Lovin' the LP: my first weekend with PerspeX

Longtime S&V readers know how much your humble Editor-In-Chief loves vinyl. But my old turntable was, well, old, and the more I listened to my LPs, the more I realized I had to bite the bullet and get a new 'table. I never enter new-gear purchase modes lightly, so, after months of research, a few sort-of clandestine listening sessions at CES, and some persuasive expert advice, I decided to go with the Pro-Ject 6 PerspeX turntable and a Sumiko Blackbird cartridge. 

And I am sooooo glad I did.

I had to wait one weekend longer that I wanted to before I could devote the proper time to set the 'table up properly. I got the 'table itself set and level on a wood table out of the line of fire of my speakers and subwoofer on Saturday and installed the cartridge and adjusted the tonearm on Sunday. I, of course, took meticulous care in optimizing tracking force, antiskating, overhang, zenith, azimuth, and the arm's VTA (vertical tracking angle). As soon as I was satisfied with my adjustments, I connected the PerspeX to my receiver's phono stage and got down to putting needle to platter. . . .

Angelis Labor's Gabriel Turntable: Artful Sound

We're not sure if this is art, or audiophile perfection. Angelis Labor is unveiling the Gabriel Turntable, a remarkable way to treat your vinyl.  Made in a factory that also turns out parts for Ferrari, the Gabriel is a customized system, with up to four arms. It's a magnetic suspension system, with gorgeous bronze, aluminum, or stainless steel.

"A true reference turntable equipped with a base that can accept up to four arms. The materials used include aluminum, bronze and stainless steel. The turntable and arm are totally decoupled at several points - beneath the base, beneath the turntable and beneath the pin, using a magnetic field calibrated and controlled with great precision. The Gabriel turntable and arm require absolutely no antiskating and in fact have no provisions for it."

The price?

LP 2 FLASH: Transfers LP to... Flash!

Ion Audio made news a while ago with their LP 2 CD turntable that made it easy to transfer your old vinyl records to CD. It just got even easier to get music to your computer. The new LP 2 FLASH plays your albums and converts them to MP3, then stores them on an SD card or USB flash drive. Cool!

All of this can be done without a computer. The LP 2 FLASH lets you adjust the bitrate of the files directly from the display on the turntable. Connect a USB cable and control everything from your computer.

Does it record one side of an album as one single track?

Musical Art, or Outrageous Excess?

Don't get me wrong.I love high-quality sound performance. I live for it, and making things sound good is what I do, day in, day out. I used to think that there shouldn't be a limit on how much someone should pay for sound quality. Well, I have seen the limit. In fact, I don't even care how good it sounds; the Montegiro Lusso turntable, available for just under $50,000, is just a bit much.