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By Michael Miguest
RANDY WESTON BLUE MOSES RANDY WESTON CARNIVAL/ LIVE AT MONTREUX 1974 By Michael Miguest
KEITH JARRETT LIFE BETWEEN THE EXIT SIGNS KEITH JARRETT STANDARDS, VOLUMES 1 & 2 By Michael Miguest
All of the following albums are on the DRAGON label and were recorded Live in Stockholm in 1960 and 1961. MILES DAVIS & JOHN COLTRANE THELONIOUS MONK QUARTET MILES DAVIS & SONNY STITT By Michael Miguest PORTRAIT OF ART FARMER ERIC DOLPHY/ LAST DATE ERIC DOLPHY/ CARIBE HAMPTON HAWES/ ALL NIGHT SESSION/ VOLS 1-3 By Jean Nantais
The Transcription Record Deck (Ultimate Lenco) Built from the ground up from, initially, a stock Lenco throughout a decades-long evolution, rather than from a theoretical “state of the art” realized with no context. The Final End Game in my Lenco story which started first in 1992, which then moved onto Audiogon back in January 2004 via a DIY thread introducing the Lenco-as-high-end to the world, so the result of 24 years of research and development. In 2004 I challenged the world’s best with what I now sell as the Classic Lenco, which has been improved steadily through the years. I worked ceaselessly throughout to steadily drop the noise floor, and to remove impediments from true speed stability (in the motor, in the bearing, via mass and direct coupling), and to put the sound of materials, isolated and in combination, to work. With the Reference Lencos I created, with regards to the plinth, a “Symphony in Wood”, tapping into the energies trapped in various but very specific solid woods to give superb atmospherics and detail, while being controlled, via my building techniques and various materials, so as to give a tonally accurate result and a great sense of realism. This was married to a symphony of carefully tested and chosen metals and plastics, to achieve, together (plinth and modified and rebuilt machine) state-of-the-art noise floors and extreme accuracy of information, timing, dynamics and bass. Then the Reference Lenco MKIII, which started as a test-bed for the elements which go into the making of the Ultimate: 1) a new platter (had to listen to and evaluate the sound of various alloys; as well as test mass and its effect on the main bearing, etc.) and 2) the new chassis (also tested for the sound of alloys and so on) and 3) a new bearing, meant to deal with the greater stresses of the new platter, and also to lower the noise floor and improve the overall sound even further. The basic building blocks of the Ultimate Lenco verified, to some extent, in the Reference Lenco MKIII, I turned to the plinth for the Ultimate Lenco. I started by testing the sound of very select versions of the woods I use in the Reference Lenco MKIII and MKII, which I did by building a plinth from them, and then comparing two otherwise identical Reference Lenco MKIIIs. The experiment was a success, with very audible improvements across the sonic board (greater dynamics, richness and atmospherics, bass), and so I set out to acquire volumes of the very rare necessary materials for future Ultimate Lenco commissions. All that done, the Ultimate is built around the new platter, which is 14 1/4″ in diameter, and of a different alloy than the Reference platter to compensate for the extra mass: the aim is to increase inertia without appreciably increasing overall mass, a far more intelligent and effective method than simply building up platters vertically with enormous mass. The increase in diameter results in superior inertia, which results in another improvement of speed stability – which is ALWAYS audible across the board. The Ultimate main bearing is designed for the Ultimate but is a component of the Reference Lenco MKIII, and is a carefully-designed mix of engineering and materials, same as every other aspect of my work. I wanted to keep these elements and so keep stress on it as low as possible, which meant achieving a total mass close to that of the Reference Platter, which is the final touch for the Reference Lenco series. So, the increase in inertia of the Ultimate platter, rather than depending on simply increasing mass vertically (simply making it heavier), with its greater stresses and wear on the main bearing, as is common with expensive belt-drives, is achieved because the platter is spinning “faster”, and so is harder to stop. This is the principle of a bullet fired from a gun, which penetrates due to speed. How does this work? Speed is a measure of distance over time (ex. miles per hour). The circumference of a circle is simply its length, calculated via the value pi (3.1416). The practical way of measuring circumference without mathematics is to cut a piece of string, wrap it around the edge of the disc, mark where the ends meet precisely, then straighten the string and put it against a ruler. You now have a straight line which gives you the “length”, or distance, of the outer rim. RPM means rotation per minute, so that a record player spins at 33 1/3 (33.33) rotations per minute. The “length/distance” figure for the outer rim of a 12” platter is 37.68″; which, given 33 1/3 rpm, means 1256 inches per minute. This is its speed. The Ultimate Platter, being 14.25″ across, has a circumference of 44.745″, which is some 7″ “longer” than a regular platter, and so the rim speeds along at 1491 inches per minute, which is 235.35 inches per minute faster than a regular platter, or close to 19.6 feet per minute faster, even though the platter still spins at 33 1/3. Like a car or a bullet, the faster it goes the harder it is to stop. Don’t forget that with a solid platter with most of its weight concentrated on the rim, the Ultimate outer rim is not only going faster, it is also heavier, 7” of extra metal mass , making it harder to stop again, compounding the inertia where it counts, where it is going faster (like moving to a higher-calibre bullet). This should create an increase in inertia superior to that achieved by the typical vertically-increased platter at multiples of the mass of the Ultimate. So yes, this means it has more power to overcome stylus force drag, or more simply the friction of the diamond in the groove. Is this increase of outer mass and speed – seven inches of extra material at roughly 20 feet per minute faster – audible? In fact, it is, incredibly so! This is facilitated of course by the Ultimate bearing, and by new techniques in tuning the motor, both of which remove impediments to speed stability, so allowing that greater inertia to be heard. The platter alloy is also even more tonally accurate than the Reference Platter, which was a hoped-for outcome, which itself is a big step up from the stock platter (also due to increased speed stability due to superior machining/balance). The chassis was redesigned to accommodate the new platter, built stronger than the Reference Lenco MKIII chassis, and necessarily larger to accommodate the larger platter. The new chassis was also tested in isolation in comparison with that of the MKIII, and found sonically superior again, once all elements had been fine-tuned to achieve an overall correct tonal balance. As compared with the Reference Lenco MKIII + new platter, The Ultimate has superior, much more detailed and impactful bass (in fact, it is practically impossible, supernatural bass); greater palpability/sense of 3-dimensional/”thereness”; greater transient speed (though this, paradoxically, achieves a more relaxed, “real-time” live feel); greater separation of detail; greater retrieval of detail; more lingering decays; greater high frequency accuracy; and finally an absolutely rivetting, commanding presentation of the music (greater excitement and coherence, expressed as greater menace in appropriate tracks, and greater poetry in others). It is the final word in overall performance, and in terms of emotional power and artistic intent. Introductory price of $15,000. A Jr., lower-priced version, will also soon be available. Contact for pricing and details. http://www.idler-wheel-drive.com/ By Michael Miguest Let me be crystal clear and avoid any ambiguity. I have been a devotee of the venerable Denon 103 and more recently the Denon 103r for many, many years. Combined with my Allnic AUT 2000 SUT, these carts have consistently provided me a level of musical satisfaction, so far beyond their price points, that every single time I entertained the idea of moving up the high-end audio cartridge chain, I could not justify the cost. For example,the Shelter 501 series cost almost 4x a Denon and to my ears, I prefered the Denon. I have heard the Lyras, Dynavectors, Airtights, Koetsus, Van Den Huls and many other exorbitantly priced high-end carts and found they all had one thing in common with regard to price/performance: They were overpriced. The subject of my review is the Kiseki Purpleheart NS and it costs about 8x my Denon. It is housed in a rare purpleheart wood body. It has a boron cantilever, a nude line-contact diamond stylus that is mirror polished, and an output of .48mV with a recommended loading of 400 Ohms and a VTF of 2.4. It is a very detailed cartridge, but not inordinately analytical. It is my Denon resplendently refined with an intoxicating resolution that paints a more complete all encompassing musical tapestry that saturates you with rich, vibrant, inviting, harmonic textures and a tonality to die for. It inextricably connects all of the micro and macro nuances of the recorded event sans colorations producing a realism that must be heard to fully comprehend what I am attempting to convey. The Kiseki Purpleheart NS will be my next cartridge and for the first time I am able to justify its cost. My love affair with the Denons has been predicated on its fundamental rightness. They sound powerful and energetic. The Denon's midrange flourishes on instrumental timbres that seem correct and are beautiful to hear. Drums are tight and dynamic. Brass, woodwinds and brass are breathy and organic. However, unlike the Kiseki Purpleheart, the 103's do have limited treble resolution. The Kiseki Purpleheart however, puts "more" in front of all my positive descriptions of the Denons. Finally, let me conclude this review with a clear explanation of my justifying the cost of this cartridge. I preferred the Denons over the Shelter 501, which many audio pundits believe this is the next step up to achieve better performance than the Denon. The economy of scales has allowed the cost of the Denon cartridge to remain the same as it cost in the 70's. As a result, it is unequivocally a high-end audio bargain that could cost near the price of the Shelter 501s. Consequently, that would make the Kiseki Purpleheart NS only 2x more than the Denon. In my humble opinion, the sonic ectasy the Kiseki Purpleheart NS extracts from the grooves of your vinyl is a hell of a lot more than twice as good. It doesn't get much better than this.
By Michael Miguest I have always had a penchant for the "Arts" because of the positive aesthetic, intellectual, and emotional impact it has on my very existence. A Work Of Art is defined as: (1) the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. (2) the various branches of creative activity, such as painting, music, literature, and dance. A work of art is a creative product with strong imaginative and/or aesthetic appeal.
I am going to start my review of the Reference Lenco MKIII by Jean Nantais with a question: How does one improve on Perfection? Jean Nantais' answer is simple: you make your perfection more perfect. A collaboration between Jean, myself, one of Jean's clients, and a 45 minute drive afforded me the opportunity to view and audition Jean's latest "Work of Art"- The Reference Lenco MKIII with his updated platter. As with most of his parts (except for the Classic-level main bearing and TJN Mod), he only sells his new platters to his clients, as they are too difficult to have made, and they are done in small runs. Jean's new Reference platter, which is a result of his testing materials and techniques for his forth-coming "Ultimate Lenco", has two main features: extreme accuracy in machining so as to improve speed stability - which always leads to across-the board sonic improvements - and the sound of the alloy chosen.The speed stability issue is NOT an increase of mass, but a "perfection of balance", as the stock Lenco platter is already an extremely well-designed flywheel-platter, with much of its mass out on the rim which contributes to its sonically superior musical presentation. Since he could not find the alloy he wanted to experiment with in slab form (which would have been convenient, cheaper and quicker) he was forced to first track down and then buy ingots, then arrange to have them cast into a solid disc of the correct size for rough and fine machining. Since the ingots are of irregular shape, he uses water displacement to calculate the amount of alloy ingots needed to create a disc of the correct dimensions to yield a platter identical in dimensions to the stock Lenco platter, because he was using the Reference Lenco MKIII to test the finished product sonically. The correct mass of ingots are then cast into a mold, slightly oversized. From this step, the disc is delivered to his machinist, who first rough machines it, then allows it to de-stress over a period of weeks to allow for movement and final settling. Once this phase is done, it is slow turned for highest accuracy. There is no original surface of the casting remaining, it is machined completely from solid on all surfaces. Finally, it is sent to be painted, then the mat bonded to it. As a result of this process, the increased speed stability is audible across the board in the form of more bass control, greater detail, finer high frequencies, better imaging, and a greater sense of timing, relaxation, and an even greater sense of naturalness. The alloy he uses contributes to all of these enhancements and combined with speed stability produces a synergistic match made in Heaven. THE LENCO REFERENCE MKIII The Lenco Reference MKIII was fitted with the Kuzma 4point tonearm with Koetsu Corralstone cartridge. THE SYSTEM · Calix Technologies Phoenix Grand loudspeakers (circa 2003) · Silnote Poisiden bi-wired speaker cables · Bag End E-Traps (2) to smooth out bass room aberrations at about 30-35 hz · Concert Fidelity ZL-200 mono blocks · Concert Fidelity CF-080 XLS2 line stage · Concert Fidelity SPA-4C phono stage · Concert Fidelity DAC – 040 (non-battery version) · MG Audio Silver interconnects – 2 pair – 1 set between phono stage and pre-amp, 1 set between DAC and pre-amp · Kondo KSL LP Silver interconnects – 1 pair between pre-amp and amplifiers · Esoteric P-01 Transport with power supply · Esoteric G-0Rb clock Listening to the Lenco Reference MKIII idler drive turntable is a very different experience than listening to a belt drive turntable. The Lenco Idler drive turntable lets the music come first as it presents the recorded event with incredible musicality and energy.The Lenco Reference MKIII is quieter than the proverbial church mouse which allows you to hear far deeper into the recording itself. Instruments are clearly separated with superb focus and clarity that extends to the time domain. When a note starts and how it decays is preserved with an ineffable beauty. Even more remarkable is the fidelity with which the Lenco Reference MKIII approaches the organic textural liquidity and purity of a live performance. The Lenco's ability to ignite the music’s emotional content is unequivocally phenomenal. I am convinced that Jean's proprietary combinations of woods for the plinth and his choices for material upgrades of the original Lenco mechanisms and now the platter, contribute inexorably to the higher level of immediacy, palpability, and a fundamental rightness of the musical presentation this work of art delivers to the listener. CONCLUSION The Jean Nantais Lenco Reference MKIII with his new reference platter, in my humble opinion, represents the most realistic analog source I have heard from a turntable to date. It represents the expression of Jean's creative skill and imagination. It is an Art form that delivers an amalgam of all the qualities high-end audio embraces that qualifies a turntable for having the best vinyl playback possible. The Jean Nantais Lenco Reference MKIII is not just a work of art - it is a "Masterpiece". |
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