savoy014

I have had this CD for almost 20 years, and without a doubt, this would be my single "desert island disc". Now, I am sure desert islands have neither electricity, nor hifi equipment, but let us not get distracted. This is probably Jacqueline Du Pre's most well known recording, and its commercial popularity probably means that many of you readers would already have a copy. Despite its less than stellar recording, the sure emotive power of the performance has always captivated me, and after the first few bars, you ceased to care about the recording quality (which is actually decent but not excellent). HD Tacks is now offering a 2012 remastered version in high resolution. After having been burnt by some of their high resolution offerings that sounded far worse than my red book CD versions, I had two minds about buying this. Eventually curiosity took the better of me, and I made the plunge. Thankfully, the remastered version is wonderful ! Apart from the improved clarity and ...

I got a mail from my lovely receptionist girls on a package that has just arrived for me. Talk about fast. Nine days - from the time of placing my order to delivery from the UK to Singapore. Despite already owning some of the recordings in this set, the pricing at GBP 66 (inclusive of delivery to Singapore) from Amazon UK, was simply too good to resist. Just a handful of the recordings in this set would already justify the asking price. Considering that many have been out of print, and were being sold for ransom-like figures, this is a god send to classical music lovers. 50 CDs are included in the set, including a bonus CD which includes an interview with Wilma Cozart Fine, the vice president of Mercury responsible for production of the series in the past. Whether you are just starting out in classical music, or you are serious enthusiast, this set is simply a must have. You can have a look at the complete list of recordings (and even sample some of the tracks) at  http://www.decca...

Introduction The Acrolink 7N-S1000III and 7N S-1400III are part of Acrolink's new line up of cables for 2011, and also an introduction of 7N purity copper into their lower range of cabling. Utilising similar geometry to their predecessors, the S-1000 / S-1400 have two widely spaced conductors in a flat shaped dielectric. Looking at the design, this will most likely result in fairly high inductance but very low capacitance. The main difference between the S-1000 and S-1400 is conductor gauge, the S-1400 having more than double the number of strands of copper in each conductor leg. S-1000III - Picture from official website S-1400III - Picture from official website Sound Quality Acrolink users are unlikely to encounter any surprises here. Great midrange, with excellent high frequency extension and control, with emphasis on the "air" around instruments and the sense of acoustic space. The S-1000III subjectively sounds faster than the S-1400III. The latter has a harmonically r...

On test here are the following gunslingers, 1. Aurio's Classic 2. Cold Rays 3. Finite Elemente Ceraball Universal 4. Finite Elemente Cerabase Classic 5. Finite Elemente Cerabase Compact   6. Franc Audio Ceramic Disc Classic 7. Golden Sound's DH Cones and Squares 8. Herbie's Tenderfoot 9. Herbie's Isocup with Black Lamp Ball 10. Kryna C-PROP Mini / D-PROP Mini 11. Magic Hexa 12. Stillpoints Ultra Mini 13. Stillpoints Ultra SS (New)  14. TAOC TITE-46GP 15. Valab ball bearing footer 16. Yamamoto Sound Craft PB-09 / PB-10 Ebony base Aurios Classic Unlike its namesake, the Aurios cannot be dunked in milk, or eaten. But like Oreo cookies, the Aurios are made out of two circular halves, with the goodstuff in between. 3 steel ball bearings take the place of the sweetened white cream in the cookie version.The steel bearings sit in a circular race, with a plastic triangular guide to hold the 3 ball bearings in place. Out of all the devices featured here, the Aurios have the dubi...

Photos from official website Introduction The Okki Nokki record cleaning machine is probably one of the most affordable vacuum based record cleaning machines on the market. Locally, it costs a shade under S$ 900. The Okki Nokki has a bi-directional motor (a useful function to brush the grooves of the record in both directions), and comes supplied with a small battle of record cleaning concentrate, and a goat's hair brush. Operation The Okki Nokki is quite idiot proof to operate. Two switches control the unit. The top switch toggles between clockwise and anti-clockwise rotation. The bottom switch controls the vacuum. The vacuum motor has a useful automatic shut-off feature in case the reservoir becomes full. A visit to the kitchen sink, pull out the tube behind the unit, and drain the dirty fluid out. With a bit of practice, you can apply the cleaning fluid, brush the surface over a few revolutions in both directions, and vacuum up the dirty fluid, all in about a minute a side. The ...

Eastern Electric Minimax Tube DAC Plus The 4 op-amps in clear view. The two white plastic capacitors are coupling caps for the tube output stage A closer view. The OEM M2Tech USB board is at the rear of the unit The subject of this review is the Eastern Electric MiniMax Tube DAC Plus (which I will refer to as the “Plus”), which is an upgraded version of the original Minimax DAC. The original Minimax DAC was based on the Sabre ES9018 DAC chip and was unusual in offering a choice of both a solid state and tube based output stage (using a single 12AU7 tube), and volume control. In comparison, the Plus loses the volume knob and upgrades its crippled USB input (red book only for the original version!). There are also a number of component changes, including an upgrade to separate power transformers to handle its digital and analog sections, and some fine tuning in the power supply and tube output stage. Input flexibility remains excellent with a total of 5 inputs, USB, BNC, RCA, Optical and...

I love organic products ! Coming from Sweden, are these delicious (but unfortunately inedible) products, which are the brainchild of Mr. Per-Olof Friberg. Mr. Friberg is self-described as a farmer. This is a rather refreshing change from the background of the founder of some other audio companies, e.g. NASA scientist, aerospace engineer, weapons-I-Can't tell you what I made scientist, espionage agent .... OK I made up the last one. The MinimUs came in a plain cardboard box and "interesting" packing. I opened it in front of my significant other who was half expecting to see some lovely pears packed, but no, it was just another boring audio device. The MinimUs is a wooden case, which is much heavier than its size suggests. The wood fascia looks like it is laser engraved. The rear sports a single copper binding post. Interestingly, the binding cap is made out of wood - careful now with tightening the cap, you don't want to strip the threads. All connector hous...