|
LETTERS
2005
12/24/05
subject = Inspiration and Perspiration
I have never had the pleasure of meeting Brian in person, but have worked with him on the phone for the last three years, regarding different gear for my system. I believe he is one of the most honest, well informed, and helpful individuals I have had the pleasure to work with to improve the sonics of my system.
Just wanted to share this because Brian has always been a great gentleman and a pleasure to work with. I'm glad you did this piece on him, he deserves the positive support.
Terry London
www.REBE.org
12/21/05
subject = Accustic Arts Drive I/DAC I Mk3 Review
Hi Constantine
Thanks for the review. Can I ask your preference between the Harmonix Reimyo DAP-777 and this unit? Many thanks.
Andre
Hi Andre,
Thank you very much for your readership.
Interestingly, both Accustic Arts and Harmonix Reimyo DAC aspire to utilize proprietary D/A conversion techniques, namely the 32-bit/384kHz chips in the German unit and the industry-recognized JVC K2 in the Japanese one, to remarkable heights. While the two companies’ departure from using the industry-standard Burr Brown chips may not be readily welcomed by everyone, only the very affluent in financial and technological competence could attempt such bold feats.
On the Harmonix Reimyo DAP-777, my July 2004 review of it predated that of the Accustic Arts DAC I Mk3 for more than 12 months, and Mr. Kazuo Kiuchi, Combak’s Managing Director, has revised his design in the 2005
model as reviewed in October 2005 by Laurence A. Borden. Furthermore, Mr. Borden concluded his review of the Combak DAC by proclaiming it as "one of the true bargains in digital audio."
Therefore, without discounting the possibility of the revised Combak product’s superiority over similarly priced DACs, I can only surmise that although my most recent audition of the $5,700 Accustic Arts DAC I Mk3 has secured the German DAC the accolade of the most refined solid-state DAC I’ve heard, the JVC K2 DAC may just as well be the other viable option, and for less.
Audio Note’s 2005, $31,725, Galahad-class DAC5 Special continues its predecessor’s reign in my system as the supreme iteration in the DAC art; but I keep the Accustic Arts around as a reminder of what I believe to be the best in solid-state DAC. Soon, I shall share my experience on the latest DAC5 Special, as well as on other promising solid-state DACs
with Dagogo’s readers.
Will the Accustic Arts continue to dominate the top solid-state spot? We shall see.
Regards,
Constantine Soo
11/25/05
subject = Yoshi Segoshi's "Have you been to Naru?"
The "NARU" article by Segoshi-san is wonderful. He is very good at painting a picture of the Tokyo scene at that time. From his writing, I can imagine the scene and the feeling of that period.
I wish I could have experienced the original Jazz Kissa scene of those days. I often went to a good Jazz Kissa in Kobe (Motomachi). The shop was M & M. A great place to hear great music on a fine system. Thanks for the great article, Mr. Segoshi!
Steve St. Louis, Marketing Representative
Breadwinner Music Group
stevenstlouis@yahoo.ca
11/19/05
subject = Yoshi Segoshi's "Have you been to Naru?"
I enjoyed the article. I would like to use it in an essay I am writing - it is a great source for a firsthand experience of the jazu kissa.
Really enjoyable.
Katie O'Leary
katieoleary@shaw.ca
11/19/05
subject = Klipschorn
Sir,
You are so right, I love my HORNS.
I went to the best audio store here in Oklahoma and I found that their best, $24,000 speakers could not compare to my horns, in all ranges. I had them play the Saint Saens symphony No. 3 Organ Telarc disc, and their best could not make the cut at all. The salesman did not understand what I was trying to find, I guess. I told him that these new speakers just don't have it.
My K-HORNS are also in a small room about the same as yours. I love my K-HORNS, there is no substitute for GREATNESS.
Thank you for your ear.
Shawn Carroll
whatever777@cox.net
1/16/05
subject = Yoshi Segoshi's "Have you been to Naru?"
SWEET!!
Wayne
wksalmon@yahoo.ca
11/10/05
company = self employed
jobtitle = owner /operator
subject = Genesis Servo Bass Cable
I have purchased and installed a 10' pair of the new cables to augment my V's , which quickly (5 minutes) resulted in taking out the right output stage of my Servo (400/side) amp. Have you heard of any others experiencing that?
I spoke with Shawn [of Genesis Advanced Technologies] and I had to source my own outputs. He figures this as coincidence. I have finally got the parts and they shall be installed this coming week. I'm somewhat reluctant to try the new cables again as this has been going on for 6 weeks after waiting the same for these supposed improved cables.
I would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks in advance
David Beetles
dbtrucks@shaw.ca
Dear Mr. Beetles,
Thank you for your email. I am sorry to hear about your mishap with the new Genesis servo cables.
The new Genesis servo cables is working perfectly with my VI's servo amp, which is the same as that of a V's. On this unique combination, in his visit, Gary Koh of Genesis examined my VI and commented that mine is probably the only Genesis VI, the rear label of which says "V", and is shipped with a V's remote controlled, more powerful servo amp. So with everything being equal, your situation is caused by the first cable probably.
I would contact Genesis first to have them examine your new cables and see if an exchange can be arranged. Hope this helps.
Let us know how it goes.
Regards,
Constantine
11/06/05
jobtitle = Librarian
subject = Accustic Arts Drive I/DAC I Mk3 Review
Dear Constantine,
How does the AA Drive 1 compare with the 47 Labs Flatfish (or Shigaraki transport)?
Thanks,
Dave Hagelaar
dave.hagelaar@sympatico.ca
Dear Mr. Hagelaar,
Thank you for your email. My experience is limited to the 47 Laboratory 4713 Flatfish CD transport and the Accustic Arts Drive I CD transport. I have not heard 47 Lab's 4716 Shigaraki CD transport yet.
As both the Accustic Arts Drive I and 47 Laboratory Flatfish with power supply are comparably priced at $5,500 and $5,400 respectively, interface preference would be the first important determining factor.
The 47 Lab Flatfish provides two RCA outputs, while the Accustic Arts Drive I has RCA, XLR and BNC. Some of us will absolutely refuse to use anything other than XLR, while some of us, like me, are having the time of our life just using RCA.
Other than that, sound quality-wise, the Accustic Arts is a more rounded performer with solid results across the board. The 47 Lab, however, has a distinct clarity throughout the spectrum that will enhance the music-listening experience of audiophiles with determined and distinct sonic preferences.
Therefore, I would tend to use the AA if system changes is to be expected, as it is able to interface with different DACs, as I have tried, and still come out with flying colors. As for the 47 Lab, don't try it if you have a faint heart.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Constantine
11/02/05
subject = Yoshi Segoshi's "Have you been to Naru?"
Great story about a scene that leaves me envious to have missed. Funto read and drives me to pull out a few old jazz albums and brew a cup.
Matt Meyer
mattmeyer@comcast.net
10/19/05
subject = Eastern Electric MiniMax CD player
The price of the EE CDP is shown at 1099.00 on the Morningstar website. Must have gone up, not a super bargain anymore in my mind!
Mike
mcadid@gmail.com
10/10/05
Subject = 47 Lab Flatfish & Progression Review
Dear Mr. Soo,
Allow me, some years after your fine test, a question.
Did you compare this Flatfish by the PiTracer or a Reimyo CDP 777 player? I use a Reimyo CDP as a transport, but I´m interested in a PiTracer.
The German importer told me that the sonic difference between FF and PT is very, very small.
One cannot lend these products here. One has to buy them "blind".
Best regards
Wolfgang Zöllner
wolfgang.zoellner@arcor.de
Dear Mr. Zollner,
Thank you for your email.
Despite the fact that the 47 Laboratory PiTracer CD transport has been on the market for quite some time now, many audiophiles remain uninterested at the mechanical marvel that the PiTracer is – a 20th century transport that is not built around any of the recognized transport mechanisms, among other design details.
Appreciation of the PiTracer will not be universal, partly owing to its prohibitive cost; but even for the financially capable, one’s priorities must be recognized when considering the PiTracer. For one, it exposes the content side of a CD to the external environment, and its relative operational slowness when compared to most CD transports can seem somewhat menacing. For myself, until I am able to uncover another CD transport that can surpass the PiTracer in bringing me musical satisfaction, I would rather bear it all.
Consider how you would feel about all this for US$26,800, versus the Combak Harmonix Reimyo CDP-777 that you already own, which everyone also raves about, has none of the PiTracer’s seemingly cumbersome attributes, and has a superb DAC built in.
It was only when I began to review the PiTracer two years later that I became aware of the vast improvement the PiTracer offer over the Flatfish. Mr. Zollner, to hear what the PiTracer can do, you have two options.
You must first either prepare an optimal platform in exploitation of the PiTracer, by investing into discerning electronics downstream, as well as loudspeakers of the most exquisite caliber. Or, you may acquire the PiTracer first with the determination to upgrade and evolve your system around the PiTracer, so as to experience what no other transport can do. I must caution you, Mr. Zollner, that lesser resolve than what I just recommended will not just deprive you of experiencing how much music the PiTracer is capable of; but will also bring about certain disappointment and distress for an unaccomplished quest.
Do not tackle the PiTracer just to give up halfway. Whether you are using a solid-state or tube DAC, you will hear what the PiTracer can do if it is a top-caliber DAC. And once you experienced the CD transport’s unique ability to recognize and separate a universe of sonic characteristics and shades, you will stop looking anywhere else – at least for quite some time.
My experience with the Combak Harmonix Reimyo CDP-777 is limited to that accumulated within the five-some odd days I spent with it last December before it had to be shipped to CES. Though impressed, I didn’t feel I would qualify as someone who had used it, much less writing about it.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Constantine Soo
9/27/05
Subject = 47 Lab/Omega review
Sandy,
I really enjoyed the article, and having heard the setup at your house in Philadelphia I feel that it was a very honest impression of the equipment.
The interjections of morsels of your life (lives) are great insights to your personality and your reviewing context. I was really impressed with the warmth and depth that the system conveyed...but my pet peeve was the face that the speakers were very sensitive to direction and where your ears are. I went through this with my mini fostex horns when I stacked them vertically, arranging the drivers about 6" o.c.
There were locations where this sounded great (my little homebrew response to cain/cain's double horn), but the setup was ultimately frustrating. Just for kicks, turn the speakers on their sides so the drivers are horizontally aligned. Thanks for the Cat5 mention. I will keep looking for things that are inexpensive, tweakable, off the shelf (or in the case of the 30' of cat5, I dumpster dove: free!), and work exceptionally well.
Matt.
matthewrayoder@comcast.net
9/22/05
Editor,
You should check out the Sony SCD-CE 595 CD/SACD changer. I bought mine for $138 at Circuit City online. This changer was reviewed by three e-zines very positively. It's also now being modded by a couple of companies.
Al Norberg
alan@warwick.net
9/20/05
Editor,
Like your website, would like to see more about horn loudspeakers, like CAR and Klipsch.
Alvin J McChester
alvinmcchester@msn.com
07/11/05
Audio Note speakers & Gamut amplification
Hi,
I really enjoyed your Gamut review. It was an interesting and well written perspective. I've read before of the seemingly unique synergy between Gamut amps and Audio Note speakers (I have the E's). Due to the arrival of kids in our life I've been considering a change from my hot running AN Meishu and deHavilland amps to something safer and with simpler (or zero) maintenance. The Gamut may be just the thing.
Thanks,
Andrew
Andrew,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. It is rewarding to know our findings could be of value to a Dagogo reader. Please enjoy your stay at our website, and we thank you for your readership.
Dagogo
07/07/05
Good old days
Hi Editor,
In the early 60's, when I was seventeen, there was a cafe in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, which featured live jazz. Hoagie's. Six booths, eight tables. Rarely full. Sometimes SRO.
Three to eight musicians every night. Many were music teachers around Minneapolis.
Great music, good coffee and a large order of french fries was cheap and delicious.
It seemed so normal, I never realized it was magic until I got back from that TV maxi-series in SE Asia and it was gone.
Now I am old and sick and laying in bed and listening to everything, even my breathing. It is all beautiful.
Someday, I will get my Ebay-found objet 300B amp working and hear what the fuss is about.
Happy Ears!
Al Marcy
(Ed. Note: Hoagie is what a few east-coast States call a Subway submarine sandwich.)
03/04/05
Feedback from another Reviewer
Dear Constantine: (This is written with the intention of your publishing it; whether you do of course is up to you)
I read with interest your review of the Reimyo PAT -777. In it you appear to quote Mr. Kiuchi in conjunction with an unnamed reviewer who expressed disappointment with the amplifier not being outfitted with original WE300B tubes. After speculating about whether the original WE 300B tube is sonically superior to those being produced today, Mr. Kiuchi is then quoted as saying in effect that it is unreasonable to expect a company to supply an amplifier with tubes that are discontinued.
In fact, I am the unnamed reviewer. Setting aside for the moment the fact that the quote could not have come from Mr. Kiuchi, whose English is a far cry from that attributed to him in your review, my complaint with the amplifier is completely misrepresented. My complaint was that the amplifier faceplate indicates that the amplifier is outfitted with original WE 300B tubes. In fact, this is simply false advertising. That is the complaint. And the explanation offered, namely, that the tube is no longer in production, is rendered unpersuasive by the following: first, both the rectifier and driver tubes employed in the amplifier are long since discontinued, yet they seem to have found their way into the amp; second, you attribute to Mr. Kiuchi the claim that he voiced the amplifier around the original WE300B tube, which begs the question: why design an amp around a tube that is discontinued and which you do not intend to supply with the amp? Third, at least some manufacturers of 300B amplifiers who refer to their amplifiers using the WE name in fact supply their amplifiers with the original tubes. None of this has anything to do with which tube sounds better of course.
Next, you refer to the circuit as novel and distinctive, but nothing could be further from the truth. It is in effect based on the very well known WE 91A circuit, which, while no slouch, is far from novel. It is at the heart of many
300B amplifiers.
I have listened to the amp extensively as well as to many other 300B amplifiers and simply can not concur with your assessment of its sonic signature or attributes. Not everyone really wants to hear a modern sounding 300B amplifier, and not everyone can identify the modern 300B sound. The PAT-777 is very far from a modern sounding 300B amplifier -- at least to my ears -- but it is a fine amplifier nonetheless. Indeed, as I indicated in my review, it is a beautiful sounding one.
Disagreement is inevitable in the context of audio reviewing; I take issue with your editorial judgment by using quotes when they are inappropriate, and with your misrepresenting the grounds of my disappointment with the PAT-777 not sporting original WE300B tubes.
Hope is going well.
Jules Coleman
Dear Jules,
Thank you for your email, it is always good to hear from a kindred spirit.
Your email brought up some very good points about the DAGOGO Harmonix Reimyo Amplification System Review, and I have summarized them as followed:
• A quote that couldn’t have come from Mr. Kiuchi, and a misrepresentation of your complaint about the PAT-777 in your 6moons Review
• Your disapproval of Mr. Kiuchi’s position on NOS WE 300B as presented in the DAGOGO Review
• Your disagreement towards my assessment of the PAT’s sound
Your complaint that I misrepresented your assessment is noted; but it wasn’t my goal or intention to enlist anyone else’s assessment. I was merely quoting what Mr. Kiuchi said. You are somewhat correct in stating that Mr. Kiuchi couldn’t have said what I wrote in the DAGOGO Review. For your and DAGOGO’s readers’ reference, the following is what Mr. Kiuchi conveyed in his own words:
“Original 300B: It's already collection type of tube. It can be hardly found to get. For me myself, it's not sense to use old tube, regardless of brand, which is no longer available in marketplace. When we designed PA-777, we always use both original and current WE300B. And also tested other tube like KR300B and Sophire but current version of WE 300B, for us, sounds well balanced and natural and more to better harmony.
Some people, however though, say KR300B better than Original 300B and vis-a-vis. There is no solution for this kind of argument as is more likely to the personal preference. I should, therefore, better not comment any things on tubes, especially, on old tube which is no longer available but important for me is to make the best sounding tube amplifier with existence tubes on the market and how much people can enjoy the music. Of course, the selection of good tube is necessary important but not at all as you know.
One reviewer say that PAT-777 does not use an original NOS tube and disappointed. I am a very sure that this is not important issue for most of music lovers whether I had to use Old tube.”
My role as a reviewer is to present concepts and ideas correctly, and that sometimes involve not just correcting misspellings or syntaxes, but a re-writing of the original text when necessary. On this, I think both you and I will agree that designers need not possess proficient English writing skills as long as they are talented in their own trade.
Regarding the PAT’s faceplate, your elaboration of your disapproval of it is a valid one, and one can only wish Mr. Kiuchi’s English were as good as his creative intellect. Then again, designers choose the circuits and tubes they want to use, and the only thing you and I could do is to tell our readers our verdicts, and the reasons behind them.
Whether the WE91 circuit is novel or not is in the eye of the beholder, so I can appreciate your dismissal of the circuit as being novel. To me, the fact that Mr. Kiuchi chose it as the basis of his design, a preference out of careful consideration, is a noteworthy point.
Your assessment that not everyone wants to hear a modern sounding 300B design is agreeable, and your disagreement of my assessment of the PAT is also well taken. Let me just say that I don’t doubt that I could’ve arrived at the same conclusion as yours had surrounding circumstances been different; but we must concede to the fact that, putting aside how different our systems are, you and I listen to music differently.
With the exception of my March-1 DAGOGO Review of the Boelen Digita-Precise digital cable system, which was succinct for the similarity the cable exhibited towards the Audio Note Sogon that I had mentioned in some DAGOGO Reviews, I go into a good amount of perspectives from various angles and approaches usually, mostly for justification, but always just to show the devil that I’m still sane.
©DAGOGO |