The Wilson Audio WATT/Puppy 7's sensitivity was above average, at an estimated 90.6dB(B)/2.83V/m, which is not significantly different from its predecessor, the System 5. However, also like its predecessor, it will need a good high-current amplifier before it can be driven to satisfying levels. Its impedance drops to 2.4 ohms at 78Hz and remains below 6 ohms for much of the region where music has its maximum energy (fig.1). In addition, an impedance of 4 ohms at 59Hz is associated with an electrical phase angle of -34 degrees, which will add to the drive…
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It's no longer news that uncontrolled spurious vibration is one of the greatest threats to high-quality sound and video reproduction. Source components are, by themselves, a nightmare to isolate from the omnipresent vibrations in the environment. The intrusion of uncontrolled spuriae into the playback of LPs, CDs, SACDs, and DVDs has a deleterious and occasionally disastrous effect on the ability of the stylus or laser to precisely do its almost-molecular-scale job. Electronics are nearly as susceptible to such vibration-induced headaches as microphonics.
The easiest way to maximize the…
I set up the unloaded amplifier stands and plunked down first the Lamm ML1 power amplifier, and later the Manley Labs Neo-Classic 250. (Lloyd recommended that I first listen to the stands unloaded, and then load the lead shot. I auditioned them in that sequence.) Per Lloyd's instructions, I used no footers between amps and stands. I hadn't expected that there would be much of a change, and, in a sense, there wasn't. Neither amp changed in its basic character, but the subtle improvements were unmistakable. More than anything else, the Monaco brought a sense of focus and a difficult-to-explain…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Modular metal/carbon-fiber/Kevlar equipment rack system.
Dimensions: 34" W by 28.5" D; each shelf unit is 5.875" high.
Prices: 3-shelf system, $2495; 4-shelf system, $3495; 5-shelf system, $4495; base module, $1500; short or tall module, $999; amplifier stand, $999; F1 carbon-fiber/Kevlar composite shelf, $850. Approximate number of dealers: 24.
Manufacturer: Grand Prix Audio, 26582 Avenida Deseo, Mission Viejo, CA 92691. Tel: (949) 587-1065. Fax: (949) 454-1065. Web: www.grandprixaudio.com.
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: Clearaudio Champion 2 turntable, Clearaudio Unify tonearm, Benz L2 cartridge.
Digital sources: Classé Omega SACD/CD player, Ayre D-1x CD/DVD player.
Preamplification: Manley Labs Steelhead, Jeff Rowland Design Group Cadence phono stages; Jeff Rowland Design Group Synergy IIi line stage; Ayre K-1x, Atma-Sphere MP-3 preamplifiers.
Power amplifiers: Lamm ML1, M2.1, Manley Labs 250 Neo-Classic.
Loudspeakers: EgglestonWorks Andra II, Calix Phoenix Grand Signature, Apogee Duetta Signature, Silverline Sonata.
Cables: Phono:…
Michael Fremer wrote about the Grand Prix Monaco amplifier stands in July 2001 (Vol.24 No.7):
When I think of Shaker furniture, I usually think of simple, elegant wood designs originally made by religious fundamentalists. Grand Prix Audio designer Alvin Lloyd uses a very different kind of shaker table in the development and design of his carbon-fiber composite-based audio racks and amplifier stands. His shaker tables actually do shake. They're laboratory instruments, not furniture, and with their help he has developed racks and amp stands which, his measurements indicate, isolate…
Every once in a while, a piece of super-esoteric gear crosses my path that, on the face of it, makes no sense whatsoever. Eventually, however, the component is revealed as being "merely" simple and elegant, begging the question: Must it always be done the way it's always been done?
The 47 Labs 4704 PiTracer CD transport is such a product. The French, who I think are close in some ways to the Japanese in their design aesthetic, would certainly call the PiTracer une grande follie. Anyone might be forgiven for thinking so—the PiTracer is bizarre at first glance.
But the…
When clamped down to the turntable—two-and-a-half twists of the wrist, and don't make it too tight—the CD is supported at its inside and outside edges only, thus "minimizing the effect of the turntable material and any possible overdamping that may occur." I think that's a very clever idea, and a good way to flatten out the CD.
But man, is there a lot of sled movement required to keep the laser in the pits. Watching the PiTracer's quick-reacting, high-torque, coreless motor shimmying wildly as it moved the sled back and forth to keep the information under the optics—even with the CD held…
Other power cords included the Synergistic Research products I've been using for quite some time now, plus three new entrants: the FIM High Definition Music Conductor, the Coincident CST, and the Audience PowerChord. The huge, stiff FIM cords worked wonders on both Humptys into the Power Point; I used them for most of the review.
A Cardas-sourced star-wired extender powered the Krells from one of our separate runs of 30-amp metal-jacketed copper house wiring, back to a separate breaker in the box with nothing else on the line. We thus have dual-quad outlets on this line, and an equal…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: CD and CD-R Transport. Digital data outputs: two pairs S/PDIF on RCAs (one DC-coupled, one AC-coupled), two pairs S/PDIF on BNCs (one DC-coupled, one AC-coupled).
Dimensions: 4704 PiTracer; 14.2" (360mm) W by 4.1" (105mm) H by 12.6" (320mm) D. Weight: 24 lbs. 4700 Power Humpty power supply; 7.7" (130mm) H by 5.1" (195mm) diameter (cylindrical). Weight: 10 lbs.
Price: $25,000, 4704 PiTracer; $1800, Humpty.
Finishes: "Silver Hairline," black anodized.
Approximate number of dealers: 16.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: None visible.
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