Reviews

Weathers PS-11 Professional Stereo Pickup System

J. Gordon Holt First Published: Nov 01, 1962
Editor's Note: This is the very first equipment report that was written by J. Gordon Holt for Stereophile, then called The Stereophile. The venerable JGH appended the following warning: The writer of this report was employed by Weathers Industries during the time when the product in question was undergoing development, so in view of this past association, and the doubt it may cast upon the writer's impartiality, this report probably should not be published, even though the writer left Weathers Industries over a year ago and is not bound by any obligations thereto.
Historical J. Gordon Holt Phono Cartridge Reviews

Empire 880P phono cartridge

J. Gordon Holt First Published: Mar 01, 1963
The 880P is a moving-magnet stereo cartridge for use in transcription arms and the few high-quality record changers now available, such as the Garrard Model A and the Lesa units. It has standard ½" mounting centers, and the pickup requires the 47k ohm termination provided by most preamplifiers. The 8mV output, too, is about ideal for nearly all preamps.
Art Dudley Listening Phono Cartridge Reviews Phono Preamp Reviews

Listening #195: Ortofon SPU Century & Grandinote Celio

Art Dudley First Published: Feb 19, 2019
Easy pickup: Art’s Dog, Chatter, cozies up to Leif Johannsen of Ortofon A/S and Dee Hustinova of Ortofon USA. (Photo: Art Dudley)

According to the 2018 edition of the UN's World Happiness Report, Denmark is the third-happiest nation on Earth, trailing only its neighbors Finland and Norway.

I heard that yesterday afternoon, on NPR. The reporter even spelled out the word used by Danes to describe their feelings of happiness: hygge. Apparently, at present, Denmark is positively rotten with hygge.

Gramophone Dreams Phono Cartridge Reviews Phono Preamp Reviews Turntable Reviews

Gramophone Dreams #25: Dr. Feickert, Jelco, Koetsu, My Sonic Lab

Herb Reichert First Published: Dec 13, 2018
I needed one black tiddledywink (not provided) to use Dr. Feickert Analogue's three-speed, two-motor, two-armboard Blackbird turntable. The tiddledywink was for covering the Blackbird's painfully bright power-on LED so that it didn't blind me when I cued up a record. The first night, in my dark listening room, this tiny indicator sprayed the wall behind and the ceiling above with more light than a bright-emitting 845 vacuum tube.
Art Dudley Listening Phono Cartridge Reviews

Listening #192: Koetsu, Ortofon, EMT

Art Dudley First Published: Dec 06, 2018
Although my house is now home to a borrowed pair of DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/93 loudspeakers—a loan I gratefully accepted early this year, when my 1966 Altec Flamencos proved a bit too large for my new listening room—it's a matter of pride that I own almost everything else in my playback system, cables included. So it's with no small discomfort that I acknowledge having nearly $30,000 worth of borrowed phono cartridges scattered around my living and dining rooms. (The former is where I listen to them, and the latter—the sunniest room in the house—is where I install them.)
Gramophone Dreams Phono Cartridge Reviews Phono Preamp Reviews

Gramophone Dreams #24: Hana & Musical Surroundings

Herb Reichert First Published: Oct 04, 2018
The days were long, the strawberries ripe, but it wasn't quite summer. It was, however, a perfect night for Otis Redding and Carla Thomas singing the Lowell Fulson–Jimmy McCracklin classic "Tramp," on a 7" 45rpm single (Stax 45-216).

Otis: What you call me?

Carla: Tramp! You don't wear continental clothes, or Stetson hats.

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