Atma-Sphere + ProAc Studio 130 = Great Sound!

 How very often great speakers are let down by either mismatched or poor quality electronics? Take for instance, the Studio series speakers from ProAc. OK, so its the poor man’s ProAc (the ProAc Response series is the premium range), but there is no reason ProAc would come up with anything less.

We set up the ProAc Studio 130 floorstander driven with Atma-Sphere MP3 preamp and M60 monoblocs. Source is the current favourite Marantz SACD player of the moment – the KI Pearl by Ken Ishiwata. Guess what? This system rocks!

A little brief about the system: The Atma-Sphere amplifiers hail from USA, the company is better known for their OTL transformerless tube amplifiers. MP 3 mk 3.1 is the entry level preamp from Atma-Sphere (the dual chassis MP1 is the flagship). Atma-Sphere can custom this preamp to your needs – a basic line only preamp (from S$6500) all the way to a phono version with optional components upgrade – power supply regulation, V-Cap Teflon, Caddock resistor package and even a low output MC transformer.

The preamp features balanced input/output, star ground, zero feedback, 23 position stepped volume control build with 96 resistors. Build to last a lifetime; the MP 3 is eminently serviceable and ready for future upgrades! The MP 3 has been a consistent Editor’s Choice award for 2008/2009 by The Absolute Sound!

The M60 monoblocs (S$8600 a pair) is built like the S30 stereo except it comes in two chassis – eight 6AS7 output tubes per channel (the M30 has four output tube per channel) delivering a conservative output of 60 watts per channel in pure Class A! The pure triode based M60 features ultrawide frequency response of 1 Hz to 100 kHz, something not easily achieved through typical transformer coupled tube amplifiers! But that’s where the Atma-Sphere come on its own – it uses their own patented direct-coupled (OTL) output stage – no output transformers! Hence the extended bandwidth.

The ProAc Studio 130 (S$2800) can be deemed as the floor standing version of the Studio 100. Employing the same drive units, the larger cabinet enables the Studio 130 to extend the bass end to 25 Hz (the bookshelf Studio 100 goes down to 35 Hz). The reflex port of the Studio 130 is at the base of the speaker cabinet, making the speaker much easier to place.

And the Marantz KI Pearl? Read more of this remarkable player elsewhere in this blog.

The system is now on demo at the shop, do drop by for a demo!

We started cleaning records with spray on fluids, roller pads, Discwasher brush pad, gooey wipe on-dry-peel off, the crappy Vac ‘o Rac, buffer pads of all kinds which are available back in the last century and some of which is still available today. Most of them don’t work and until the arrival of the Keith Monks record cleaner, a clean record is an illusion.

An effective cleaning cycle involves a process where the record is given a thorough scrub aided by a cleaning fluid with some kind of detergents to remove even the most caked on dirt. Then the fluid needs to be thoroughly removed leaving a clean, dry record. That’s the principle behind many commercial cleaners (the aforementioned Keith Monks and its derivatives, the VPI, Nitty Gritty, etc…) available today.

We have a new cleaner in town – one that uses ultrasonic waves to dislodge the dirt from the grooves. Using pure distilled water as the cleaning fluid, it dispenses for the need for detergents – instead it uses a combination of scrubbing action and ultrasonic waves in the fluid.

The Audiodesksysteme Record Cleaner is now available for only $2999 and is a state-of-the-art cleaner from Germany. The cleaner is very compact compared to those mentioned earlier in that it dispenses for the need to have a full sized platter. The cleaning fluid is poured into a well, the record to be cleaned is placed vertically (instead of flat down) between four microfiber scrubbing rollers. When the machined is turned on, the cleaning fluid is automatically applied to its playing surface while the record is gently rotated. The scrubbing rollers together with the ultrasonic waves in the fluid, gently removes dirt and grime. 

How does the ultrasonic waves work?

Ultrasonic is sound generated above the human audible level.

“A physical effect called "cavitation" results from the generation of ultrasonic frequencies in a liquid. In this cavitation process ultrasonic "compression waves" are created by an ultrasonic transducer. When the amplitude of this soundwave increases to a level where the surface tension of the liquid is broken, the fluid will "tear" apart leaving behind millions of microscopic vacuum bubbles. These vacuum bubbles then rapidly compress or implode creating millions of tiny liquid jets small enough to clean inside the smallest grooves of an LP. This process, also called "microagitation," displaces any contaminants on the surface of the LP.”

You can check out the new Audiodesksysteme Vinyl Cleaner at our shop.

Allnic is the brainchild of one Korean audiophile engineer – Kang Su Park. Unique to Allnic is their design philosophy – unlike most manufacturers who use off-the-shelf parts especially the output transformer, Allnic call theirs ‘Single source engineering for the circuit and transformer’. What it means is the circuit and transformers are designed together – and Allnic has used this method successfully in their transformer coupled line preamps and phono stages.

Allnic’s preamps and phono stages are available at the store now for demo. Do check out our eCatalogue for more information on these products.

If not for Ken Ishiwata, Marantz would just be another competent if unexceptional Japanese mass market hifi manufacturer. Over the years, selected products from the Marantz lineup were given the ‘KI’ touch with great success. KI editions are extensive reworked models offering superior audio performance, even if the differences from the standard models are well nigh unmeasurable. Last year, Ken Ishiwata celebrated his 30-year tenure with Marantz with the launch of the KI Pearls – an SACD player and a matching integrated amplifier.

Finished in a smooth brush aluminum black finish as opposed to the typical ‘Champaign gold’ finish for the Marantz sold in the Far East. The Pearl amplifier is based on the PM-15S2 integrated amplifier while the Pearl SACD player seems to be derived from the SA-15S2. According to Marantz, the Pearls are limited edition models so that means they may well be collectors’ items once the production run stops.

So should you buy a Pearl? The SACD player is a definite yes and the integrated amplifier if you have efficient speakers for its 90 watts rms to drive. The amplifier is not a power house like the Karan integrated but then the Karan sells for about four times the asking price of the Pearl integrated (S$2800 each) so it should be seen in its proper context. The Pearls are in the showroom now (subject to stock availability) for demo – call before coming to ensure we have at least the demo sets as they are selling fast! 

Bring out the best in your music system with JADE AUDIO's IsoDuo FOOTERS - a new series of high-end equipment foots/base plates designed for optimal dissipation of internal and external vibrations.

IsoDuo is the world's only puck cum base that has been independently certified by two leading laboratories - Singapore Technologies Kinetics and Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (UK).  It can be used for both light components eg. digital sources/DAC, preamplifiers etc or heavy components eg. speakers, power amplifiers etc.

Each IsoDuo comprises of a high precision milled stainless steel center ring with a piece of ABSORBA™ high performance elastomeric disc snugly inserted at both ends.  Engineered by Rayco Technologies ABSORBA™ is designed to: 

• Facilitate effective energy transfer from a heard component chassis 
• Efficiently dissipate mechanical energy traversing it in a very short time (15ms)
• Maintain optimal damping capabilities within a wide range of typical room temperatures.

Isobar is available in 2 sizes:

Large (37mm x 15mm thickness). Each set takes load up to 50kg

Small (22mm x 8mm thickness).  Each set takes load up to 20kg

You can buy Jade Audio IsoDuo at our eSHOP