The Breuer tonearm was the arm before the existence of the SME V, Linn Ekos & Graham. After a 20-year absence, the Breuer tonearm still outperforms all the top-tier tonearms in the market. Mr. Breuer, now in his 70's, brings back the legend, with new updates. The availability is extremely scarce, and a long back-order line, as each tonearm is hand assembled with more than 120 parts.

The tonearm is a work of art (like a Leica camera), every part is of jewel-like precision and beauty.

But the sound..... Compared to a properly set-up Breuer Type 8, every other arm sounds opaque and slow. Breuer arms are extremely dynamic, transparent and open, with no trace of overhang. This arm can put out explosive dynamics and transient that can be very exciting.

Breuer Dynamics will also restore and furbish old Breuer arm, as well as perform rewiring to bring them back to original specifications.

Currently only Breuer Type 8 is available. Type 8 is a 10.5" arm, due to its extremely compact arm base, it usually can fit modern table that can accommodate 9" tonearm. Physically, this is one of the lightest arm on the market, the arm tube is so light, the listener would have to get used to cueing it (like all good arm, no finger lift is provided, use the arm cue!) Friction when moving the arm tube is almost non-existing.

Compare to the original Breuer Type 8 arm from the 80's, changes include (1) elimination of the funky DIN connectors, (2) color changed from pale gold to black/stainless, (3) headshell design, (4) a slight coloration has been eliminated by replacing brass material with stainless, and improved coupling of counterweight to tonearm, (5) highest quality silver internal wiring.

Oracle Audio

The Delphi is a remarkably handsome work of art. It represents a significant improvement over its predecessors. The new MKV is engineered to a level that the industry is invited to emulate. Responsible for Oracle's reputation and prestige, the Delphi further demonstrates its ability to defend the leading edge position for another decade, well into the New Millennium.

"The engineering involved in the Oracle is as unique as its styling and the constructional standards are in the Mercedes class - the best !"
- Hi Fi Answers, England.

The Delphi is a remarkably handsome work of art. Clearly a refinement over its predecessors, the new Mk V is engineered to a level that the industry is invited to emulate.

"The sound of the latest Oracle Mk IV is nothing more and nothing less that a refinement of its predecessors. For those of you who have not yet heard this gorgeous creation, it makes non-fatiguing, wholly musical sounds, the likes of which enable40-hours-or-more-per-week listeners like myself to exist without suffering fatigue."
- Hi-Fi News & Record Reviews, England.

This is what they said then... We at Oracle know that the MK V represents a significant improvement over its predecessors including the Mk IV.

Origin Live

Origin Live aims to enrich your musical enjoyment through offering the highest grade products to a standard that outperforms your expectations. The new generation of turntables from Origin Live are the result of continuous development that have pushed back the boundaries on sound quality by significant leaps and bounds.

We believe, as do many experts that vinyl records still represent the ultimate format for sound quality and will continue to do so for many years in spite of all the new "super" formats. The ultimate format deserves the ultimate player and this is what we have dedicated ourselves to achieve at very modest sums. Not only is vinyl the best format available but you may have a decent collection of priceless records that you wish to appreciate to their full. These are a few of the reasons for the enormous investment that has been made in producing these decks. We trust that you will be surprised in the best possible way once you hear them.

Available through My Kind of Music; for more information visit the manufacturer's site: http://www.originlive.com

Thorens

For the past 100 years, Thorens has been one of the leading turntable manufacturers in the world. Very well known masterpieces with worldwide recognition have been produced by Thorens in the past. All of them with legendary reliability. Thorens is quality made in Germany for decades.

Available through My Kind of Music; for more information visit the manufacturer's site: http://www.thorens.com

Transcriptors

Engineer/Designer David Gammon was born 1933, Coventry England. David's turntable design concept was inspired by old clocks and watches from the 17th and 18th century. David had often asked this question many times over, why put something of engineering elegance into a black case or even worst, into a wooden case, that looked as if it had been made down in somebody's garden shed. In fact Transcriptor started the trend to expose all the components so that they could be viewed from all angles. Manufactured from aluminium and acrylic to very high tolerances, tested, the end result always being a highly polished, highly accurate turntable. Designed and built with the skill of an 18th century clock maker, the turntables made for a very satisfying sight indeed.

Available through My Kind of Music; for more information visit the manufacturer's site: http://www.transcriptors.co.uk

ROKSAN

Radius5 Record Player

The design of the Radius5 record player has many special features not found in other similar turntables. Partnered with the NIMA tone arm, the Radius5 has unparalleled performance in its class.

TMS2 + DX2 Box

The stunning looks of the Touraj Moghaddam Signature (TMS) 2 turntable place it apart in terms of style and finish, but the aspects of its design also have a functional quality. The three tier plinth decouples the platter with each layer engineered to perform a specific task and decoupled to isolate specific frequencies.

Xerxes.X (10) Turntable

The compact clean lines and robust construction disguise a three plinth suspension and triple layer isolation system developed for ROKSAN's reference TMS turntables . The arm board cut-out (which solves the inherent problems of a sprung sub-chassis and mass loaded designs) is retained, but is now isolated and removable, improving performance and aiding set up and occasional maintenance.

Available at My Kind of Music. Visit manufacturer's site for more details at:

http://www.roksan.co.uk

Wilson Benesch Ltd.

The Wilson Benesch turntable is a suspended sub-chassis design, the main structural component of which is carbon fiber. Seven springs are involved in the suspension which is capable of being finely adjusted in order to control precisely each degree of movement.The main structural component of the Wilson Benesch sub-chassis is carbon fiber; a remarkable material that is ideal for audio structures as it can attain a modulus of stiffness five times that of steel, yet is half the weight of aluminum.
The drive train, also of critical importance is treated with the same attention to detail. The quartz referenced power supply for instance features an electronic clutch mechanism which operates on switch on and during the speed change cycle to minimize loading on the suspension system and belt. The motor used is a high quality hysteresis type chosen for it's performance rather than price and is fitted to the plinth via it's own complex suspension system designed to minimize the transmission of spurious energy either from the motor or from the environment to the platter. The power supply unit also provides a raw DC supply to the plinth to power the Stage One head amplifier.

The plinths are crafted from a variety of solid hard woods which form an attractive contrast to the black anodized aluminum top plate, back plate and power supply. Arm boards and platters are similarly anodized to provide a scratch resistant life long product. It is for this reason that glass was chosen as the most suitable material for the lid which is of 5mm laminated construction.

Available through My Kind of Music; for more information visit the manufacturer's site: http://www.wilson-benesch.com

Bluenote

Bluenote Turntables are manufactured in Florence Italy of the very finest materials including machine worked alluminium, brass,bronze, stainless steel, all to improve sonic performances. Their design results in the maximum dampening of vibration and rumble. When Bluenote tonearms and cartridges, are used the result is a perfectly matched system.

Available through My Kind of Music; for more information visit the manufacturer's site: http://www.bluenote.it

Phono Cartridges

Pro-Ject Audio Systems - Sumiko Cartridges

For over thirty years we have been driven by a collective passion for making the best sound possible in both music and film sound formats. We have done so while striving to bring the best looking designs to our customers' homes. Our current expansion into the high-performance front projection video and the lifestyle audio category perfectly complements our current music and film sound component offerings. SUMIKO will continue to approach these new market segments in the same disciplined way we have done for all these years.

The Sumiko website is intended to offer a glimpse of our total product offerings. The fabulous sight and sounds we provide, along with unparalleled support, is only eclipsed by the PASSION we will incite.

Van den Hul

A.J. van den Hul B.V. based in the Netherlands (Europe) is a company that since its founding in 1980 has made it its objective to improve the qualitative aspects of phono transduction and musical signal transfer in the most broad sense by applying unique solutions and state-of-the-art technology according to cartridge and cable designer A.J. van den Hul’s profound experience and philosophies.

Our high quality product range covers moving coil (MC) and moving magnet (MM) phono cartridges as well as a broad range of audio cable and wire products serving consumer, professional and industrial applications.

Our phrase “The Link between Technique and Emotion” attempts to illustrate our product designs main aim to support the enjoyment of the emotional qualities of music.

Van den Hul
The WHITE BEAUTY
Special-X HO, Phono Cartridge

Description:

Our top model custom hand built phono cartridge, featuring matched crystal copper coils and 2.25 mV/channel output.

The WHITE BEAUTY Special-X HO is a resolution improved High Output version of the GRASSHOPPER IV GLA, which refinements were only possible to be created after having switched to the entirely metal free and extremely revealing The THIRD ® loudspeaker cable in Mr. van den Hul’s audio system.
The WHITE BEAUTY Special-X HO’s refined body is made of white Polycarbonate with about the same construction as the GRASSHOPPER IV GLA.
The WHITE BEAUTY Special-X HO sets new sonic standards in analog reproduction.
Listening impressions are like being in the concert hall with a very precise projection of the instruments, the acoustics and even the conductor in space. The music as a whole sounds extremely realistic and very convincing with a lot of authority, especially in the bass and lower midrange; the high frequencies are very pure and extremely nice structured.

The differences with the GRASSHOPPER IV GLA are:
Improved magnetic layout, -construction and -properties.
A reduced cantilever length.
Due to points 1 and 2 the resolution is higher.
The suspension uses a very special damping rubber.
There is more “space” between the musical instruments and vocals.
The output is increased from 0.65 mV/ch. to 2.25 mV/ch. by using multilayer Matched Crystal Copper coils on a cross-shaped armature.
Body-headshell mount options:

All “BEAUTY” versions are available in a body with either two or four headshell screw mounting holes. For mounting in Graham arms choosing our 4 screw version is highly recommended!
More information on the preceding GRASSHOPPER IV:

The design philosophy of the GRASSHOPPER IV GLA (our top model phono cartridge) as well as its technical innovations, its use in various equipment, its set-up and our special customer services regarding this REFERENCE CARTRIDGE are described in this article written by cartridge designer A.J. van den Hul.
Special customer demands/specifications:

Thanks to the many variations in materials available, it is always possible to build a unit to match the personal demands of the customer.
With these personalized cartridges the wooden container can mention the name of the customer it has been specially built for.
This option is exclusively available for The GRASSHOPPER III series, The GRASSHOPPER IV, The GRASSHOPPER “BEAUTY”, The CONDOR and The COLIBRI versions.
The customer demands/specifications that can be taken into account when building a personalized GRASSHOPPER III, IV, GRASSHOPPER “BEAUTY”, CONDOR or COLIBRI for instance are:
The tone-arm used, the preamp and load impedance used, a particular brand of records to be played, the type of music generally played (jazz being more dynamic and classical more spacious and detailed) and other personal/sound preferences.
Production time:

The production time for a WHITE BEAUTY Special-X HO cartridge after ordering is about two weeks. Please call My Kind of Music for delivery time.

ORTOFON - Denmark - Cartridges & Stylii

Ortofon was founded in 1918 by two Danish engineers, Axel Petersen and Arnold Poulsen. These two pioneers had one very clear objective in mind - to put sound onto film, and with this, they established the Electrical Fonofilms Company A/S, which later on was renamed Ortofon A/S. A few years later, in the Palace Theatre, Copenhagen, they were able to present the first fully-synchronized sound films and in so doing, created a world sensation.

Ortofon was also the first company to produce an outdoor sound film recording. The founders took out several patents and issued licences to film companies the world over for their "System Petersen og Poulsen", which is even to this day the basis for film with optical sound.

Until the second world war, Ortofon's growth was based entirely on the sound film. However, during the war and immediately afterwards, production was re-organized to include record cutting and reproducing equipment. The first Moving Coil cutterhead was produced as early as 1945, and the Moving Coil principle was then further developed to enable production of, first, mono cartridges and, later, also stereo cartridges.

During this busy period of growth, equipment was also being developed for broadcasting networks and recording studios. It was not until later that the Company decided to specialize solely in the development and production of cartridges. Unique experience at both ends of the recording sequence results in unsurpassed performence from every Ortofon cartridge.

Available through My Kind of Music; for more information visit this site: http://www.ortofon.com

Ortofon MC 5000 Reference MC Phono Cartridge

The black ceramic body, sintered at approximately 1,200 degrees Celsius, is a rigid structure that eliminates resonances in the audible range.

Mounted on a sapphire cantilever, Ortofon’s Nude Replicant diamond is cut to match the sapphire which cut the record groove as closely as possible.

MC 5000 is a highly accurate, analytical and neutral transducer.

All available information is retrieved from the grooves and music is crisply reproduced with palpable presence that converts your living room into a concert hall.

A reference-grade audio system is required to reveal these qualities.

Because output is relatively low, a high-performance MC transformer or MC preamplifier should be used. Recommended load: 20 – 100 Ohms.

Benz Micro - Switzerland

For years Benz-Micro has been known worldwide to produce some of the most desirable and musical phono cartridges in the world.

Available through My Kind of Music; for more information visit this site: http://www.musicalsurroundings.com/benz.html

Clearaudio

Almost immeasurable by any method other than the listening test (the most critical), Clearaudio found that the actual cartridge housing material can in fact be the final and most critical element in achieving ultimate resolution and inner detail. The result of this research - the Clearaudio-RF-Technic. Clearaudio cartridges achieve their exceptional performance with innovative design and advanced materials. All cartridges share the some basic layout featuring Clearaudio's patented Series Coil System, with coils mounted symmetrically in front and behind the cantilever Pivot.

Available through My Kind of Music; for more information visit this site: http://www.musicalsurroundings.com/clearaudio/mc.html

Wilson Benesch

The Wilson Benesch cartridge range is distinctly different from all other cartridges in the world. Whilst conventional materials technology can be seen as the norm, in the Wilson Benesch range the principle structures are all manufactured from solid carbon fibre.

Available through My Kind of Music; for more information visit this Manufacturer's site: www.wilson-benesch.com/analog.html

Phono Stages

Rossner & Sohn - Canofer Phono Amplifier

For our Canofer we exclusively applied the best components of well-known German and Suisse manufacturers like Mundorf, ELMA and WBT.

The connectors Nextgen by WBT take care of a perfect integration to your phono equipment. Mundorf tin-foil-condensers create vital signals without loss of sound.

The board's concrete dual-mono-structure and the perfectly attuned hand-selected transistors and components are adjusted to your MM- or MC-system with absolute precision by noise-free ELMA-switches. A special suspension-mechanism completely decouples board and enclosure. The board is totally shed and extra shielded to eliminate all sonic and electromagnetic faults.

For MM-systems there are 300, for MC-systems 1836 possible settings you surely will find the right one for your system.

Foundation Research V5

The V5 phono preamplifier is a single-ended triod tube design Produced to exacting specifications. A great deal of attention is given to precision parts selection in order to achieve exceptional channel matching. The result is a presentation of great dimensionality, separation and focus. Once experienced, the sonic virtues of the V5 are undeniable.

Graham Slee

Phono Preamplifier development has virtually stood still since the 1960s.

Hi-fi folklore and whimsical notions seem to have taken over from science in an endless regurgitation of ancient designs which only serve to spread confusion in an eagerly receptive market place.

The saying "a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing" was never more apt than it is with vinyl, except few manufacturers heed those words, preferring to meddle at your expense. After all, it is obvious that a dinner plate transformer here and a Teflon board there are bound to lead to the best phono stage since sliced bread. Think again!

Without a solid reference we will all end up chasing each others tales into a land of confusion where we will be lucky if anything works at all, never mind works well. And thus if we are not careful the day of the second death of vinyl will come with haste.

However, a solid reference is available right now: The Era Gold REFLEX phono preamplifier

EAR 834P Phonobox Signature (834P-MM/MC)

Moving magnet and moving coil valve phono preamplifier.
When first launched, now over five years ago, it was the only valve phono stage you could buy with facilities for both good quality Moving Coil (MC) and Moving Magnet (MM) cartridges. In addition, for a small premium the unit could be purchased with an in-built volume control, allowing direct connection to a power-amplifier.

Available at My Kind of Music. Visit manufacturer's site for more details at:

Black:

http://www.ear-yoshino.com/productdetails.asp?page=7&id=19

Chrome:

http://www.ear-yoshino.com/productdetails.asp?page=8&id=20

Analogue Accessories

Core Racks

Core Racks represent Cambre’s devotion to quality and style in Audio Video furniture. The shelf dimensions are longer and wider allowing premium components to fit. Core Racks are also constructed using the highest quality MDF with hand picked veneers ensuring unique and artistic wood grains on every shelf.

The shelf’s are engineered with ‘Acoustic Dampening Grooves’ (ADG). ADG’s provide a neutral platform in which components can truly perform at their best. ADG’s on the undersides of the shelf allow airborn external vibrations to be dissipated before they can reach the electronic components on the shelf.

Slatedeck

Specialising in vinyl replay as we believe the analogue playback system still outperforms the digital formats.

Here you can see an example from our "Slatedeck"© range of Welsh Slate Plinths providing what most would consider the pinnacle of turntable supports for the classic Garrard 301 turntable.

For a history of Garrard click here: http://www.hi-fiworld.co.uk/hfw/featureshtml/garrardhistory.html

Clearaudio

Clearaudio offers a complete line of analogue accessories such as the Matrix record cleaning machine offering unsurpassed performance in a very attractive package.
Clearaudio offers a full line of isolation products to help keep your system performing at its best including Magix, and acrylic cones. Also chose from a stylus pressure gauge, recordcleaning brush, stability headshell and headshell leads, the clever and quadro clamps, bearing grease, and thread reducers.

Available through My Kind of Music; for more information visit this site: http://www.musicalsurroundings.com/clearaudio/accessories.html

ZEROSTAT - Clean Your Vinyl Records