Season 5, episode 3, starts the new year off with a bang. In these next few weeks, we are taking a deep dive into the world of SOTA analog vinyl playback. Having had 20+ years of experience owning and listening to a multitude of decks, tonearms and cartridges, I have gained the perspective to understand what it takes to design and manufacture reference level analog gear.
Today it's all about Kuzma and their extensive lineup of all things analog record playback. Franc started Kuzma in 1982 in the former SFRJ - otherwise known as Yugoslavia. Based in Slovenia, he and his team manufacture high-end turntables, tonearms and cartridges, all based on the premise of stiffness, resonance absorption and crystaline, pure high fidelity record playback. Let's look at the Kuzma XL AIR and Safir arm in greater detail...
‼️ Don't forget to download and listen to the newly linked and uploaded files in my Dropbox, showing off the Kuzma Safir x Lyra Atlas Lambda and the SAT LM-09 x Lyra Atlas Lambda running on the XL AIR.
If you haven't already watched the 1st episode, here it is -
https://youtu.be/wUs5T3uZRaE
💰 The results from last week's upload are as follows:
File 1 = SAT + Lyra Atlas Lambda
File 2 = Kuzma Safir + Lyra Atlas Lambda
(This is for both track titles)
00:00 - Intro
01:55 - Recap of last week’s episode
02:22 - Today’s topic Kuzma XL Air + Safir toner!
03:19 - Dropbox link for 24/96 vinyl rip files and reveal!
04:25 - Feel free to comment on your thoughts!
05:31 - A history of Kuzma
07:55 - Presenting the Kuzma XL Air!
09:00 - Comparison to the Kuzma XL
10:15 - The inner workings of the XL Air
14:40 - Presenting the Kuzma Safir!
15:30 - Comparison to the Kuzma 4Point
🎧 The 2 new music selections, in no particular order are:
Ninive, off Boris Blank's [one half of Yello] his latest album Resonance
Summer (Estate), off Shirley Horn album I thought about you, Live at Vine St.
Each of the 8 files have been created with the Tascam DA-1000 at 24/96 resolution, level matched to -6dbFS and uploaded to Dropbox. Tracking force for both the SAT and Safir mounted Lyra Atlas Lambda is 1.64g, analog phono, Mola Mola Lupe, 62db of gain, 650 Ohm resistance, standard RIAA curve.
Which is which, can you tell? Knock yourself out!
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/nct5m8pkc6d6qllhfd2np/ANABWuh7BJR422mCtYE9ljM?rlkey=629h1uktzs1j4cdmfnu16ye99&st=z6a8jebb&dl=0
Available in North America through Elite Audio Video Distribution
Scot Markwell
www.eliteavdist.com
💰 Suggested retail price:
Kuzma XL AIR $62,500
Kuzma Safir $23,000
https://www.kuzma.si
🎻 Equipment currently setup in Studio A:
EMMlabs MTRS, solid state stereo amplifier https://www.emmlabs.com
EMMlabs DS-EQ1, optical cartridge "energizer" x 2
EMMlabs Pre, pre-amplifier
EMMlabs DA2i, Streamer + DAC
Kuzma XL Air + Safir, turntable + arm https://www.kuzma.si
Bergmann Galder Signature + Odin, turntable + arm https://bergmannaudio.com
ReVox H1 Cassette tape deck
Telefunken M15A reel to reel tape machine x 2
Nagra IV-S reel to reel tape machine https://www.nagraaudio.com
Wilson Audio Sasha V https://www.wilsonaudio.com
DeVore Fidelity O/96 https://devorefidelity.com
SonoruS Audio proximity bass controller https://sonorusaudio.com
Tascam DA1000, A/D converter + digital recorder
QNAP 8 bay 32TB NAS
Tidal, Apple Music streaming services
Audirvana Studio media playback app https://audirvana.com
eero Pro 6 WiFi network
🎼 Cables used in Studio A:
Black Cat Cable https://blackcatcable.com
Graceline L3, speaker + interconnect
LessLoss C-MARC Classic power cables https://www.lessloss.com
🔈 Music used for evaluation -
Courtney Pine - Journey To The Urge Within
Arooj Aftab - Night Rein
Joaõ Gilberto - Ao Vivo
Amira Medunjanin - Damar
Boris Blank - Resonance
Trevor Horn - Echoes
Eva Cassidy - The Best Of
Fluxion - Traces
Placebo - S/T
David Murray - Plumb
Willie Nelson - The Border
Yosi Horikawa - Spaces
Einstürzende Neubauten - Rampen
📝 About SonicFlare
Danny Kaey has been a published audio and HiFi reviewer for almost 25 years in online and printed publications in the US, Canada and Europe. In the hobby for over 40 years, his tastes have varied through the decades, though now have settled for what music is all about: dynamics, slam, resolving power and tonality. DK believes that like many personally experienced tastes, there are many flavors to HiFi, though in all cases HiFi should aim to replicate music as closely as possible.
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#audio #music #hifi #stereo #records #sonicflare
Thanks so much for watching this episode, Have I finally found my golden super amp? Cheers!