Jon Iverson
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How Often Do You Listen On Your Main System vs. Everything Else?
Vote
Jon Iverson • Mar 01, 2011 • 15 comments
With car audio, background streaming, and iPods, there are plenty of choices for listening to music when away from your main system. Do you save your main system only for special occasions or does it dominate your audio life?
How Often Do You Listen On Your Main System vs. Everything Else?
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HRT Music Streamer Pro USB D/A converter
Budget Component Reviews, Computer Audio Reviews, Digital Processor Reviews
Jon Iverson • Feb 23, 2011 • 6 comments
Art Dudley and others have covered the first products released by HRT, and now the company has added to its product line a Pro version of its Music Streamer, which sports balanced circuit design from tip to tail.

Housed in the same simple, functional, six-sided case of extruded aluminum as HRT's other products, the Pro is painted a bright blue to distinguish it from the Music Streamer II (red) and Music Streamer II+ (gray). At 5.6" it is also a tad longer than the others, and includes a single B-type USB 1.1 jack centered on one end, and two small, fully balanced TiniQ output jacks on the other. More about these special mini sockets later.

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Phiaton PS 500 Primal Series Headphones Sweepstakes
Sweepstakes
Jon Iverson • Feb 01, 2011 • 732 comments
Register to win one of eight pairs of Phiaton PS 500 Primal Series Headphones (MSRP $299) Stereophile is giving away.

According to Phiaton, The PS 500 Primal Series Headphones offer listeners "a soaring level of concert-hall sound quality, unmatched performance, and a high level of comfort. Phiaton Primal Series headphones are designed for those who appreciate the classic yet somewhat exotic look and feel of supple leather and leather-grade trim."

[This sweepstakes is now closed.]

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Digital Wrap-Up
CES 2011
Jon Iverson • Jan 15, 2011 • 3 comments
So many music servers and related products appeared at the 2011 CES, that we can now sort them into various sub-categories depending on what is included in the box. I was looking for new or upgraded digital products, but likely missed a few. Feel free to add what I missed in the comments.

Click through to see the complete list of what I found with links and an informal taxonomy.

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Audio Aero La Source Music Center
CES 2011
Jon Iverson • Jan 14, 2011 • 0 comments
It is a truism worth repeating: you can't really draw any conclusions about the sound of a component from an audition at an audio show.

Then there are those exceptions that prompt you to drop your neutrality and reach for the superlatives. The Vienna Acoustics room was like that for me last year. But this year, I've got to hand it to Philip O'Hanlon for creating a sound and scripting a demo that I would rate as extraordinary no matter what the circumstances.

Vivid's G2 Giya loudspeakers and the large room at the top of the Mirage didn't hurt. But I was here for the digital front end, and in this case, the Audio Aero La Source, which was functioning both as a disc player and preamp, connected to a Luxman M-800A Amplifier.

O'Hanlon describes the La Source as "an all-out attempt to put an analog preamp into the same box with the SACD/CD player." The La Source was also hooked up to a computer and streaming files via its USB input. On the back is a set of balanced and unbalanced analog inputs, BNC, SPDIF coax and optical, USB, and AES/EBU digital inputs along with a BNC digital and balanced and unbalanced analog outputs.

You can order the La Source with an Esoteric VMK5 Neo VRDS transport for $44,000 or without the transport for $35,000 and there is a trade-up program for Prestige owners. Also in the box is an Anagram digital clock along with S.T.A.R.S. 32bit/384kHz DSP, dual mono Burr Brown 1792 DAC, and vacuum tube output stage.

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Audio Aero La Fontaine Music Center
CES 2011
Jon Iverson • Jan 14, 2011 • 0 comments
Consider this the baby brother to the La Source. Same overall functionality but with the lower priced Esoteric UMK5 transport, a stereo Burr Brown 1792 DAC and an OEM clock directing the digital. Still, it has the S.T.A.R.S. 32bit/384kHz DSP and vacuum tube output stage as well as the preamp features.

The La Fontaine will be available sometime in February with transport for $25,000 and without for $19,000. O'Hanlon adds that by the end of the year, there should be five Music Centers products without disc ranging in price from $3,000 to $35,000.

mbl Corona C31 CD Player
CES 2011
Jon Iverson • Jan 14, 2011 • 0 comments
mbl products always make you wonder, is it technology I'm looking at or art? Their new Corona Line continues this tradition with, depending on your taste preferences, some of the most drop-dead gorgeous casework you'll see in the audio world, or some of the most over-the-top gratuitous metal (choose between gold or palladium alloy palinux), paint (white or black) and gloss this side of a Kustom Kar show.

Nonetheless, you can't argue with how carefully these products are made. The C31 wil be available sometime this summer for around $8,000 (depending on exchange rate at the time) and has coax, toslink and USB inputs in addition to its disc playing function. The C31 can also communicate with the other products in the Corona line via the SmartLink ethernet connector on the back

Musical Fidelity M1CL:C Universal Music Controller
CES 2011
Jon Iverson • Jan 14, 2011 • 0 comments
Hiding in the back room of their palatial suite in the Mirage, Musical Fidelity was running a demo of their M1CL:C Universal Music Controller which is now being finalized. MF says they are shooting for somewhere under $2,000 for the product which operates as a DAC and preamp and includes USB, SPDIF and analog inputs. I noted a USB input on the front and a beautiful color display as well.
Musical Fidelity V-Link USB to SPDIF Converter
CES 2011
Jon Iverson • Jan 14, 2011 • 2 comments
Musical Fidelity also displayed their V-Link which can take USB from your computer and convert it to S/PDIF for use with your non-USB DAC. Priced at $169, John Atkinson mentioned to me that "it measures really good" and found it did indeed operate in the better-sounding asynchronous mode.
Bladelius Embla
CES 2011
Jon Iverson • Jan 13, 2011 • 0 comments
Bladelius has created a gorgeous product that includes a touch screen on the front and can play discs, stream media and store music. Hand made in Sweden and retailing for around $9,000, the Embla features internal flash memory for storing music (upgradable to 2TB!!), USB and Ethernet on the back, and built-in analog preamplifier.
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