May 25, 1997

To: John Stafford

Hi! I am a 'budding' audiophile with not enough cash - I'm a grad student - to buy my real system and currently listening to my CDs thru a Japanese 'mini-system.' I recently read your letter in the Stereophile May issue (Vol. 20, No. 5 - I live in Korea so the mag comes late). I completely agree with your idea on the effects & potential of the Internet on the fledgling audiophiles. I 'load up' the SoundStage! homepage and "Talkin' Shop" almost every day and get a lot of help. I was really glad to find a website that dealt with afforadable hi-end audio and I look forward to new articles and reviews. I wanted to make sure that you guys at SoundStage! know your work is well apreciated even in the non-English speaking countries - as the Web is supposed to be. Keep up the good work!

...P. Sun
Seoul, Korea

P.S. As for my own system, I think I'll be able to procure a reasonable amount of dough by this autumn but in Korea foreign products cost a bit more than the original price of their origin. But I'm pretty sure by that time I'll be able to get my hands on a solid system thanks to reading SoundStage! (and a lot of listening on my part of course).

On behalf of John Stafford, myself, and the rest of the SoundStage! crew we thank you for your letter. It is very satisfying to know that SoundStage! is read the world over. The Internet is unique in its ability to cross borders and it is this type of interaction with audiophiles in every country that will help our pastime grow....DAS

May 15, 1997

Here is one for all you DIY types out there sandwich shelves, get a sheet of polystyrene insulation and use PVA wood glue to fix a sheets of 2mm MDF to each side and there you have it a strong light non-resonant shelf. You might want to put pennies on top of your spikes to stop them going through but that is the only drawback I have found. Otherwise, sit back and enjoy!!!

...P. Maddex

May 14, 1997

Hey guys, the month is half over and you still haven't posted your May articles... I am particularly interested in the Dunlavy factory tour, what's the hold up? I am also interested in the review on the Dunlavy SCIII, do you have a date that it is supposed to be posted? Other than that I really enjoy your site.

...Eric G.

Hello Eric, we have to apologize since we bit off more than we can chew. Rest assured that all promised will be published, however, it will be a little later than we wanted. We promised the followup on the Coincident Triumph and the new review on the Blue Circle BC-83 Power Line Pillow. Those will be published on June 1. The Upgrade to The Parts Connection/Assemblage DAC-2 will be published within a week. We are also hoping to have the Dunlavy Factory Tour up by May 20th (still this month! No promises but we are working hard on it). The review of the SC-III will likely be July 1, although we should have the John Dunlavy Interview on-line in June. Thanks for checking us out!...DAS

May 13, 1997

I read Greg Smith's review of the Z-Man ASE with interest, as I recently purchased the product and so far am enjoying it. While I do not consider my system as being "budget," I thought I might take a $198 gamble ( isn't this how we buy cables, line conditioners and other accessories?) in order to "round off the edges." I just felt that my system sounded a little too digital and needed a more analog sound (warmth). With the ASE I was able to achieve my purpose. If as Mr. Smith says, I am listening to a "lower fidelity system" then so be it! Isn't that what analog really is? Listening is more enjoyale with the Z-Man and if I want to by-pass the unit all I have to do is turn off the rocker switch.

Thank you Greg Smith for a good article and thank you SoundStage! for a fine Ezine.

...J. Ehrhardt

May 11, 1997

Praise from the Web to you and your busy stereo beavers who are extraordinarily enjoyable. This is an Emag I enjoy very, very much!

Good work guys!

Sincerely,

...B. Wood

May 9, 1997

I must respond to Todd Warnke's review of the Marigo Bear Feet. While many of this foot's [the Marigo Bear Feet] good things are discovered by Mr. Warnke, I think he didn't get all that the Feet can do. As with any accessory of this type experiment is needed. I use these devices and find that only a $2000.00 Vibraplane can do better or as good. The Bear Feet must be moved around under a component to find the best placement. Then and only then will one hear its real benefits. I find that under a CD Transport two feet are used under the transfromer and one near the center of the drive work the best. This is only a starting point and must be tested to find the best place. It seems that the only place Mr. Warnke found the best use of these feet was when there was no chioce. Under the speakers. These devices do require the user to experiement; and then only then will the benefit be revealed.

The pricing is slightly off, the feet are $285.00 for three. That is a large piece of change for most of us; and yes if one has a mid-fi system maybe a new piece of equipment is called for. This device is not an beginners' product but it will make the $250 cd player more listenable if used correctly! I have used this or the Ultra Bear Feet on everything from entry level to extreme high end products and have found them very needed in all cases. The combination of the Ultra Bear Feet/Vibraplane under an Audio Sculpture CD is another level in true playback enjoyment.

Anyways, thank you for a great cyber-publication. I do look to your web site often just to see what's shakin and always seem to find something that is helpful and intelligently presented. Keep up the great work and keep finding these great products. THANKS

Peace, health and may all your harmonics be even

...Rick

May 8, 1997

How about a cable review on some of the other I2s bus cables available. Like the new one from DH labs, which is the only one which is a true multiple-coax which totally isolates the digital signal as it travels down the cable, or the Camelot I2S cable that people are talking about.

...Shane

May 7, 1997

I would like to commend you on your excellent website. However, I would love to see some reviews on products such as the Aragon 8008x3, and especially the relatively new and I hope well received Meadowlark Heron (3-way Speaker) left & right tower, as well as the Meadowlark Petrel (center channel Speaker). I have personnally auditioned this front three Home Theatre System and was astounded by the mid-range accuracy in the main left and right towers, but even more amazed by the flawless and absolutely stunning center channel, to this date the finest by far that I have heard. I have personally been researching High-End audio products for the last 7-8 months and I strongly would love to see more statements like the one I am making come across by other enthusiasts to help us all reach the magical goal of perfection in sound re-production. Furthermore the apparent audible 3-D like imaging that this Home Theatre semi-system (semi-because the surrounds are still in prototype according to Mr. Patrick McGinty, Meadowlark until sometime in summer) puts out is very precise-how precise? Well, as I've said I have been researching High-End products for over 7 months. The Von Schweikert VR4s and the Platinum Audio were edged out by the overall superb quality sound of the Meadowlark speakers. I, and I believe the readers of the only certified (by me) quality website currently existing would love a reply to statements above, because without it, there can be no validation of the above statements to your loyal readers, as being true or otherwise!

...Dominick

Hello Dominick and thank you very much for the compliments on our site. We understand your interest in the Meadowlark speakers (Marc Mickelson reviewed the $995 Kestrel which can be found in our Talkin' Shop Archives). Myself, I have only heard the Heron speakers at the recent CES in Las Vegas. Driven by the Clayton amps, the sound was very good indeed. We have talked to Pat McGinty (of Meadowlark) and he understands our interest in reviewing this speaker, as well as their less expensive Shearwater. We hope we will receive a pair of at least one of these speakers in the future. However, nothing is guaranteed.

Your comments on the use of a center channel are also intriguing. Some in the audio industry believe that multi-channel sound (beyond two-channel stereo) will be the wave of the future for music reproduction for some of the reasons you mention. We have no immediate plans for multi-channel reviews, however, it is a trend we will be watching. Thanks again for reading and feel free to drop us a line anytime....DAS

May 3, 1997

Wonder if I should call it a site. Whatever it is - it's great. The effort put in is great and the reviews are great as well. As an effort - a great one again. I may or may not agree with the reviews but an opinion is an opinion and I have no problems with someone stating that this is like this or that.

Congratulations.

In one of your articles (or someone's on sstage) there was a mention of reviewing whatever came your way and that with recognition and persuasion a larger number of components were heading your way. So I presume that the content can only increase. This is also great.

Since you are an 'netzine and accessible world over. It might be interesting to give a greater (great being a theme here) international flavor to the content. What is being reviewed now is pretty much US stuff (and some Canadian) but not much else. Moreover - most of the things are also covered in the mainstream magazines. Alternate coverage and issue on the net is fine but making the content richer and relevant to other areas (please do not believe that there's a sheer drop into netherland (not to be mistaken with Holland - though some places there come close) on the borders of the North American continent. Though this is a regular North American problem. More so in the US.

...Rahul

May 2, 1997

Your interview with Bruce Rozenblit was excellent. However, when interviewing people who have been granted patents (that are relevant to the audio field) you should include the patent number so the reader may look it up if he so chooses.

...JMZ

I am glad you enjoyed the interview with Bruce Rozenblit. You can look forward to more.

And thanks for enlightening me about the usefulness of patent numbers. I've always wondered why advertisers publish them. All along, I thought they were just meaningless digits as it never occurred to me that people might want to look up the patent.

The Transcendent Patent number is 5,604,461. I think if you e-mail Bruce Rozenblit at tubehifi@worldnet.att.net he can send you a copy (or summary) of it.

...Richard

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