Finding your groove: getting into vinyl with Audio-Technica
I’d like to think that I could’ve been friends with the late Hideo Matsushita, founder of Japanese Hi-Fi powerhouse Audio-Technica. If I could, I’d travel back in time to 1960’s Tokyo, where a young Matsushita curated “vinyl listening sessions” at the Bridgestone Museum of Arts, exposing visitors to the sounds and possibilities of high end audio and the warmth of vinyl records. I imagine sitting with him in a mod coffee shop, listening to the stories of what he witnessed in those sessions, the conversations he had with visitors, and what ultimately motivated him to head back to his small apartment above a ramen restaurant and start an audio company of his own. In the histories I’ve read regarding AT’s humble beginnings, Matsushita’s motives seem clear. Produce high end audio at affordable prices, bringing audio excellence into spaces and to customers that simply didn’t have access to it before. His first two products, the AT-1 and AT-3 phono cartridges did exactly that, and...
Dec 6, 2023
Laptop -> Schiit EITR -> Gustard X20U DAC -> Schiit Loki -> HOSA SLW-333 Audio signal switch -> NAD C 275BEE stereo amp -> Mjolnir Audio modded STAX SRD-7 transformer -> STAX SR-L300 Limited Edition 80th Anniversary (with L700 headband arc and pads installed)
Only thing will be changing is making custom brackets for the Gustard X20U DAC to stand it above the amp - currently using rubber blocks and plywood to allow for proper clearance for venting of the NAD C275BEE amp.