I have three great products to bring to your attention at the end of 2020. Listen up!
Amazing Vacuum Tube Alert: GE 6189 (12AU7) JAN NOS
The military/industrial NOS GE 6189 tube is a premium quality 12AU7 tube with an added internal helical wire that strengthens the grid structure and dampens vibration and noise. This tube performs well as a preamp tube or driver tube. The 6189/12AU7 tube type is equivalent to the European ECC82 tube and can be used in any 12AU7 or ECC82 circuit.
Produced in the early 1980's by GE in the thousands for military use (JAN), they were sold into the market place in 2007. These killer tubes are exceptional in several ways.
I placed the 6189 tubes in a preamp, head-amp, and vintage FM tuner replacing treasured Mullards, Amperexes, and Tesla tubes...my favorite go-to NOS brands for best performance. The GE 6189 tubes generally out-performed all three brands for neutrality and realism, with less grunge and tube rush as well. The three Euro tube brands have more obvious intrinsic colorations and are less neutral, but very useful in certain applications. The GE also out-performed the vaunted RCA 5814A, their industrial 12AU7 equivalent. None of my current production tube brands came close.
In addition to excellent definition, the GE 6189 tubes were the quietest 12AU7 types in the world. Nothing I had in stock, currently produced or NOS, was as stunningly quiet as the GE. It was not even close. With the quiet came added definition, layering, blacker background, and greater realism. In the vintage FM tuner, you might easily confuse the broadcast for a LP on your turntable. Even better, Upscale Audio has acquired hundreds of these tubes!
It was obvious to Kevin Deal that the utter perfection of this tube type deserved a category beyond the two normal top categories typically sold at Upscale /Audio so he established something new: Kevin's Stash. These are functionally perfect tubes with matched triodes and ultimate low noise. My pair was matched to perfection. They cost $39.95 – $49.95 each for the various grades. Kevin's Stash is $59.95 each...no extra charge for matching if requested. HERE
Though burned-in by Upscale in advance of grading, another 24 hours of play-time brings out the most sweetness and definition of the 6189. They will amaze you right out of the box but will improve with time. After you hear these babies, you will want to order a lifetime stash for yourself. You can count on Upscale Audio to treat you right on your precious tube purchases.
Unique Innovation Technology Co. Perfect Music Purifier Speaker Cable V2
I was excited to find out that one of my favorite brands of high-end wire, the only one I recommend that is sold exclusively direct to customers, has upgraded their fine speaker wire and improved its already excellent performance. Even more astounding, UIT did not raise their price. UIT kindly provided me with single wire and bi-wire models to try in each of my systems. Each leg contains a Purifier Module that filters EMI, RFI, and ground noise and is made of pure silver materials. I do not have any further technical explanation other than the definition is superb and the quiet backgrounds are world class. See HERE for more details.
Though not as inexpensive as their interconnects, which are a steal for their performance, the new V2 Speaker Cables outperform any speaker cables costing under $3000 per meter I know of, period. They require some break-in, at least 100 hours of music, or 48 hours of cable cooking to reach ultimate performance. Once done, you will enjoy major definition, gorgeous sound-staging, world-class imaging, and backgrounds that are black as outer space.
Speaker cables over $3000 per meter may yield a bit more air on top and a touch more definition, though you probably will not notice this unless you have reference level speakers.
The Purifier Module is a breakthrough audiophile advance that continues to amaze. Though the speaker cables are a complex bundle of pure copper and silver clad copper wires of the highest grade and made in California, the Module is the cake topper that brings UITaudio to performance heights other manufacturers claim but only deliver for a lot more money. My $6000 per meter references slightly out-perform the UIT V2!
If you happen to have a diamond or ceramic tweeter, the UIT Speaker Cables are a heavenly match. The UIT highs are as smooth as a baby's butt.
My congratulations to UITaudio and Mitch Ko for the continued research and advancement of their designs. Congratulations also for winning a Reviewer's Choice Award for 2020.
Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra, Impex Records, LP (recorded in 1950). Executive producers Abey Fonn and Bob Bantz
This Limited Edition reissue of Frank Sinatra's delightful 1950 Columbia Records ten-inch LP, Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra, has been produced from the original 15 IPS session tapes at Bernie Grundman Mastering. "Originally issued in October 1950 the title was the singer's first fully-conceived big-band jazz album to appear on a modern, long-play vinyl record." The 70th-anniversary limited edition LP features rare, previously unreleased session material, outtakes, and alternate vocal takes. The 180-gram RTI pressing is flawless and the double gatefold jacket is truly lavish!
The Sinatra selections are superbly performed and very musically entertaining, to the max. Surfaces are exceptionally quiet. No need to worry about the RIAA Curve here since the tapes do not contain the Columbia recording curve the LP's of the era used. The correct and current RIAA Playback Curve was used in this reissue by Impex.
IMPEX BIG NEWS:
"For this 70th Anniversary commemorative release, IMPEX has augmented the album's original eight songs (programmed in sequence on Side A of the LP) with a dazzling array of PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED BONUS TRACKS including alternate takes, orchestra-only tracks and a revealing glimpse of Frank Sinatra in Columbia's famed 30th Street Studio (circa 1949), personally directing every facet of the recording session. This exquisite, high-fidelity session offers the most concise, in-depth illustration of Frank Sinatra working his magic in the studio, and functioning as his own producer."
The album was just released October 30, so it should be available and ready to acquire. This full size 12-inch LP, not 10 inch for the reissue, has immense value for the music lover and audiophile. You cannot judge speaker placement with a stereo LP. You need a mono source to do it correctly. This release sounds top-notch with a stereo cartridge. My compliments to Andreas Meyer for superb mastering and Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering for exceptional record cutting dynamics and musical preservation.
Very highly recommended!
CATALOG: IMP6036
BCN: 00856276002312
Retail: $34.99
IMPEX
