a sidebar to the shindo thread...

have you musical magic?

components that just sound right, transporting you into another realm of enjoyment ?

i've heard but a handful of components that convincingly have "magic".

the quicksilver 60w mono amplifiers.

the jadis da60 amplifier

the second koetsu rosewood/red cartridge

the original well tempered turntable

Just a couple for me:

Sugden A21SE integrated amp

Air Tight ATE2005 phono stage

Perhaps magical might be a stretch to far but you get the feeling

The Linn Sondek would have to feature on such a list methinks - despite being massively over-priced in relation to construction materials & even engineering content... it has (had, at least in its earlier incarnations that I am familiar with) something 'engaging'. Twas only many years later that I concluded that this comes at the expense of other musical qualities.

After CD became dominant (late 80s - early 90s), LP12 'upgrades' began to sound more & more 'digital - IMVHO

Nevertheless it had a bit of 'magic' to its sound.

DarkLantern blog - darklanternforowen.wordpress.com

i think my Living Voice OBX-RW's are pretty special and certainly perform a bit of magic on whatever i decide to play. thanks 301oil

Just an aside to this thread... one of the main reasons Linn Sondek did so well was their instructions were in English where the top Japanese decks of the same era didnt always have their instructions in English

I think my TAD speakers have been my best investment to date. Stunning in every way.

they were a lot cheaper than the top japanese decks too.

agree later mods diminished the "magic" of the lp12.

Another component that has not left this house since purchase ~30yrs ago, is a Leak Stereo 20 amplifier.
This little 11 wpc valve power amp, manufactured in 1967, has seen off a few other amps here over the years.

Often mentioned as Harold Leak's finest hour, EL84 valves work in push-pull Ultralinear config. with a big dose of NFB to achieve 0.1% THD, which was impressive for its day!

Whatever, it does not have ultimate LF power but its 'magic' is in its 'musicality', the way its lively reproduction sounds always like live music.

DarkLantern blog - darklanternforowen.wordpress.com

Jul 26, 2018 21:25:38 GMT 12 andrewp said:

I think my TAD speakers have been my best investment to date. Stunning in every way.

Sounds like a Show Us Your System thread is required, andrewp?

DarkLantern blog - darklanternforowen.wordpress.com

Jul 27, 2018 13:08:57 GMT 12 Owen Y said:

Jul 26, 2018 21:25:38 GMT 12 andrewp said:

I think my TAD speakers have been my best investment to date. Stunning in every way.

Sounds like a Show Us Your System thread is required, andrewp ?

+1

Magical for me was investing in an ebony armboard and ebony record stabiliser for my TT.  They resulted in a slightly more organic sound.

Jul 27, 2018 13:08:57 GMT 12 Owen Y said:

Jul 26, 2018 21:25:38 GMT 12 andrewp said:

I think my TAD speakers have been my best investment to date. Stunning in every way.

Sounds like a Show Us Your System thread is required, andrewp?

+ 1 from me

Manager & Product specialist at Rapallo AV & HI-FI

the martin logan cls electrostatic loudspeaker

physical transparency to match it's stunning sonic transparency.

Certainly a uniquely good-looking loudspeaker, it was.

I can still remember laying eyes upon it for the first time, at Audio Excellence in Parnell, Akld.

DarkLantern blog - darklanternforowen.wordpress.com

certainly not perfect (limited bass, dynamics, amp killer in early versions) but it opened a window to the music like no other speaker before it.

It almost seems as though the "perfect" component isn't what we really want/need.

Enough of the right stuff in certain places lifts the performance to a new realm.

Making your world a better place, by staying at home most of the time.

I'd agree with that summation of the performance of the CLS, at least until I heard mine with a pair of Accuphase 300w monoblocks. Alas the Accuphases werent mine and I couldnt afford to buy them,but nothing drove those ML's in quite the same way in the time that I had them. They also had that electrostatic thing where they sounded brilliant from the next room....

Studer A80 reel to reel studio tape machine. Ambience, soundstage and dynamics that leaves almost any other format floundering!

AMR-iFi R&D

Aug 6, 2018 16:00:21 GMT 12 colinf said:

Studer A80 reel to reel studio tape machine. Ambience, soundstage and dynamics that leaves almost any other format floundering!

One of these...?

DarkLantern blog - darklanternforowen.wordpress.com

Yes, your pic shows one with extensive recording and playback eq settings to get flat response.
Here’s another with basic metering and a channel-selectable speaker to assist in cueing.


Tim de Paravicini of EAR Yoshino fame modified a few Studer C37 machines which apparently sounded breathtaking!
Here is a standard 1960s C37.

AMR-iFi R&D

Corona ionic tweeter, currently used in Lansche speakers. It has a power valve modulate radio frequency (RF) with audio into a plasma flame, in a quartz catalytic combustion chamber. It glows purple when on and you can get a slight whiff of O3 if you leave them on long enough. Frequency response extends to over 150khz! Irreproachably clear sound.

AMR-iFi R&D

There was a pr of Lansches with the plasma tweeters, down in Hawkes Bay for a while.
Active audio community down there.

DarkLantern blog - darklanternforowen.wordpress.com

hill plasmatronic anyone ?

an addition...

the purist audio design proteus provectus praesto phono cable.

trying saying that after after a glass or three of your favourite tipple.

in my system it appears to be totally transparent.

the seller tells me the next step is even better, hard to believe !

Just been reading about the Hill Plasmatronic speaker, very interesting. It used helium gas from cylinders you supplied, in a plasma driver covering the range 700hz to 30khz. The rest of the mids and bass were covered by cone drivers equalised by a crossover unit placed near the preamp. Apparently the plasma driver used about 500w of valve power each channel at idle! And all class A single ended, no RF modulation like the Corona tweeter.
I’d love to hear one.

AMR-iFi R&D

Aug 7, 2018 22:13:01 GMT 12 colinf said:

Just been reading about the Hill Plasmatronic speaker, very interesting. It used helium gas from cylinders you supplied, in a plasma driver covering the range 700hz to 30khz. The rest of the mids and bass were covered by cone drivers equalised by a crossover unit placed near the preamp. Apparently the plasma driver used about 500w of valve power each channel at idle! And all class A single ended, no RF modulation like the Corona tweeter.
I’d love to hear one.

Very interesting!  Do you have to keep purchasing helium? I envision something like changing your bottle at the same to you change your LPG!

You needed to refill or exchange the helium gas bottle every about 300 hours. Circuitry inside the speaker would shut off the plasma driver if the helium ran out due to the plasma electrodes then being exposed to oxygen and being burned if left on.

AMR-iFi R&D

Some years ago, I couldn't believe the difference Eichmann Bullet Plugs made to my phono cable. That was magic!

Singer/songwriter at: www.dominicblaazer.net
180g album, "The Lights of Te Atatu" released 2018

My magic component isn’t a part of my playback system - it is my ultrasonic record cleaner made from a kitset made by OwenY. The difference before and after cleaning is, well, magic! Old 2nd hand albums play like new. New albums come to life after the debris/flotsam from the pressing process is removed. Could not imagine life without it.

Aug 8, 2018 17:17:12 GMT 12 Dom said:

Some years ago, I couldn't believe the difference Eichmann Bullet Plugs made to my phono cable. That was magic!

I now use only Eichmann (copper) Bullets throughout my system.
Reliably good, easy to terminate, no extraneous material, relatively affordable.

DarkLantern blog - darklanternforowen.wordpress.com