EMT continue to refine and fill out their renowned cartridge range, this time adding another amazing cartridge to the top of their HiFi line. The JSD VM will sit alongside the JSD P6.0 (Platinum), and JSD S75 (Lady in Black) as EMT's premium offerings. The JSD VM (Varia Mass) is an interesting concept, as it allows the user to adjust the cartridge mass to best suit the tonearm; by way of inserting various weights into the cartridge body. The user can easily adjust the Cartridge mass from 10g to 13g.
*MUNICH NEWS* Slim V2 - Thales Tonarm Introduces the TTT-Slim II /
Another huge weekend for the audio world at Munich High End trade show 2017 has come to a close. We are busily updating our website to reflect the many new additions to product lines, and excitedly fielding enquiries from those already in the know.
Thales Tonarm's innovative minimalist battery powered turntable designs have been a favourite of ours for quite some time. The updated TTT-Compact II released last year was widely applauded for its next level performance, in our demonstration system at the Melbourne International HiFi Show 2016. Together with their highly popular Tonearms "Simplicity" and "Easy", Thales turntables have found homes with many Australian music lovers, who appreciate the very dynamic, detailed performance and minimal design. By compressing every element of the turntable construction, Thales are able to create extraordinary mechanical stability, unobtainable by many larger more elaborate designs; all within a compact footprint.
This year Thales have shown their brand new TTT-Slim II Turntable. The smaller sibling to the TTT-Compact II has received a comprehensive facelift and is stunning in both visual appeal, performance and ergonomics. New transport spacers, high density platter inlay and updated motor decoupling dampening system are just a few of the latest improvements over the original TTT-Slim.
Updated TTT-S II Product Page, and downloads HERE
The Slovenian High End Audio Experience - Kuzma Analogue Academy /
THE SLOVENIAN HIGH END AUDIO EXPERIENCE - KUZMA ANALOGUE ACADEMY
With the excitement building towards the Munich High End show- just a little under two weeks away, my thoughts are cast back to around this time last year. I was lucky enough to be invited, and attend the inaugural Kuzma Analogue Academy, an amazing concept of Kuzma Analogue owner and founder Franc Kuzma.
Kuzma Analogue have long cemented themselves as one of the world’s leading high end turntable designers and manufacturers, with legendary analogue reference equipment. Such as; the Kuzma Stabi Reference turntable, XLDC and most recent, Stabi M turntable. Not to be forgotten are the exceptional reference tonearms such as the renowned Kuzma 4Point, Airline and the many variants of the Stogi S and Stogi Reference. Kuzma has forged a huge reputation for their tremendous build quality, iconic design and superb technical, ergonomic and of course sonic performance.
With distributors on six continents and dealers in more countries than I care to count, Franc Kuzma extended the generous invitation for a limited number of distributors, press and dealers to visit the home of Kuzma Analogue in Slovenia. An opportunity to bring expertise together and explore and learn Franc's own tricks, techniques and philosophy on turntable setup, with an official exam and certification from the Analogue Academy at the end.
For many of the twenty odd attendees from as far afield as Brazil, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia and Australia. It was our first time to Slovenia, and a real pleasure to experience 4-5 days of Slovenian hospitality, humour and tradition. Arriving mid afternoon to Hotel Zaplata, where the entire small traditional style Slovenian hotel had been booked out by Kuzma following the huge interest in the Analogue Academy (originally numbers were predicted for 8-12people). We were greeted by the fantastically friendly staff at the hotel, a huge Kuzma banner at the front door, flagged by the giant taxidermy animal window display, boy do they like hunting and animal wall hangings there! Before I could sit my bags down I was greeted by Franc and invited to meet the many attendees who had already arrived. Basking in the afternoon spring sunshine, looking up to the nearby snow sprinkled peak from the quaint roadside hotel; everyone enjoyed some local brews or wine and got acquainted.
Dinner was a traditional Slovenian feast of many mainstay dishes, Franc was the ultimate host in opening the Analogue Academy, welcoming us all and giving thorough introduction for us to Slovenian lifestyle, food(Franc himself had played a big part in designing the menu for the evening) and their slight inclination for a beer or wine. A few bets, taunts and challenges were made regarding passing the Academy setup exam for a few days time and we all hit the hay.
Friday began with a very thorough outline of the course content and practical plans. Followed by a valuable series of comprehensive theoretical lectures from Franc and his team on analogue design, challenges, Kuzma products and their own setup methods, tools and techniques.
Franc, whilst at the top of his game and an absolute expert in the field, graciously remains very open to other opinions, set-up tools and people’s hands-on experiences with different equipment. Many of the distributors have been working closely with Kuzma for many years. These are professionals with vast analogue experience, who are dealing with real world system setups, and troubleshooting on a daily basis. Analogue setup experts who provide the very best service possible, to supply and support Kuzma products all over the world. Whilst many customers have experience and skills on analogue setup, to extract the very best from an analogue source, there are very tight tolerances to adhere to. When available, it is always suggested that turntable setup is carried out by Kuzma product specialists. This is, and should be your retailers mission, to setup, oversee and ensure that you are getting the absolute best you can from your precision instrument!
Moving on, with hugely filled stomachs we were given the opportunity to work on all Kuzma products, and practice the Kuzma setup techniques. In-between, small groups were ferried off to visit Frank Kuzma's own office. His astounding record collection, and amazing high end system were showcased, and we enjoyed a taste of his own reference system used for testing and comparing new designs.
A luxurious dinner in a nearby village saw us all rolling out of the bus for bed after a feast of locally sourced ingredients. This included a head chef who hunts and cures his own salamis, sausages and many other meats…A carnivore’s paradise!
Saturday was much more practical, with testing and exams. All attendees passing with flying colours (of course), but not without strict assessment, triple checking by the fastidious production manager and employees. These gentlemen eat, live and breathe the precision that goes into each and every part, process and innovation of the Kuzma products, and expect it will be maximised with a setup of exacting standards.
Some interesting new products were discussed and shown by various distributors, including the AFI FLAT record flattener, and an audio specific piezoelectric vibration platform. Some varying ideals and analogue techniques were discussed. A great talk was given by journalist Roy Gregory, on his own take on analogue audio; which held some terrific discussion points for everyone in the industry, and audio passionates alike.
A visit to the Kuzma production house was extremely interesting, seeing the many production parts laid out in mass, vintage machining lathes still in service-better quality than what you buy new today. Assembly desks, electronics and wiring construction all in an extremely clean and well laid out light filled workshop, still buzzing with some late minute operations at around 6pm on a Saturday. Vinyl audiophiles wait for no man.
A celebration dinner at one of Ljubljana’s finest restaurants was spectacular and rather theatrical in its unfolding. Franc Kuzma continued to offer bus ride commentary, about the history and insights into Slovenia, and the surrounding areas as we went by. We met outside in a quirky outdoor beer garden, filled with antique machinery and interestingly repurposed and recycled furniture. Welcome drinks were already on order.
Inside the ambient lit “antique shop” feel restaurant, rows of records lined the back bar, and on a wall platform was nothing less than an original Kuzma reference turntable. After the greeting from the staff, it was apparent that Franc Kuzma is somewhat of a celebrity here, and from all reports, all over Slovenia. The charismatic, pride filled person that he is, it's easy to see why.
A huge feast saw us take over the entire restaurant, forming one giant horseshoe shaped table where the staff brought dish after dish and the head chef came to carve his way into everyone’s memories forever. Such was the performance and enthusiasm all night, no wonder Franc loves this place.
Terrific hospitality, new friends and stories aside, the opportunity to visit Slovenia alone was well worth the trip across the world. But the content, thorough planning and execution combined with the melting pot of knowledge amassed from all over the world, shared so openly for the benefit of all involved, made the first Kuzma Analogue Academy simply an outstanding event. All credit to Kuzma for creating such a terrific concept, and executing it with such style and thought. One can only hope we will see another KAA someday soon.
All the best to the Kuzma team at Munich High End 2017. I believe they have some exciting new product announcements to share in the coming weeks. Now to find a recipe for that famous Slovenian "Layer Cake".
*Kuzma were kind enough to provide a digital copy of the textbook theory from the academy you can download here. There is also plenty of other reading on the Kuzma website.
Discreet FPGA - A Better DAC alternative /
While the world catches back on to the fantastic sound of the vinyl record, digital is certainly not standing still either. The discreet FPGA Digital to Analogue conversion implemented in the EMM Labs and Playback Designs products leaves most other D/A conversion in their wake. The ability for these DAC's to be firmware upgradable when the manufacturer makes advancements with their algorithms is like getting a new product allover again, extending the product life far beyond that of the almost annual hardware updates from many other manufacturers. The pictured EMM Labs DA2 released recently, is the absolute state of the art new converter from veteran electronics, digital and DSD guru Ed Meitner and team at EMM Labs/Meitner Designs. As awareness grows around the benefit to sound quality when not restrained to the confines of CD quality sample rate and bit depth, Hi-resolution downloads are becoming more and more common. The DA2 will take absolutely any file format you can throw at it and with further advancements to their long used trademark DSD up-sampling regime, the DA2 now up-samples all signals to an extraordinary DSD1024 (16xDSD @ 45Mhz/49Mhz). Sound is carefully tuned with Meitners trademark audiophile analogue output stages and the digital interfaces are extremely advanced to reduce any jitter or other interference from noisy digital signals, without the need for ancillary boxes like re-clockers, isolators etc. Meitner have thought of everything, and it's all in this turnkey box, taking the confusion and complication out of computer audio. With products like this and our others from MolaMola, Playback Designs & T+A, Digital Audio has most certainly come of age.
Science Meets Master Craftspeople - Thales Tonearm Technology /
Our fine friends and master crafts people at Thales have added a new technology page to their already very informative website, please read on for a great insight into the mechanics of what makes their tonearms truly brilliant. Further reading is also available on their website for whitepapers and brochures on all their outstanding products, or simply arrange a time with us to come and audition them for yourself.
IDEA
It all began when Micha Huber sought for a way to combine the advantages of a conventional pivoted tonearm and those of a linear tangential pick-up arm. The solution method is based on the well-known elementary school aid to construct a tangent: the Thales' circle. After much thought and calculations, a three-dimensional mechanical solution emerged that satisfies all the requirements placed on a modern pick-up system.
The long-cherished dream of geometrically correct tracking with low friction pivoted bearings became reality. A new patent was added to the dozens of existing patents that testify to this dream: CH 694567 Tangential Pivoted Tonearm, announced in May 2004.
DESIGN
Our philosophy is not only to find theoretical perfect solutions but also to realize them the most precise way and achieve continuous improvement in order to set new standards in music reproduction. Therefore, we invest into research and development constantly and we realized tangential pivoted tonearms with more complex mathematical background allowing more elegant mechanical execution.
Based on the experience that a turntable with its tonearm should be designed as one single unit, we have developed our own turntable-line which meets highest requirements. The portfolio is completed by our own phono- and line-cables.
TECHNOLOGY
TRACKING ERROR
While cutting the master disc of vinyl LP, the cutting-tool is hold on a massive support and guided linearly above the disc’s surface. This arrangement keeps the cutter-head rigid, even if high cutting forces occur.
While tracking the LP for playback, it’s totally different properties: the pickup-cartridge should follow the groove as smooth as possible and even tolerate eccentric and wavy vinyl. Therefore, radial pivoted tonearms are established as they allow to reduce unintentional forces at the tracking point tremendously. However, this mechanically preferred solution ends up with a geometrical error, since the cartridge is not guided tangentially to the groove anymore.
This so called tracking error basically distorts the music signal in a non-linear manner. By using non-spherical diamond tips (f. e. elliptical), further consequences as timing error and channel-differences in the frequency-response occur.
GEOMETRY THALES ORIGINAL
The unique Thales-solution combines in an elegant way the advantages of the tried and tested pivoted tonearm with the absolutely tangential tracking. This construction for which a patent was taken out on the 8th of May 2004 reduces the perfectly tangential tracking to pivot points, while the pick-up cartridge is taken and aligned on the Thales' Circle.
All triangles ABC on the Thales' Circle around M are rectangular in point C. Thus BC stands rectangular to AC and therefore tangential to the groove (red) with the radius AC. Because the pick-up cartridge is mounted exactly under point C and in the alignment of the straight line BC the tracking is perfectly tangential in every position.
From this completely new solution the following advantages ensue:
- No tracking error and no consequential resulting distortions
- Minimal friction because of pivot bearings; no linear bearings; no active tracking
- Short tonearm with little resonance
- Symmetric inertia at the tracking point in all axles
GEOMETRY THALES SIMPLICITY
There is a small but mighty history in finding elegant solutions for tangential tracking of analogue records. Some of the inventors concentrated themselves on tetragon-geometry:
P. W. D. BURNE-JONES
He announced in 1953 a patent with a tetragon tonearm where the cartridge was mounted in the middle of one side. Burne-Jones sold tonearms under his own name, and his idea was adapted several times.
GARRARD ZERO 100
This tonearm, published in 1970, is the best known solution working almost tangential. The cartridge tip was mounted exactly below a pivot-point. This idea made it possible to reduce the tracking error to +0.025 / -0.018°
Even if this solutions are not to be mixed up with the Thales-Original Solution – as the Thales is working on a triangle instead of a tetragon – the experience with the Thales geometry made it possible for Micha Huber to even optimize the tetragon solution and reduce the tracking error to 0.006° which is four times less than all solution published so far. This new geometry now made it possible to come very close to the perfect Thales geometry while using less parts and very elegant design.
GEOMETRY THALES EASY
The geometrical basis for the Easy tonearm is a novelty in tonearm-design. It’s the first solution by Thales where none of the bearing-points is located directly above the stylus. The clever arrangement of six bearing points creates three null points for the horizontal tracking error, plus a zero point for the variable offset angle. So, not only the tracking error is reduced, but the skating force as well.
SKATING FORCE
The skating force is so called because it causes the tonearm to glide over the record from the outside to the inside, so to say 'to skate'. This force which draws the tonearm to the centre of the disc ensues indirectly from the friction between the tracking diamond and the record. This friction force always takes effect in the direction of the tangent line. If the pivot point of the tonearm is not located on the tangent, the friction force is divided into two components: one takes effect in the direction of the pivot point of the tonearm, the other takes effect towards the centre of the disc.
FORCES
The force Ft results from the friction between the record and the tracking diamond. It acts tangentially. Because the pivot point is not located on the tangent, this force is divided into Fa which acts in the direction of the pivot point and Fs which is the skating force. The value of the skating force is not easily determined. It depends – first of all – on the music signal, further on the tracking weight, the circumferential speed and the tonearm and diamond geometry.
Therefore, even if the Thales-tonearms do track tangentially, their offset angle requiers compensation of the skating force. Since the offset angle for all our tonearms are lower than with normal tonearms, we do preset the compensation and it’s not adjustable for the client. For the different solutions, the compensation mechanism is solved as follows:
- Thales Original: compensation-mass on a small lever, decreasing towards the inner groove because of decreasing offset angle
- Thales Simplicity II: magnetical compensation between the two arm-tubes, decreasing towards the inner groove because of decreasing offset angle
- Thales Easy: no skating compensation required, since the offset angle oscillates around the zero-point (straight arm)
Antipodes Music Servers - All that digital audio cracked up to be /
Digital arrived in the audio world with many promises. Convenience was good. CD players and transports improved, but the potential of digital and computer audio had not been realised until the culmination of more recent events.
Firstly, the recognition of record labels, artists & mastering engineers that not only was the loudness war a race to the bottom, but also inherently the the cd format is also somewhat hobbled by design. If the recording was captured in a higher resolution which is far more common nowadays, there is audible benefit to maintaining this high resolution through to playback, and releasing via digital downloads, SACD or Blu-Ray Audio recordings in their native format, or in the case of re-releases, high resolution transfers from the best possible source available. Not to be mistaken in saying that CD’s sound bad in general, or one particular file format is better than the other, but recognising that in our journey to reach for that final few % in performance of our system and the ultimate intimacy with the recording, it would be silly to accept a bottleneck such as that of a reduced resolution source. We are very happy to see more and more releases re-visited and released in all their digital glory.
The other and equally exciting event being the arrival of the dedicated music server. A machine with it’s sole purpose to deliver music both conveniently, but most importantly, as best as it can possibly sound. Antipodes Audio set out to build the best possible digital music server and quickly realised it was no simple task. An off the shelf computer is a hugely multipurpose machine and not optimised for any particular task.
All the steps taken in the development of Antipodes Music Servers have been tested by measurements and listening along the way. The development was long and arduous to get to the polished, stellar performance of today. Steps taken included, removal of all unimportant components and the design and manufacture of custom motherboards, custom developed operating system eliminating all but vital background software processes, addition of custom low noise circuits and power supplies, a balanced approach to spec for processing power whilst optimising the lowest possible noise for CPU and RAM clocking rates, Jitter reduction via dedicated audiophile USB interface with the highest quality low noise clocking. The list goes on, and we are sure there are many secrets under the hood held closely to their chests.
The Antipodes Music Servers have been some of our most popular digital products in recent times, taking all the confusion out of an optimised computer audio system with turnkey packages that just plain work. Sound quality and feature set surpassing that of other server or digital audio transport currently on the market. The latest software updates offers seamless integration with Roon and many other popular playback software. If you have been dreaming of a one box, optimised server for all your digital audio media, in the highest audiophile quality, easily controlled from the convenience of your smartphone or tablet, these units are for you.
Kii Three Active Loudspeakers - Lifestyle hifi with professional performance. /
We are super passionate about each and every one of our hand picked line of products, all of which have cutting edge design and technology involved, with performance as their ultimate goal. This particular musical marvel has it in spades. The Kii Three is an extremely advanced active loudspeaker, designed with premium components and construction, with the added advantage of sophisticated on board digital signal processing(DSP). What does that mean? By implementing speakers, amplifiers, crossovers, digital signal processing and digital to analogue conversion onboard, the designer is in total control of each element to create a perfect harmonious interplay. This is truly an all-in-one system, but lightyears ahead in sound quality than the current crop of "lifestyle" active systems.
The Kii receives digital or analogue input, and using its six drivers per speaker and in-house DSP, cleverly creates a cardioid, controlled directivity bass response, helping enormously in eliminating common room acoustic issues. Cardioid bass means you can place speakers in corners or up against walls with no sonic degradation - and lets face it, many of us need to maximise all the space we have, or simply wish good sound could fit in our homes with less impact to our interiors.
Do not be deceived, this small speaker, while removing the clutter of other components, has a full range, extremely flat frequency response like a floor standing speaker. Ultra low distortion specs and fantastic impulse response, means professional mix and mastering engineers are also clambering over themselves to get a pair. And for us mere mortals that means - kickass full range sound, in a compact package, on a stand where the robot vac can't get at it.
We could continue on about the components, technology and pedigree of this new product all evening, but there is already ample detailed technical information online. For those eager or willing to break the confines of a traditional hifi setup, with all the benefits it brings, it's an exciting time.
Kii Three is also available with a rugged professional finish for studio use, or any choice of RAL or custom automotive colours.
the Record Revolution - MKII & the Kuzma Stabi S - High End Turntable at an affordable price /
As we see the burgeoning comeback of records and record players allover the world, it's exciting to see people back indulging in the beauty of vinyls. Young children in record stores excited over the latest LP releases, their parents alongside thumbing through crates of freshly wrapped brand new records while carrying a small cache of tasty fresh albums or classic re-issues, as seasoned bargain hunters and collectors scour the clearance boxes. This is just a regular day at any local big box media store. Many smaller niche record stores are also popping up allover. What's old is new again, and if anything it is simply lovely to see an excitement over physical media, tangible things for real people, made by craftspeople, with music created by real artists. People are back in shops meeting and talking with other music lovers, sharing and enjoying music and the experience of being part of whatever sub-culture their musical taste desires - true human interaction among all our digital disconnect.
We see statistics of amazing growth in records and players, and hope that they are all being used. For a long time many of us "audio nuts" have known the still superior sound that is achievable with analogue playback. As people begin the journey into and through exploring records and sound, we do hope it will spark even more intrigue in some to find the best playback system and sound for their records. The immediate yet delicate nature of records demands your attention to detail and we believe this is all part of the charm. A record player should be upto the task of playing back every detail within those grooves, and those audiophile weighted vinyl's should be played back on an audiophile player, capable of completely flooring all but the very best digital playback. A turntable should be easy to adjust in its setup, a joy to use in playback, stylish and complimentary in your home, and it's quality of fit and finish should be absolute, as you would expect from the quality of your valuable new or collectable pressings. It should last, with care, alongside you and your love of records well into old age.
Kuzma in Slovenia have been building turntables of absolute quality for over 30 years, and throughout the decline and almost death of the record, have toiled away refining and creating new tweaks and innovations, many of which designs have stood the test of time now for many years. Our introductory level turntable, is Kuzma's smallest offering, the Stabi S. The stunning T shaped solid brass construction takes technical design elements from far more expensive tables. It offers the fine, delicate finish of all Kuzma products and performance of incredible value for money. Truly stunning in it's appearance and performance, it can be mated to a wide range of tonearms, and also offers pathways for upgrades should you ever desire. True master craftsmanship at an affordable price, the Stabi S is a desirable table of a quality surpassing other tables of similar value with ease. On demo in our Melbourne showroom.
musikelectronic geithain RL906 - Powered monitors for the masses /
A pair of our baby ME Geithain RL906 is the perfect place to start looking for a compact yet supremely natural and open sound. Powered with one class A/B amplifier per driver(two per speaker) built into the refined German handmade cabinetry, allows excellent matching of the amplifier to the driver.
A quality powered speaker gives you freedom from a jungle of cables from separate amplifiers. Just connect your source of choice and away you go. Making it considerably easier to achieve a clean, compact look without sacrificing a bit on sound (many would argue it is superior).
Smaller speakers usually suffer from lack of headroom as the volume increases, or a skewed or hyped frequency response, but MEG coming from a professional audio pedigree ensure the utmost transparency and balanced, honest sound, reproducing every nuance of the recording. These powered speakers punch far above their size and are loved by both pro's and consumers who need a compact solution that is flexible with room positioning and taste(RL906 has a variety of onboard adjustments for fine tuning & room placement). With the option to be further complimented by one of their brilliant matched subwoofers if additional bass extension is preferred.
Available in a wide range of finishes, MEG powered speakers are also capable of in-wall install for those chasing a seamless look without compromising on sound.