Letters • April 2017

Arranging music collection, Pioneer Elite DV-79AVi

April 17, 2017

Marc,

As I have been collecting 45rpm and mono LPs in the last few years, I am wondering how do you go about organizing your LPs. Do you separate 45s from 33s? And do you separate your mono LP collection? My biggest worry in the past was whether to separate only my classical, jazz and rock, or to further separate folk and progressive rock. Such life challenges!

Also, did you recommend the Pioneer Elite DV-79AVi due to its excellent SACD and DVD-Audio playback only, or do CDs also sound excellent? The used prices of this player are great, of course, due to no Blu-ray playback, but I'm wondering what price/level of CD players is it comparable to.

Jeff Levine

You've asked another of the eternal audiophile questions: how does one organize a music collection? I recall a scene from the movie High Fidelity where the various principles were mentioned. Ultimately, the best organizing principle is the one that works best for you. For me, that's filing all LPs, whether stereo or mono, 33 or 45rpm, by genre and then performer. In that way, when I'm in the mood to listen to some Thelonious Monk, for instance, I can make my choice from all of his LPs in my collection (digital media is stored separately, of course, but arranged in the same way). This makes the most sense to me. Others, however, put all MoFi titles, or all 45rpm sets, together, and I've done some of that too at times, but eventually I refile those titles by genre and artist.

I actually own two Pioneer Elite DV-79AVi's, and I paid less than $200 total for both of them. They sound just as good with CDs as with high-rez media and really differentiate the differences among the formats -- and different versions of the same recording -- really well. Overall, I'd say the sound quality is comparable to digital players at double the DV-79AVi's original retail price of $1000, although I can't claim to be well versed on new players in this price range. In fact, because of file and streaming replay, there really aren't many new players in this price range, so buying used is really your only option. -Marc Mickelson

Tom Evans review?

April 11, 2017

Marc,

Any chance of a review of the Tom Evans Audio Design phono stages that Roy Gregory and Jason Kennedy list as part of their respective associated equipment? Roy Gregory is a longtime user of Tom Evans phono stages.

Juan Molina Zamudio

I'm sure Roy would be happy to write a blog or review on the Tom Evans phono stage that's part of his reference "kit." And who better to write about it than Roy, who knows the product, and the field of contenders, so well?  I will talk to him about it. -Marc Mickelson

What about MIT?

April 5, 2017

Marc,

I have the opportunity to buy some top line MIT interconnects at a substantial cost reduction. Problem is, I'd have to buy them unheard. I know nothing of these "Articulation Poles," and I'm not sure I care. I'm just looking for top-notch, neutral, balanced interconnects. I've always enjoyed great performance over the years from AudioQuest and Synergistic Research. Do you have an opinion or any experience with MIT?

John Leosco

Searching through my memory banks (with help from Yahoo), I recall that I reviewed MIT Oracle 2.1 interconnects and speaker cables back in 2003, and I enjoyed them greatly. Since then, I've heard Transparent Opus MM, another networked cable, in my system, and they were truly extraordinary. One sonic aspect that both brands seem to maximize is bass -- definition, weight, power, slam, you name it. I don't know which specific MIT cables you're considering, but if they are configured for use with your electronics (Transparent cables are product-specific; I don't know about current MIT cables), they should, at the very least, broaden your sonic horizons. -Marc Mickelson

Reader list

April 1, 2017

Marc,

Please add me to your e-mail list of recipients.

Joseph Sproviero

Done. For others who want to join the reader e-mail list and find out about new TAB articles first, send e-mail to rl@theaudiobeat.com. -Marc Mickelson

 

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