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Audience aR2p Adept Response Power Conditioner Sweepstakes
According to Audience:
The Audience Adept Response aR2p power conditioner is designed to elevate the performance of your audio system and provide superior power protection. It’s ideal for single-component applications like monoblock amplifiers, receivers, video projectors and video displays and plugs directly into a power outlet with no separate power cord required. The aR2p is hand-built with premium-quality high-current components throughout.The Adept Response aR2p provides surge suppression up to 20,000 amps. Whereas surge suppression devices like the ubiquitous MOV (Metal Oxide Varistor) are “sacrificial” devices and wear out over time, the aR2p surge suppression does not deteriorate. The aR2p employs wide-bandwidth RF filtration – by reducing power line noise interference, the aR2p provides a lower noise floor and blacker background, resulting in a higher-resolution audio/video presentation.
The aR2p does not limit dynamics. Since power must respond quickly and completely to the demands of program material Audience believes it is imperative that power conditioning components present the lowest possible impedance power path while providing wide-bandwidth noise reduction. If desired, a simple high-quality multi-outlet power distribution system plugged into the aR2p can provide power conditioning for an entire audio or video system.
To enter the sweepstakes, all you need is an account on this website. If you don't already have one, click on the link labeled "register" at the bottom of this announcement or "Create new account" in the right column (under the ads). Then, enter a username and a valid e-mail address, and click on the "Create new account" button. A message will be automatically sent to the e-mail address you specified, which will include a link to activate the account.
The final step (and only step for those who already have an account) is to log in and leave a comment right here on this announcement—any comment will do, as long as it's not profane or spam. Then, when the sweepstakes closes, a lucky commenter will be chosen at random to receive the prize. So post a comment, and good luck!
For complete sweepstakes rules, click here.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
Innovative Audio Presents the Lamm LP1 Signature Phono Preamp
After a cornucopia of Diet Coke, kosher sandwiches, and vegan quesadillas, listeners were invited to three listening rooms hosting three Lamm inspired systems: The Signature Room, the Reference Hybrid Room, and the Vacuum Tube Room.
I first popped into the Signature Room where Vladmir Lamm presented his new LP1 Signature phono preamplifier. The LP1 is a dual monaural all-tube design which expands on the design concepts of his original LP2. Lamm’s intent with the LP2 was to minimize the number of gain stages used to achieve a sound truer to the source material. With the LP2, he reduced the number of gain stages to two, but he found it difficult to get low output impedance without adding a cathode stage, which according to Lamm, deteriorates the sound quality. Thus, to get the power that he needed and to maintain low impedance, Lamm employed the use of two separate power supplies for the new LP1. This gave the LP1 a more powerful second stage without adding a cathode and a more linear sound than the LP2 all while maintaining the low output impedance.
Other gear in the Signature Room included Wilson Alexandria XLF loudspeakers ($195,000/pair), Lamm ML3 Signature power amplifiers ($139,490/set), Lamm LL1 Signature preamplifier ($42,790), Spiral Groove SG2 turntable equipped with the Centroid tonearm ($20,000), Lyra Kleos MC cartridge ($2750), and cables from Transparent.
Vladmir Lamm acted as disc jockey in the Signature Room putting on Duke Ellington, Fritz Wunderlich, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. On Ellington’s “Looking Glass” from The Pianist, this system surprised me with its palpable realism, particularly on the high end of the register of the piano, replicating appropriate weight and size to each of the firmly struck upper keys with a gracious decay. On Wunderlich’s performance, I could feel the tenor’s breath as he opened and closed his mouth. Sibilants were accented but not extreme, just real. As Stevie Ray Vaughan transitioned from gentle picks to full-bodied chords, his guitar bloomed with body. Overall, I found the sound in this room cool and somewhat analytical but smooth and with a deep-reaching soundstage complemented by transparent imaging and effortless projection.
My second stop was the Vacuum Tube Room hosted by the intelligent and affable Scott Haggart, one of the team-members at Innovative. Here Scott dished out tracks via his iPad. Upon entry, I was struck by how much warmer this room sounded than the first one. One of the attendees asked, “Is that warmth from the tubes?” This room used the Lamm ML2.2 monoblocks ($37,290/pair) and the Lamm LL2.1 Deluxe tube preamplifier ($6,190). Scott responded, “No. That’s actually the warmth of the recording. This system maintains the truth to each recording as the artists and engineers intended.” Scott was playing “The New Cobweb Summer” by Lambchop. He commented that in the studio, the band tried to create “as much euphonic distortion as possible” to give the recording body and warmth.
To prove his point that the system was truer to the recording than its own particular sound, he played a Jordi Savall performing “La Folia”. This recording replicated the ambience, height, and depth of the recording hall, but still seemed a touch warm. Not quite the contrast I was expecting to hear. I asked for the iPad and put on Prince’s “Controversy”, a decidedly much dryer track and the system replicated it as such. Haggart’s words were confirmed.
Other components in the Vacuum Tube room included Wilson Maxx 3 speakers ($69,500/pair), MSB Diamond DAC IV ($41,940), Meridian MediaSource 600 ($3500), Meridian MediaDrive 600 ($5000), and cables from Transparent. Through this system, the organ of Moondog’s “New Sound for an Old Instrument” was absolutely liquid.
Finally, I made it to the Reference Hybrid Room, and with perfect timing! The room’s host had just put on “Friend of a Devil” from the Grateful Dead’s Dead Set, a version of the song which I highlight in my personal list of greatest guitar solos ever. Though the bass in this room was certainly boomy, I always enjoy the Dead. Listening to the music I loved the most felt like an appropriate conclusion to my night at Innovative.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
Music? Or Sound?
When the first of two groups of BAAS members arrived, I played three complex selections that challenge a system far more than does the standard choice of female singer with small combo: the beginning of the first movement of Mahler's Symphony 2, from Iván Fischer's recording with the Budapest Festival Orchestra (SACD/CD, Channel Classics 23506; "R2D4," February 2007); mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson's entire recording of Handel's "As with Rosy Steps the Morn Advancing," from her Handel Arias, with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under Harry Bicket (SACD/CD, Avie 30; "R2D4, February 2005; November 2004); and a few tracks from the Charles Lloyd Quartet's Mirror (CD, ECM 2176; December 2010). We listened to all three selections consecutively, then switched cables.
To my ears, the differences between how the cables interacted with the music and equipment were clear. Beyond the sound's being exceedingly airy and open with the expensive cable, with more refined highs, tighter bass, and exceptional transparency, it let me hear music more organically, in ways that touched me deeper. But when several BAAS members said they either couldn't hear a difference, or preferred the lower-priced cable, I realized that they were having a major problem in perceiving unfamiliar, complex music that contained multiple ideas, piquant harmonies, and emotional shifts.
So I prefaced the second listening session with some tips: "When I play orchestral music such as Mahler's, one thing I listen for is the balance between instruments. You may hear a lot of powerful low energy from timpani, bass drum, cellos, and basses, but is that energy in correct musical proportion to the midrange and treble instruments? Can you clearly discern the pitches of the lowest sounds? When you listen to Hunt Lieberson accompanied by period instruments, are the instruments in balance with each other, and are they in correct proportion to the sound of the singer's voice? Are the timbres of the instruments true? Are you hearing all the overtones and subtle dynamic shifts you might hope to hear?
"Beyond all those specifics, when you take a deep breath and let the music flow over you, does what you hear make musical sense or does it seem unbalanced? Does the music move you, conveying the emotion you sense the composer intended to communicate? How does it make you feel?"
Nice try. After we'd listened to the Handel and had been pummeled by out-of-control mush masquerading as two period-instrument cellos and a double bass—indistinct sounds that overwhelmed both the 11 violins behind Hunt Lieberson and the sound of her voice—two audiophiles claimed that the lower-priced cable transmitted more, hence "better," bass. After the Mahler, I was dismayed to find some people preferring the lower-priced cable's brasher, less-refined presentation of the horns and strings, and an overall more limited palette of colors for this music. While there's no reason some cable can't bring the Norse god to his silver-clad knees, this claimant of that throne was clearly a pretender.
I couldn't figure out why so many people were missing obvious giveaways of inferior sound. Certainly the expensive cable's I-could-buy-a-house-for-this cost has made it a sitting target and stirred up resentment. If I had $100 for every cable distributor who has claimed that their cable can trounce the false god and make the world a better place for audiophiles and their recalcitrant spouses, I'd be in Europe right now, listening to Handel in the halls for which his music was intended, and hopping from one jazz club to another. But was the resentment so great that it had led people to plug their ears?
No, something more than cable envy was going on. Instead of blaming the listeners, I began to wonder if we who review equipment have unintentionally helped create a community of audiophiles who lack the ability to listen deeply. Might it be the case that, because we often spend the bulk of a review discussing certain musical elements to the exclusion of others, we give short shrift to how the totality of the musical experience affects us, and have thus led our readers astray?
True, we reviewers sometimes speak of a bass line, a singer's voice, or the much-vaunted "presence region" as if they were somehow separate and distinct from the rest of the music we hear. Pointing out specific musical elements and how a component re-creates them can be quite useful. But if we fail to make the musical connections—to put the pieces together—are we misinforming listeners who are not always able to embrace the entire gestalt of the musical experience?
To test my theory, I began to scan reviews, both in print and online. While I was delighted to encounter reviews that spoke of music as an organic whole—check out Stephen Mejias's monthly column, "The Entry Level," for many examples—I also found numerous examples like the following, paraphrased from an actual review: "The music I picked included one piece to test the sound of acoustic and electric guitars, a very different one to test the ability to handle delicate sounds while still maintaining bass authority and slam . . . and three other selections to evaluate bass performance."
There's nothing wrong with the latter approach. Most reviewers have, or ought to have, favorite recordings that they use to evaluate such attributes. But when all we talk about is the sound of specific sonic elements, rather than how the entire musical experience makes us feel, I fear that we ultimately lead readers astray. We contribute to the schooling, not the education, of a generation of audiophiles who focus on individual fragments of the sonic experience instead of receiving music as an organic whole. Or, as the conductor Sir Thomas Beecham once described his countrymen, "The English may not like music—but they absolutely love the noise it makes."
The wonder of the audiophile experience is the ability of a sound system to communicate the entire musical gestalt: the sum total of a work's ideas, emotions, and spiritual truths as expressed by and embodied in tone, rhythm, pitch, and artistic inspiration. As reviewers, that's what we must strive to convey each time we critique a cable, a black box, a loudspeaker, or the like. Unless we discuss how what we hear moves us in ways that transcend the sum total of its parts, we do our readers a disservice, and fail to give the music we love its full due.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
AudioQuest in Alabama
I'm always happy to hear about audiophiles in Alabama.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
Read more…
Here's Steve Gibson of Killen, Alabama. For some reason, there seems to be a reserve of music lovers in the North Alabama/Tennessee border, many of which are active members here on Stereophile.com. Maybe it's the proximity to Muscle Shoals. Maybe 'Bama raises the best ears. Or maybe its the cheese grits.
Steve, or sgibson389 as he's known on Stereophile.com, made a couple resolutions for this New Year: to single task more year and to just "listen" to music. You and me both brother. Luckily, he just won an AudioQuest Dragonfly and Sydney interconnect sweepstakes, a simple tool for lots of enjoyable listening.
Steve is a lifetime music lover and a Stereophile reader since the 80s, but for various reasons can't escape the budget audiophile classification. The DragonFly sounds like a perfect fit. After years with vinyl, reel-to-reel, cassettes and CDs, the Dragonfly converter will introduce the computer to Gibson's system.
Steve has a dog that rips opens packages left at the door, so I had to mail it to his father. Looks like he received the prize intact.
Thanks a billion for your faithful reading over the years, participation in this contest, and sharing your experiences Steve. Though I don't know your NCAA affiliation, I still have to throw this in: Roll Tide.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
MtnBeachBum's Beach Boys Birthday Bash
Chris Hubbard of Murphy, NC won a fat stack of Beach Boys remaster CDs as well as a Beach Boys hat, poster, and other random swag, and he received it all on his birthday!
A huge thanks to this music lover who will now have plenty of Beach Boys to transport him to the surf's side while breathing in the Appalachian air.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
Catch These NYC Concerts If You Can!
Photo courtesy the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra
I certainly am no stranger to the idea that a "student" orchestra can turn in a performance undeniably superior to those offered by many "professional" orchestras. After all, my favorite commercial recording of Mahler's Symphony 6 is by the orchestra of The Manhattan School of Music, conducted by Glenn Cortese.
But what a special treat it was to hear Daniel Barenboim conduct the orchestra he founded with Edward Said in Weimar in 1999, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, in a program of Beethoven's Second and Third ("Eroica") Symphonies at Providence's Veterans Memorial Auditorium on January 26. The concert was presented by the Cogut Center for the Humanities at Brown University. The communication between the conductor and the orchestra members, who obviously revere him, was a wonder to behold. Further, when the carefully-nurtured dynamics finally opened all the way up, the near-stunning sound was a rapturous feast of tactile tonal richness.
My advice: If you live in Big Apple-Land, do whatever it takes to hear Maestro Barenboim leading his young charges in all the Beethoven Symphonies at Carnegie Hall, January 30 to February 3.
Pick your favorite symphony, and just go! If the distance is too great, Decca is ready to help, by selling you the boxed set. Here's the YouTube trailer.
That the young musicians come from a variety of diverse backgrounds, at least in my estimation, pales into near-insignificance beside the passionate commitment in their music-making. Bravi!
Source : stereophile[dot]com
"This is exciting," says Thiel's new CEO, Bill Thomas
Bill Thomas at CES with the ground-breaking coaxial HF/MF unit designed by Jim Thiel (Photo: John Atkinson)
We reported last November that Thiel Audio Products, the Kentucky-based speaker manufacturer founded by Kathy Gornik and the late Jim Thiel, had been had been acquired by a private equity firm based in Nashville, TN, and that Gornik was no longer with the company. At the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show, held January 8–11 in Las Vegas, the Thiel display at the Sands Convention Center was packed. I met up with Thiel's new CEO, 55-year old Bill Thomas, and asked him what had led him and his two partners to acquire the company.
Bill Thomas: It's been made up that a private equity firm bought Thiel, but it was just three guys that loved music. A friend in Lexington called and said "There's an opportunity up here, would you be interested in looking at a speaker company?" I said "Sure, let's drive up there and look at it."
John Atkinson: Had you heard of Thiel Audio before that call?
Thomas: What's funny is I don't have an audio background, my background is in production and manufacturing, mainly for the construction industry. So we're driving up from Nashville and I looked at my friend and I said "A speaker's a speaker, isn't it?" He said "Yeah." We got up to Thiel and took the tour. I was very familiar with the machinery and all, and was impressed. But when we sat down in the music room, they turned on the speakers, we immediately looked at each other and said "Wow, there really is a difference." It got us excited, the sound was phenomenal!
Atkinson: What were you listening to, the CS3.7s?
Thomas: Yes, '3.7s. I was floored. We started talking and it looked like a great opportunity. Thiel had a great name, it been around for a long time. I sold my last business [Nashville's Granite and Marble Concepts] 2½ years ago so I'd been looking for an opportunity. This came up, I said "Let's do it," all three of us agreed on it, and we ended up closing on the sale on November 16 [2012].
I'm still trying to wrap my hands around it, I had knee surgery that had already been scheduled a week after we closed, so I have only been up there only 7 or 8 days before CES.
Atkinson: The press release emphasized that long-time Thiel employees Brad Paulsen, Gary Dayton, Lana Ruth, and Rob Gillum were all remaining onboard, and I was impressed by the fact that I see many familiar Thiel employees here at CES.
Thomas: We've kept the same core people that have been there for years. Our new CFO Grant Halloran has done a wonderful job, and while there's some tweaking that needs to be done, I don't need to get in there and mess anything up because they've been doing a good job for a long time.
Atkinson: What is your next step?
Thomas: Our first step is to get an engineering staff in-house. From what I understand, since Jim died they've been outsourcing some of the engineering. The outsourcing has worked okay but it takes a long time. I mean if you're outsourcing [the engineering], it involves sending over what [the consultant] thinks'll work, you build it, it doesn't work, then it's days going back and forth. It makes sense to have somebody in-house just to get things done faster.
Atkinson: I think it's fair to say that Thiel was always a little tardy bringing products to market...
Thomas: Right, we've heard the same thing, so we need to get an engineer, one or two, in-house, to pick up the pace on bringing things to market.
Atkinson: You're actively looking for someone with serious engineering talent?
Thomas: Absolutely, immediately, that's the number one priority on our list.
Atkinson: I mean Jim Thiel typified a lot of what high-end audio is about: you have a man with a vision and a passion that you can support with other engineers, but it's very difficult to function without that vision.
Thomas: People have asked "Who's the visionary of the company going to be?" And my answer to that is that it was Jim, no question about that. Jim died and then it was Kathy. Kathy's no longer here, so everybody's going "Who's going to step up and be the visionary?" My answer to that is, I don't really want a visionary company, I want the company to have a vision but instead of hinging it on one person, I want everybody to be a part of it. That's my philosophy.
Atkinson: I was surprised to learn that Kathy was no longer with the company. . .
Thomas: I wish Kathy was still with us. This was Kathy's baby for 35 years. . . I think that with a change in ownership, a change in control of the company, she just said that it was time for her to retire. I understand that completely. It was her baby and we're going to treat her baby really nice, but I can see where I would have the same kind of concern.
Atkinson: I know from my own career at Stereophile how hard it is to manage a relationship with a company's founder. When I came in, there were things that I had to do and, of course, they were not things that he wanted to do.
Thomas: So you know exactly what happened. But it happened very quickly. I think Kathy may have realized that, okay, things needed to change and obviously, as great a company as Thiel is, there's things that needed to be done or we wouldn't have had the opportunity to buy . . . I have total respect for Kathy and wish her the best.
Atkinson: Coming into this industry very recently, does that give you a better insight into how the audio market's functioning and where you should address your energies, or has it been a bit of an uphill struggle?
Thomas: I think it's kind of refreshing, not being a diehard audiophile, being able to look at it from the outside. We're going to depend on our dealers a whole lot by listening to them [tell us] what they need for the market and producing it for them instead of us trying to force what we think the market needs. They're the ones selling the products, so they know the market better than I know the market. We need to listen to them.
Atkinson: Thiel has been well-represented in the architectural audio space with products like the PowerPoint on-wall speaker, as well in the traditional high-end space and in Home Theater. Do you see any additional directions you could take the company in?
Thomas: Yes, with the architectural and home theater, we need to fill out our line better, to give the integrators more choice. Instead of just one line of architectural speakers we need to be able to do the whole house. And we need a broader, a broader line on that area. We're going to continue our focus on the international market but continue the "Made in America," the quality, and the international market likes that.
Atkinson: The press release last November emphasized that the entire factory team has been retained and that there were no plans to close Thiel's Lexington operation. I understand from talking to some of the people from the Thiel factory you brought to CES that already you've invested in a new CNC machine.
Thomas: Right, we're going to do what it takes. There's a lot of efficiencies that can be improved on in the production side, so that's what we're doing. We're getting new, better equipment that can get stuff produced faster.
Atkinson: And continue, as you said, the fact that this is a product that is made in America using an American workforce in an American factory . . . I think it's important to keep those skills in this country.
Thomas: You hear so much going the other way nowadays that it is refreshing to have something that's made in America, that's produced here.
Thiel's current high-performance line-up at CES (from left to right): The SS-2 powered subwoofer, the new CS1.7 ($5490/pair), the CS2.7 ($8900/pair), and the CS3.7 ($13,900/pair).
Atkinson: Here at CES, not only do you have the new CS2.7, which uses the same coaxial HF/MF unit as the CS3.7, but you have the smaller CS1.7, which combines a version of Thiel's "wobbly-web" woofer, loaded with a slot-shaped port, with a 1" metal-dome tweeter. I understand that the '1.7 is scheduled to ship in February?
Thomas: Right now it is, Yes. I think when we get back from CES there may be a little tweak we've got to do with the crossover, but then it's good to go.
Atkinson: I wish you all the best with your new venture.
Thomas: Thank you.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
2012 Records To Die For
Most audiophiles first amass a pile of music, then go out and get them some high-end gear. They may love their brushed knobs and pretty lights, but ultimately it's about consuming the music—letting that timeless, resonant stuff fill your head and your heart with an endless supply of endlessly varied thoughts and feelings. Somehow, real music—the melodies you'd die for—doesn't get old or lose its power. A new era gives it new meanings, and amplifies those you'd discovered in the past. It's art you can count on—tunes that stand the test of time.
Every year, we ask our contributing editors, both hardware and music, to chose two collections of music they cherish, and to (briefly) tell us why. What follows are their impressions for 2012. Being truthful and unswayed by fashion are hallmarks of this magazine, and things are no different here in "R2D4." So please enjoy these self-evident musical truths. Hopefully, they'll remind you of some of your own. Keep listening!—Robert Baird
Note: If a recording listed here has previously been reviewed in Stereophile, whether in "Record Reviews" or in past editions of "Records To Die For," the volume and number of the pertinent issue appear in parentheses at the end of the review. For example, a listing of "(XXXIV-11)" means that a review of the recording appeared in Vol.34 No.1 (November 2011).
Source : stereophile[dot]com
Relax, Listen, and Learn
I found this over at Mark Betcher's "Unearthed in the Atomic Attic" blog, where you can actually hear the album's entire second side. Fun stuff.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
Long Live High-End Audio
The author, Marco Della Cava, seems convinced of hi-fi’s potential. He writes: “Opening your eyes to see not a band but a cold rack of hi-fi gear is a genuinely jarring experience, like drifting to sleep in a hot tub only to wake up in the factory that makes the hot tub.”
This comes just weeks after two NYC hi-fi salons, DUMBO’s Oswalds Mill Audio and the Flatiron’s Audioarts, were profiled respectively by Jay-Z’s Life + Times and the Wall Street Journal.
While the recent press has been overwhelmingly positive, the fact remains that we focus almost entirely on the most extravagant segment of the high-performance audio world, suggesting that high-end must be high-priced. Remember what John Atkinson said: High-end doesn't necessarily have to be high-priced.
For some reason, for as long as I’ve worked at Stereophile—well over a decade now—older, more experienced audiophiles have asked me two questions: 1. How can we prevent hi-fi from dying? 2. How can we attract a younger audience?
Never have the answers to these questions seemed more obvious.
First of all, don’t be stupid. Hi-fi can’t die because, luckily, it’s inextricably tied to music. (Although it can be argued that audiophiles have tried their best to kill music, too.) Hi-fi will exist for as long as music exists. And music will always exist. So, while hi-fi’s popularity will rise and fall, hi-fi itself, for better or worse, will certainly stick around. Follow the music and you’ll find life. However, if you want to attract a larger audience, offer the products that most people want. (Duh.) When we launched our three sister websites, we focused on the areas of high-performance audio that showed the most growth, not only among audiophiles, but among all music lovers. These areas are, clearly and undeniably, headphones (InnerFidelity.com), computer audio (AudioStream.com), and vinyl (AnalogPlanet.com). Makes sense, right? To launch a site today devoted to, say, cassette decks, probably wouldn’t make a lot of money.
So, to prevent hi-fi’s death, make stuff that people want to buy. And do it faster. Stop wasting time making fun of how other people choose to listen. Instead, improve that listening experience. Remember what Jon Iverson says: Audiophiles perfect what the mass market selects. Get on it. There are plenty of opportunities. (Hint: headphones, computer audio, vinyl.)
And, if you want to attract a younger audience, make stuff that younger people can afford. (Duh.) Try to remember what it was like when you were younger or less privileged—that is before (way before) you thought a $1500 amplifier was "affordable." Realize that, to many people, there is an enormous honking difference between spending $150 and spending $300. Realize that, to many people, the idea of spending $1000 or even $500 on anything is really freaking scary.
Make stuff that people want and make stuff that people can afford.
And if you’re not really interested in attracting a larger and younger audience, stop pretending that you are, and stop asking stupid questions. There are better things to do and more records to explore.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
Buy Music, Get Hi-fi at In Living Stereo
So, I was a little disappointed when, in the fall of 2011, I learned that In Living Stereo would be abandoning their small space on East 4th Street. It seemed my dream of merging hi-fi and record shop would never come true. Never, never, never.
Happily, however, I was wrong: Not only was In Living Stereo staying in the neighborhood—the shop moved almost exactly one block to 2 Great Jones Street—it was now also incorporating a record shop. Art Dudley reported on this in October 2011.
In the time since the move, I’ve often wondered which aspect of In Living Stereo attracts the most people: Is it the records or the gear? Further, I’ve wondered if one has had any influence over the other. Do curious audiophiles venture into the LP shelves? Do innocent crate diggers wander into the listening rooms? Has the music generated a greater awareness of the gear? Or do the two remain completely separate despite their shared environment?
These are the things I worry about.
But maybe I should stop worrying. This New Year is looking to be very good year indeed. In Living Stereo seems determined to make my dreams come true: From now until the end of time, 15% of all record purchases made at In Living Stereo will be credited toward stereo equipment and accessories. Now, my brothers and sisters, the music you buy will help pay for that turntable you’ve always wanted. Because our journey is not complete until we have a Rega RP8 on which to spin our new Lee Gamble album. [Applause.] In Living Stereo has them both in stock now.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
R.I.P High-End Audio?
While it seems we're quick to point fingers and find scapegoats, we haven't addressed the primary causes of high-end audio's apparently inevitable decline. In the minds of most music-loving Americans, the High End simply doesn't exist. And for the minority who are aware of it, the High End is simply too expensive.
To illustrate this, Table 1 shows a top-quality system assembled from the most recent Stereophile "Recommended Components" listing in October 1993 (Vol.16 No.10):
Table 1: 1994 Class A System Cost
Cartridge: Symphonic Line RG-8 Gold $5000
Tonearm: SME V $2550
Turntable: Basis Debut Gold Standard (w/vacuum hold-down) $8900
CD Transport: Proceed CD Library $13,000
Digital Cable: TARA Labs Digital Master $59
5 DAC: Mark Levinson No.30 $14,950
Interconnects: MIT MI-330 CVT Terminator (3x1m) $5400
Preamplifier: Rowland Consummate $8750
Power Amplifiers: Mark Levinson No.20.6 $15,950
Loudspeakers: Wilson WATT3/Puppy2/WHOW $26,620
Speaker Cables: MIT MH-750 CVT Shotgun Terminator $4500
Total Retail Price: $106,215
The system listed uses the shortest possible cable lengths, omits accessories like power conditioners, and doesn't even include any of the megabuck gear—like the Genesis Model One loudspeakers, Rowland Nine and Jadis JA 500 amplifiers, FM Acoustic phono preamplifier, or Rockport turntable—none of which are listed in "Recommended Components." Many people could almost buy a home for this kind of money—but would have to take out a mortgage to do it! The system's intentionally short wires come to $10,495—a price most people would consider spending for a car. To 99% of Americans, the upper price range of high-end audio is otherworldly.
Does the average American recognize any of these brand names? Ask a few friends who aren't into audio. Chances are, they've heard of none of them. High-end audio has failed miserably at making the public aware of its existence. The irony is, some of these companies are the best in the world at what they do.
The automotive industry seems to be treated differently. Car magazines spend a lot of time covering the Ferrari Testarossa, Lamborghini Diablo, McLaren F1 (only $750,000!), and high-powered Corvettes. (How about those Guldstrand-modified ZR-1s starting at a mere $134,500?) Yes, we're all voyeurs and dreamers, secretly harboring hopes of winning the lottery or inheriting an estate from a long-lost relative. More pragmatically, we believe much of this incredibly sophisticated technology will filter down to the real-world cars we're likely to buy in the future. This has actually happened: Consider the Honda Civic's computer-controlled variable-valve timing; the Ford Probe's 24-valve, six-cylinder engine; and airbags, anti-lock brakes, four-wheel steering, and many other wonderful features that carefully balance the often conflicting demands of performance, safety, and the environment.
High-end audio might actually be better positioned than the automotive industry to provide immediate benefits to everyone. Unfortunately, we seem hell-bent on shooting ourselves in the foot. Far from cutting-edge audio technology benefiting the world of affordable audio, the High End has done its best to disassociate itself from mid-fi. ("Mid-fi" is even used as a term of abuse.) As a result, high-end audio has rendered itself essentially irrelevant to most Americans.
Any automobile can get you from A to B, but not necessarily in the same manner. Most people can appreciate the major differences between four- and eight-cylinder engines. But how many people realize the differences between solid-state and vacuum-tube electronics and the desirability for both to coexist?
Most non-audiophiles believe all audio equipment pretty much sounds alike, hence the mass-market's emphasis on selling components by features and price. But people actively involved with audio know that quality differences do exist. Nearly all audiophiles agree that amplifiers sound different from one another under real-world conditions of use.
The audible effects of as-yet-unmeasurable performance parameters and the importance of very small differences that may well be inaudible to some are continuing points of contention in the High End. Unfortunately, we continue to fight among ourselves over such matters rather than spreading the word to the mass-market consumer. The entire audio community would benefit if we emphasized those points on which we agree. Just as all automobiles are not built to the same levels of quality, handling, or efficiency, all audio equipment does not sound the same. The High End must be responsible for making people aware of this fact.
The best way to do this is to let people hear high-end audio for themselves. But the audio industry is structured in such a way that people can do this only through high-end dealers. It's unrealistic to ask high-end dealers to tie up their listening rooms educating the masses one at a time, knowing full well that many of these people will never buy. And the typical manufacturer's presentation at a local high-end shop preaches only to the converted. There must be a better way for the average Jane or Joe to hear what the High End is all about.
The High End should reach out to those unaware of our industry. Larger groups of people should hear demonstrations such as those sponsored by the EIA/AAHEA at the 1993 Summer CES (footnote 1). I envision open sessions run in conjunction with music-appreciation courses through adult education programs at high schools nationwide; a variety of full-length concerts played on quality high-end systems and offered through local radio stations and/or cosponsored by software manufacturers; discounts or other perks to customers who bring new patrons to high-end dealers; a sales force regularly demonstrating products outside the audio store; audio systems providing music at a variety of large meetings during cocktail hours—and I'm sure each of you can come up with other ideas.
While most other industrialized countries recognize the preeminence of American audio equipment, our own citizens fail to appreciate how much we've accomplished. We're headed in the right direction, but we haven't been able or willing to get the news out. High-end audio has made remarkable progress. You need to look or listen no further than the breakneck advances in sound improvement coming from the "perfect sound forever" digital medium. In less than a decade, improvements have bordered on the monumental. More importantly, a good deal of these innovations are now available at reasonable prices.
This is where the high-end industry continues to be misunderstood. High-end is not simply audio equipment that costs more. In fact, audio equipment deserves to be called "high-end" only if it sounds superb. Much of the audio gear which fits this definition is not outrageously expensive. In fact, many sonically splendid high-end audio products cost less than their mass-market competition. We continue to obscure this critical point.
Stereophile's biannual "Recommended Components" listings appear to paint a different picture. In general, better things do cost more, and audio is no exception. However, the relationship between price and performance is complex. If one product costs twice as much as another, it is unlikely to be twice as good. Stereophile's loudspeaker recommendations clearly illustrate the price/performance relationships in high-end audio. Table 2 lists speakers I believe to be excellent values:
Table 2 Recommended Components Loudspeaker Price/pair
Class
E PSB Alpha $200
D Epos ES11 $850
C Vandersteen 2ce $1300
B* Ensemble PA-1 $3200
B ProAc Response 3 $6500
A* Sonus Faber Extrema $12,500
A Wilson WATT3/Puppy2/WHOW $25,000
While I recognize that the "Recommended Components" classes are subjective (and categorical and non-linear and multidimensional and...), I feel they are meaningful enough to convert to numbers. For example, let a score of 6 represent the sound quality of live music. The highest-rated loudspeaker still won't fool listeners into confusing its sound with the real thing, so let us score it as a 5. The ratings for the letter classes are therefore assigned from 1 (E) to 5 (A). Since the restricted LF classes are a bit of a hedge, I've graded them in between the other classes (eg, Class A, with restricted LF, becomes 4.5 instead of 5).
Using these numerical ratings, the performance of the speakers listed in Table 2 is depicted by the graph below, which clearly illustrates the relationship between price and performance (footnote 2):
Fig.1 Loudspeaker Price/Performance Relationship
The PSB Alpha has the lowest performance rating (1 for Class E), coupled with an extremely modest price: $200. At the opposite extreme, the Wilson WATT/Puppy/WHOW has the highest performance rating (5 for Class A), as well as a very high price of ca $25,000. Ideally, the higher the price, the better the performance. But this is not the full story—the price/performance relationship is not a straight line. The curve is clearly asymptotic. It approaches perfection (a score of 6) but never gets there, regardless of how much the component costs.
Initially, as you upgrade from the PSB in Class E (with a numerical performance rating of 1) to the Vandersteen 2Ce in Class C (with a rating of 3), you get a significant increase in performance that is proportional to price. The curve mimics a straight line. As you spend more than the cost of the Vandersteen to move into still higher performance classes, however, the relative amount of increased performance decreases dramatically for each additional dollar spent. The shape of the curve changes to one representing diminishing, though nonetheless real, returns. You pay a tremendous premium to approach the state of the art.
A speaker's placement on this curve is influenced by many factors. For example, imported speakers will cost relatively more on the price axis, because their prices must include increased shipping costs and a profit margin for the importer. Smaller manufacturers usually cannot take advantage of volume discounts when buying parts. This must be accounted for in the retail price. Companies that sell direct are able to eliminate dealer margins, though the possible return-shipping costs have to be factored into their margins.
The performance axis is more complex. Whether aware of it or not, most people listen for a host of different sonic qualities: bass, midrange, treble, soundstaging, dynamics, transient response, resolution of detail, etc. The speaker designer has to balance each of these parameters to achieve the desired level of overall performance.
Many people believe that speakers that lie along the price/performance curve in fig.1 are high-end simply because they are listed in Stereophile's "Recommended Components." Yes, speakers at the top of the curve do outperform those at the bottom. But this curve is designed to identify speakers at all prices that outperform their competition. "Recommended Components" effectively tells you how to get the most performance for your money, at any price.
Using this curve, loudspeakers located below the horizontal line may cost less but clearly do not perform as well overall. Speakers located above the horizontal line cost more but perform only marginally better. You have to spend a great deal more money in order to realize significant increases in overall performance. The Vandersteen 2Ce or the similarly priced Thiel CS1.2 are located at the optimum price/performance position (indicated by the vertical line). Yet they are likely to sound very different from one another because they are designed differently. Stereophile's reviews of these two speakers (in Vol.16 Nos.4 & 9, and Vol.12 Nos.1, 6, & 11, respectively) make it abundantly clear that each has a distinct sonic character. The important thing is to understand what your priorities are so that you can select the best product in your price range.
To further complicate matters, price and performance alone are not enough to make a buying decision. If they were, you could rely exclusively on the opinions of reviewers you trust. Other factors that must be considered before purchase include visual appeal, size, compatibility with your existing equipment, availability, reliability, and resale value. For example, two very differently priced speakers may perform identically in all parameters. The more costly speaker, however, may look better to you, be more compatible with your existing power amplifier, work against the rear wall (which you may require), and so on. In addition to letting you hear the speaker, a dealer should help you sort out all your other concerns. No matter how good the review, there is no substitute for seeing, touching, and listening to the speaker yourself. The only way to do that is to visit a good high-end dealer.
The reviewer's task is to audition everything he or she can. A composite of this information—like "Recommended Components"—should help you narrow your search by identifying a small number of speakers that satisfy your basic price and overall performance concerns. The final buying decision must always be yours.
What does all this mean for high-end audio? Plenty.
• At any price, high-end equipment should be able to outperform similarly priced mass-market equipment. The customer should get more for his or her money, regardless of what they are able to spend. The PSB Alpha is a good example of high-end audio equipment's inherent value at even extremely modest price levels.
• The more you spend for high-end audio equipment, the substantially better the sound should be, as long as you are at or below the optimum price/performance–level (as seen from the vertical line in fig.1).
• The following generalizations have been verified by years of Stereophile reviews: all audio equipment does not sound the same; sonic compromises must be made at defined prices; the higher the price, the fewer design constraints; breakthrough technological advances do filter down to less expensive equipment over time. (These points are weakened somewhat by the realities of the high-end audio market. Manufacturers' costs must be met, despite lower unit sales. Higher-volume sales can be expected to lower per-unit prices.)
• Finally, the best of anything in absolute terms will always be very expensive. This is as true for high-end audio as it is for anything else. Since so few people pursue the state of the art, very few of the best units will be sold. In addition, research and development costs of innovation can be staggering. The best parts are costly, and building by hand takes time. Products that push the performance envelope need to be reviewed and discussed—we need to learn the limits of what is possible from the industry's ground-breakers and pacesetters. But we don't all need to buy their highest-end equipment. Ultra-expensive cutting-edge products are only a small portion of the high-end audio market.
High-end audio equipment can improve the quality of music heard in the home. It provides more enjoyment every time you play a record, listen to a CD, hear a cassette, or turn on the radio. Those of us involved with high-end audio need to relay the message that great-sounding audio equipment can be affordable, reliable, and easy to install and use.
Contrary to popular opinion, I do not believe that the marriage of audio and video threatens the future of high-end audio. The explosion of home entertainment is a wonderful opportunity to introduce more people to the wonders of high-end audio. The same can be said of interaction with computers, midi, video games, and anything else that involves the reproduction (or production) of sound. Wherever sound is being made, high-end audio gear can make it better.
Is high-end audio dying? Audio equipment is better than ever. There is great gear available at virtually every price. The equipment isn't the problem. The high prices aren't even the problem. We are the problem. We aren't getting the right message out. We aren't effectively communicating the value of high-end audio. We focus on the ultra-expensive without spending adequate time on truly affordable equipment. We are elitist snobs about our equipment and the music we enjoy. We put down video and interactive games and midi and computer interfaces because they aren't important to us. We are making a tragic mistake.
Footnote 1: See Stereophile, August 1993, Vol.16 No.8, pp.83–87.
Footnote 2: The price disparity between the extremes has widened enormously in 2013. The January 2013 issue of Stereophile includes reviews of the Dayton Audio B652 at <$40/pair and the Wilson Alexandria XLF at $200,000/pair.—John Atkinson
Article Continues: Letters in Response »
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Source : stereophile[dot]com
Scott and Pat, Inked Together Forever
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Fela Kuti Box Set Compiled by Ginger Baker from Turntable Lab Sweepstakes
According to Turntable Lab:
The second curated box set of long-awaited reissues from Fela Kuti is finally here! This time around, Knitting Factory Records has enlisted frequent Fela collaborator Ginger Baker to take the honors in selecting 6 classic LPs from the godfather of afrobeat's illustrious catalog. Baker's selections for this set include his own collaboration record, Live with Ginger Baker from '71, Roforofo Fight from '72, Confusion and Alagbon Close from '74, He Miss Road from '75, and Na Poi from '76.Each of the albums have been painstakingly reproduced with full color album art and vintage labels making these particular reissues an excellent choice for collectors. If you're unfamiliar with Fela Kuti's music, this release is the excellent place to start - for longtime fans, this is an opportunity to own some of the harder to find records in a deluxe, expertly packaged set.
The box also includes a 12 page full-color booklet with an essay by Ginger Baker, liner notes from veteran British music journalist Chris May, and a poster designed by H. Cuadrado. Recommended.
To enter the sweepstakes, all you need is an account on this website. If you don't already have one, click on the link labeled "register" at the bottom of this announcement or "Create new account" in the right column (under the ads). Then, enter a username and a valid e-mail address, and click on the "Create new account" button. A message will be automatically sent to the e-mail address you specified, which will include a link to activate the account.
The final step (and only step for those who already have an account) is to log in and leave a comment right here on this announcement—any comment will do, as long as it's not profane or spam. Then, when the sweepstakes closes, a lucky commenter will be chosen at random to receive the prize. So post a comment, and good luck!
For complete sweepstakes rules, click here.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
Another Year, Another CES
Photograph: John Atkinson
Las Vegas? Why bother to fly across the country or around the world when you can visit New York City, Venice’s Grand Canal, and Egypt’s Great Pyramid in one easy, smoke-filled, retail therapy-rich, constantly stimulating stop? Why search out music on the net when, in Las Vegas, it constantly bombards you in elevators, from outdoor loudspeakers, and at your free lunch at T.H.E. Show?
Ah, Las Vegas. In his wrap to CES 2012, Stephen Mejias did a beautiful job of asking the simple but profound question, “Why?” Why, of all the god-forsaken places on Planet Earth, has the Consumer Electronics Association chosen this compulsion-driven, ecologically devastating, one-stop tourist and gambling destination as the site for the largest industry trade show in the US?
Be that as it may, it was an exceedingly rich year for high-performance exhibitors on floors 29, 30, 34, and 35 of the Venetian; the few who stuck to the lobby level of the connected Sands; those at the far lower-key T.H.E. Show down the block who were arrayed on two levels of the Flamingo; and other exhibitors who drew folks to the and-you-thought-Times-Square-was-bad congested madness of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Not everyone was present this year— Gershman Acoustics, Coincident Technologies, and Eficion are but three of the speaker companies that chose not to exhibit—and there were some major personnel changes, most notably the absence of the retired-from-Nordost Lars Christensen, the unquestionable King of cable comparison demos—but those that were in attendance, in general, managed to reach the distributors, dealers, and members of the press for whom their efforts were intended.
Our goal in the many hundreds of blog posts that constitute our 2013 CES/T.H.E. Show coverage, as defined by Stereophile editor John Atkinson, now in his 35th year of attending CES, was not only to discuss the new products either available now or on the horizon but to give you the feeling that you were accompanying us on our rounds. Sometimes we are able to also give you a sense of how systems sounded. But far too often, we found ourselves, faced with so many exhibits and new products to cover, passing up listening opportunities in order to get to more rooms by the end of the day.
While, at earlier and far more congested CES gatherings, I sometimes felt that music was an afterthought, to be played in the background over business deals, here it often emerged as an exhibit’s raison d’être. Yes, we in the press sometimes ended up shouting over what passed as music as we gathered information for blogs, but we also indulged in quite a few opportunities to evaluate component performance.
Given all the vagaries of hotel room acoustics, taxed power sources, and the like—the Venetian allowed each exhibitor just 10A of power!—I think it’s a near miracle that some exhibitors managed to get their systems to sound as good as they did. My hat goes off to them, and to the years of experience and expertise they put to the test each time they journey to a hotel setting or dealer showroom to strut their stuff.
Stereophile’s staff camped out in the Mirage this year, directly across from the Venetian. Although the quality of Internet service unquestionably added a few gray hairs to our collective noggins, the proximity to our target destinations, the comfort of the rooms, and the quality of food in the hotel “cafeteria” made this, for me at least, a far easier immersion in Vegas madness. And if some exhibitors ended up wishing that more of their distributors had made the trek, they discovered in compensation that lunch lines were shorter, and nervous systems a bit less strained.
Here’s to another year at CES. May the great music and equipment continue to pour forth, and, for better or worse, the dice continue to roll.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
And That Was the End of the 2013 CES
Source : stereophile[dot]com
Music Hall: Hi-fi for Everyone
And the fact remains: Even in those rooms where I can relate to the music, I often can’t relate to the gear. I can’t afford it and, quite honestly, even if I could, I doubt I’d ever want to spend so much of my money on hi-fi equipment. There are things I love more: family, friends, music, and food, for instance. (Not to mention listening to music and eating food with family and friends.)
Thank goodness, then, for Music Hall, a company that consistently provides good sound and great music through products that almost invariably represent outstanding value—products that bring the hi-fi hobby down to earth, products that my family, friends, and I can actually afford.
While many exhibitors highlight their expensive systems and relegate their more affordable products to dark corners and silent displays, Music Hall consistently takes a different approach. The company’s Roy Hall and Leland Leard were anxious to show off their most affordable products. In the context of any hi-fi show, but especially the Consumer Electronics Show, this approach seems courageous, bold, and extremely cool. Leard eagerly directed me to a system fronted by Music Hall’s USB-1 turntable ($249.99) equipped with the company’s new Magic 2 MM cartridge ($150). The ’table sent signals directly into the phono stage of Music Hall’s A70.2 integrated amp ($1499). Speakers were Music Hall’s mighty Marimbas ($349/pair), which were placed on the company’s new speaker stands ($250/pair; made in the US).
The sound was excellent—warm, detailed, engaging, and, most of all, fun.
Music Hall also introduced their compact, attractive WCS-2 record-cleaning machine ($595). Roy Hall admitted that the WCS (“Wets, Cleans, Sucks”) runs very loud, but joked: “Do we sell a product that really works, but makes audiophiles deaf? I’m considering including earplugs with every unit.” According to Hall, what makes the WCS-2 special is its powerful, 1200W motor, which enables the machine to dry records with only a single revolution. So, while it may be loud, at least it gets the job done fast.
You may want to play those just-cleaned records on Music Hall’s beautiful new Ikura turntable. James Kyroudis, Music Hall customer and Chicago-based industrial designer, is largely responsible for the turntable’s sleek, modern look. Says Hall: “We wanted a design that better distinguished us from everybody else.”
In NYC, Ikura is a great little Japanese restaurant on 1st Avenue in the East Village. In cuisine, Ikura refers to salmon roe (yum); the turntable, then, takes its name from the spiraling patterns of dots that decorate the uppermost level of the split-plinth design. The ’table uses a Pro-Ject carbon-fiber tonearm and will be available in either black-on-black or black-on-white finishes. Look for it sometime this April with a price tag of around $900-$1000.
People sometimes ask if I’m satisfied reviewing affordable equipment, or whether I think there’s enough of it out there to keep me busy. Happily, thanks in part to Music Hall, the answer to both those questions is yes, without a doubt yes. Sam Tellig raved about the Music Hall Marimbas in our December 2012 issue, and I’ll do a “Follow-Up” in a future issue. I’ve got a pair of the new Music Hall speaker stands coming in, and I’ll keep the Magic 2 phono cartridge in mind for my friends Natalie and Kristen, both of whom have been spinning lots of used and new vinyl on their USB-1 turntables. Birthdays are coming up. With the money saved, I’ll take the girls out for dinner. Japanese, perhaps.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
Bladelius Mimer Music Server
Two bad, because the photo in the brochure is quite enticing. The Mimer is essentially a wall-hung touchscreen device about 7.5 inches wide by 13.5 inches tall. You can see by the photo of a photo how the touchscreen display is arranged for album cover art and control/navigation. The chassis looks about an inch thick and inside is an upgradable hard drive for storing music as well as support for NAS and USB drives, 32/348 files, 4 SPDIF inputs, Wi-Fi and ethernet, internet radio and Spotify, headphone amp, multi-room support and analog input (for the built-in analog preamp).
Though I'm sure many will differ, I've always been partial to music servers that have always-ready built-in navigation screens like Meridian's Sooloos as apposed to relying on iPad apps. I'm hoping to get my hands on the Mimer in the future and see if it lives up to the photo and spec sheet.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
My Epiphany: Pass Labs, Sony, Kimber, and DSD Files
Gus was sourcing multichannel DSD files from a large hard drive sitting underneath his laptop, which was running the Sonoma pro-audio software. The DSD datastreams were fed to a Meitner DAC 8 Mk.IV 8-channel DAC.
I sat in a chair surround by a wide arc of five Sony SS-AR1s, each paired with a Pass Labs Xs300 amplifier. The speakers were arranged in the ITU-recommended positions, with the rear channels positioned at about 270° to the side and back. The sound was magnificent! The electronics and speaker disappeared and I was enveloped in a cloud of music that had tremendous clarity and dynamics while instantly communicating the ambience of the recording venue. For once, there was no sweet spot, just a sense of being immersed in the sound. Gus and Cookie played the San Francisco Orchestra conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas playing Mahler’s Symphony No.1. I was transfixed. This was definitely the best audio reproduction I heard at the show!
Just to make absolutely certain I had now unknowingly been subjected to a Ken Kesey-type Kool-Aid Acid Test, I checked with Stereophile’s experts in digital audio, John Atkinson and Kal Rubinson. They both agreed I was hearing a different type of audio which might be as good as I claimed it to be! I later read on the DSD-Guide.com website that others had had a similar experience, including musicians and recording engineers.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
Soundmatters' Sound Matters
After the TV crew left, Lee Adams, Soundmatters’ VP Marketing, gave me a demonstration of the FoxLv2 Platinum (shown in the photo with a glasses case to provide a sense of scale) in a makeshift booth-within-a-booth. Although the setting was far from ideal, with too much ambient noise, it was immediately obvious to me that this is a rather special product, with a very pleasing tonal quality and ability to play surprisingly loud.
Lee Adams gave me a FoxLv2 to test in a better listening environment, and the first thing I did when I returned to the Mirage was to plug in the FoxLv2’s charger/AC adapter. Playing some Apple Lossless music files—including some opera and show music—from my iPhone 4, I was blown away by how good the sound was: smooth and well-balanced throughout the frequency range, and showing little strain at high levels. Voices sounded very natural, with Rod Gilfry’s baritone (My Heart Is So Full of You, Narratus 07, one of my last year’s R2D4 picks) having the proper weight—quite amazing, given the size of the device. Predictably, the analog connection sounded better than Bluetooth, but even the latter sounded acceptable. An amazing product, providing a much-needed counterpoint to the high-end esoterica on display at the Venetian. I’m buying one.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
Crystal's SAGA amplifier
The sound of a Marcus Miller solo bass guitar track had superb dynamic resolution, even at low playback levels.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
JosephAudio's Pearl3
Source : stereophile[dot]com
Magico's Mighty Q7
Source : stereophile[dot]com
Magico's Two-Way S1
Yikes! I’m supposed to be covering speakers under $15k, and I never bothered going into the Magico room, because I figured that all their speakers were above that price. I got to the Magico room when they were already in the process of packing up, but, although the systems had been taken apart, the new speaker, called the S1 ($12,600/pair), had not been packed up, so I was able to take a picture of it. Here is the picture of the S1 in different M-cast powder-coat finishes, with Irv Gross, Magico’s Director of Sales looking suitably pleased. The S1 is a two-way design, incorporating a new 7" Magico Nano-Tec mid-woofer and the same Beryllium tweeter as in the S5. Bass is claimed to be extended to 32Hz.—Robert Deutsch
Photo: John Atkinson
John Atkinson comments: I auditioned th S1 earlier in the show, in a system that included Constellation amplification and a Pacific Microsonics DAC. Although the S1 continues Magico’s tradition of loading the woofer with a sealed enclosure, the low frequencies sounded surprisingly full in the fairly large room. Kick drum and bass guitar both had believable weight and Jordi Savall’s recording of the Mozart Requiem was reproduced with smooth, airy highs and an uncoloured midrange.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
T+A Criterion loudspeakers
A perusal of the brochure for the T+A Criterion loudspeakers and a brief listen to a pair of TCD 210 S speakers ($10,000/pair) convinced me that this is a company with a very serious approach to loudspeaker design. The photo shows T+A founder and CEO Siegfried Amft leaning on the TCD 210 S and the smaller TCD 310 S ($7500/pair). The price range of the Criterion line goes from $4500/pair (TCD 410 S ) to $13,000/pair (TCD 110 S).
Source : stereophile[dot]com
A Less-Expensive Django from Marten
The rest of the system was all EAR: 890 power amplifier ($8295), 912 preamp ($13,000), DACute ($6595), and a Discmaster turntable ($28,000) fitted with two Helius Omega tonearms and a Dynavector XV-1S cartridge. Caling was all Jorma.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
MartinLogan's CLX
Source : stereophile[dot]com
PTE Goes Active
I guess Precision Transducer Engineering (PTE) didn’t get the memo—or maybe they wrote their own. (Their White Paper “The Case for Active Speakers” can be found here). The PTE Phoenix, a two-way, three-driver, largish stand-mounted speaker has three built-in 130W amps. The Phoenix—demoed at T.H.E. Show—uses very high-quality drivers, including a double-magnet Scanspeak tweeter, and audiophile-quality electronics. The price of $5700/pair for a speaker that has built in amplifiers and electronic crossover seems very reasonable, and the speaker sounded really good.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
Moving Music from High Water Sound
I’ll go on the record now and say that 2013 is the year that this trend comes to an end. At every hi-fi show, all Catalano ever does is play my very favorite music over his exotic and beautiful systems, reminding me of why I enjoy this hobby as much as I do.
At CES, Catalano and his partners put together a system comprising TW-Acustic Black Night turntable ($40,000) with two tonearm-cartidge combinations: TW-Acustic 10.5 tonearm ($5500) with Ortofon Windfeld ($3899) and Ortofon 309D tonearm with Ortofon Cadenza Mono cartridge ($1199); Cessaro Horn Acoustics Chopin loudspeakers ($40,000/pair); and Tron-Electric Dscovery GT SE 300B amplifier ($60,000), Seven GT line amp ($18,000), Seven GT phono/stereo amp ($18,000), and Seven GT phono/mono amp ($18,000). Silent Running Audio’s Scuttle Rack and Ohio XL bases and Symposium Acoustics Super Plus speaker platforms supported the goods; Silver Circle Audio’s Tchaik 6 ($9500) conditioned the power; and everything was connected with ZenSati Angel interconnects and speaker cables and PranaWire power cords.
Catalano played a side of Talk Talk’s beautiful Spirit of Eden and I was moved by the great sense of space, touch, and inner detail—I noted a swelling, sweeping beauty and intensity from both the music and sound—and I especially enjoyed the natural tones of acoustic guitars, voices, and percussion. I expect things will be even more enjoyable at Catalano’s High Water Sound showroom.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
Chord Chordette QuteHD USB DSD DAC
Source : stereophile[dot]com
Musical Fidelity M1SDAC DAC/Pre
Inputs include all the usual digital suspects including USB that can handle 24/192. Since the M1SDAC also functions as a preamp, it has analog inputs which are sampled at 24/96. Outputs included unbalanced analog and digital.
But what caught my ear was the Bluetooth capability that allows you to wirelessly connect your Bluetooth device if it has audio files on it. Once received via WiFi, the Bluetooth stream is upsampled to 24/192 by the M1SDAC. Tempo Marketing's John Quick asked me to pull out my iPhone to see if there was some music I'd like to hear. Sure enough I had an uncompressed CD rip of Roxy Music's first album and within seconds it was playing over the system, tracks being controlled from my seat. Maybe not CD quality, but it sounded pretty good with a bit of crunch on the top end.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
Vandersteen's New . . . Amplifier
Source : stereophile[dot]com
Audio Arts & the Zellaton Grand
I had heard the Zellaton speakers at a dealer's last spring, but they sounded much better at CES, less colored and with a more integrated sound top-to-bottom. I put this down to the C1 D/A controller and A1 power amplifier, both from Swiss manufacturer CH Precision, which is now distributed in the US by Audio Arts. CH Precision was formed by engineers at Anagram, whose digital circuitry was featured in the NagraDAC we reviewed several years ago. The A1 offers 100Wpc into 8 ohms and is unique is being able to have each channel's combination of global and local feedback independently adjusted to best match the speaker load. This is particularly useful if a pair of A1s is used to vertically bi-amp a two way speaker, where the two channels' feedback can be independently tuned for the tweeter and woofer.
The Zellaton Grand is very sensitive; the A1's alphanumeric DSP-calculated power display indicated that with the piano recording I was auditioning, the peak output power was <400mW much of the time, with just two peaks reaching 14W.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
Totem's on Fire
And then . . . in discussing the performance of the speakers with designer Vince Bruzzese, I found out that the speakers playing were not the Metals but the much smaller bookself-type Fires ($6000/pair) that were behind them, against the wall! Bruzzese was not trying to fool anyone; he was just alternating playing the speakers in the front and in the back. I listened some more—to what I then knew were the Fires—and continued to be impressed. The bass was certainly helped by the against the wall placement, but then that’s part of the Fire’s design.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
