This year's vinyl system changes

[Big Dog RJ]

The colored amps are the I/50.

I think that could be part of the problem. They were a major commitment, and they do not seem to be moving.

Jeff may look like the genius.., he is not putting any money into anything that doesn’t have a strong source of funding. He is not worrying about supporting legacy products, and when he does support them, he does not do it at a loss or break even level. He makes money.

Putting all effort into a handful of tube designs with NO BELLS OR WHISTLES, he minimizes his development investment. No giant footprint for the building. No legacy work force. No one to even reliably answer questions.

He picks his battles. He is on site producing, ie paying his own way, not paying others to produce. No wasting money on advertising or show attendance.

His style caters to high rollers who want the gold faceplate and the lucky eights. CJ is a true boutique builder.

I’ve said it before … CJ’s business model is deliberate, and for now, effective. Even if it makes some old customers angry.

Regarding Eikon, there has been no serious industry buzz since the introduction. It is hard to imagine that he would be selling enough stuff to keep the lights on.

ARC’s situation, coming directly on the heels of Axpona where they had a large presence, suggests the possibility that they were hoping for more solid orders than materialized.

It is too early to write ARC off, but they’re caught in the small size company range with a significant payroll and development costs. Maybe the Italians will come back in.

I hope this is all just a passing problem. I really like Trent Suggs. It is good when the good guys do well.

And in ARC’s case, the Feibiger era gear sounds incredible. Way better than anything I’ve heard from anyone else. I’m not biased … I pick based on buying or borrowing and comparing. Many like the REF 250 SE and REF 75SE as pinnacle products for the line. Aside from the ghost meters, triode mode, and auto bias, the REF 160 family just doesn’t seem to capture the same level of “WoW!.”

Yes, correct and agree on 110%!

CJ is definitely a boutique brand, and a very highend one too. No frills, and no bells or whistles, you get exactly what you pay for. The high roller dealers are still there to support you, and Jeff makes sure his "ART" customers are looked after. So can't argue with that!

Spot on with ARC, it's just too large of an American icon to be ignored or go unwanted. Someone will step in and take over, it's far too valuable to lose. Just considering it's vibrant history and how it helped other companies like Magnepan to take off. Far too valuable.

I hope this tube supply issues get sorted out. Perhaps we shouldn't rely too much on Russian made... but they sound bloody great!

Enjoy those finest tunes!
RJ

[Wildcat]

I didn't check back to see if any of the receivers had sold. But, it was not really the market to sell those at, as most were there for high-end audio or headphones. I suspect they sell more online.

Update on Eikon Audio--our rep contacted Eikon's PR rep and the company is still around and doing fine. But they are dealing with technical issues on their web site.

[admin]

Update on Eikon Audio--our rep contacted Eikon's PR rep and the company is still around and doing fine. But they are dealing with technical issues on their web site.

That's good. With all the talk about ARC declaring bankruptcy and the Eikon website being down. We don't want to lose these brands.

[AnotherJohnson]

That's good. With all the talk about ARC declaring bankruptcy and the Eikon website being down. We don't want to lose these brands.

ARC did not declare bankruptcy.

They went into receivership with expectations to emerge with a new owner, perhaps this week.

As for Eikon, I wish them well. But since we never really had them (their installed base has to be minuscule), their loss would be like losing a drop from an ocean.

[AnotherJohnson]

Update on Eikon Audio--our rep contacted Eikon's PR rep and the company is still around and doing fine. But they are dealing with technical issues on their web site.

I’ve spent a bit of time this afternoon trying to find ANY evidence that Eikon Audio and Gayle Sanders are open for business. There is NO evidence, aside from Sanders’ linked in page, that Eikon still exists.

There are no identifiable dealers offering them for sale. Their offer to demo in your home appears to be dead.

The name Eikon is being used with impunity by Proel North America. They distribute microphones, small cheap speakers and otherwise serve the low end on the industry side.

If you can still buy anything from Sanders company, you’ll have to have access to a back door. He may still be in business, but if he is, he is laying very low.

A PR rep hardly seems like the kind of source who would be the most trustworthy.

[Wildcat]

The PR reps in the business all know each other, and the rep in question was hired to work for Eikon directly, per my contact (who's been in this for decades).

[AnotherJohnson]

The PR reps in the business all know each other, and the rep in question was hired to work for Eikon directly, per my contact (who's been in this for decades).

So …. Are they just so covered over with orders that the wait list isn’t of interest?

How do you buy something? They’re not even findable through a dealer’s advertising.

More important WHAT’s THE WORD ON THE RALLY?

[Wildcat]

Yeah, I don't know exactly what is going on with Eikon other than hearing that Gayle and the company are still around. We'll just have to wait and see what transpires with the site.

As for the rally, I followed one of their rules (quite obviously): I didn't die.

I'm still on the way home. I'm in Terre Haute at the moment. Home of a former Columbia pressing plant, DADC (the first CD pressing plant in the USA) and "12 LPs for a dollar."

My stop yesterday in Salina, Kansas was very interesting and a highlight of the trip. If you know what's located there, you already have a clue...and the "demo" I heard was legendary.

[AnotherJohnson]

The PR reps in the business all know each other, and the rep in question was hired to work for Eikon directly, per my contact (who's been in this for decades).

FWIW, I wasn’t implying that the PR reps aren’t truthful… they just tend to put the best face on the facts.

It is good to know that the people at Eikon or OK.

[tonye]

I've had three turntables in all my audiophile life... a Kenwood, back in the 70s; a Dual in the 80s; an LP12 since the 90s. All belt driven.

Currently, the LP12 sits at with a Karousel, Trampolin, Lingo, Ittok LV-II and Grado Master 2 (low output). It sounds fantastic... being driven into a DIY Pearl 2 phono preamp ( all kinds of crazy adjustments into a Class A FET stage ) and the PV9 as line stage ( with the teflon caps and now NEW Russkie tubes).

Over the years I've recorded my LPs, setting up a PC with an AD/DAC to encode at 24/96. I did a lot of recording with an M-Audio Firewire and Cubase. With Cubase I could remove the ticks and pops by manually editing the waveform: snipping just a few milliseconds of the leading edge of the pop... which minimized the impact into the recording. It was manually intensive but got me excellent results.

And at 24/96 the sound was pretty much indistinguishable.

BUT, everytime I updated the front end... guess what? The analog got better and that pretty much invalidated the recordings.

Currently I got an RME ADI2 Pro HS... USB to a Window 10 Dell MFF. Got a Nektar board too, I've been playing around with the DAW software, not having settled on anything, really, as I figure that keeping my records clean, VPI HW16.5, makes all the difference in the world.

So, recording my LPs somehow doesn't sound like such an important thing to do...

For digital I run Tidal HiFi using an Android Tablet, USB-OTG to a Burson with the upgraded OpAmps... That sounds OK too. Actually, with the right sources it can sound really outstanding ( check out the master recordings of Disney Little Mermaid soundtrack... ).

But table wise, I'm set with the LP12 and its upgrade path. It's something dear to me... I don't like to throw things away. Next, I think we'll do the Lingo 4... after that an Ekos ( I've seen some used ones, in black )... and eventually I might do the Keel.

Phono preamp wise, I'm getting an upgraded power supply. One of the great things about my current phono preamp is its almost universal adjustability.. heck I can change the left and right channels independently if I so chose... all by reaching behind the front panel and twisting a knob or flicking a switch! Gain, resistance, impedance, I got more adjustments than my local US Senator has excuses.

Cartridge wise I'm being steered towards an Ortofon Cadenza Black... but at that price point there are so many options. I like the Grado sound.