search

Jason's Binaural Video at AXPONA

Constellation’s Irv Gross (right) welcomes Jason to the Precision Audio room.

On Saturday April 14, I followed Jason Victor Serinus around AXPONA with my video camera while he played recordings from MA and John Atkinson.

We first visited a room hosted by retailer Precision Audio featuring MartinLogan Renaissance ESL 15A loudspeakers ($24,995/pair), a Continuum Audio Labs Obsidian turntable ($35,000) with Viper tonearm ($10,000), Constellation Audio Taurus monoblock power amplifiers ($39,000/pair), a Constellation Andromeda phono stage ($18,000), a Constellation Pictor…

January Already?

Yes, with the beginning of winter and the holiday season almost upon us, the January 2018 issue of Stereophile has started dropping into mailboxes, being displayed on newsstand shelves, and being downloaded to tablets. And it is, even if we say so ourselves, one heck of an issue, with GoldenEar's Triton Reference speaker on its cover and reviewed inside by John Atkinson. JA also kicks off the issue with a look at the controversy raised by MQA. Controversy? Also in the January Stereophile, Jim Austin examines the time-domain performance of MQA-equipped DACs and one Internet troll is already…

dCS Vivaldi Apex D/A processor Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital sources: dCS Rossini Apex DAC, Rossini Clock; Innuos Statement Next-Gen Music Server; Uptone Audio EtherREGEN with AfterDark Giesemann Emperor Double Crown Master Clock, and Nordost QNet Ethernet Switch, all powered by Nordost QSource linear power supplies (2); Small Green Computer Sonore Deluxe opticalModule, Linksys mesh router, and Arris modem, all powered by HDPlex 300 linear power supply; Apple 2017 iPad Pro.
Preamplifier: Dan D'Agostino Momentum HD.
Power amplifiers: Dan D'Agostino Progression M550 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson…

Antipodes Audio K50 music server Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital sources: dCS Rossini SACD/CD transport, Rossini DAC, and Rossini Clock; Synology 5-bay 1019+ NAS; Roon Nucleus+ music server, Uptone Audio etherREGEN, Small Green Computer Sonore opticalModules (2) and Deluxe opticalModule, Linksys routers (2), and Arris modem, all powered by HDPlex 300 four-component linear power supplies (3); Apple 2017 iPad Pro and 2017 MacBook Pro laptop with 2.8GHz Intel i7, SSD, 16GB RAM.
Preamplifier: Dan D'Agostino Momentum HD.
Power amplifiers: Dan D'Agostino Progression monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio…

Audio Research Reference 6SE line preamplifier Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital sources: dCS Rossini SACD/CD transport & Rossini DAC & Rossini Clock & Network Bridge; EMM Labs DV2 Integrated DAC; Synology 5-bay NAS 1019+; Roon Nucleus+ music server with HDPlex 200 linear power supply; Uptone Audio etherRegen, Small Green Computer Sonore opticalModule, TP-Link gigabit Ethernet media converters plus multimode duplex fiber-optic cable (2), Linksys routers (2); Small Green Computer linear power supply & Small Green Computer/HDPlex four-component 200W linear power supply (3); external hard drives, SSD USB sticks,…

Gryphon Essence Mono power amplifier Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital sources: dCS Rossini SACD/CD transport, Rossini DAC, and Rossini Clock; EMM Labs DV2 Integrated DAC; Synology 5-bay NAS 1019+; Roon Nucleus+ music server with HDPlex 200 linear power supply; Uptone Audio etherRegen, Small Green Computer Sonore opticalModule, TP-Link gigabit Ethernet media converters plus multimode duplex fiberoptic cable (2), Linksys routers (2); Small Green Computer linear power supply & Small Green Computer/ HDPlex four-component, 200W linear power supply (3); external hard drives, SSD USB sticks, iPad Pro; Apple 2017 Macbook…

Gold Note DS-10 D/A processor Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital sources: dCS Rossini SACD/CD transport & Rossini DAC & Rossini Clock & Network Bridge; PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream D/A processor, Mytek Brooklyn DAC+; Apple 2017 MacBook Pro computer; Roon Nucleus+ music server with HDPlex 200 linear power supply; Uptone Audio EtherRegen, Small Green Computer Sonore optical Module, TP-Link Gigabit Ethernet media converters plus multimode duplex fiberoptic cable (2), Linksys routers (2); Small Green Computer linear power supply & Small Green Computer/HDPlex four-component 200W linear power…

E.A.R. V12 integrated amplifier

New from E.A.R. USA is the V12 integrated amplifier ($9595), one of the prettier looking and sounding pieces I heard at CES. Many may remember E.A.R.’s V20 integrated, to which the V12 owes some inspiration. The V12’s visual design is also inspired by a Jaguar V12 engine, minus the motor oil stains. The V12 was designed by Tim de Paravicini and uses six EL84 tubes per channel. It puts our 50Wpc in triode mode. The sound, driving Marten speakers and using Jorma cables, was airy yet colorful.

Jason Victor Serinus elaborates on the Jorma cables: Jorma Koski, who owns Jorma Design of…

Rosso Fiorentino Siena

Pride of place in the Avatar Acoustics room at the Venetian went to the four-way Siena speakers ($24,995/pair) from Italian manufacturer Rosso Fiorentino. The designer teaches electroacoustics in Florence, but is a graduate from the University of Salford in the UK. A pair of aluminum-cone 8" woofers in a separate sealed enclosure are combined with a 6.5" paper-cone midrange unit (a ScanSpeak Revelator), a 1" silk-dome tweeter, and what appeared to be a Murata "ultrasonic generator," to give a specified response of 35Hz–100kHz, –3dB.

The Siennas were demmed in a system comprising Dr.…

T+A PA3100 HV integrated amplifier Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital sources: dCS Rossini DAC and Rossini Clock; EMM Labs DV2 Integrated DAC; T+A SD 3100 HV DAC; Synology 5-bay NAS 1019+; Roon Nucleus+ music server, Uptone Audio etherRegen, Small Green Computer Sonore opticalModule, TP-Link gigabit Ethernet media converters (2) with multimode duplex fiberoptic cables, Linksys routers (2), and Arris modem, all powered by HDPlex 200W (1) and 300W (2) four-component linear power supplies; external hard drives, SSD USB sticks, iPad Pro; Apple 2017 Macbook Pro computer with 2.8 GHz Intel i7, SSD, 16GB RAM.
…