Woodside SC26 preamplifier Setup

Sidebar 2: Setup

My large listening room is 26' long by 13' wide, and has a 12' semi-cathedral ceiling. An 8' by 4' doorway at the back of the room opens onto my 25' by 15' kitchen. I also used my second, 17' by 10' listening room.

CDs were played on a Krell MD-1 turntable driving a Krell SBP-32X D/A converter; either a Rotel RHT-10 or a Day-Sequerra FM Reference tuner provided music from New York classical station WQXR; and LPs were played on a Linn Sondek LP12/Lingo turntable, an Ittok arm, and a Spectral MC cartridge.

I compared the SC26 with a Krell KBL preamplifier, both used in single-ended mode. A Mark Levinson No.27.5 solid-state amplifier drove Quad ESL-63 electrostatics, placed on Arcici stands 4' from each side wall, 3' from the back wall, and 8' from the listening seat. I also listened from my favorite spot, 18' away. I switched-in a Velodyne ULD-18 subwoofer run in bi-amplified mode when listening for deep-bass response.

AudioQuest Topaz interconnects were run from the SC26's main output jacks to the No.27.5. RCA–Camac adapters were used when listening to the No.27.5 (this isn't necessary with more recent versions of this amplifier, which have RCA input jacks). OCOS speaker cables, supplied by Sumiko, were used to drive the loudspeakers in bi-wired configuration. The amplifier is set up on a solid workbench in the basement beneath my listening room, with easy access to 200A AC outlets. I needed to carefully position the AudioQuest Topaz interconnects to avoid ground-loop hum, as well as floating the amplifier's AC-line cord with a cheater.—Larry Greenhill

COMPANY INFO
Woodside Electronics
Not distributed (2007)
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