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LP12MF: Installing the Dynavector XX-2 mkII Cartridge
This is an upgrade I’ve really been looking forward to. It shouldn’t be a subtle change. The move from a decent moving magnet cartridge to a pretty fancy moving coil should make a big difference. And I’ve always wanted to try a Dynavector cart in particular, especially since I have a Dynavector phono preamp with…
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LP12MF Listening Test: SSP12 Inner Platter
Here I evaluate the effects of Edmund Chan’s SSP12 inner platter, a cheap and easy upgrade for the LP12. This test is part of my LP12 Modification Frenzy, for which you can see a Summary of Effects. You can also check out my testing methodology. tl;dr Before beginning this test, I was feeling pretty frustrated.…
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LP12MF Listening Test: Linn Lingo 4 Power Supply
In what is no doubt my most frustrating test to date, here I review the Linn Lingo 4 power supply — whose noisy motor may need to be replaced, or which may eventually quiet down. You can read more about the motor issue in my post “Installing the Linn Lingo 4; or, Jankiness Reigns.” This…
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LP12MF: Installing the Linn Lingo 4
It’s been a pretty exciting few weeks over here, what with the arrival of the Audio Desk ultrasonic cleaner and all. I’m still slowly making my way through my pile of not-yet-ultrasonic vinyl — I’ve washed a little over a hundred records now — and continue to have some pretty startling Oh-THAT’S-how-this-record-is-supposed-to-sound moments. But I missed…
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Washing Records with the Audio Desk Vinyl Cleaner Pro Ultrasonic and the Spin Clean
In getting fully re-obsessed with (and re-committed to) vinyl in the last year, I knew I was putting myself on course for a collision for one of my least favourite things: washing records. Back in my last phase of vinyl obsession, in my mid-twenties (mid-aughts), I had a traumatic experience with vacuum cleaning. I bought…
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LP12MF Listening Test: Audio Desk Vinyl Cleaner Pro Ultrasonic
In this, my most ambitious Listening Test to date, I test whether the Audio Desk Vinyl Cleaner Pro ultrasonic cleaner makes records sound better. If you’re curious about how and why I bought the Audio Desk, and what exactly my cleaning system is, please check out my post “Washing Records with the Audio Desk Vinyl…
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LP12MF Listening Test: Tiger Paw Khan Top Plate
A few weeks ago, I swapped out the stock stainless steel top plate from my Linn LP12 and installed an aluminum Tiger Paw Khan in its place. You can read about the installation process for the Khan, and check out my listening methodology. Full listening impressions on the Khan-modified LP12 are below; digestible, numerical summaries…
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How I Finally Got into Jazz; or, Records from Jared
I am currently obsessed with jazz. This is due entirely to the wisdom, taste, and generosity of my friend Jared. For many years, I’ve wanted to get into jazz — a kind of music I had absolutely no contact with growing up, either from my parents or my friends. In undergrad, when everything in my…
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LP12MF: Installing the Tiger Paw Khan Top Plate
Well, I maybe wasn’t quite as excited about this as I was about installing the Mober subchassis — this was my second major bit of hifi DIY (say it out loud), so some the novelty had worn off. But still, I was pretty excited. This is a pretty fundamental upgrade and there were lots and…
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Record Shopping in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Palm Springs
In case anyone wondered whether I’m one of those people whose equipment is worth more than their record collection… I wish! I am, for better or (probably) worse, even more obsessed with records than with gear. Case in point: my recent two-week trip to Southern California. I used to live in San Diego, but I…
