Von Schweikert Audio acquires Endeavor - breaking news

Von Schweikert Audio acquires Endeavor Audio

California, USA 25th September, 2015

Von Schweikert Audio is pleased to announce its recent acquisition of Endeavor Audio and the partnership/promotion of Leif Swanson (founder of Endeavor Audio) to the role of Vice President, Sales and Marketing.  VSA is impressed with both the quality of products produced by Endeavor Audio and the US Dealer relationships Mr. Swanson has established in just a few years of operation.

All present Endeavor Audio dealer/distributor agreements are unaffected by this acquisition, the Endeavor Audio line of products will continue to be managed by Leif Swanson independently of present VSA distribution where appropriate.  Leif Swanson is committed to maintaining all established relationships for both lines while leveraging them in territories where only one is currently represented.

As part of the subsequent restructuring, Damon Von Schweikert has taken over as Chief Executive
Officer which allows Albert Von Schweikert to focus exclusively in his role of Chief Engineer.  In addition and due to his success at Endeavor, Leif Swanson will join the design team as an assistant to Mr. Von Schweikert.

These recent changes enhance Von Schweikert Audio’s present product assortment and secures
valuable talent and leadership for continued development and growth which places the company in a
strong market position for the future.

California, USA www.vonschweikert.com – damon@vonschweikert.com – leif@vonschweikert.com 

Guardian article on vinyl production

The Guardian newspaper has a new article on vinyl pressing and the growing demand:.

"Located in Milwaukie, Oregon, which borders Portland to the south, Cascade is a labor of love between three partners: CEO Rainey, mastering engineer Adam Gonsalves and certified public accountant Steve Lanning. As music fans and vinyl aficionados, the trio knew they were tapping into a growing demand.Between January and March of 2015, vinyl sales were 53% higher than the first three months of 2014, according to a Nielsen report. And in 2014, vinyl sales totaled 9.2m, up from 6.1m in 2013."

 find the full article HERE

Another batch of Jerome Sabbagh's The Turn now available

As promised, here's an update from Jerome Sabbagh to earlier buyers of The Turn -- get them while you can, it's my favorite release of the year:

"I hope you are enjoying the first pressing of the record. I wanted to let you know that, thanks in no small part to your support, the first pressing is sold out. I am pressing another 500 copies. They will be pressed at QRP, exactly like your copy, but, unlike your copy, they will not be numbered. 

In case you know someone interested, they are available for preorder on my website: www.jeromesabbagh.com($25 + shipping). The records should be pressed by the end of the month. I will ship as soon as I get them."

RIP Bobby Palkovich of Merlin

Always loved the look and sonics of Merlin speakers, they just made music and had the finish quality of fine furniture, particularly in that ruby heart finish. So I was saddened to learn that chief designer Bobby Palkovich died late August. Somehow, this was not big news and barely reached mention on many audio forums. I remember reading Bobby somewhere saying that he'd reached the point where these speakers were as good as he could make them - you can have them small or larger but they are the same speaker executed to the point where nothing more could be done to improve them. How rare is is to hear that from any company? Magic Merlin indeed. More info here

Good news for US Linn owners

Most upper-end table owners like to update, tweak and fiddle with their set ups. LP12 owners do this routinely as the table seems to need more regular tune ups than my car. Owning UK made gear in the US is sometimes problematic and expensive (I know this as an SME 20/2 user) so the following announcement of a US outlet for Linn bells and whistles will be welcome by many:

Russ Andrews USA, supplier of hi-fi and home theater accessories for the audiophile community, is introducing a full range of genuine Linn LP12 spare parts to enable US based vinyl enthusiasts to upgrade their favorite turntable to achieve even greater musical enjoyment.

The full suite of genuine LP12 parts, including motors, belts, platters, armboards, screws, lid hinges and every other imaginable part is now available to purchase direct from the www.russandrews.com/usa website. Having had such a long history with Linn and its most famous product, Russ Andrews has an unrivalled knowledge of how to service and upgrade the LP12 and has produced a guide to help its customers get the most from their turntable. The guide may be downloaded from the Linn LP12 Spares area of the website.

Expressimoaudio The Lift

Of all the inconveniences of the vinyl life, and I am prepared to concede there are a few such as the endless cleaning rituals, the lack of easy track selection and so forth, the one that many have the hardest time dealing with is the need to jump up every 20 mins or so to lift the stylus off the record at the end of a side.  We've all done it, left a precious stylus sitting in the run out groove of an LP when distracted. I've walked out of my listening room and forgotten that I was spinning records rather than CDs, and I hear some poor folks have fallen asleep during a late night session only to wake up in horror, hours later, with the recognition that their needle was still spinning around or worse.  Yes, there might be drinks involved but let him who is without sin cast the first stone here. Nobody likes to think of those wasted minutes or even hours where a valuable cartridge is doing its thing in the deadwax.


Enter Expressimoaudio's The Lift. A deceptively simple looking brass device that you place near the tonearm's pivot, prime by swinging the upper arm around, and then leave alone to do the job. It lifts the stylus at record's end as the tonearm tube moves the upper lever to a tipping point whereupon the lower half of said level swings up and under the tonearm tube to lift the entire arm and cartridge clear of the groove. The Lift has a range of adjustability to allow for tonearms of varying heights and circumference, using a small allen key so the support pillar can be extended or collapsed as needed to find the sweet spot. It all sounds more complicated than it is, and  if a picture is worth a 1000 words, the above  video from Brian the designer should tell you all you need to know.

On my SME 20/2 with V arm, I required the heavier weight version to have the necessary force, and it took me more than a few tries to get positioning and height right. The trick for me was to recognize that the tonearm did not have to make contact with the top weight, but should slip under it to contact the lever. I also played around with BluTak to hold the Lift in place as it would otherwise fall over in use but once I got it set, and I did, the Lift has not left my table.  Set up time for me was more than the claimed seven minutes but once you get a sense of how it operates, the real trick is just positioning.

Now installed, the Lift works every time and believe me, I am glad it does. On more than one occasion it has saved my cartridge from unnecessary wear as I've left the room with a record playing and come back an hour later to find the room quiet, the platter spinning, and my lovely Sumiko Pearwood Celebration II floating safely above the  inner grooves. Ah, the small comforts that matter.

Drawbacks are negligible. On the rather hollow SME arm, the Lift makes a rather sharp noise on contact as the lever triggers and the stylus escapes the inner grooves but having examined this up close, it's not a worry, no damage occurring here. Bigger challenge is to get into the habit of priming it for every side. I've sometimes forgotten to bring the Lift arm back into place when changing sides and then, near the end of the next side, the arm bumps into the Lift's non-raised lever causing skipping. You sort of have to learn this the hard way - two months in and I still sometimes forget to set it but it's becoming second nature.

This is a $100 device that you might think is overpriced but given the general quality and the fact that it works (and let's be honest, looks a whole lot better on a decent table than the Q-Up that you can get for a few bucks less) leads me to unhesitatingly recommend it for table owners. Brian of Expressimoaudio is also a very customer-friendly guy who will work with you to get your set up correct (he's also working on a set of arm and table designs too that promise interesting results - this man is committed to the vinyl cause, watch out for him). I bought the Lift without mentioning my blog or HiFi'Zine so I know how Brian treats customers, not reviewers. He worked with me the whole way and I am confident he'll make you happy.  Buy it, set it, relax. No need to question if you have enough time left on a side to refill the glass, to run to the kitchen or heaven forbid, if you forgot to stop spinning when you left the house. LP listening just became a little more convenient.

Rega do a Queen Edition? We are not amused.

Was sort of taken back by the announcement from Rega that they are doing a tie-in model with Queen for the latter's reissue of catalog on high quality vinyl. Seems you will be able to buy a special version of the RP1 to commemorate the occasion. Only 2000 to be made, and 200 of these only to find their way to the US. The records, sadly, do not come with it.

Apparently, according to the press release, this daring pairing was instigated by the band. Am I the only one who remembers Queen running ads in the 1980s disparaging vinyl, showing an LP melted into a flower pot or some such,  and trumpeting the glories of CD, a format that Queen had determined would be the basis for all their future releases? I guess so.

Another Turn from Jerome Sabbagh

Heard from Jerome this morning that he has found a few more copies of his Kickstarter-funded LP release, The Turn, which is one of the best releases of the year for me. I suspect this LP will be getting wider release soon but if you want one of the original 500 copies, head over to http://www.jeromesabbagh.com/ now. By the time you read this, it might still be too late. Jerome is personally shipping these copies, so just imagine the effort involved and give this man some support. Art lives. 

Meanwhile, playing around with a cheap table

I picked up an old Denon DP790 online a few months back at a price that seemed more than reasonable so as to get a handle on all this love for direct drive technology that we find in multiple forums. Would like to have heard the VPI direct drive but we've discussed that problem earlier, so a cheap, used Japanese table from the 1980s found its way here instead. Unfortunately the seller had little or no experience packing tables and left the platter on and the cover down, imagining I suppose that those nice people in UPS would always lift gently and hold the package upright. A bit of clean up later, I installed a Clearaudio moving magnet (MSRP $250) on the arm, tweaked a few settings and gave the old girl a spin in my secondary rig.

All sounded fine, a decent basic turntable into a Harmon Kardon receiver driving some old Kefs provided me with reasonable but not earth shattering sounds but what can you expect for this price? Well, you can expect a whole lot more than you might believe if you get the partnering equipment right (as an aside, I know Audioholics reported that the HK receiver I use sparingly has some of the best measurements you can get, but man, it has never sounded great to my ears with any speaker I've used).

A move to my main rig, just to know, proved very interesting. Connecting to my Whest .03RDT SE phono stage (running in MM mode) gave me sounds that really caught my ears Super quiet background, reliable solid bass without any overhang or smear, and nicely articulated highs. Vocals were clear, instruments sounded accurate and most of all, the whole sonic picture was pleasing and engaging. Not bad thinks I - and not just for the price, this little table is not out of place here with my high end components.

Time then for a few tweaks without concern for the sanity of these additions. Off with the rubber platter mat and on with a TTW heavy mat. Hum.....better resolved bass, super-quick, distinct, with bass drum and guitar separated clearly. Add the HRS clamp over the spindle and things seem even a little better still. Yikes, that well over a $1k in tweaks on a used table found for $200, but man, that little Denon is good enough to warrant it.

Would I give up my SME 20 for this? No, it's good but not quite that good but it is easier to nail the exact speed. Using my phone app, I got the Denon to run dead on 33.3 with just the slightest adjustment of its speed dial. The tonearm is height adjustable, and with the standard headshell, you can adjust azimuth sort of quickly by loosening the collar or swap cartridges in a heartbeat. Speaking of this headshell, cartridge positioning is simplified by the manuals instruction to move it until the stylus tip to collar measures 48mm. I did this then used a Stevenson alignment to final check and position. Super easy, the sort of no fuss set up anyone can handle.

The gaps between this table and my reference are there to hear, the SME just gives everything a bit more space around instruments and lines, and provides a larger window into the performance but I wonder now how good the Denon might sound with a comparable MC cartridge. Surely it's madness to put a $1k+ cartridge on this table/arm but I cannot help believe it would sound even closer to my SME. Don't have one to hand and am not about to take my Pearwood Celebration off my SME V given the hours I've put in getting it just right but the opportunity to try one will surely present itself at some point, even if I just swap the Pearwood over when it's time for a replacement.

So, if you are confused by turntables but want to dip your toes in, take a chance on a used Denon or equivalent direct drive. Just make sure it runs ok and the arm is adjustable. From there, the set up is simple (or as simple as vinyl can be), and you will have taken a significant step on the road to understanding what vinyl can provide. A table like that can live with upgrades and decent partnering equipment before its own limitations show. Right now, I don't think I've even reached the limits of what this little Denon  DP790 can provide. Try that with any 1980s cd player and see where you get!

Upgraded Raven integrated in for a listen, more reviews coming

The irrepressible Dave Thomson of Raven Audio shipped a nice surprise to me last week, the Blackhawk integrated amp, a sort of top level version of the Nighthawk I enjoyed earlier this year. Raven have had a rough few months with the crazy weather we had here flooding their facilities, necessitating rapid, all-hands-on-deck style moving of parts and equipment through the night but they have made it through and are still selling product, which is great news. More as I go on this one.

Also,  in use or coming in, all of which will get a mention at some point: Aural Thrills Audio's phono stage (another Texas tube company,  who says it's too hot in Texas for tubes?), looking forward to giving that a run out on my vinyl, where I've also been tweaking with Expressimoaudiodo's The Lift, designed to save us from leaving our precious stylus sitting in the run out groove when we forget (oh, it happens!), and a set of mats from ExtremePhono.  Summer fun with the analog stuff. More to come.

Sabbagh Turns Out a Joy

A few months back I mentioned a Kickstarter campaign by Jerome Sabbagh to have his new album, The Turn, released on vinyl. Well he reached his target, kept the project going through some difficult and unexpected er, turns, not least the death of Doug Sax who was involved in the mastering, some initial test pressing problems, sleeve foul ups and so forth. This month, the albums shipped to backers and the results are worth the wait.

The release comes as two LPs in separate but identical sleeves on beautiful slabs of thick vinyl, with 56 mins of music spread across four sides. Yes, you will need to get up every 15 mins or so, making you feel like you've played one of those 45rpm sets so beloved by some (not me) but even though this album is available in other formats, you will want the vinyl set. At the time of writing, Jerome tells me that he still has copies of the 500 original run an will be selling them from his web site  www.jeromesabbagh.com (I backed early but still only got #226, so don't sit around on this one).

But what about the music? Well where do I start. Sabbagh's band (who have recorded together before) consists of some real top notch players, the always striking Ben Monder on guitar and a rhythm section of Ted Poor and Joe Martin  all of whom are given plenty of room to breath and play on this album. Sabbagh's sax is earthy, groove-oriented and truly captivating. The group range mostly over Sabbagh originals and a cover of Paul Motian's Once around the Park, with a mix of sombre, spacious chill giving way to high energy, driving bop. Though the soloists are captivating, it's the collective experience of four guys weaving a musical tapestry in seeming total synchronicity that gives the album its stand-out qualities for me. The opening, title track sums the mood well, a slow drawn out motif on bass and sax sets a contemplative, faintly sinister tone before drummer Poor kicks everyone into swing and Sabbagh embarks on a winding solo that is taken on by Monder who seamlessly drives us further into edginess until rejoined by Sabbath for a powerful band-in-motion ending. This album tells you these guys not only can play, but they can play seriously well together, a unified force that carves solid shapes in thin air,  and you better pay attention.

Yes, Monder goes all out in an almost Hendrixian limb on Cult, an 11 minute drama but his playing never loses perspective or jars the listener because of the brilliant accompaniments of Poor and Martin. The end result being an example of what tradition with innovation can bring to the listener prepared to give current musicians some space. Long Gone is a more traditional groove that lovers of moody sax recordings will immediately resonate with but even here, the music warrants consideration of all that the band are bringing to bear, from sweet chordal backings to percussive voices that add texture and twists to the melodies up front.

One very distinct attribute of the vinyl is that the music just seems to make more sense. I don't really know how else to explain it but even though I had the digital download of this album for a few months, I never really heard it until I spun it on my table. It's not the resolution as much as the mood-capture that the records bring. Once cued up, I have been unable to spin just one side and always end up listening through the whole album, each subsequent listen giving up more to me of this music and this recording's charm.  Listeners in my home who find some bop too jarring for their ears have enquired about this album positively when I played it for them. The Turn is a slow burner, has edge with purpose, and for me the best new jazz record I've heard in a long while.  Stop buying re-releases of old stuff you already have. Get The Turn and go see these guys;  talent this good has to be nurtured.



UPDATE -- I think the copies on his web site are now gone but you might be able to get this still through Amazon. Sounds to me as if this release needs to be backed by a label with more copies.

The vertical LP boom box....kickstart this..

OK, the PR might be a bit stylized, the obvious opportunist timing for the vinyl comeback (TM) but hey, you never know till you hear it right?



and when you've bought one, be sure to check out this helpful guide on record collecting and proper handling or cleaning:

The Mastering Lab acquired by Acoustic Sounds

Not just a PR piece - this is a more poignant telling honoring the work of the late Doug Sax --

Just what you were waiting for, right?

Another f'in edition of Kind of Blue....

someone make it stop.... It's not that I don't love this album but how many copies are we supposed to need? There's been originals, re-releases, speed corrected releases, what's next...corrected speed-corrected? New tapes found in the back pocket of the studio sweeper's suit by his grandchild. Buy it? What else.

Audition struggles again - where can you actually hear the VPI Classic Direct?

I’ve been trying to find somewhere local and even not so local where I could hear the VPI Classic Direct table. The well-reviewed direct drive model is a change for VPI, not just in terms of technology but in terms of price, VPI not really known for $30,000 tables. I’ve seen the table at RMAF but given the circumstances of show conditions, I could not really say I ‘heard’ one so I thought I’d locate one somewhere in Texas and make an effort to hear it privately.

There are 4 listed dealers in Texas for VPI, a number that initially surprised me and suggested I’d find one to hear pretty conveniently. Turns out one of these dealers is no longer in business and none of the other three have the Classic Direct or even plan to have one in their store any time soon.  There are no dealers in Louisiana. In fact, it would appear that I’d have better luck if I flew to NJ to find a dealership where I could hear one. So, not only do I have to spend a fortune to get the table, I’d have to spend a small fortune just to have the option of auditioning it first. And we wonder why high end sales are threatened?