Brinkmann Balance turntable

One thing about the new categorization scheme here on the blog is that it lets me see where we have been berift of attention with respect to a line of products we carry.

We love all of our lines – which is to say that we love what they do for us, sonically speaking.

So, alhthough we mention them many times in passing, one can see that we only had two posts for the Brinkmann and one for the Walker. We are going to have to fix that.

We’ll start, since tables are SO photogenic and we like taking photographs, don’t we? by posting some pretty pictures:

Brinkamnn balance
The stepup transfomer on the right there is the Audio Note AN-S4.

Brinkamnn balance
The cartridge is the Lyra Titan.

Brinkamnn balance

Brinkamnn balance

Brinkamnn balance

Brinkamnn balance
The platform is the HRS M3 Isolation base that was specially designed for the Brinkmann Balance.

Brinkamnn balance

Brinkamnn balance

Brinkamnn balance

Brinkamnn balance

Brinkamnn balance

Brinkamnn balance

Well, now you all might have a better idea what Brinkmann’s Balance looks like…. 🙂

And, for bigger, larger, more photos, see our Brinkmann Balance Gallery and Brinkmann Balance Setup Gallery.

High-end Audio at CES 2007

Yes, it is that time of year when, instead of dreaming of dancing sugar plums, manufacturers, dealers and motivated audiophiles dream of vast numbers of exotically populated (with audio equipment, …you guys…) Las Vegas hotel rooms.

First, we have to learn to type 2007 and not 2006.

We are, of course, planning on going ourselves. Take a few photos, listen to some tunes.

Will probably still use the first track on Radiohead’s Amnesiac as my test track.

For one, it is seemingly hard for most systems to get the dynamics and imaging right, not to mention some subtle shades of electronics in the midrange.

For another, it is not classical, jazz, close-mic’d female vocals, or pop rock – and so it freaks a lot of people out [but they are so easy to freak out, so not much of an accomplishment]

The ‘main’ ‘official’ part of the show is in the Venetian this year – but I think it is no longer where we will focus our energies – as more and more people migrate to T.H.E. Show.

And, well, there you have it. Any ideas or suggestions about what you would like to see in the show report? Anybody? Or do you want to be surprised? 🙂

Cable Chameleon

Do your friends and neighbors shy away from you when they see your system?

Do you loose track of CDs, and, dare we say it, LPs, only to find them months later hidden underneath the pile of power cords, speaker cable, and interconnects that your system needs to work?

Does your system sound wonderful, better than Carnegie Hall, but give you headaches when you look at it for more than 5 minutes?

Then YOU may be a victom of *Unsightly* *Cable* *Mess*!

Do you look at photographs of all those awesome systems in the glossy magazines wondering why YOUR system doesn’t look like theirs?

Have you tried dealing with your stereo system’s mess by bending and shoving, using your foot to push the cables into place, holding them there for minutes, and longer, hoping they will just stay in place darnit?

Then you may be ready for Cable Chameleon(tm).

Showroom 4
An example of the cable undergrowth threatening to encroach on the listening area and do bodily harm to friendly and not-so-friendly listeners alike.

Cable Chameleon

Cable Chameleon takes care of this problem for you for a fee of $200 / cable.

How this works:

Showroom 1
Here we see an exaggerated example of just what can go wrong when a system has a bad cable day.

These cables were then sent to the Cable Chameleon Laboratories, a division of the U.S. Defense Dept., along with a full color photograph.

The Labs then use recent patented technological discoveries to apply special pigmented substances to the cables.

The cables are then allowed to dry in a hermetically sealed storage room, and then returned to the distressed customer.

Here is what the results are {small print: these results do not necessarily represent what your system will look like after purchasing Cable Chameleon. All cables must be restored to their original position. Improvments in appearance are guaranteed from only one perspective}

Showroom 1
This system looks clean and presentable. Any audiophile would be proud to show this to their significant other’s parents. No longer will you have to throw a towel over your system when the in-laws visit.

System Chameleon

If you think this will not work for you, a subsiderary of Cable Chameleon, called System Chameleon, will take your photograph, photoshop out the cables [a lot better than I did] and then print a poster that contains a life-sized image of your system, without any unsightly cable mess. The poster is then installed between you and the system so that your system looks wonderfully cable-free. NOTE: posters are 85% transparent to all frequencies and can be put in front of the speakers with only a slight performance degradation.

For an additional fee, you can ‘rent’ other people’s system posters…

Would you like to look at a $100K system? a $500K system? while you listen to your somewhat more reasonably priced system? Now you can!

As long as you keep your friends far away from your system – and which of us let our friends get close to our amps while they are drinking a brew? – they will never know that what they are hearing isn’t what they are seeing (especially if they still think Bose is the best speaker ever, or read a lot of posts on high-end audio forums 🙂 )

Speaker Chameleon

Now you too can own a Wilson Alexandria X2, a Marten Design Coltrane Supreme, and Audio Note Sogon… and for the low, microscopic price of $599.99.

For this measily pittance you get two life-size cutouts of the speakers of your choice. Yes, your cable mess remains, but it will be a higher quality of mess and a headache with improved micro-dynamics, imaging, and slam. Just slide one of these 3D likenesses of any one of several of the most sought after speakers over the top of your speaker and BAMM you’ve just performed a massive visual system upgrade.

And, because so much of our brains works off the visual cortex, this upgrade will also improve the sound of what you hear – unbelieveable but true!

[Speaking of which, Cable Chameleon and System Chameleon corporations are headquarted on Triskelian and can only be reached by yours and my imaginations].