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Free Advice<br />
on some of <strong>the</strong> most annoyingly bombastic<br />
speakers ever made. The company<br />
has long been in <strong>the</strong> hands of Harman<br />
International, however, and Harman<br />
has sicked Floyd Toole (of National<br />
Research Council of Canada fame) on<br />
<strong>the</strong>m as head of engineering. That means<br />
recent upscale Infinity models, such as<br />
<strong>the</strong> Prelude, don’t sound anything like<br />
<strong>the</strong> old ones. They don’t use <strong>the</strong> dread<br />
EMIT tweeter for one thing, and that’s<br />
only <strong>the</strong> start of <strong>the</strong> good news.<br />
So yes, <strong>the</strong> preamp is <strong>the</strong> next piece to<br />
upgrade, now that your CD player is at<br />
<strong>the</strong> top of <strong>the</strong> food chain. However you<br />
may want to look for better filtering than<br />
<strong>the</strong> YBA unit can provide. Foundation<br />
Research is one company making com-<br />
petent filters, as is Chang Lightspeed.<br />
We are just evaluating ano<strong>the</strong>r, to see<br />
whe<strong>the</strong>r it should join our recommended<br />
list.<br />
Issue No. 7 did indeed include a<br />
review of <strong>the</strong> Belles DMM preamplifier,<br />
as well as <strong>the</strong> Belles II amplifier.<br />
We don’t want to dissuade you from<br />
ordering this ancient issue, but we may<br />
as well warn you that nei<strong>the</strong>r one got<br />
anything like a warm reception.<br />
10 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY <strong>Magazine</strong><br />
The Robertson 4010, on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
hand, was an excellent amplifier back<br />
in 1984, and gradually became even<br />
more of a bargain as inflation pushed<br />
prices up, yet <strong>the</strong> Robertson’s price<br />
didn’t follow. It is of course a little old<br />
at this point, enough that parts may fail<br />
within <strong>the</strong> next while. The company still<br />
exists, however, and <strong>the</strong> amplifier can be<br />
repaired.<br />
I recently inherited a stereo system/workin-progress<br />
from my bro<strong>the</strong>r Dan (who considered<br />
UHF to be his favorite magazine). I<br />
have a question about upgrading it.<br />
I love good music and good sounding<br />
music, but am not as devoted as my bro<strong>the</strong>r<br />
was. I loved him dearly, though, and would<br />
like to honor his memory by completing <strong>the</strong><br />
upgrades to <strong>the</strong> system in a way he would<br />
have enjoyed. So... The system consists of a<br />
Harman/Kardon PA2200, a B.A.T. VK-<br />
3i and Martin-Logan Aerius speakers. I<br />
In issue No. 7, which is <strong>the</strong> Belles preamp<br />
auditioned? By chance, <strong>the</strong> DMM (Class A)?<br />
Chronology would suggest this.<br />
I’ve accumulated equipment with limited<br />
funds by buying antiques, with <strong>the</strong> hope that<br />
<strong>the</strong> same money is thus more wisely spent<br />
than on mass-market current products.<br />
After some research, I suspect your review<br />
may be <strong>the</strong> only source of information on <strong>the</strong><br />
above unit.<br />
If I may sneak in a request for Free<br />
don’t know <strong>the</strong> brand names for <strong>the</strong> cables<br />
but <strong>the</strong>y were appropriate for this system. I<br />
am ashamed to tell you what <strong>the</strong> CD player<br />
is, so I won’t.<br />
I think I can sneak an upgrade of $600-<br />
$700 every o<strong>the</strong>r year or so by my wife. I<br />
would like (but don’t necessarily need) a<br />
300-disc changer. It was my bro<strong>the</strong>r’s desire<br />
to have an all tube system.<br />
Here are my questions: 1) Is <strong>the</strong>re a tube<br />
amplifier in this price-range that would be<br />
your 350 CD collection (which we assume<br />
will grow) into a changer, what happens<br />
to <strong>the</strong> CD booklets? Right...<strong>the</strong>y stay<br />
Advice, (you expected as much, I’m sure):<br />
improvement on <strong>the</strong> Harman/Kardon?<br />
in <strong>the</strong> jewel boxes, which don’t get any<br />
care to reach back to recesses of It’s memory blue…and 2) I could justify a changer it like has <strong>the</strong> Pioneer a million smaller just because uses<br />
<strong>the</strong>re are no discs in<br />
to comment on <strong>the</strong> sound-character of my PD-F1009 to my wife without considering<br />
<strong>the</strong>m. If you really want to exorcise <strong>the</strong><br />
“back-line,” whe<strong>the</strong>r it’s biased Well, towards perhaps it an not upgrade, a million as we've she is sick discovered of <strong>the</strong> space yet, my but jewel always boxes, keep get some a couple of this<br />
of those nice<br />
warm, well-rounded and can compensate wonderful stuff 350+ on CD hand. collection We fasten takes up, speakers but would to stands this<br />
multidisc with it. we binders keep cables that in have place,<br />
space for<br />
for a cold, analytical source, let’s and say? we Or use if it be to a tame “desecration” vibrations. of <strong>the</strong> Oh o<strong>the</strong>r yes…it components? comes with both instructions!<br />
CDs and booklets. Sell <strong>the</strong> now-<br />
<strong>the</strong>re’s balance of quality, etc. I have a Robertson<br />
4010 power amp, <strong>the</strong> Belles DMM<br />
preamp and B&W DM4 speakers.<br />
Gosh, each and all of this stuff must be<br />
as old as your magazine! Congratulations<br />
on <strong>the</strong> longevity of both your publication and<br />
your intentions/philosophy.<br />
James Tay<br />
TORONTO, ON<br />
3) If so, are <strong>the</strong>re any mega-changers in this<br />
range which wouldn’t be a desecration? 4) If<br />
not, is it more beneficial to buy a $600-$700<br />
CD player or a $600-$700 amplifier and<br />
make do with <strong>the</strong> Pioneer for a few years?<br />
I would like to spend as little money as<br />
possible on this.<br />
David Heylen<br />
SEATTLE, WA<br />
empty boxes to your friends, and <strong>the</strong> way<br />
we figure it you’re going to come out just<br />
about even.<br />
We found your letter touching,<br />
David, because it occurs to us that your<br />
late bro<strong>the</strong>r may possibly, just possibly,<br />
have left you much more than just a<br />
stack of electronic equipment. He loved<br />
music enough to want a quality system<br />
that would bring home to him <strong>the</strong> emotional<br />
charge of live music. You already<br />
love music, and if he can, posthumously,<br />
pass this passion on to you, <strong>the</strong> legacy<br />
will be beyond price.<br />
Once you’re ready to make your own<br />
his desire for tubes, let us know and we<br />
can no doubt help. In <strong>the</strong> meantime,<br />
we can probably assume that <strong>the</strong> CD<br />
player is <strong>the</strong> piece that really needs to<br />
be changed, but be careful about this.<br />
The Martin-Logan speakers are devastatingly<br />
revealing, able to reproduce<br />
with exceptional clarity not only fine<br />
musical nuances, but also finely-crafted<br />
engineering errors in <strong>the</strong> source component.<br />
Disc changers are not designed for<br />
such speakers, or indeed such systems.<br />
Their forte is capacity. It is like <strong>the</strong> difference<br />
between a crystal wine glass and<br />
a swill barrel.<br />
Oh all right, we’re exaggerating. We<br />
do recommend picking up a single disc<br />
player from an upscale manufacturer.<br />
The Cambridge D500 is <strong>the</strong> moderatelypriced<br />
player we are used to recommending.<br />
Somewhat above its price are players<br />
from Rotel and Rega. We believe you’ll<br />
<strong>the</strong>n understand what brought joy to<br />
your bro<strong>the</strong>r.<br />
The CD storage question is a nonissue,<br />
and here’s why. If you stick 300 of<br />
I have a Rega system including a Planar<br />
25 turntable with a Rega Elys cartridge and<br />
RB-600 tone arm, a Planet CD player, a<br />
Rega Radio, Mira amp and Alya speakers.<br />
I like my system, but <strong>the</strong> performance of<br />
my speakers in <strong>the</strong> bass and medium frequencies<br />
is not as I want. I would like deeper and<br />
warmer bass with an more open medium.<br />
My speaker have two qualities that I want<br />
to preserve: compatibility with analog and<br />
digital sources, and clear but not aggressive<br />
treble. I’m looking at <strong>the</strong> Rega Jura and <strong>the</strong><br />
Paradigm Studio 20, 40 and 60. What is