Index   A23 MC step-up transformers Since years Auditorium 23 offers step-up transformers for use with Denon DL 103, Ortofon, EMT and alike. Particularly for cartridges with low impedances it's more important to have a specialized matching transformer than an alleged Jack of all trades. Some comments below: Image-Hifi 5/96: "... by the way, a good partner for the DL 103 which is blessed with a probably unbeatable relation of price and benefit. A transformer with powerful and harmonic sound." Jeff Day on the Origin Live Silver tone arm: Listening Impressions Round 3 - Using the Auditorium 23 Step Up Transformer at Terry's Place I drove over to Terry Cain's famed Cain & Cain world headquarters in Walla Walla/Washington with the full-boat Garrard 301 restoration project with his plinth, the VTAF and Silver arm and Denon 103 cartridge tucked carefully into my Miata. I also brought along a little surprise that had come from Jonathan Halpern - the Auditorium 23 moving coil step-up transformer designed for the Denon 103 cartridge. The Auditorium 23 is an unassuming looking step-up tranny that is about the size of a pack of cigarettes with RCA inputs on one side and RCA outputs on the other. That's about it. Jonathan Halpern of Shindo USA is so enamored of the design that he's begun importing it to the US so others can get in on the fun. But I'm getting ahead of myself again. Terry set up the Garrard 301 Project table in his system of Studio BEN (Big E-Nuff) ES double-horn loudspeakers that use a full-range 8" Fostex driver and a horn-loaded Fostex super tweeter. For amplification, Terry had the full spread of Josh Stippich's wondrous Electron Luv 45 amplifiers and preamplifier, which are easily the most gorgeous amplification devices ever created by human hands. They should be on display in the National Gallery of Art - really. I wish I could afford the Electron Luv gear; I'd buy a pair in a second. For phono amplification, Terry was using a big underground favorite known for its giant-killing performance: The George Wright-designed and -built vacuum tube phono preamplifier. When I got to Terry's place, his Teres turntable was sitting idle and music was playing through one of Vincent Sanders' computer hard-drive digital powerhouses to warm up the system. Terry's system has it all: Beautiful tone, great dynamics and a very musical yet detailed presentation. Then we dropped the needle on one of the many LPs we would spin that day and heard pretty much what Pete and I had heard with the burned-in Origin Live Silver in my system - good but not great. "Hey Terry," said I, "Whaddya say we drop in the Aud 23 step-up tranny and see what happens?" "Sounds like an idea," said he. So we did and dropped the needle again. "Whoa!" said I. "Whoa!" Terry tossed right back at moi. All of a sudden everything that had troubled me about the Origin Live Silver arm vanished. In its place was one of the most stunning portrayals of the analogue kingdom I have ever heard - breathtaking! The vocal sheen and sibilance were gone and in its place was real flesh-and-blood vocal magic. The arm now conveyed music that was warmer, darker and fuller without losing any of the detail and snappiness that made it so engaging in my system. The notes became more liquid and fragrant too. Fed by the Auditorium 23 to amplify the Denon 103, I couldn't find a nit to pick with the Origin Live Silver arm. It was a beautifully emotive as well as a great-sounding presentation of the music. If you have a Denon 103 and a low-gain phono preamplifier, you should run out and get an Auditorium 23 tranny right now! Don't even think about it - just do it! Reviewed in 2005, read the whole story here http://www.sixmoons.com/audioreviews/originlive/silver_3.html Jules Coleman, American Wired "The A23 step-up may be small and easy to place, but it packs a hell of a wallop. In fact, getting the measure of this step-up was surprisingly easy. The A23 SPU step up is incredibly dynamic and extended, from top to bottom. It is neutral, extremely vivid and present. While it is by no means lean or bleached, it is not as weighty as the other step ups I had on hand. It is primarily about speed, openness, extension, clarity and presence. I have reason to believe that its designer, Keith Aschenbrenner, voiced this unit around the basic SPU Classic, which like the Denon 103, is all about tonality in the same sense that the folks at Audio Note UK claim their components are. Both cartridges favor the body of notes over the leading edge and weight over speed. The A23 Denon 103 step up is a perfect complement for the cartridge of the same name. Played through it, the Denon 103 maintains its body and weight, but its apparent speed and resolution improve dramatically, especially throughout the upper registers. The A23 step up for the SPU has the same impact and would be a perfect match with the standard SPU Classic." Reviewed in spring 2006, read the whole review here: "To know it is to buy it". http://www.toneimports.com/reviews.html