The Full Stereophile Review of The Ikeda IT-407 - Visit the site!

Please visit the Stereophile Review of the Ikeda IT-407, by Art Dudley by clicking the link below.

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Stereophile's Art Dudley reviews Ikeda IT-407 Tonearm "article excerpts"

In an upcoming Stereophile Issue, Art Dudley gave the Ikeda IT-407 stellar reviews, stay tuned for the link when it becomes available, but here are some of the highlights.


“Perhaps more than most tonearms, the Ikeda IT-407 is one of those hi-fi products that compels its user to just sit back and gaze at the thing: a beautifully rounded construction of polished chrome and stainless steel that appears to be at once both new and old.”

“Art Dudley, Stereophile, August 2013”

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“So it was during the Ikeda’s time in my home, during which I simply grabbed record after record, and during which experience the IT-407 maintained a level of musical performance that sounded consistently right.”

“Art Dudley, Stereophile, August 2013”

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“The Electric Recording Company’s reissues of Johanna Martzy’s recordings of J.S. Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, which I described in last month’s column and which continue to enchant everyone who has heard them through my system, sounded especially commanding with this arm in place.”

“Art Dudley, Stereophile, August 2013”

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“Again, the Ikeda conferred on both records an impressive sense of scale. And the sounds of voices and instruments on both LPs-especially the stereo edition, which was surprisingly enjoyable—were substantive and realistically thick, with excellent spatial presence.”

“Art Dudley, Stereophile, August 2013”

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“…the Ikeda excelled at minimizing the unpleasant sonic effects of ticks, pops, and steady-state groove grunge.”

“Art Dudley, Stereophile, August 2013”

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“…the Ikeda also proved good at tracking densely modulated grooves…”

“Art Dudley, Stereophile, August 2013”

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“Those qualities, along with the Ikeda’s freedom from harshness and its overall sonic poise and imperturbability, served every record
I grabbed.”


“Art Dudley, Stereophile, August 2013”

Ikeda 9TT Mono Cartridge reviewed by 6 Moons

Read 6 Moons review of Ikeda’s 9TT mono cartridge by 6 Moons

Read Full Review

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The Ikeda's tracking was superb on the Glanz. On Art Farmer’s Farmers Market [Prestige 8203] the fast-paced cut had the arm/cartridge combination separate the complex interplay and sharp timing between trumpet, piano and rhythm section most impressively.

“It really strutted its stuff on Miles Davis All Stars Walkin’ [Prestige 7076] and easily surpassed the Miyajima for refinement, speed, dynamic shading and three-dimensionality.”

- 6 Moons - Steve Marsh

Images From 2013 NY Audio Show

2013 NY Audio Show, NY Palace Hotel, Images From Beauty Of Sound Room

Our showing at the 2013 NY Audio Show was a resounding success! From the venue, The NY Palace Hotel, to the fantastic articles written about our products, we couldn’t be happier. Please take a few minutes to read the posts about our products below and please visit our video section to see another great interview about our room at the show (At the bottom).

Thanks - Bill D.


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These Images Courtesy of SETMAN

Praise From Positive Feedback & Bruce Kinch 2013 NY Audio Show

“The sound was superbly smooth, clean, spacious, dynamic, as good as I've ever heard at any show," High praise indeed!!


Triangle


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Having had the base level High Fidelity Cables in my system, I did hope to hear some under show conditions. That led me to the Beauty of Sound/Laufer Teknik room, where the top line CT-1 Ultimate cables were used throughout. I don't think one can really evaluate cabling at a show, but no way they were a weak link here. The components were all new to me: Ikeda cartridge and arm from Japan, 200 lb Triangle Art Signature turntable from the US, Tube Guru electronics (phono, preamp, 14 wpc 6C33C SET amplifier, from Hungary), full range Leonardo Model 8 planar ribbon dipoles from Italy. These guys were precise and obsessive about set-up, cables off the floor, diffusers behind the speakers to disperse the back wave, Stillpoints all around, including the LPI weight on the turntable. The sound was superbly smooth, clean, spacious, dynamic, as good as I've ever heard at any show, and I probably spent more time in that room than any other, out of pure pleasure. I may never have anything like $200K to spend on an audio system like this one, but it was a true lottery-motivating experience.

Ikeda Kai Moving Coil Cartridge At 2013 NY Audio Show

From Analog Planet

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NY Audio Show 2013
Ikeda Sound Labs Kai Reference Moving Coil Cartridge On Display at New York Audio Show
By Michael Fremer • Posted: Apr 16, 2013
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The Ikeda Sound Labs KAI MC cartridge mounted on an Ikeda tone arm, itself mounted on a chrome-y looking Triangle Art Signature turntable appeared at the New York Audio Show in the Beauty of Sound room.
The hand assembled cartridge features an Aluminum body with base and top plate of Titanium. It features a boron cantilever and with ultra low 2.6 ohm impedance, few turns of coil wire, resulting in ultra-low .19mV output. In other words, you'd better use either a very good step-up transformer or an ultra-low noise all electronic MC phono preamp. Cost is $7500.
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The Ikeda arm costs $6500, while the Triangle Art Signature Turntable goes for $12,500.

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Another Green World, TubeGuru A Great Value For Audiphiles



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NY Audio Show 2013
Another Green World
By Art Dudley • Posted: Apr 15, 2013
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Suggesting that a $10,000 amplifier might represent decent value for the money is, when done within earshot of the most aggressive audiophiles, not unlike dropping the soap in the prison shower; nevertheless, the snappily named 6C33C SE amp from the Budapest firm Tube Guru, the price of which breaks the five-figure barrier by one penny, impressed me as a good buy for what it is. And what it is is a handmade all-tube stereo power amp that gets 14Wpc from its nominal indirectly heated power triodes. The 6C33C SE, which is imported by Beauty of Sound, sounded shockingly good driving the planar-plus-ribbon Model 8 loudspeakers ($65,000 per pair) from Leonardo Audio, the latter imported by Laufer Teknik.

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Ikeda Tonearm Sighting at 2013 NY Audio Show



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NY Audio Show 2013
Ikeda Tonearm Sighting
By Art Dudley • Posted: Apr 15, 2013
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Beauty of Sound also imports and distributes Ikeda tonearms and phono cartridges, used at the show in tandem with a Triangle Art Signature turntable ($12,500). Seen here are the Ikeda IT-407 arm ($6500) and Kai cartridge ($7500); I have in hand a review sample of the former, and will report on it soon. Also in the Beauty of Sound system but not seen here were the Tube Guru all-tube Reference Phono preamplifier ($5400) and Rick Schultz’s High Fidelity cables, which, I’m told, use a patented magnetic signal-transfer technology. Sadly, the aforementioned Leonardo loudspeakers, which sounded great, proved too glossy and black for my camera.

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Stereophile : "It was like heading to Heaven"

Please read Stereophile’s fantastic review by clicking here

Or here it is, taken directly from their site:



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AXPONA 2013
Beauty of Sound
By Jason Victor Serinus • Posted: Mar 15, 2013
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If you value smoothness and liquidity, the eye-catching system from Beauty of Sound and KT Audio Imports was to fall in love with. Playing Aaron Neville's aptly named LP Warm Your Heart, the sound was so warm, sweet and mellow, and the presentation so beautiful and spacious, that it was a challenge not to feel as though I had died and gone to heaven.
Then again, given how many rooms I had left to cover before show's end, heading straight to heaven certainly seemed like a viable alternative to an exponentially accelerating case of AXPONA angst.
The room was a bi-coastal affair. KT Audio Imports, located in Torrance, CA, supplied the eye-catching Triangle Art Signature turntable ($12,500) which was playing, as well as the more expensive Reference turntable ($16,500). They also provided the Triangle ART TA-1 record clamp ($800)
Beauty of Sound, located in East Greenbush, NY, provided, from Ikeda, the IT-407CRI 12" tonearm ($6500) and Kai moving-coil cartridge ($10,000) that I heard, as well as the TubeGuru ECC808 MM/MC phono preamp ($4400), Kaplan Cable GS Mk.II 1.5m interconnect ($1395) and 6' power cord ($1695), Slagle step-up transformer w. silver wiring ($2500), and Pi uberBUSS w/Furutech Cu receptacles ($1400). The music supplied the rest.

AV Showrooms Review the Tiangle Art Turntable & Ikeda Tonearm

AV Showrooms gave us stellar reviews at AXPONA this year. We are excited for everyone to learn more about them.

Watch the entire review at AV Showrooms or visit our video section!, scroll down toward the bottom.

Absolute Sound Listens to Our Products!

“The Beauty of Sound/KT Audio Imports collaboration room had a tremendous display, with more glass and chrome than I’m used to seeing in one place. I was mesmerized by all the reflections. The Triangle Art turntables, including the Reference ($16,500) and the Signature ($12,500), are big hunks of liquid metal. The Ikeda IT407CR1 12” tonearm ($6,500) and Ikeda Kai moving coil cartridge ($10k), were feeding signals into a Tube Guru ECC 808 phono preamp ($4,400), in turn connected to electronics from NAT Audio, including a Magnetostat “Reference Vacuum Tube Line Stage” ($17,490) and a pair of Magma monoblocks ($44,990/pair). That latter features a stunning-looking 450 vacuum tube, good for 160wpc of single-ended, Class-A power. Phobos loudspeakers from Eventus Audio ($19,500), here in complementary silver finish, made all the music. And sweet music it was. Kaplan Cables, a Slagle Step-Up transformer, and a Pi Audio uberBUSS rounded out the system.”

Said Scot Hull AXPONA 2013 - PART 4
Mar 19th, 2013

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Read the entire article here.

Stellar Review For Ikeda Tone Arm & Cartridge in AV Showrooms!

Recently Peter Breuninger from AV Showrooms decided to review my Ikeda IT-407 Tonearm, coupled with the Ikeda 9TT cartridge. The review is setup in 3 different parts and is quite interesting. I hope you will take some time to watch!

Please click here to learn more about this exciting review.

AXPONA 2012 a Resounding Success For Beauty of Sound

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We recently attended AXPONA 2012, bringing our gear to Jacksonville hoping for success. Please check out our youtube videos and reviews, we think we hit a home run!

You Tube overview video

High Praise From Stereophile Magazine!

Beauty of Sound
Filed Under: AXPONA 2012
By:
Jason Victor Serinus Posted: Mar 11, 2012 0 comments
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All the way from East Greenbush, New York, Bill Demars of Beauty of Sound was showing the brand new Ikeda 9TT moving-coil cartridge ($3800) on The Emperor Turntable, whose total price ($17,400) includes both the cartridge and Ikeda IT-407CR1 tonearm ($6500). The cartridge's body parts are made of an aluminum alloy, and the cantilever is made of a double-layered hard aluminum alloy in order to reduce possible distortion from warped platters. Appropriate stylus downforce is 1.75gram–2.25gram, and frequency range is 10Hz–45kHz


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More Kind Words From DAGOGO from AXPONA 2012

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“Beauty of Sound was creating a very special sound with a system that included………”
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Beauty Of Sound Makes A Stir at AXPONA 2012 From "Enjoy The Music"

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AXPONA 2012 Show Report -- Audio Expo North America Warm winter brings cool sounds to the South Show Coverage By A. Colin Flood

Beauty Of Sound
This new vendor caused quite a stir at the show, not only for his big, square bulky loudspeakers, but also for their enticing drivers and sound. Tennis pro by day, Bill's open baffle loudspeakers sounded so good and played such compelling tunes, that I stopped in his room frequently. He said that all loudspeakers are hard to place and that he was still tweaking the weird folding side wings on his loudspeakers. Bill lit the back of his loudspeakers with a red spotlight so that the drivers were edged in a red glow. Very cool. You can see the spotlight and hinged wings in picture below. His design uses a plate amplifier below 100 Hz with only a small resistor on the tweeter to flatten the impedance curve.
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Review of Ikeda Sound Labs IT-407CR1 Long Tonearm from DAGOGO


January 2012

Ikeda Sound Labs IT-407CR1 Long Tonearm (Updated 2/28/2012: Importer's Comment)


Jack Robert
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“Let me close by saying thanks once more time to Bill Demars for letting me have the privilege of reviewing this magnificent tonearm when it is so hard to come by. If you truly love listening to vinyl and you can afford it, you owe it to yourself to hear this arm. If you can’t afford it, don’t let it get anywhere near your system or you’ll have real regrets.”

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Beauty Of Sound Wins AXPONA Gold Show Award!

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We are excited to announce that Beauty Of Sound was the recipient of the Gold Show Best Designed award at AXPONA 2012! We appreciate the accolades and are excited to keep bringing you the best in high-end audio products!

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