Vinyl Asylum

Posted by Jim Bookhard on August 01, 1999 at 13:44:15:

In Reply to: Re: To Mr. Skeptic posted by Dan Bonhomme on August 01, 1999 at 11:54:46:

Dan, I have posted another review here at the Asylum, on my amps, where I have listed the CDP in question. First of all, I am in disagreement with Doug Blackburn on most issues he rants about and am not totally in agreement with him in his review of the LaserBase. In Doug's review of the LaserBase he makes a rather definitive statement about the performance of the LaserBase with both the Twinkle Fingers and Twinkle Toes installed, when the component he reviewed did not even have both installed!

As far as clamping is concerned, do you really know what this entails? It is not the Stereophile Recommended Components description/definition of the MGD ClampRack -- their description and most people's conception of this technique is totally wrong. The technique does not involve "squeezing" the component chassis, as is commonly believed. I'd rather not get into the details of exactly how it is done here which is why I said to email me privately. There are actually several players on the market which "tune" very nicely with clamping -- the one I own just happens to be one of them. By the way, have you ever heard a properly "clamped" CD player upon which you are basing your opinion as to whether or not what I am saying may or may not be correct? I can assure you that Doug Blackburn has never "clamped" a component in his life. If you doubt my words, take a trip to Ohio and visit Michael Green Designs' tunable listening room and take a listen. Discussing it here proves nothing and gets away from the product in question that I attempted to review. Your approach to this matter has been more like a response that I would expect at Audio Review, and not the responses of the majority of music lovers here at the Asylum and whose experiences I have great respect for. Do you really think I would make such statements if I did not actually "experience" what I am talking about? I am not asking for verification, but Mr. Genna heard the CD player also during his visit. Feel free to ask his opinion. As far as the strength of the polyurethane bands are concerned, that was my first question to Mr. Genna when I first contacted him to discuss the workings of the LaserBase. Had I not been convinced of its safety, do you honestly really believe that I would risk damage to $7500 worth of analog equipment on a whim? I did not just pick up the phone and order the LaserBase. I did as much reading on the product through information that was available (the Soundstage review was just one source) and I had extensive discussions with Bob Genna. The point is the LaserBase does work as advertised and even performed better than I had expected. Also, I have owned a $4000 CD front end and have had extensive listening sessions on even far more expensive CD front ends. So, I do have some basis for comparison and a reference point from which I can make the statements I have made. Not only have I owned a raft of top flight analog tables and arms over the past 30 years, I've listened to the best including the Walker, the TNT, etc. Do you want more of my biography of qualifications to make such statements that I did?

Quite frankly, to compare me to DB is an "insult" because I think he's a pompous ass who knows very little but believes he has all the answers (and I have told him so). His knowledge of many things is sorely lacking, including some very basic physics. But, again, I only responded to you because your post gets away from the issue at hand. Is the LaserBase worthy of consideration by vinyl lovers? My answer is yes. If you meant no harm nor sarcasm, then you have my acceptance of your statements without question. I do believe in experiencing extensive sonic phenomena before I comment on the merits of such phenemena. I do not believe nor do I state idle opinions where experience is lacking. You are also quite welcome to listen to my system at any time to conclude for yourself whether what I am saying has merit or not. Feel free to contact me, since I cannot prove anything with words here in posts or dialogue with you (or others) at Audio Asylum.

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