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Reviews (4)
29 Apr, 2020
The Real Thing! Professional components in a home machine.
2 of 2 found this helpful I did quite a bit of research before making a decision, and my experience since then has done nothing but confirm that this is the right machine for our home. First, I like coffee that tastes like something. Second, I like things that work and have the quality build to keep on working. Our last machine got recycled after maybe 15 years of service because parts were no longer available. The catch is that when we needed a repair only 7 years in, we were told that many parts weren't available then either. We could only achieve a fix using used parts.
Re quality of design and build: this is a low tech machine built like a tank! The parts are said to be the same ones used in Rancilio's professional machines. Just pick up the portafilter, and you can feel the weight and the way it holds the heat and this becomes easy to believe. To take off the plastic protective film, I ended up taking a peek inside, and boy everything looks simple, accessible, and solid in there. So the build quality is a big check. The fact that there are units out there decades old, and that the parts should remain available for decades to come (barring catastrophes that are always possible), and I am delighted just to see and touch the unit.
Re the coffee: This is a solid but basic no-frills machine. It is massive, (not overly large, - just heavy because there is a lot of metal in there), and the temperature controls are simple high limit switches rather than digital processors. You grind the coffee yourself, tamp it yourself, and pay attention to getting the temp right yourself. ((I.e, draw out enough water for the heating light to come on, and then wait for it to go off before drawing your shot. This is not a big deal!) How well you make the coffee using this machine will make obvious differences in flavour and finish. That being said, I've even found my 'mistakes' to be quite drinkable. And the times I get the grind and tamp right, and the pour comes out perfectly, - well it sure makes me lose interest in going out for a lesser coffee.
Bottom line: If you are willing to put in the effort and time, this is a classy machine that should last a lifetime and turn out great coffee. (& if you aren't, get something more automatic!)
Bottom line re value: My research ahead of time convinced me to spend about double what I had originally intended, and my experience afterwards leads me to have absolutely "0" regrets; - only daily pleasure! For me, it is very much worth it!
10 May, 2018
Opinion of a novice
I have been a working bassist, but am by no means an orchestral musician. I am merely an enthusiast who is teaching himself to play arco using time and YouTube. So I really don't know much about bows. I am certainly not one to try out $1500 bows for several weeks to discover if the balance is right for my body. However, I can say that the bow I received seems to well built and finished for my standards, and it will certainly not hold me back while I try to figure out if I will ever need anything better.
In short, I am quite pleased with both the product and the purchase.
02 Oct, 2013
The Neumann KMS 105 is a high quality microphone that lives up to its rep.
1 of 1 found this helpful Over the years (ok, decades), I've used a lot of different mics in a lot of different settings. I've often been puzzled to find that something I'd written off as horrible actually worked well with a particular combination of music, room, and sound tech. Similarly, I find I can still occasionally struggle with rigs that really ought to work. Beta 58s are pretty predictable and road tough, but I find the built in "presence" boost, tight pattern, and proximity effect that many people love didn't work for me. Rather than crunchy trebles and biting mids, I much prefer the clarity that comes from the speedy tracking of transients that comes from condensor mics. For matching responses for a band full of vocalists, I eventually settled on a fleet of Shure Beta 87A mics, - but for my personal use, my research pointed at the KMS 105. It was right when I got it and remains my mic of choice years later.
My personal challenge is that my musical taste is very eclectic and my vocal dynamic range goes from loud and shrill to whisper quiet, and I sing a lot of harmony. As a result, I need the ability to back off or eat the mic with minimal change in tone. With the 105, I can move way back and yell a high note without shredding ear drums with naked trebles or subtly move anywhere I like close to the windscreen without falling on or off shelf of proximity effect bass boost. Relative to many other mics, the Neumann is colourless, but even so there is a warm (as opposed to biting) presence to the mids that really does sound like a Neumann. I have learned to like this bit of colour when I happen to notice it. In addition, I find the mic is solidly built and gives me a road tough feeling and confidence that continues after years of use. This is important to me because I once had a Sennheiser that changed its sound so drastically after some road use that it became too ugly sounding to use.
The cons: I was sort of hoping that I could use the KMS 105 for recording. I guess I could, but the background hiss is louder than a real recording mic, and while it is much more sensitive than most stage mics, the need to limit feedback during live performance means that it is far less sensitive than a mic designed specifically for recording. If its all you've got, it will do better than many, but I generally use other mics for recording (unless I am tapping a feed off the board during a live performance). Also, while the KMS 105 is my personal ideal stage mic, this doesn't mean that everyone will like it. The tone is different from just about anything else you can try. It is very even, sensitive and accurate, but different. If you like an enhanced sound, and love working the warm ripeness of proximity effect, or the bite of edgy mids, you may feel like your bike's pedals are spinning but the chain fell off. Also the cardioid pattern extends much farther back than most stage mics. While this is perfect for my application where I want huge flexibility in working the mic, this does open you up to feedback. If your music and venues require a tighter pattern to minimize howls and screeches, you might be better off with a Shure 87A. It offers nice condenser-style capturing of transients for clarity without treble crunch, but a more coloured sound and a fair bunch of proximity effect. For some applications, I like my 87A better than my Neumann, and I really don't mind using a 58 for a raunch & roll gig. But come down to it, the 105 is my steed of choice.