Somebody today created at my site a link in the visitors section with a link to “Home of the Arthur Loesch Phono Preamp”.  The link to them existed at my site for a while

http://www.goodsoundclub.com/Links.aspx?Q=Loesch

… but the new link made me to revisit the old Loesch’s site. I change quite a bit. They have new things that they offer and promise of many new things to come. Good for them.

If somebody is looking for a “review” of what Loesch does then it will not come. I never used anything Loesch made/design, probably never will. The Tempo Electric web site imply some kind of cult following. Well, you know my reaction to it….

Still, a nicely made site, an elegant presentation, a list of reviewers to get some “credentials” (ironically all of them are  happed to be remarkable idiots)               and a list of a few products available for direct prepaid sale. Why now?

Among all Loesch/Tempo products this phonostages look semi-interesting.

They have two phonostages. The first is stereo one:

http://www.tempoelectric.com/phono.htm

Nothing terribly exiting in my view.

The second one is more fan. It is RIAA equalizer that allows running multiple EQ curves. Again, not overly exiting design and implementation but it attempt to do multiple EQ curves  and it is just at $2K. I would question if this type of curves management would be practical. Thorsten Loesch (no association to Arthur Loesch I think) of AMR made the same but the curved are mandible from remote control and could be preset

http://www.goodsoundclub.com/Forums/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=10989

That is how the things need to be done, or cause of all of it also sounds good. What is VERY GOOD at the Loesch/Tempo site is the document that describes the EQ curves. I would like to know how they compile it.

http://www.tempoelectric.com/78_RPM_EQ_Settings_by_Label.pdf

The speed of the disk is easy to get but to insist in the demanded EQ is a bit more complicated…. In some cases VERY complicated….

Here is the cold, hard truth, staring us in the face, that this part has to be right before any of the subsequent embelishments matter.

Although I have blabbed at length about the silliness of the "average" VTA setting, and I have gone to some lengths myself to manage VTA with modern LPs, yet a huge library of music remains inaccessable to me because I've never developed the means to effectively tap it.

For the lost souls who troll this and other sites, who continue to daydream about an "ultimate hi-fi system", I will give a couple of good (and rare) recommendations: 1) Anyone in a position to do so should use multiple (specialized) cartridges on arms that can be easiliy set for VTA. 2) Those who can do should develop the means to set turnovers appropos rather than running everything through default RIAA.

It's all about program...

Paul S