THE AUDIO CHEAPSKATE (March 1986)

THE CHEAPSKATE MEETS THE LAZARUS CASCADE BASIC

ST:

It's not a state-of-the-art design' another Stereophile staffer taking me to task for my praise of the Quad 34 preamp.

He's probably right. I know a fair number of preamps more detailed than the Quad 34, but the 34 has a smooth, un-fatiguing quality that makes it very enjoyable to listen to. It has none of the "transistor edge" I hear from so many preamps.

The 34 also has excellent tonal balance controls. That alone is enough to ensure the preamp will be pooh-poohed by purists.

Tone controls of any kind are said to de grade the sound, and, on some preamps, they definitely do. But I have heard defeat able tone controls on other preamps (and integrateds) which do not degrade the sound. Let's face it. Not everyone is an audiophile, playing the same two dozen sonic spectaculars over and over. Most of us who love music have large libraries of older records that we want to play with reason ably decent sound. Tone controls are no panacea--they won't make a had recording sound great. But they can do a lot to make a recording listenable-especially in the treble region.

Outside of Quad, Apt, and the Japanese, few manufacturers equip their preamps with tone controls. Why don't more manufacturers offer defeatable tone controls? Simple. They are afraid you and I won't take such preamps seriously.

Don't misunderstand me: I am all for purism when the source material is excellent -no tone controls in the signal path.

But what if I want to listen to an old Thomas Beecham recording ...

Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Parker, or Clifford Brown?

And what if I want to listen to CDs? You need something with many CDs (and CD players)-something that will tame the treble and take the edge off the sound. The high-frequency cut filters on the Quad 34 preamp-designed originally to deal with strident LPs-are excellent for this purpose.

Why should Quad alone provide them? It's not the lack of tone controls alone on audiophile preamps that bugs me; it's also the audiophile sound. I sometimes think that every designer is aiming for the same kind of sound: cold, clinical, and analytical.

Definition, depth, and soundstage width become more important than timbre. My nightmare is that one day I'll wake up and all preamps and power amps really will sound alike, just as Stereo Review says they now do. What's more, I'll hate the sound, because the music will have been left behind.

What brought on this rant? Two products.

First, the Lazarus Cascade Basic tube preamplifier, which I received several weeks ago; second, the Radford STA-25 Mk II tube power amplifier (35 watts/ch), which I heard at a local dealer. The Radford is a classic British tube amp from the 1960s, updated and revised. Some people say it's just a collector's curiosity, something to be used only on special occasions like a Dusenberg. But having spent an entire afternoon with one, I think it might be an amp for everyday.

Just think of the advantage of owning a Radford. No worrying about its becoming passe. No concern that it will be left behind in the amp-of-the-month parade. It's obsolete to start with! Only kidding. But it does have an old-fashioned tube sound: full, rich, mellow, with lots of depth and musicality galore.

I can't review the Radford now, because I don't have it; at the moment, it's hard to get.

The best way to get one is to order it from Arthur Radford himself in England--he's selling it direct. But the Radford may soon go into production in Canada! The amp may become readily available to North American audiophiles (or anti-audiophiles, as the case may be). No, today we're going to talk about the Lazarus. The Lazarus has been out for about a year and a half. Most of that time, it has been very much underground. They're not listed in the latest Audio directory, which is like having an unlisted phone number. You can call Lazarus (or, more accurately, their answering machine) at 818-242-1215 ( Van Nuys, California).

The Lazarus has virtually no features, not even an on/off switch, and it's shy of in puts. You can hook up a phono, one tape deck, and a CD player or a tuner (but not both). The unit has no output mute relay, and therefore no protection in case of an AC power interruption. If you have the gain cranked up and the lights go out, there is the potential for blowing out your speakers and your amp. The Audible Illusions Modulus is protected-as is the Conrad Johnson PV-6, Music Reference RM-5, and the latest Counterpoint SA-7.1.

The Lazarus is left on all the time; not unusual for solid state, but a tube preamp? I asked Greg Miller, the designer, who said that the tubes will last longer and the unit sound better if you don't keep turning it on and off. Unplug it when leaving home for a long weekend or more-with the power amp turned off for at least two minutes, to prevent fuse-popping transients in your system; otherwise leave the Lazarus on, except during thunderstorms.

I have my doubts. Greg says the four 12AX7 tubes will last 9-12 months, which is about what you can expect from other tube preamps, and, for the time being, replacement tubes are cheap. I've seen Hungarian llingsram 12AX7's like the ones Lazarus uses for $2.99 each. So you're talking twelve bucks every nine months-peanuts compared to what most of us shell out for cartridges.

Look, there are plenty of reasons to not buy the Lazarus: lack of inputs, lack of out put mute relay protection, lack of an on/off switch, lack of everything-except great sound. When I listen to the Lazarus, I relax and listen to the music, not the equipment.

I marvel at how lovely the music sounds, even older records. Even CDs. Take a good CD and decent-sounding player played through the Lazarus-it's as sweet and easy on the ear as very good analog. The timbre sounds just right.

The Lazarus was getting notice at the Las Vegas CES (to some extent because of the number of people I sent to their suite- maybe). Everyone I talked with liked it “glorious midrange"), but some found the highs a little rolled off, and definition a bit lacking. Perhaps so-but for $600, you're not going to knock off Audio Research or the more expensive Conrad Johnsons. The important thing is that Lazarus makes com promises that sound good.

Construction quality, by the way, looks quite good for the price-a little home made in appearance, but there's been no at tempt to economize with cheap parts. The power supply is tightly regulated, which should ensure consistent sound over the life of the tubes, and the volume control pot is of high quality. There's a nice feel to the unit, even if the look isn't the greatest. Even more important, the phono stage is very quiet-for an inexpensive tube preamp.

This is not the preamp for everyone; certainly not for the person who wants to hook up a phono, tape deck, tuner and CD player., Nor is the Lazarus for those who seek gobs of gain-there's really not enough for something like the Shinon Red (1.1 mV output), especially if you want to load it down to 100 ohms or so. And the Lazarus is not for those who look for the ultimate in definition, depth, transparency, high-end extension, etc. But the midrange? The timbre? Fabulous.

Like the Radford, the Lazarus gives you old-fashioned sound for Old Believers, people who have had it with products that do everything except get you close to the music. It stirs the emotions. It's so smooth and sweet it can bring tears to your eyes.

With the right source material (which may be 20 or 30 years old), It's Carnegie Hall in a can. And I love it!

Postscript: After I finished writing up the Lazarus, I tried a recent production version of the Superphon Revelation Basic Dual Mono, one I brought home from CES. The Superphon very clearly shows up the II gave up on FM NOMC time, tgo : that's one solution, strengths and weaknesses of the Lazarus: the Superphon is more detailed, imaging is more precise, and you get a greater sense of depth-indeed, few preamps can produce a soundstage as deep (and wide) as the Superphon. The Superphon also gives you tighter, deeper bass. Not surprising: tight, deep bass is something tube preamps generally lack. The Superphon has a very smooth midrange, but I find the upper registers slightly hard, as I do on virtually all solid state preamps, including those that sell for nearly $3.000. And, interestingly, the Superphon can bring performances alive in a way the Lazarus can't. In a string quartet, for in stance, you get a very clear sense of where the musicians are sitting and playing, which adds to your enjoyment. With the Lazarus, you don't get this level of imaging, but you do get better rendition of instrumental timbre. The Superphon makes the performance immediate, the Lazarus makes the performance lovely (I keep falling back on that word). Obviously, these are two very different sounding preamps -each helps to make music real in its own way, but neither is totally convincing. In fact, listening to them side by side helped me realize the limitations of both. Unfortunately, only when you get into the big bucks category-the Audio Research SP-8, SP-10, or Conrad Johnson Premier Three-do you get every thing: definition, depth, imaging, and timbre. And even among those products there are tradeoffs, areas where one product ex cels but is a little weak elsewhere. Who knows--I may yet find an inexpensive preamp that does it all; I've heard great things about the Counterpoint SA-7.1, and I have high hopes for the Roger Modjeski updated RM -5 (I liked the original version in much the same way as the Radford mentioned above). And, after a couple of versions, the Audible Illusions Modulus 2A promises to be fantastic. A cheapskate never gives up hope!

[2. This sample of the Superphon scents more detailed than my first ', amply. In other words, the Superphon sounds better than ever.]

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[based on a March 1986, Stereophile review article]

Also see:

LETTERS (March 1986)