Interview with Stuart Jack
Stuart Jack loves to share music with his wife and kids and his kid’s friends. What better way to open up the realm of possibilities to future audiophiles..? Interview by Tom Waters of the Sydney Audio Club…
This interview by Tom Waters was originally published in Sound Travels (reprinted with permission of nextmedia Pty Ltd).
Tom Waters: Do you have a first memory, a first unforgettable musical experience that left an impression?
Stuart Jack: It was probably a journey rather than any one experience. I was influenced primarily by my dad who always appreciated good sound. After they married, my mum made the mistake of taking all their wedding present money and lovingly buying a small Phillips sound system – but my dad was horrified! My dad has this very old B&O Beomaster system that actually sounded pretty good. When I was 11 years old or so I’d play vinyl on it. Later I got into running a little discotheque for local parties and friends. I’d record music off the Saturday morning Top 40 radio programme using my dad’s tape deck so I’d have something to play! It had a slider control so I could fade in and out. I then used a mixer I’d scrounged and literally tacked together something to play as a DJ. All those experiences were probably the foundation of my interest in music.
TW: And did that start you on the hi-fi journey or did something else start you on the audio equipment quest?
SJ: Around the end of my schooling I pulled together some money to buy a Marantz CD-75 player right when CD players were taking off. I also bought a Marantz PM-30 amplifier and the little A40 Boston Acoustics book shelf speakers. That was my first foray into proper HiFi. I think I had 4 CDs at the time – we literally played the bumps and pits off those discs! A few years later I bought an old Sondek from a friend of my dad and then started to get back into vinyl. That was my introduction to Linn, it was probably around 1990. It really appealed to me because its design allowed it to be stripped down and rebuilt with new components, providing small improvements that I could just afford on my student budget at the time. I still have that turntable - I’m saving it for my daughter.
TW: You’ve got two young adults that are definitely interested in music. Do you think they’ll get the HiFi bug and get into sound quality and good gear?
SJ: I think they have already. When they have friends over they say “Ah, you’ve just got to hear this on vinyl”. My daughter has been shown how to use my turntable, but both my kids prefer that I do it. So I get the lucky friend to sit in the hot seat and then play them something they know. They always go “Ah….” with appreciation. Often we’ve had evenings with a bunch of 15-17 year olds sitting here listening to music. It isn’t always vinyl – we switch between vinyl and digital. I’ve had my son say he couldn’t tell the difference between 24/192 digital and vinyl – he said they both sounded so good. My kid’s friends are now also aware of just how much better CD sounds than the 384 kbps version they stream.
TW: Where do you think your system is going, or has it arrived?
SJ: I have a list of small but high value tweaks that I want to get into. Since buying the new turntable in 2016 I’ve done a series of upgrades like my phono stage and power amp. I use a Linn Krystal moving-coil cartridge. Its middle of the range so that could be an upgrade but it would cost a fair bit. I’m happy with where my system is at today, but I know I can do better, so more upgrades are likely. Oh, and I’d like to rewire from my cartridge to the phono amp with better quality wire – I’ll get into that when I get the time.
TW: What’s your favourite piece of equipment at the moment, something that you wouldn’t sell?
SJ: I’d say the turntable. I have a more emotional attachment to it. My speakers were a gift from my wife and so if I ever upgraded, the Ninka’s would move into a second system for sure. Many of the other components can be switched and I wouldn’t be too upset.
TW: What do you see as your next hi-fi purchase or upgrade?
SJ: The bigger ticket upgrades would be a better preamp and phono stage. I’ve heard good things about the Perreaux phono stage, so that is of high interest. It also allows the selection of the loading for your cartridge. And then of course I’d consider the rewiring job and possibly a new cartridge. And my music server needs attention too. My Raspberry Pi is doing the job, but I’d like to get a good linear power supply for it. I’d also like to switch to a large SSD driver because I can hear my NAS hard-drive during the quieter passages of music. I’d like to upgrade some of the older interconnect cables in my system too, but I find that most places won’t let you borrow cables for a week to try before you buy. Systems can be very cable dependent so you really need to try before you buy. It’s very annoying to me that I can’t do that.
TW: What’s the most memorable pair of speakers (or system as a whole) you’ve ever heard?
SJ: That’s an easy one! At the shop where I bought my first real HiFi system, they had a Wadia transport feeding a Theta DAC, huge Martin Logan speakers and Krell monoblocks. The sound made the hair stick up on my arms! They played the Enya track “Longships” and the bass impact was tremendous – bass waves just rippled across the room. I also heard a pair of Apogees driven by Krell at a show – also brilliant and powerful sound. But the ML system was the best!
TW: Is there any component you’ve owned and sold that you now regret selling?
SJ: Well, it’s not a HiFi component strictly speaking, but I do regret giving away heaps of CDs prior to migrating to Australia from South Africa. They wouldn’t have taken up much space or added much weight. It’s always nice to be able to hold on to the CD when you’re listening. And that old Beomaster of my dad’s wound up at the garbage dump I suspect – I wish I’d kept it. It would have pride of place in my technology archive.
TW: Do you use the same music for comparing components as you do for listening pleasure?
SJ: I largely do. When comparing I listen to music I know really well. I choose some complex music and some voices with two or three instruments. Only then can you identify differences in what you’re hearing. You risk “killing” the enjoyment of that music, so I try to listen to just 1 track on an album to ensure I don’t lose interest in the entire album.
TW: What genre of music do you listen to mostly and who are some of your favourite artists?
SJ: That’s an interesting question. It’s widely spread between pop and rock, going back to 70’s and 80’s stuff I grew up with. I also love jazz and classical. Depending on how I’m feeling I may go back to the older nostalgic rock-pop like Deacon Blue, U2, Crowded House, Queen, Dire Straits and Billy Joel. Or I might get into some of the more modern bands like Imagine Dragons, which my kids introduced me to. In the classical realm, I really enjoy Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Johann Strauss. I enjoy listening to live classical music and often hunt down a recorded version of what I’ve heard. With jazz, I like simple female vocal jazz with piano and sax. That’s probably my favourite jazz medium. I could still take “Jazz at the Pawnshop” – I have that on vinyl and it sounds amazing. Other artists are Carol Kidd, Barb Jungr, Cassandra Wilson, Diana Krall, Ricki Lee Jones as more mainstream jazz.
TW: What would be your ‘desert island’ music albums if you could only choose, say, three works?
SJ: That’s a tough one. Can I burn a DVD with lots of albums? For a desert island scenario, I’d probably say an instance each of rock-pop, classical and jazz. For classical it’d be Beethoven’s 5th, 9th or perhaps 7th symphony. For my rock-pop album, I’d probably want to chill out to forget I’m stranded on an island, so something like Dire Straits “Love Over Gold” – it’s such a meditative album. And for jazz, it’d probably be the Shirley Horn album “Here’s To Life”.
TW: How would you describe the sound you’re getting from your current system?
SJ: Smooth and relaxing. And I find I can relax more with vinyl. Another important element is tonal accuracy. After I tri-wired my speakers to use the active cross-over in my new amplifier I’ve noticed a good improvement in tonality. My kids both play grade level 6 piano and I hear that same piano tone from my system, so I know it’s doing the right things. My son sometimes walks by and says, “Gee that piano sounds good!”.
TW: I believe your preference is to play vinyl rather than stream or play CDs. What do you hear with vinyl that you prefer? I suspect I already know the answer, but please tell me anyways!
SJ: My turntable is capable of picking up lots of detail and it presents music in a relaxed and smooth manner. I know my DAC is good, but it’s not at the same level as my turntable. If I was comparing to a SOTA DAC then I know it’d be a closer contest. I can think of so many examples where I have both vinyl and high-res download. Taking an example like Dire Straits “Brothers In Arms” - the download sounds very good, but somehow, when I play the vinyl I just sink into my chair more and relax more. The vinyl does have that advantage, but I find that the gap with digital is narrowing. In short… it’s the warmth and relaxation that I like about vinyl.
TW: In what way does music affect your life, your emotions and the way you feel?
SJ: Music has always been a way to de-stress and relax. And I’ve found that as I get older, I tend to listen for longer periods. And I find that I can’t really read while listening. I find that the music gets in the way of me reading – my concentration just isn’t there, I just want to listen. If I do want some music on while I’m reading, I’ll play it quite softly in the background (and usually from the music server so it’s continuous) – it’s just less distracting that way.
TW: Where do you see the high-end audio industry going in the future?
SJ: I think there is a way to get high-end sound in more condensed components. A lot of the manufacturers are starting to put more into the one box. For example, Linn have recently come out with the Select which has streaming, source, amplification … all in the one box. Mark Levinson has done the same. To get high-end sound, I think people will be inclined to go one of two ways: to either buy older SOTA separate components or buy a newer single multi-faceted box that has lots of trickle down components from the manufacturer’s high-end separates. The expenditure of each path is likely to be about the same. But the single box is likely to sound as good if not better because you have fewer interconnect cables. I think that that is all the younger generation really need – a good multi-faceted box that does it all and a good pair of speakers. If they “get into” the high-end sound at that level then they’ll likely always remain in it. And overtime, they’ll be inclined to upgrade to an even better box, or they’ll take their older unit and add a better separate power amp. For the younger kids, there is lots of competition for their money! They want good sound at a modest price.
TW: Where would you like the audio industry to go or to evolve to?
SJ: When I buy a good copy of a vinyl record I’d like a high-res digital copy to come with it. At present, you get a card in the packaging which allows you to download that album in Mp3 quality. Why would anyone bother..? It’s ridiculous.
As well, I wish that Apple Music would offer CD quality so I could stream decent quality to my HiFi. Tidal and Qobuz for instance offer CD quality and higher – Apple Music really does need to lift their game if it wishes to remain relevant. They are making it more difficult for kids to appreciate that even CD quality can sound so much better than Mp3. Their phones have upwards to 128GB so they are quite capable of handling the larger file sizes. Apple and Amazon have a huge market share of the music the kids’ play – which ever one moves first to CD quality stands to gain an advantage.
Equipment List:
Amp & Speakers
Sources
Other
This interview by Tom Waters was originally published in Sound Travels (reprinted with permission of nextmedia Pty Ltd).
Tom Waters: Do you have a first memory, a first unforgettable musical experience that left an impression?
Stuart Jack: It was probably a journey rather than any one experience. I was influenced primarily by my dad who always appreciated good sound. After they married, my mum made the mistake of taking all their wedding present money and lovingly buying a small Phillips sound system – but my dad was horrified! My dad has this very old B&O Beomaster system that actually sounded pretty good. When I was 11 years old or so I’d play vinyl on it. Later I got into running a little discotheque for local parties and friends. I’d record music off the Saturday morning Top 40 radio programme using my dad’s tape deck so I’d have something to play! It had a slider control so I could fade in and out. I then used a mixer I’d scrounged and literally tacked together something to play as a DJ. All those experiences were probably the foundation of my interest in music.
TW: And did that start you on the hi-fi journey or did something else start you on the audio equipment quest?
SJ: Around the end of my schooling I pulled together some money to buy a Marantz CD-75 player right when CD players were taking off. I also bought a Marantz PM-30 amplifier and the little A40 Boston Acoustics book shelf speakers. That was my first foray into proper HiFi. I think I had 4 CDs at the time – we literally played the bumps and pits off those discs! A few years later I bought an old Sondek from a friend of my dad and then started to get back into vinyl. That was my introduction to Linn, it was probably around 1990. It really appealed to me because its design allowed it to be stripped down and rebuilt with new components, providing small improvements that I could just afford on my student budget at the time. I still have that turntable - I’m saving it for my daughter.
TW: You’ve got two young adults that are definitely interested in music. Do you think they’ll get the HiFi bug and get into sound quality and good gear?
SJ: I think they have already. When they have friends over they say “Ah, you’ve just got to hear this on vinyl”. My daughter has been shown how to use my turntable, but both my kids prefer that I do it. So I get the lucky friend to sit in the hot seat and then play them something they know. They always go “Ah….” with appreciation. Often we’ve had evenings with a bunch of 15-17 year olds sitting here listening to music. It isn’t always vinyl – we switch between vinyl and digital. I’ve had my son say he couldn’t tell the difference between 24/192 digital and vinyl – he said they both sounded so good. My kid’s friends are now also aware of just how much better CD sounds than the 384 kbps version they stream.
TW: Where do you think your system is going, or has it arrived?
SJ: I have a list of small but high value tweaks that I want to get into. Since buying the new turntable in 2016 I’ve done a series of upgrades like my phono stage and power amp. I use a Linn Krystal moving-coil cartridge. Its middle of the range so that could be an upgrade but it would cost a fair bit. I’m happy with where my system is at today, but I know I can do better, so more upgrades are likely. Oh, and I’d like to rewire from my cartridge to the phono amp with better quality wire – I’ll get into that when I get the time.
TW: What’s your favourite piece of equipment at the moment, something that you wouldn’t sell?
SJ: I’d say the turntable. I have a more emotional attachment to it. My speakers were a gift from my wife and so if I ever upgraded, the Ninka’s would move into a second system for sure. Many of the other components can be switched and I wouldn’t be too upset.
TW: What do you see as your next hi-fi purchase or upgrade?
SJ: The bigger ticket upgrades would be a better preamp and phono stage. I’ve heard good things about the Perreaux phono stage, so that is of high interest. It also allows the selection of the loading for your cartridge. And then of course I’d consider the rewiring job and possibly a new cartridge. And my music server needs attention too. My Raspberry Pi is doing the job, but I’d like to get a good linear power supply for it. I’d also like to switch to a large SSD driver because I can hear my NAS hard-drive during the quieter passages of music. I’d like to upgrade some of the older interconnect cables in my system too, but I find that most places won’t let you borrow cables for a week to try before you buy. Systems can be very cable dependent so you really need to try before you buy. It’s very annoying to me that I can’t do that.
TW: What’s the most memorable pair of speakers (or system as a whole) you’ve ever heard?
SJ: That’s an easy one! At the shop where I bought my first real HiFi system, they had a Wadia transport feeding a Theta DAC, huge Martin Logan speakers and Krell monoblocks. The sound made the hair stick up on my arms! They played the Enya track “Longships” and the bass impact was tremendous – bass waves just rippled across the room. I also heard a pair of Apogees driven by Krell at a show – also brilliant and powerful sound. But the ML system was the best!
TW: Is there any component you’ve owned and sold that you now regret selling?
SJ: Well, it’s not a HiFi component strictly speaking, but I do regret giving away heaps of CDs prior to migrating to Australia from South Africa. They wouldn’t have taken up much space or added much weight. It’s always nice to be able to hold on to the CD when you’re listening. And that old Beomaster of my dad’s wound up at the garbage dump I suspect – I wish I’d kept it. It would have pride of place in my technology archive.
TW: Do you use the same music for comparing components as you do for listening pleasure?
SJ: I largely do. When comparing I listen to music I know really well. I choose some complex music and some voices with two or three instruments. Only then can you identify differences in what you’re hearing. You risk “killing” the enjoyment of that music, so I try to listen to just 1 track on an album to ensure I don’t lose interest in the entire album.
TW: What genre of music do you listen to mostly and who are some of your favourite artists?
SJ: That’s an interesting question. It’s widely spread between pop and rock, going back to 70’s and 80’s stuff I grew up with. I also love jazz and classical. Depending on how I’m feeling I may go back to the older nostalgic rock-pop like Deacon Blue, U2, Crowded House, Queen, Dire Straits and Billy Joel. Or I might get into some of the more modern bands like Imagine Dragons, which my kids introduced me to. In the classical realm, I really enjoy Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Johann Strauss. I enjoy listening to live classical music and often hunt down a recorded version of what I’ve heard. With jazz, I like simple female vocal jazz with piano and sax. That’s probably my favourite jazz medium. I could still take “Jazz at the Pawnshop” – I have that on vinyl and it sounds amazing. Other artists are Carol Kidd, Barb Jungr, Cassandra Wilson, Diana Krall, Ricki Lee Jones as more mainstream jazz.
TW: What would be your ‘desert island’ music albums if you could only choose, say, three works?
SJ: That’s a tough one. Can I burn a DVD with lots of albums? For a desert island scenario, I’d probably say an instance each of rock-pop, classical and jazz. For classical it’d be Beethoven’s 5th, 9th or perhaps 7th symphony. For my rock-pop album, I’d probably want to chill out to forget I’m stranded on an island, so something like Dire Straits “Love Over Gold” – it’s such a meditative album. And for jazz, it’d probably be the Shirley Horn album “Here’s To Life”.
TW: How would you describe the sound you’re getting from your current system?
SJ: Smooth and relaxing. And I find I can relax more with vinyl. Another important element is tonal accuracy. After I tri-wired my speakers to use the active cross-over in my new amplifier I’ve noticed a good improvement in tonality. My kids both play grade level 6 piano and I hear that same piano tone from my system, so I know it’s doing the right things. My son sometimes walks by and says, “Gee that piano sounds good!”.
TW: I believe your preference is to play vinyl rather than stream or play CDs. What do you hear with vinyl that you prefer? I suspect I already know the answer, but please tell me anyways!
SJ: My turntable is capable of picking up lots of detail and it presents music in a relaxed and smooth manner. I know my DAC is good, but it’s not at the same level as my turntable. If I was comparing to a SOTA DAC then I know it’d be a closer contest. I can think of so many examples where I have both vinyl and high-res download. Taking an example like Dire Straits “Brothers In Arms” - the download sounds very good, but somehow, when I play the vinyl I just sink into my chair more and relax more. The vinyl does have that advantage, but I find that the gap with digital is narrowing. In short… it’s the warmth and relaxation that I like about vinyl.
TW: In what way does music affect your life, your emotions and the way you feel?
SJ: Music has always been a way to de-stress and relax. And I’ve found that as I get older, I tend to listen for longer periods. And I find that I can’t really read while listening. I find that the music gets in the way of me reading – my concentration just isn’t there, I just want to listen. If I do want some music on while I’m reading, I’ll play it quite softly in the background (and usually from the music server so it’s continuous) – it’s just less distracting that way.
TW: Where do you see the high-end audio industry going in the future?
SJ: I think there is a way to get high-end sound in more condensed components. A lot of the manufacturers are starting to put more into the one box. For example, Linn have recently come out with the Select which has streaming, source, amplification … all in the one box. Mark Levinson has done the same. To get high-end sound, I think people will be inclined to go one of two ways: to either buy older SOTA separate components or buy a newer single multi-faceted box that has lots of trickle down components from the manufacturer’s high-end separates. The expenditure of each path is likely to be about the same. But the single box is likely to sound as good if not better because you have fewer interconnect cables. I think that that is all the younger generation really need – a good multi-faceted box that does it all and a good pair of speakers. If they “get into” the high-end sound at that level then they’ll likely always remain in it. And overtime, they’ll be inclined to upgrade to an even better box, or they’ll take their older unit and add a better separate power amp. For the younger kids, there is lots of competition for their money! They want good sound at a modest price.
TW: Where would you like the audio industry to go or to evolve to?
SJ: When I buy a good copy of a vinyl record I’d like a high-res digital copy to come with it. At present, you get a card in the packaging which allows you to download that album in Mp3 quality. Why would anyone bother..? It’s ridiculous.
As well, I wish that Apple Music would offer CD quality so I could stream decent quality to my HiFi. Tidal and Qobuz for instance offer CD quality and higher – Apple Music really does need to lift their game if it wishes to remain relevant. They are making it more difficult for kids to appreciate that even CD quality can sound so much better than Mp3. Their phones have upwards to 128GB so they are quite capable of handling the larger file sizes. Apple and Amazon have a huge market share of the music the kids’ play – which ever one moves first to CD quality stands to gain an advantage.
- Interviewed by Tom Waters of the Sydney Audio Club
Equipment List:
Amp & Speakers
- Linn Majik Integrated (now used as pre-amp)
- Linn Majik 6100 Power Amp (with active cross-over cards)
- Audio Synthesis - Passion phono-stage
- Linn Ninka speakers (tri-wired, active setup)
Sources
- Linn LP12 + Lingo PSU (Linn Ekos mk2 tone-arm, Linn Krystal MC cartridge)
- Cambridge Audio - Stream Magic6
- Raspberry Pi 3B+, with HiFiBerry Digi+ Pro (Moode Audio, USB connected HDD)
- NAD 541 CD player (used as transport only)
Other
- Nordost Blue Heaven I/C (phono to pre, pre to power)
- Van Den Hul D102 mk3 I/C (DAC to pre)
- Van Den Hul digital coax I/C (Raspberry Pi to DAC, S/PDIF)
- Nordost Blue Heaven speaker cable (x3 pairs, for tri-wired active speaker setup)
- IsoTek Sirius Conditioning Power Board
- IsoTek Sequel and Premier Mains Cables
- Funk Firm Achromat (turntable platter mat)
- Raspberry Pi 3B+, with HiFiBerry Digi+ Pro HAT (running Moode Audio, USB connected powered 8TB storage)
