New Entry On Our Site: ABC’s
It’s up near the top, called ABC’s. It is a short list of my recommendations on how to assemble a dynamite system. It approaches the task from the beginning, with the Milwaukee credo of getting a dollar’s worth of performance for each dollar spent. Print it out. Highlight. Visit to discuss/audition!
Mobile Fidelity UltraDeck+ $2000
MoFi introduced its StudioDeck+ ($1150) a couple months ago. I’m glad they did the roll out in summer when business is slower- because the StudioDeck+ has been on back order since day one. Mofi has been busy trying to fill dealer demo requests. They’ve been impossible to get until now.
You can read about StudioDeck+ in our June newsletter. I’m happy to announce, just in, is the UltraDeck+, it’s bigger brother.
UltraDeck+ is the UltraDeck turntable, with UltraTracker cartridge included. The UltraDeck runs $1800 by itself. UltraTracker runs $500 by itself. If you buy the PACKAGE, MoFi sweetens the deal, calling it the UltraDeck+ with the $300 combo price break.
UltraDeck Table: $1800 a la carte
-Hardened stainless steel inverted bearing with brass sleeve & sapphire thrust pad
-10” Tonearm with precision bearings
-1.3” Delrin Platter with decoupled spindle
-Fully Isolated AC Synchronous Motor
-Aluminum damping overlay
-Cardas internal tonearm wiring
-Hinged dust cover
-Height adjustable isolation feet by HRS
UltraTracker Cartridge: $500 a la carte
-DUAL Magnet (to emulate cutter head motion) MM cartridge, 3.5mV
-Single piece Cantilever Design
-Nude Elliptical Stylus
-Silver Billet low resonance body
MasterTracker Cartridge: $700 a la carte
-DUAL Magnet (to emulate cutter head motion) MM cartridge, 3.0mV
-Single piece Cantilever Design
-Nude Microline Stylus
-Dark Grey low resonance Billet body
-Employs Ohno Copper Coils
StudioPhono MM/MC Phono Preamp $250
What?! Did I read that correctly? A dead quiet, great sounding phono preamp that supports top MM & MC cartridges for only $250?! Wow!
Up till now we’ve only been able to endorse phono preamps for about $1500 (Rega Aria) that played nice with top MCs. Well, we now have a terrific sounding, if not baronial in scale, phono preamp to mate with the best carts out there. I’m reluctant to say that a $250 phono preamp is a game changer in the analog world but…
Spend the lion’s share on the cartridge. StudioPhono will take care of the electronics affordably!
New! Marantz SR-6012 Surround Receiver $1500
Marantz’s new SR-6012 has just arrived. It has Dolby Atmos and 9×110 on board to drive the whole system, 5.1.4. It also supports the new HDR/Dolby Vision and HLG video technologies.
Dolby Atmos is available in four ceiling channels or two. You want four. With four, your image
can go left/right/front/back. It can even SWIRL around the room. With two, it can only go back/forth between the two speakers. For the extra effort that Atmos requires, do it right and run four!
Marantz receivers have a three year warranty parts and labor. They have discrete transistors for all channels and heat sink properly so they don’t need noisy fans. The other guys use fans and even hybrid chip amps in some models!
Most importantly, the Marantz receivers are the most reliable out there. When you take into account all that surround sound receivers do these days, it’s a tall order to make them work properly.
Marantz has been doing surround receivers since the category was invented. We have sold Marantz since the 1980s and it’s the only surround receiver line we feel we can endorse.
New! Marantz SR-5012 Surround Receiver $1000
Marantz’s new SR-5012 has just arrived. It has Dolby Atmos and 7×100 on board to drive a system of 5.1.2. It also supports the new HDR/Dolby Vision and HLG video technologies.
New! Marantz SR-7012 Surround Receiver $2200
Marantz’s new SR-7012 runs 125×9 with the features of its brothers above. What makes the 7012 tempting is that its parts are more erudite. The sonic purity is not just beefier, but cleaner. It’s the best surround receiver out there! If you want to do it all on one chassis at a fair price, get 7012.
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
In 1949 Strauss put his compositions in perspective with Wagner’s.
“With Wagner, music reached its summit. I am only a straggler.”