November 2014 SAC Meeting
For November, we had the return of Vince Hamilton of Once Analog fame. Vince has presented at the club at least 2 times before, but each time he brings in a different iteration of his turntable so each visit brings different, and improved, sonic delights. Refer to his site at: http://www.onceanalog.com.au/
As is now traditional at our November meeting, we had our BBQ first up. On offer were 3 different types of sausage, plus buns, condiments, two different salads, nuts, beer, wine and soft drink. The purpose of our BBQ is really about fostering comradery and friendships. We make little attempt to cover the expenses with the meagre charge of $5. The club is doing very well financially and can easily cover the expense. That said, often the Committee members don’t seek reimbursement anyways for the groceries that they purchase.
Our Annual General Meeting was held just before our half-time break. An AGM is required every year as per the requirements of the Model Constitution and the Department of Fair Trading (DFT). Our Vice-President, George, dissolved my position and I was then voted back in as President. I then in turn announced each of the existing Committee members for re-election. All were accepted. The Committee remains unchanged from our 2013-2014 financial year: Tom (President), George (Vice-President), David (Public Officer), Keith (Treasurer), Paul (Committee member, also our Technical Consultant), Ray (Committee member, also our IT support and temporary Secretary), Steven (Committee member, also our Events Coordinator).
Vince’s system was comprised of:
Once Analog turntable – refer to http://www.onceanalog.com.au/once_analog_technical_description.html. The following is paraphrased from Vince’s web site… This turntable is meticulously hand-crafted and finished one at a time. Only the best of materials are used, predominately 316 (non-magnetic) stainless-steel for the machined components and medium-density craftwood for the plinths. It is engineered to satisfy the most demanding lover of vinyl playing equipment. The exceptional focal points that contribute to the remarkable sound quality are: silicone damped spindle, bearing housing isolation cylinder made from MS nylon, composite plinth construction with acrylic inlay, machined cast-lead motor chamber and one piece platter design weighing 4kg.
The Wand Unipivot tonearm with Cardas wiring – refer to http://designbuildlisten.com/. This intriguing tonearm hails from New Zealand. Its large diameter carbon-fibre arm tube makes it at least four times stiffer than ‘traditional’ arms. Since being launched in late 2011 it has picked up a Best Design Award (in New Zealand) and numerous Five Star reviews around the world. Itis available in 9inch and 12inch lengths and in two specification levels: TheWand Classic (via the Design Build Listen website) and The Wand Plus (via retailers only).
Grado MCZ M/M cartridge – refer to http://www.gradolabs.com/cartridges. This cartridge has won quite a following in the years it’s been on the market.
Cymer Audio integrated amplifier with KT120 valves, and Cymer Audio phono preamp. Elson Silva is the man behind Cymer. Elson is very well-known around the world and highly respected – his products are designed by himself and built here in Australia.
Edgar Kramer is a fan of Elson’s products - refer to http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/index.php?/topic/28649-my-new-reference-valve-amplification/#entry468352
Marek Dyba writes for High Fidelity, and had this to say about Elson’s passive preamp and amplifier, http://www.highfidelity.pl/@main-89&lang=en
Len Wallis Audio now sells amplifiers designed by Elson (badged as Duntech rather than Cymer). Refer to http://www.lenwallisaudio.com/blog/new-systems/the-welcome-return-of-duntech-loudspeakers/.
And Edgar again, but this time on 6Moons, http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/cymer/1.html
Klipsch KG2 speakers – refer to http://www.klipsch.com.au/kg-2/details
Marantz SA-11S1 – refer to http://www.marantz.asia/ap/pages/home.aspx and http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue28/marantz_sa11.htm. A club member brought in his Marantz for the meeting such that we could also play CD/SACD discs.
On the day Vince had loyal customer and friend Warren Marshall on hand to help spin the music. Years back, Warren discovered how much better Vince’s turntable was than his own Linn LP12 and he then promptly bought a Once Analog from Vince.
The audiophile world is divided between those that believe the front end (source) is most important and the back end (speakers) is most important. Vince’s turntable ($7000) and tonearm ($1200) is considerably more high tech and expensive than his speakers ($200). So I think it’s probably fair to say Vince is firmly in the former camp – he would have made Ivor Tiefenbrun proud!
Overall, the system was very musical, in terms of producing an easy going sound, it didn’t put a foot wrong. However, it would have been enlightening to hear this system with a better pair of speakers. Although the KG2 speakers were easy on the ears, they didn’t herald the last word in resolution, imaging, open free flowing sound, bass depth or bass tightness. In my estimation, their saving grace was really a sweet mid-range (and that’s where the music is). It’s possible that even a recap of the cross-overs would help (Vince said he hasn’t done any mods/updates to them since he bought them years ago, so they may well benefit from this). I couldn’t help but feel the speakers limited the overall sound quality. Of course they are older speakers, and were likely very good in their day but that day is at least 22 years ago (they were built between 1982 and 1992). I sensed that Vince’s turntable, tonearm and phono stage are capable of considerably more sonic pleasures than what we heard.
Our guest presenter for our member’s music segment was new club member, Stephanos Eliades. There were many favourable comments in the feedback forms about Stephanos’ choice of music – it seems a good percentage of members and guests really enjoyed it.
Vince had a very long day on our Sunday. He woke up early and consequently got on the road early. It was one of those rare times when the presenter beat me to the Dence Park hall (and by a substantial margin at that!). But regardless of a lack of sleep, multiple sausages and at least one beer (things that make you sleepy), Vince got the show on the way promptly at 2:00. Thanks Vince! Much appreciated.
Tom Waters
Summary of member feedback:
As is now traditional at our November meeting, we had our BBQ first up. On offer were 3 different types of sausage, plus buns, condiments, two different salads, nuts, beer, wine and soft drink. The purpose of our BBQ is really about fostering comradery and friendships. We make little attempt to cover the expenses with the meagre charge of $5. The club is doing very well financially and can easily cover the expense. That said, often the Committee members don’t seek reimbursement anyways for the groceries that they purchase.
Our Annual General Meeting was held just before our half-time break. An AGM is required every year as per the requirements of the Model Constitution and the Department of Fair Trading (DFT). Our Vice-President, George, dissolved my position and I was then voted back in as President. I then in turn announced each of the existing Committee members for re-election. All were accepted. The Committee remains unchanged from our 2013-2014 financial year: Tom (President), George (Vice-President), David (Public Officer), Keith (Treasurer), Paul (Committee member, also our Technical Consultant), Ray (Committee member, also our IT support and temporary Secretary), Steven (Committee member, also our Events Coordinator).
Vince’s system was comprised of:
Once Analog turntable – refer to http://www.onceanalog.com.au/once_analog_technical_description.html. The following is paraphrased from Vince’s web site… This turntable is meticulously hand-crafted and finished one at a time. Only the best of materials are used, predominately 316 (non-magnetic) stainless-steel for the machined components and medium-density craftwood for the plinths. It is engineered to satisfy the most demanding lover of vinyl playing equipment. The exceptional focal points that contribute to the remarkable sound quality are: silicone damped spindle, bearing housing isolation cylinder made from MS nylon, composite plinth construction with acrylic inlay, machined cast-lead motor chamber and one piece platter design weighing 4kg.
The Wand Unipivot tonearm with Cardas wiring – refer to http://designbuildlisten.com/. This intriguing tonearm hails from New Zealand. Its large diameter carbon-fibre arm tube makes it at least four times stiffer than ‘traditional’ arms. Since being launched in late 2011 it has picked up a Best Design Award (in New Zealand) and numerous Five Star reviews around the world. Itis available in 9inch and 12inch lengths and in two specification levels: TheWand Classic (via the Design Build Listen website) and The Wand Plus (via retailers only).
Grado MCZ M/M cartridge – refer to http://www.gradolabs.com/cartridges. This cartridge has won quite a following in the years it’s been on the market.
Cymer Audio integrated amplifier with KT120 valves, and Cymer Audio phono preamp. Elson Silva is the man behind Cymer. Elson is very well-known around the world and highly respected – his products are designed by himself and built here in Australia.
Edgar Kramer is a fan of Elson’s products - refer to http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/index.php?/topic/28649-my-new-reference-valve-amplification/#entry468352
Marek Dyba writes for High Fidelity, and had this to say about Elson’s passive preamp and amplifier, http://www.highfidelity.pl/@main-89&lang=en
Len Wallis Audio now sells amplifiers designed by Elson (badged as Duntech rather than Cymer). Refer to http://www.lenwallisaudio.com/blog/new-systems/the-welcome-return-of-duntech-loudspeakers/.
And Edgar again, but this time on 6Moons, http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/cymer/1.html
Klipsch KG2 speakers – refer to http://www.klipsch.com.au/kg-2/details
Marantz SA-11S1 – refer to http://www.marantz.asia/ap/pages/home.aspx and http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue28/marantz_sa11.htm. A club member brought in his Marantz for the meeting such that we could also play CD/SACD discs.
On the day Vince had loyal customer and friend Warren Marshall on hand to help spin the music. Years back, Warren discovered how much better Vince’s turntable was than his own Linn LP12 and he then promptly bought a Once Analog from Vince.
The audiophile world is divided between those that believe the front end (source) is most important and the back end (speakers) is most important. Vince’s turntable ($7000) and tonearm ($1200) is considerably more high tech and expensive than his speakers ($200). So I think it’s probably fair to say Vince is firmly in the former camp – he would have made Ivor Tiefenbrun proud!
Overall, the system was very musical, in terms of producing an easy going sound, it didn’t put a foot wrong. However, it would have been enlightening to hear this system with a better pair of speakers. Although the KG2 speakers were easy on the ears, they didn’t herald the last word in resolution, imaging, open free flowing sound, bass depth or bass tightness. In my estimation, their saving grace was really a sweet mid-range (and that’s where the music is). It’s possible that even a recap of the cross-overs would help (Vince said he hasn’t done any mods/updates to them since he bought them years ago, so they may well benefit from this). I couldn’t help but feel the speakers limited the overall sound quality. Of course they are older speakers, and were likely very good in their day but that day is at least 22 years ago (they were built between 1982 and 1992). I sensed that Vince’s turntable, tonearm and phono stage are capable of considerably more sonic pleasures than what we heard.
Our guest presenter for our member’s music segment was new club member, Stephanos Eliades. There were many favourable comments in the feedback forms about Stephanos’ choice of music – it seems a good percentage of members and guests really enjoyed it.
Vince had a very long day on our Sunday. He woke up early and consequently got on the road early. It was one of those rare times when the presenter beat me to the Dence Park hall (and by a substantial margin at that!). But regardless of a lack of sleep, multiple sausages and at least one beer (things that make you sleepy), Vince got the show on the way promptly at 2:00. Thanks Vince! Much appreciated.
Tom Waters
Summary of member feedback:
- Enjoyment of the Meeting: 4.1
- Enjoyment of the Equipment: 4.0
- Enjoyment of the Music: 4.0
- It’s great that we have such a great TT made in Australia
- Great snags, great meeting, great atmosphere!
- First time at SAC. Very interesting, healthy culture
- Impressive, very musical
- Well done Tom for making SAC meetings such a pleasure. And thanks to all the committee for all the hard work
- Pink Floyd
- Chopin
- Friends of Carlotta
- Jack Ladder
- Massive Attack