TechDAS Air Force Zero (real final photo)

Audiophile Bill

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Mar 23, 2015
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Sure Bill. I did pass Chemistry, Biology and Physics A-Levels in 1982 LOL.

I hear what you are saying and wish that one could do that and maybe folks sometimes do that at home or alone but to do it in a big publication like that is bad practice in my opinion.
 

Mike Lavigne

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Apr 25, 2010
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We will need to observe if an AF0 ends up in Jacob’s system.

I am speaking to Jacob’s ability to acquire what he wants, is all. If it’s moved him to act then that speaks volumes.
 

KeithR

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We will need to observe if an AF0 ends up in Jacob’s system.

I am speaking to Jacob’s ability to acquire what he wants, is all. If it’s moved him to act then that speaks volumes.

Mike, I could personally care less. This TT doesn't move the rest of the hifi universe in any meaningful direction.
 
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PeterA

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Dec 6, 2011
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I know compares are very useful, but is it not possible for a reviewer who knows his own piece of gear inside out (in this case, Continuum tt) to realise it's been comprehensively outclassed by a new one, even in an unfamiliar system?
Surely there are traits one can identify in another system as better or worse from deep awareness of one's own component in one's home system?

Marc, do you really think that one can identify accurately the contribution of an unfamiliar component, in this case a turntable, in an unfamiliar system, in an unfamiliar room, and make a claim about how that turntable contributes to the sound and then make a claim about a sonic attribute relative and in comparison to his own turntable in his own system, all during a brief listening session with someone else's music in a crowded room? It seems like a bit of a stretch to me.

I suppose he could comment on the overall resolution if the recording is familiar to him, and perhaps also the noise floor and pitch accuracy of the recording as played on what I assume is a very transparent and revealing system.

I appreciate comments about the whole system in that room particular room context and descriptions about specific sonic attributes. That is fine, but how does one isolate the sound of one component relative to the rest of the system?
 

NorthStar

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You guys are tough; Jacob only mentioned very briefly in a short paragraph of his "preview".

"I’ll be the first to admit that I approached the ’table with some skepticism. I expected excellent performance but nothing revolutionary. For one thing, I have not heard a turntable that was substantially superior to the Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn I’ve used for about a decade. Oops—the Zero creamed it. I also was underwhelmed by the photos that I had seen of the turntable. In “person,” however, it looked both impressive and attractive."
 

JackD201

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Apr 20, 2010
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Noise Floor, particularly groove echo and the silence thereof. That is what makes TDs differ from anything else I've heard. It's a singular trait as far as I know.

That many associate this with warmth because it is a type of noise that isn't inherently objectionable is another story.
 

PeterA

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You guys are tough; Jacob only mentioned very briefly in a short paragraph of his "preview".

"I’ll be the first to admit that I approached the ’table with some skepticism. I expected excellent performance but nothing revolutionary. For one thing, I have not heard a turntable that was substantially superior to the Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn I’ve used for about a decade. Oops—the Zero creamed it. I also was underwhelmed by the photos that I had seen of the turntable. In “person,” however, it looked both impressive and attractive."

Yes, Bob. This is a brief mention, but a fairly significant one, IMO. He is saying that he was able to clearly hear that this AF0 "creamed" his ten year reference turntable, the Caliburn, and in so doing inferring that he could hear the specific contribution of this turntable over the other components in that system. I wish he would have been a bit more specific. I'm surprised, that's all.
 
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spiritofmusic

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Jun 13, 2013
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Marc, do you really think that one can identify accurately the contribution of an unfamiliar component, in this case a turntable, in an unfamiliar system, in an unfamiliar room, and make a claim about how that turntable contributes to the sound and then make a claim about a sonic attribute relative and in comparison to his own turntable in his own system, all during a brief listening session with someone else's music in a crowded room? It seems like a bit of a stretch to me.

I suppose he could comment on the overall resolution if the recording is familiar to him, and perhaps also the noise floor and pitch accuracy of the recording as played on what I assume is a very transparent and revealing system.

I appreciate comments about the whole system in that room particular room context and descriptions about specific sonic attributes. That is fine, but how does one isolate the sound of one component relative to the rest of the system?
Peter, I thought it might be possible. Otherwise the instances where one might make semi definitive statements will be zero, or close to zero. Bill's skepticism is pretty well founded when I think about it, maybe the sense of occasion and grandeur of the whole system overwhelmed him.
 

microstrip

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"But for me perhaps the highlight was a Deutsche Grammophon recording of Gidon Kremer and Martha Argerich playing Beethoven’s Sonata No. 1 for piano and violin. The silky smoothness of the TechDAS playback allied to a seemingly limitless palette of dynamic gradations…it sounded simply gobsmacking." (from TAS )

I have these recordings and really appreciate them. It looks there is there is a big conspiracy to pervert the audiophile dogmas flying around ... :)
 
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microstrip

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Yes, Bob. This is a brief mention, but a fairly significant one, IMO. He is saying that he was able to clearly hear that this AF0 "creamed" his ten year reference turntable, the Caliburn, and in so doing inferring that he could hear the specific contribution of this turntable over the other components in that system. I wish he would have been a bit more specific. I'm surprised, that's all.

The system is very comparable to Jacob's system - the main difference was just the analog source. He even recently reviewed the latest D'Agostino Momentum's.
 

NorthStar

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Yes, Bob. This is a brief mention, but a fairly significant one, IMO. He is saying that he was able to clearly hear that this AF0 "creamed" his ten year reference turntable, the Caliburn, and in so doing inferring that he could hear the specific contribution of this turntable over the other components in that system. I wish he would have been a bit more specific. I'm surprised, that's all.

Like I said; it's only a preview Peter, and he was obviously impressed.
I would be too...I can tell by the photos and videos so far, and the presentation and the comments from high caliber "insiders".
 

bonzo75

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Feb 26, 2014
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"But for me perhaps the highlight was a Deutsche Grammophon recording of Gidon Kremer and Martha Argerich playing Beethoven’s Sonata No. 1 for piano and violin. The silky smoothness of the TechDAS playback allied to a seemingly limitless palette of dynamic gradations…it sounded simply gobsmacking." (from TAS )

I have these recordings and really appreciate them. It looks there is there is a big conspiracy to pervert the audiophile dogmas flying around ... :)

I have this one too

F8DC66ED-ED17-481C-BA9D-4A1D8BF219B6.png
 
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Tango

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To me it seems any and all reviewers are wanting to get their names on some quick review to link their name and publication with the AF Zero
Techdas needs a lot coverage from big US reviewers Steve. They could have gone to the Shanghai Int'l AV Show happening right now but they need good impressions from big name reviewers in US first. A lot more can be sold over there but not without US reviewers' acclaim. I expect audio companies to move their promotional budget to China shows. A lot more payback. Genesis of Gary Goh is doing very well there right now.

Kind regards,
Tang
 

TLi

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May 27, 2016
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Looking forwards to reading Ron report on AF0 with WAMM.

There were two audiophiles from Hong Kong in the launch event on 16 March in Tokyo, me and one of my friends. Both of us are AF1p users with SAT arm. We were arranged to have the best seats in the room, right in the sweet spot. The demonstration was two hours and most of the time were spent in explaining the design of AF0. The actual music playing time was around 45 minutes.

I don't have the verbal ability of Jacob Heilbrunn in describing the sound, but both of us from Hong Kong found the sound to be extremely good. The first track played was a vocal from Harry Belafonte, it is a piece that we heard many times. Harry's voice was very natural and accurate. At the end of the demo, they played a track of drum rolls and it was played in fairly loud volume. The speakers were Wilson Audio Alexx driven by Constellation amps. The drums were so real and controlled. We were very impressed.

In the end, we told Nishikawa san that each of us wants to order one AF0. That says a lot.
 

CKKeung

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Jun 17, 2011
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Looking forwards to reading Ron report on AF0 with WAMM.

There were two audiophiles from Hong Kong in the launch event on 16 March in Tokyo, me and one of my friends. Both of us are AF1p users with SAT arm. We were arranged to have the best seats in the room, right in the sweet spot. The demonstration was two hours and most of the time were spent in explaining the design of AF0. The actual music playing time was around 45 minutes.

I don't have the verbal ability of Jacob Heilbrunn in describing the sound, but both of us from Hong Kong found the sound to be extremely good. The first track played was a vocal from Harry Belafonte, it is a piece that we heard many times. Harry's voice was very natural and accurate. At the end of the demo, they played a track of drum rolls and it was played in fairly loud volume. The speakers were Wilson Audio Alexx driven by Constellation amps. The drums were so real and controlled. We were very impressed.

In the end, we told Nishikawa san that each of us wants to order one AF0. That says a lot.
Hello Thomas,
You must write a theead on WBF when you receive your AF Zero.
It should include box-opening, setting it up, finetuning, sonic performance ... etc
Many thanks in advance!
;)
 

Derainer

Industry Expert, VIP Donor
Apr 23, 2011
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In the end, we told Nishikawa san that each of us wants to order one AF0.
Congratulations on the decision.
Then this fully automatic linear tracking tonearm should also be part of the perfect happy ending.:)

By the way, this one is unique because of excess length. The proportions should fit.
P1140993-zu-II.JPG

best regards Rainer
 

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christoph

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Dec 11, 2015
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Both of us are AF1p users with SAT arm. We were arranged to have the best seats in the room, right in the sweet spot.
[...]
In the end, we told Nishikawa san that each of us wants to order one AF0. That says a lot.
I would say: Mission accomplished :D
Congrats to the two happy soon to be new AF0 owners :cool:
 
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