One of the more obvious and (quite literally) dramatic examples of this effect is John Adams’ Shaker Loops (Minimalist– Warren-Green/LCO, Erato 082564604378). So often, the patterned repetition of the piece subsides into an almost meditative wash of sound: far from unpleasant but a long way from the live experience too. Play the disc on the Telefunken and it rewards you with a performance that pulses and throbs with a vibrant tension and energy, a captivating musical journey in which each evolution draws you further into the piece and the performance. There’s a wonderful inevitability to the process – which is exactly as it should be: and exactly as it is on the occasions when I’ve experienced the piece live.
Re-learning old lessons?
As many an analogue old-hand will tell you, it’s wise to be suspicious of turntables that sound ‘fast’. Initially impressive, dynamic and crisp, (which is why underhand dealers would set a favoured demo ‘table running slightly fast) over time the sound becomes forced, clumsy and wearing as the music congests and the notes trip over each other. It’s the classic example of the importance of not just the notes themselves but the spaces between them. The Telefunken exhibits no such tendency. Indeed, far from being flexibly challenged, fluid articulation is one of its real strengths. Playing the seminal Iona Brown/Josef Suk recording of the Mozart Sinfonia Concertante, K.364 (ASMF, Argo 411 613) the violin and viola are beautifully distinct, tonally and in terms of their relative ‘speed’ as instruments. The conversation between the two, the continuity within and between the phrases, is rendered with a clarity and purpose that escapes all but the best players (human or mechanical), the shifting balance of lead and follower evolving utterly naturally as the two soloists exchange roles. The andante, with its extended viola theme and pregnant pauses is surely one of Mozart’s most achingly beautiful movements and the CS 20 let’s you dive right in and wallow along with the lyrical majesty of the music. There’s not even a hint of the expressive compression that goes with pimped speed or clipped tonality. Instead, fast is fast and slow is slow – at least musically speaking. In this regard, the Telefunken isn’t close to the lucid temporal freedom of the GPA, but it still puts in an impressively fluid and responsive performance, allowing the music and musicians to set the pace, rather than imposing its own sense of drive.
It’s this sense of energy, flow and immediacy that makes the Telefunken turntable so engaging. Obviously, you can shift the overall balance one way or another with your choice of cartridge (and headshell) and the CS 20’s tonearm is never going to deliver the absolute resolution that a modern arm like the Kuzma 4Point achieves, but that’s not really the point. This record player isn’t (and never will be) a substitute for a really top-flight deck – although its sheer brio will give more than a few pretenders a serious case of performance anxiety. It’s a God-send for impoverished music lovers or second systems. It’s also a perfect stop-gap (perhaps while waiting for your ‘real’ deck to arrive). Or perhaps it’s a perfect way to dabble in direct-drive (if you want to experience just what the fuss is about). Maybe it’s that perfect alternative that will allow the rest of your household to play records (without having to use your ‘real’ record player and its expensive cartridge). Or maybe it’s just a chance to indulge the DIY side of the hobby (that you thought you’d left well behind).
