I have a friend named Yale, a record producer, who lives in a capacious, art-filled SoHo loft with enormous windows, craggy wood floors, and a high, tin-tiled ceiling. I enjoy Yale's company because he has extraordinarily diverse, highly evolved taste in music, art, architecture, books, home furnishings, and hi-fi equipment.
In one part of Yale's loft, a large, tin cow weathervane stands on a bureau. Bolted to the ceiling above the dining room table is a greasy black 3001b electric motor with a wide pulley-the kind formerly used to turn the belts that powered sweatshop machines ca 1920. In the purest essence of 1970s SoHo style, a loft bed is situated above the closet and bathroom, and the kitchen floor is raised to shelter plumbing pipes. There's an unnamable piece of machinery, about the size of a small dog, on the floor next to the couch. It sits there because it looks elegantly mysterious, inspiring curiosity and contemplation. Yale and his architect wife spent decades creating this dreamy, comfortable space, which leads my mind to reminisce-and loft envy.
One sunny winter weekday, Yale invited me over for the express purpose of helping him decide which amp does a better job powering his patinaed 1970s Tannoy Cheviot speakers: his newly arrived, 1956 Fairchild 260 tube amplifiers or the shiny Line Magnetic 2A3 amp he'd been using for some time. His "gear table," he said, was too small for both.
As we unpacked the Fairchilds, we agreed: Those push-pull 6L6 mono amps are museum-quality masterpieces of industrial design. The Fairchild 260s are, along with the Marantz Model 2 and the Brook 12A, top classics of American mono-era amplifier design.
Esta historia es de la edición June 2023 de Stereophile.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición June 2023 de Stereophile.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
AURAL ROBERT
Another \"outlaw\" country artist
Nina Simone: Wild Is the Wind
By all accounts, Eunice Kathleen Waymon, aka Nina Simone, who passed in 2003, was a troubled person and a brilliant artist. Why she was not more acclaimed during her lifetime is a question several recent film projects have tried to answer. Did her fierce stand on civil rights lose her fans?
Vintage hi-fi, old and new
Many audiophiles and serious music lovers are passionate about vintage. Vintage has become a popular \"way in\" to the hobby, especially popular among younger folks.
Tekton Moab Be
LOUDSPEAKER
ARCAM Radia A25
INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER
Wharfedale Heritage Series 90th Anniversary Dovedale
LOUDSPEAKER
Technics Grand Class SL-1200/1210GR2
RECORD PLAYER
Thrax Audio Siren
Based in Bulgaria, European audio company Thrax has been active since 2009.
EMM Labs MTRS
STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER
SPIN DOCTOR
Alternative phono cartridge technologies and the DS Audio DS-W3 optical cartridge system