Digital sources: Accuphase DP-100 SACD/CD transport and DC-101 DAC, dCS 972 and Purcell D/D converters, dCS Elgar Plus D/A converter, Linn Sondek CD12 CD player.
Preamplifiers: Lamm L2, Mark Levinson No.32 Reference.
Power amplifiers: Cary V12, Krell FPB 350MC monoblocks, Forsell Statement.
Loudspeakers: JMlab Utopia.
Cables: Digital: XLO The Limited, RCA and AES/EBU. Interconnect: Synergistic Research Designer's Reference with Discrete and Active Shielding, Cardas Golden Reference. Speaker: AudioQuest Everest, Cardas Golden Cross, XLO the…
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Introduced in 2003, Siltech's G5 Classic series of cables evolved from their highly regarded Generation 3. The G3 series introduced a new metallurgy in which small amounts of gold were incorporated into the silver used as conductors. The G5 Classics use a proprietary geometry called X-balanced Micro Technology, which, according to Siltech, makes the G5s the quietest cables, with the lowest distortion, to be found. Kapton, Peek, and Teflon insulation is used, and the cables are designed to minimize the pickup of RF and EM interference, with low inductance, low capacitance, and low resistance…
Tone controls? I ripped them out of my Dyna PAS-3! And that was the last time I had tone controls. As a card-carrying audiophile, I wanted just what the engineer had inscribed on the recording, with as little change as possible (read: high fidelity).
But such purism has left me unarmed against boomy or screechy recordings of wonderful music. The only choices have been to endure or abjure such recordings because analog frequency shapers (tone controls, equalizers, filters, etc.) add phase-shifts, noise, and distortion. At the same time, mid-fi and home-theater systems (and recording…
Placing the rdp-1 into the Input mode permits selection of input source, output resolution/dither, and whether the DSP operates on both channels (Stereo) or on each channel independently (Dual-Mono). Since the output of the DSP is 32 bits wide, the rdp-1 will downsample the output to a defined bit-width of 16, 20, or 24 bits. Selection of output resolution and dither will determine whether the full capabilities of the DAC will be realized. Dither, a calculated (not random) noise signal based on a statistical algorithm, is added during the downsampling from 24 to 20 or 16 bits to avoid the…
Transparent Tone (?) Control
Okay, the rdp-1 was transparent. So what? It was supposed to change the sound. This it did with great finesse. The LF and HF shelf controls may have fixed 6dB/octave slopes, but the nominal frequency is variable, as is the magnitude of the boost/cut. (Remember that the slope also determines how far from the hinge frequency the full effect of the boost/cut will occur. A 6dB cut from a frequency of 500Hz will reach -6dB at about 50Hz. A 12dB cut won't achieve that level until about 10Hz!) Consequently, these controls can mimic standard bass and treble controls…
Okay, the rdp-1 was transparent. So what? It was supposed to change the sound. This it did with great finesse. The LF and HF shelf controls may have fixed 6dB/octave slopes, but the nominal frequency is variable, as is the magnitude of the boost/cut. (Remember that the slope also determines how far from the hinge frequency the full effect of the boost/cut will occur. A 6dB cut from a frequency of 500Hz will reach -6dB at about 50Hz. A 12dB cut won't achieve that level until about 10Hz!) Consequently, these controls can mimic standard bass and treble controls…
My greatest success was with the Mravinsky Shostakovich Eighth on Philips. This is a powerful and emotionally draining in-concert performance of Shostakovich's depiction of the "bitter suffering of the times," but it suffers from poor balance and bad digital transfer. The sound lacks weight and detail, has a nasal midrange, shrieks in the treble, and is cramped into a small center space. Not only that, it was mastered at the wrong speed—the pitch is high. Technically, this is a terrible recording, but the performance warrants attention.
First, I used a parametric stage cut (-3.8dB, 3.…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Z-Systems rdp-1 digital preamplifier: Digital inputs: 2 AES/EBU, 3 S/PDIF (RCA), 1 optical (TosLink with ST-type glass optional). Digital outputs: 1 AES/EBU, 1 S/PDIF (RCA), 1 optical (TosLink with ST-type glass optional). 24-bit input/output. 32-bit DSP with internal 40-bit floating-point arithmetic, used for all gain and equalization. Dynamic range: >144dB. THD+N: better than -135dB. Number of memories/presets: 99. Gain control: from -95dB to +12dB.
Dimensions: 17" W by 4.5" H by 10" D. Weight: 14 lbs.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 251.
Price: $…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: Heybrook TT2 turntable, Rega RB300 tonearm, Koetsu Black/Gold phono cartridge.
Digital sources: Audio Alchemy DDS•Pro, DTI•Pro32, and DDE v3, with Audio Magic I2S cables and Cardas GoldenCross interconnects; Camelot Dragon Pro-2, Uther DAC with Camelot I2S cables; and Straight Wire Maestro II interconnects; Pioneer CD transport, DMX receiver, The Parts Connection Assemblage DAC-2.
Preamplifiers: Klyne 6L3.3P, Sonic Frontiers Line-2.
Power amplifiers: McCormack DNA-1, Sonic Frontiers Power-2 (via Cardas Cross or Straight Wire…
Sidebar 3: 1998 "Editor's Choice"
If there's one aspect of the high-end obsession that perplexes "civilians," it's the fact that our preamplifiers and amplifiers don't have tone controls, let alone that flashing-light focus of the mid-fi rack system, a graphic equalizer. I have a confession to make: I once owned an equalizer. In addition, my first amplifier, a Kenwood integrated that I bought in 1969, sported tone controls; my first high-end preamplifier, a Lecson AC-1, also did so; and I used those controls!
But as my musical and sonic tastes matured, I found I made use of them…
CHARLES LLOYD: The Water is Wide
Charles Lloyd, tenor saxophone; Brad Mehldau, piano; John Abercrombie, guitar; Larry Grenadier, Derek Oleszkiewicz (one track), bass; Billy Higgins, drums
ECM 1734 (CD). 2000. Manfred Eicher, prod.; Michael C. Ross, eng. AAD. TT: 68:29
Performance *****
Sonics *****
Charles Lloyd, tenor saxophone; Brad Mehldau, piano; John Abercrombie, guitar; Larry Grenadier, Derek Oleszkiewicz (one track), bass; Billy Higgins, drums
ECM 1734 (CD). 2000. Manfred Eicher, prod.; Michael C. Ross, eng. AAD. TT: 68:29
Performance *****
Sonics *****
Charles Lloyd has made seven recordings for ECM since 1989, and they constitute one of the abiding bodies of work in late-20th-century jazz. They sustain a continuity of creative inspiration that few albums of improvised music reach even for moments, and they establish Lloyd as…