Another visit to Whetstone...with the PureAudio Vinyl phono preamp

First things first...Colleen Cardas and I just announced that we are now the US distributors of PureAudio of New Zealand. We have been so impressed with the Vinyl phono preamplifier I talked about last night that we jumped at the opportunity to represent this brand in the US. We also set the US retail price of this unit at $4500.

The day before we made the announcement, we brought the Vinyl over to Brian Di Frank at Whetstone Audio, our Austin dealer for Unison Research. Brian had already heard the buzz about PureAudio months ago, and when I posted on Facebook that we had the unit, he immediately responded "I want to hear it!" So we scheduled a visit and put the Vinyl into his showroom system that consisted of a Line Magnetic integrated amplifier, Well-Tempered Amadeus turntable, Dynavector 20X2 cartridge and Harbeth HL5 speakers.

After just a few tunes, Brian was impressed with the performance of the Vinyl. I'm going to give him a few days with it, and then get it back into my system so I can keep breaking in that Transfiguration Phoenix cartridge in time for the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in October. In the Vinyl's absence, I went back to my old Lehmann Audio Black Cube SE phono pre. (I had to give up my Unison Research Phono One phono preamp for a couple of months so it could be reviewed in TONEAudio.) While the Lehmann is my favorite phono preamp in the $1000 to $1500 range, phono stages such as the Phono One and the Vinyl simply trounce it in terms of texture, 3-D imaging, deep bass response and detail.

Just a few hours after we left the Vinyl at Whetstone, Brian blogged about it on his website. He called it "flippin' great!" We agree. We're so enamored with the Vinyl that we decided to take it to the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest as well, where it will be mated with the Unison Research Giro turntable, Transfiguration Phoenix cartridge, the new Opera Grand Mezza speakers and a Unison Research amplifier TBD (either the Simply Italy or the Sinfonia, or maybe both).

Visit to Dan Muzquiz at Blackbird Audio/Gallery

Colleen Cardas and I just got back from a trip to Southern California, where we attended the memorial for Brooks Berdan and visited a few friends. First on our list was my good friend Dan Muzquiz of Blackbird Audio. After a huge feast of delicious grilled meat, fish and veggies, we settled into his listening room and played all types of music. Colleen and I wanted to check out the turntables from Funk Firm, and Dan had both the Vector and the Saffire on hand (although the latter had just arrived earlier in the day and hadn't been set-up completely).

The Funk Firm Vector turntable/FX-R tonearm/Transfiguration Axia cartridge rig was combined with Bel Canto electronics, a Heed Audio Quasar phono preamp and Wilson Benesch Arc speakers. The sound was exquisite--both utterly clear and incredibly relaxed. The WB speakers, as you can see, are on the small side but the deep bass was well-developed and natural. The Funk Firm combination is one of the rare lightweight turntables that maintains a firm handle on bass response as well.

Bob Clarke, of Profundo Distribution (he represents Heed, Trenner & Friedl, Transfiguration and VivA) visited Dan a few months ago, and they listened to this turntable at length. Bob was perplexed that this compact, lightweight rig had such well-defined and impressive bass characteristics, and both Dan and Bob came to the conclusion that it was the outstanding FX-R tonearm. If you aren't familiar with the FX-R, it's receiving rave reviews in the UK, with more than one reviewer preferring this $2000 tonearm to the $5500 SME V (which I owned for many years).

Dan treated me to a great pressing of the extended version of the Temptations' "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" and I was hypnotized for 12 minutes. The string arrangements in particular were dramatic yet sweet, and that deliberate, precise bass guitar line never ceased to propel the music forward. I must get a copy of this!

Distribution of Funk Firm in the US is somewhat scarce at this point; Dan is the lone US dealer for Funk Firm and acting as US distributor as well. Colleen Cardas Imports is looking into Funk Firm, and we definitely like what we see/hear. The Funk Firm Vector turntable is $2395 and the FX-R is $2000. This rig is one of the most compelling I've heard for under $5000 (the price is obviously higher when you consider the $1900 Transfiguration cartridge). I'm trying to get one sent to me ASAP.

Visit from Bob and Stacy Clarke of Profundo

This past Saturday, Colleen Cardas and I met with Bob and Stacy Clarke of Profundo, the US distributors for such wonderful audio lines as VivA, Transfiguration, Heed, Silent Source and of course Trenner & Friedl. Bob was visiting some of his dealers in Dallas, including my friend Terry Combs of Sound Mind Audio up in Dallas, while Stacy had sone business here in Austin. Both were very curious to check out the Austin area, and despite the triple-digit temps they took quite a shine to the place.

Bob is a particularly interesting man--he teaches at Berkeley, for instance--and we've been talking about sitting down and discussing turntables for a few weeks now. We took them to Black's BBQ in Lockhart (because the Clarkes deserve the very best, and Black's is it) and it wasn't long before Bob and I started talking about audio.

Profundo doesn't carry a line of turntables right now, but Bob does distribute the outstanding Transfiguration cartridges. I've been very interested in the Axia, which received a very favorable review from Michael Fremer in a recent issue of Stereophile. While it retails for only $1950, Bob feels the Axia competes with everything under $4-$5K. Bob is very high on Transfiguration and points out that cartridge technology has truly advanced in the last four to five years, and many cartridges brands have been relying upon the success of older designs for years. Transfiguration, along with many of the great Japanese brands, keep pushing cartridge design further and further toward perfection.

I mentioned my fondness for the Rega P9, which seems to be growing over the last year or so as I lament the complexity of today's super-tweaked turntables. Bob had his own recommendation at that price point: the Basis 2001. "Just put a Vector tonearm on it, set it up once and it will last forever," Bob said. "There's just something about the life it brings to the music."

I do have some experience with Basis turntables. They're really the first acrylic-based design which sounded musical and natural to my ears. Plexiglas 'tables can often sound smooth, glossed over and a little analytical to me; I prefer 'tables made of woods and metals. But the Basis seem to circumvent these sonic characteristics thanks to a superb suspension and solid engineering. I heard a Basis turntable not too long ago at Dan Muzquiz' house in San Diego--the sound was big, warm and live.

The Clarkes were gone too quickly...I still wanted to talk about so many things with them. I also enjoyed how attuned Stacy was to the high-end audio business and shared Bob's enthusiasm about their products. Hopefully Austin will have made a great impression on them and they'll become a part of My Evil Texas Audio Empire! You can read more about Profundo product lines at http://www.profundo.us/.

More Funk Firm pics

On an un-AXPONA note, I thought I post more pics of the Funk Firm Vector turntable from Dan Muzquiz of Blackbird Audio. It's mated with the Funk Firm FXR-II tonearm, Transfiguration Axia cartridge and powered by VivA electronics from Italy. He just posted these pics on his Facebook page, and I couldn't resist. I love the look of this TT.

I wish Dan could have been at AXPONA...I missed him!

New FXR tonearm from the Funk Firm

Dan Muzquiz of Blackbird Audio just got the new FXR tonearm from the Funk Firm in, and he took these pics while he was setting up the arm with a Funk Firm Vector turntable and a Transfiguration Axia cartridge. While it looks like it starts its life as a Rega arm, word from the UK is that the FXR rivals state-of-the-art arms from the likes of SME and others. Personally, I dig the deep red arm wand!

Here's how it looks fresh out of the box!

And here's the Funk Firm Vector, unassembled.

Here's what the Vector looks like, fully assembled and ready for the FXR.

Whoops...forgot the Achromat.

Installing the arm...

Remember, the setting for FUNK is about halfway between 45 and 33 rpms.

Dan says these cartridge clips are easy to use since they're so robust. Nice to know, since I've busted and overcrimped my share of them.

And now we're ready to spin records!

Here are a few more shots...

This is a truly gorgeous turntable/arm/cart combination. Once everything is broken in, I'll ask Dan about its sound. I can't wait to visit Dan and hear for myself!