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Home Entertainment 2007 was a blast for me, as it is every year. Not only did I get to perform with two jazz bands, Attention Screen and the John Atkinson Trio, but I enjoyed good to extraordinary sound in every room I visited. I've been attending hi-fi shows more than 20 years, so I'm rarely surprised, but HE2007 had two big surprises in store. First, the percentage of rooms sporting analog front-ends—vinyl and open-reel tape—was the highest I've seen at a show in over a decade. Second, there was a surprising number of very expensive loudspeakers. In fact, I counted more speakers costing…
But well-recorded classical works were still the best, I believe, at putting the Primus P162 through its paces. Reproducing the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival performance of Kohjiba's Transmigration of the Soul (CD, Stereophile STPH007-2), the speakers "disappeared"—all of the musicians were presented on a wide, deep, airy soundstage with excellent specificity and realism. Carol Wincenc's flute was airy and articulate, and although the most extreme upper partials of her instrument were missing, the harmonic structures of all of the instruments sounded so right. The lower-register cello…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Shielded, reflex-loaded, two-way, stand-mounted loudspeaker. Drive-units: 0.75" (19mm) Metal Matrix Diaphragm(MMD) tweeter, 6.5" (165mm) Metal Matrix Diaphragm woofer. Crossover frequency & slopes: 3kHz, 24dB/octave. Frequency response: 49Hz–20kHz, ±3dB. Sensitivity: 90dB (2.83V at 1m). Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Recommended amplification: 10–150W.
Dimensions: 14.75" (375mm) H by 8.25" (208mm) W by 11" (280mm) D. Weight: 16.1 lbs (7.3kg).
Finish: Black wood-grain.
Serial Numbers Of Units Reviewed: ME2082-003619 & 20.
Price: $298/…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: VPI TNT IV turntable, Immedia RPM tonearm, Koetsu Urushi cartridge; Rega Planar 3 turntable, Syrinx PU-3 tonearm, Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood & Aurum Beta S cartridges.
Digital Sources: Lector CDP-7T, California Audio Labs Icon Mk.II Power Boss, Creek Destiny & CD53 Mk.II CD players; Pioneer DV-333 DVD player.
Preamplification: Vendetta Research SCP-2D phono stage, Audio Valve Eklipse line stage.
Power Amplifier: Audio Research VT100 Mk.II.
Integrated Amplifiers: Creek Destiny & Creek 5350SE.
Loudspeakers: Infinity…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The Infinity Primus P162 plays surprisingly loud with very few amplifier watts, its estimated voltage sensitivity on its tweeter axis coming in at 89.5dB(B)/2.83V/m, which is within experimental error of the specified 90dB. The speaker is also a relatively undemanding load for the partnering amplifier, with an impedance that drops below 4 ohms only at the top of the audioband, and remains between 5 and 8 ohms much of the time (fig.1). Though the electrical phase angle reaches –45° at 125Hz, the impedance at this frequency is 10 ohms, alleviating the negative…
"If the midrange isn't right, nothing else matters." Stereophile founder J. Gordon Holt's decades-old observation of the musical importance of the midrange has become a truism cast in stone. Gordon's other famous observation, "The better the sound, the worse the measurements," was made only partially in jest.
In JGH's great tradition of condensing profound audio wisdom into simple aphorisms, I humbly offer my own and others' observations of the audio world at large.
A sonic improvement is meaningful only if it has musical significance.
Soft, warm, and rolled-off is less…
This is not a new component, but like most others that aspire to very high standards of performance, it has undergone some changes (for the better) since it first went into production.
At that time we found the Citation Eleven to have a subtly grainy overall sound and a slight tendency toward what sounded like front-end stress during crescendos from Magnetic Phono inputs, but even then it was the best-sounding preamp available in or about its price class. The subsequent modifications have served only to widen the gap between the Eleven and its competition.
Our bypass…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Solid-state, full-function preamplifier with 5-band program equalizer. Inputs: two Mag phono, two high-level tape, two aux, one tuner. Controls: Speaker selector switch; equalizers at center frequencies of 60Hz, 320Hz, 1kHz, 5kHz and 12kHz; volume; balance; mode (Stereo, Reverse Mono, Left Right); function (input selector); equalizer bypass; tape monitors 1 and 2, HF filter, LF filter, AC on/off. Outputs: two main, two to tape recorder(s), two to headphones (any impedance), three switched and one unswitched AC outlets.
Dimensions: 16" W by 5" H by…
There's always a certain amount of jockeying for position at the very top of the High End. Every few months, a new star burns brightly, getting all the attention. While the constant turnover at the cutting edge helps to define the state of the art, audiophiles should keep their eyes on the longer term. It's a company's track record—examined over a period of years—which defines its position in the market and the credibility of its products.
Ever since I made the acquaintance of my first Krell product—the KSA-50 power amplifier—I've been impressed by this Connecticut-based company…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state line-level preamplifier. Frequency response: 0.2Hz–400kHz +0, –—dB. Distortion: lower than 0.002%, –94dB, 20Hz–20kHz. S/N ratio: 95dB.
Input impedance: not specified. Output impedance: not specified. Maximum output level: not specified. Voltage gain: not specified.
Dimensions: 19" W by 2.5" H by 14.5" D.
Price: $3700 (1994); no longer availabe (2007). Warranty: 5 years parts and labor, limited transferable. Approximate number of dealers: 55.
Manufacturer: Krell Industries, 45 Connair Drive, Orange, CT 06477. Tel: (203…