Larry's Stereo

* sold *

Larry's system is now fully set up and on display in the Soundsmith listening room. Serious buyers please call for appointment to hear it and place a bid. 914 739 2885

Note from Peter Ledermann: Larry Cross was first a customer, and then became a good friend. He informed me soon after I met him that he was very ill, and was only expected to live a short time. He did not, and lived 4 more years after he purchased the below system. Larry passed away recently, calling me shortly before to ask if I would be willing to sell his system for his estate in what now seems like not too many weeks ago. I told him, with sadness, I would accept his request. Below is a statement he wrote to me about one year ago, prefacing it by telling me how much having great music meant to his quality of life.

I have been an audiophile for most of my life, having first heard a pair of AR 3A speakers in my dormitory in the mid-sixties – a revelation at the time. Over the years, as funds allowed, I have owned a variety of electronics and speakers including Adcom, Bryston, Audio Research, Vandersteen 2 Signatures, Quatros, and Carbon 5A speakers. I moved from the Sumiko Blue Point Special to mid-range wood body cartridges, and finally to the Benz Micro LP moving coil, followed by the Lyra Atlas. All of these products were excellent, and my “final” system of ARC reference electronics combined with the 5A Carbons and the Lyra Atlas was transcendental.

Then, one day, I joined a friend on a trip to the The Sound-Smith in Peekskill, NY – just about 25 minutes from my home – on a repair mission for an old piece of equipment. Peter Ledermann joined us in the very large listening room and casually put on a recording of Pictures at an Exhibition played through his Strain Gauge Cartridge mounted on a VPI HR-X turntable, amplified by his own custom power amps. My jaw fell to the floor with a thud. I looked around for the large speakers that I was certain must be producing this sensational sound but could only see two pairs of smallish Soundsmith monitors – it could not possibly be coming from them, I was sure of that. Meanwhile the speed and slam of the Strain Gauge, as well as its phenomenal clarity, were continuing to startle me – I simply could not believe my ears. I asked Peter if indeed the sound was coming only from one of the pairs of Soundsmith designed an manufactured monitors and he confirmed that very surprising fact.

When you have spent the kind of money I have laid out over the years on great sound you don’t expect to be startled, shocked, knocked over, shellacked, by such a modest looking system. I wondered why I had not come here five years ago, and the seed was planted to downsize my system and replace it with a Strain Gauge Sound-Smith system for about a third of the cost of what I had spent previously. On subsequent listening visits I heard a lacquer of Blood, Sweat, and Tears given to Peter by a friend – absolutely the best sound I have ever heard with the possible exception of a 15 ips master tape I heard in Harry Weisfeld’s listening room at VPI. I resolved to sell my system and work with Peter to install a nearly complete Sound-Smith system including of course the Strain Gauge cartridge.

I won’t say that my new Soundsmith system is markedly better in every way than the ARC electronics with the Carbon 5As, but it IS markedly better in terms of slam, clarity of reproduction, quickness, and startle factor. The Soundsmith designed and hand made Monarch speakers, supplemented with two REL T-5 subwoofers, are sensational – very hard to believe that much sound can come from those sources. This is a system I bought with my ears, not with my eyes looking at written reviews. And at one third the cost, what’s not to love?

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System complement (Items in BLUE provided by Soundsmith): Soundsmith SG-230 Strain Gauge, Acoustic Signature Storm Turntable, Frank Schroder Reference SQ tone arm, Soundsmith Monarch Speakers, Soundsmith Versa stands, Rel T-5 Subs, ARC REF 150 amplifer, Arcam CD player, Nakamichi Cassette deck. System also includes BIG collection of records. Click on link below this line for PDF table with titles and descriptions!

click for Big list of Larry's Music (PDF format)

photographs below: click on pictures for larger image