SIGNALS & NOISE (Letters to Editor) (Jun. 1988)

Still Grooving

Dear Editor:

Thank you for reviewing our record mat in the April issue ("Mats & Clamps: By the Numbers"). We found Edward M. Long's article to be very interesting, and we were satisfied to see that his findings corroborate our own views about the neutrality of the Groove Isolator Mat and its ability to provide the vinyl disc with adequate immunity against the energy travelling through the playing system. In his article, Mr. Long states that the mat is no longer available.

However, the Groove Isolator Mat has been, and still is, sold as an accessory through our dealer network.

Marcel Riendeau, President Oracle Audio Sherbrooke, Que., Canada.

What I Did for Sound

Dear Editor:

How many times do you have to tell us stubborn readers not to sacrifice quality when it comes to sound reproduction? Still, we never listen.

I became very excited when I finished Neknnaml Hop's article on the Auditory Bypass System developed by the Lirpa Foundation ("Digital Ptomaine," April 1988), and I immediately started calling around to do some price shopping. Many of the high-end audio dealers in the Dallas area offer this system, but their prices are outrageous. I found a dealer that installs the system using a gold drill bit (#61) and a Q-Tip, but their price is more than $7,000 and they have a two-month waiting list. Finally, I came across a place that could get to me as soon as their installation specialist got out of jail. I had my system installed three days ago. The pain was excruciating because they used no deadening de vice of any sort. The RCA connectors were tapped into my skull in unison with the cannon shots of "The 1812 Overture," which blared in the background.

Now, not only have I lost the whole left channel, but I can't use my left arm either. All food tastes like solder to me, and when I drive past a hospital, I pick up their paging system--in my head, I can hear doctors being called to surgery. When confronted, the dealer told me that my eight-hour warranty had expired. Please continue to warn your readers that there is still no cheap substitute for quality. Congratulations to all at the Lirpa Foundation.

Steve Foss Arlington, Tex.

Return to Greatness

Dear Editor:

I applaud your February 1988 issue, in particular the article "Understanding Common-Mode Signals" by Richard N. Marsh.

I hope that I detect a renaissance in the content of Audio, as evidenced by this article and the previous article by Walter Jung dealing with the sonic improvement of Magnavox and other CD players ("The Magnavox 16-Bit Series: Making Good Players Better," June 1987). Both of these articles compare very favorably with the two-part article "Picking Capacitors" by Jung and Marsh which appeared in the February and March 1980 issues of Audio. Incidentally, "Picking Capacitors" is still considered to be a landmark, watershed article by audiophiles across the nation, and it is still commonly cited.

It seems that this signals (I sincerely hope) Audio's return to greatness and preeminence in the field, as typified in the past by the construction articles by W. Marshall Leach, Jr. et al. I am still running Leach's wide-band preamplifier, his head amp, and his low-TIM amp. The latter is still considered by audiophiles to be one of the very best amplifiers available today.

Once again, congratulations, and please continue and expand this trend.

Paul T. Kelly; Fort Wayne, Ind.

Editor's Note:

Many thanks, Mr. Kelly, for your warm letter. I hope it's a renaissance, too, but I have to emphasize that, from my side of the desk, such articles as you cite are extremely hard to come by. I can only encourage the authors you mention; they don't respond to threats or bribes. Perhaps the publication of your letter will have a favorable effect.-E.P.

Erratum

In "Inscriptions: Miles Davis on CD" in the April issue, we misidentified drummer Jo Jones as Philly Joe Jones.

Sorry 'bout that. -E.P.

(Source: Audio magazine, Jun. 1988)

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