Floor Loudspeaker Reviews

Analog: Lingo'd Linn LP12 (Cirkus'd just a few days before the end of the review period), Ittok tonearm, AudioQuest AQ7000NSX cartridge. Digital: PS Audio Lambda transport, PS UltraLink processor, AudioQuest OptiLink Pro 2 ST datalink. Preamplifier: a Convergent Audio Technology SL-1 Signature, with the latest Marigo Audio Labs AC power cable (highly recommended to CAT-lovers). Power amps on hand included a pair of Bryston 7Bs, Quicksilver Silver Monos, a Luxman MQ 68C, and a Krell KSA-100S. Most of the listening was via the Bryston 7Bs and the Krell KSA-100S.

Interconnects were TARA Labs RSC Master, and Purist Audio Design Colossus Mk.II. Speaker cables were bi-wire sets of Purist Audio Colossus Mk.II, TARA Labs RSC, and DAL's own Z-8, an excellent cable whose claim to fame is a characteristic impedance of 8 ohms and the ability to reproduce 1MHz squarewaves. My listening room is provided with two dedicated AC lines; digital components were plugged into a Tice Series II Power Block. (The CAT has its own Power Block–like isolation transformer; further AC conditioning is not recommended. The tube amps sounded cleaner when plugged into the Power Block, but the Brystons and the Krell were more dynamic au naturel.)—Robert Deutsch