Infigo of British Columbia's Electronics and Cabling Meets Alta Audio's Adam loudspeaker

A company new to me, Infigo Audio Inc. of British Columbia, paired its eye-catching Method 3 class-A monoblocks ($50,000/pair), Method 4 DAC ($35,000), Fluvius Streamer ($1750), and Sparkle Series cabling with Alta Audio's Adam loudspeaker (($17,000/pair in piano black, $18,000/pair in rosewood or beech; above). On a DSD track from the Global Percussion Network, timbres were beautiful on bass and high-pitched percussion. The chimes and vibes sounded special and clean, colors were plentiful, and deep bass was all-of-one-piece.

The Method 4 DAC uses eight Dual ESS9038 Sabre DACs in parallel, governed by ARM-based controllers. With a 32-bit audio path, digital volume control, military grade clocks and dedicated power supplies for each sub-circuit, dimmable touchscreen and Apple Remote operation, the Method 4 handles PCM up to 32/768 and DSD512 through USB, and up to 32/192 through S/PDIF, optical, and AES/EBU. Outputs are single-ended and balanced.

The Method 3 sliding bias class-A monoblock outputs 250W into 4ohms. Input is XLR only, weight 62lb, and bandwidth 10Hz–100kHz (within 0.3dB). Due to sliding bias, heat output is claimed to be less than expected. "We use hundreds of transistors," Infigo CEO/founder Hans Looman told Stereophile. "We also use relatively low current feedback to make the amps extremely fast." The amps only consume 35Wpc in idle. Note the wavy surface of the enclosure, which is designed to reduce fin resonance and allow placement near loudspeakers.

Cables have oxygen-free solid copper cores and a triple layer ultra-low signal absorbing dielectric. Interconnects have gold-plated connectors and oxygen-free ½" thick braided copper shielding. All and all, it's very, very intriguing. I look forward to hearing more, and soon.

I didn't get a chance to speak with Alta Audio's Michael Levy about the new Adam, so I'll cop from Ken Micallef's blog of its AXPONA unveiling: "The Adam features a 5.75" neodymium magnet ribbon tweeter, 6" midrange driver, and an 8.75" woofer 'whose tuning parameters are coupled to the unique cabinet design for its infrasonic (floor-moving) bass and for refined cohesion between The Adam's XTL (Extended Line Transmission) and its pure aluminum ribbon tweeter,' stated the company's website. That's potentially copious bass created from a transmission-line approach.

"The unusually curved Alto Audio speaker stands 41" H; it's 15" × 18" at bottom, and 8½" × 14" at top. Stated frequency range is 20Hz–47kHz, sensitivity rated at 91.5dB/2.83V/m, and its impedance is 4 ohms."

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