Analog Front-End: VPI TNT Mk.III turntable, VPI JMW Memorial tonearm, van den Hul Grasshopper or Transfiguration Temper phono cartridges.
Preamplifiers: Krell KRC-HR, Conrad-Johnson Premier Fourteen.
Power Amplifiers: Conrad-Johnson Premier Twelve, Krell Audio Standard monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Hales Concept Five, MartinLogan SL-3.
Interconnects: MIT balanced 350, Cardas balanced phono.
Speaker Cables: Kimber Black Pearl, MIT 850, AudioQuest Crystal/Argent bi-wire.
Accessories: The Shelf by Black Diamond Racing, Mark 3 (…
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Sidebar 3: Wes Phillips' Associated Equipment
Sidebar 4: Reference Measurements
The internal KPE Reference board was measured with the phono impedance and gain settings used by WP in his review. (All phono measurements were taken at the KRC-HR's tape outputs, as is our normal practice.) The phono input impedance measured just under 126 ohms and the unit was noninverting from the phono inputs to the tape outputs. Voltage gain measured 66.8dB at 1kHz. The S/N readings were 62.5dB (unweighted, 22Hz–22kHz), 55dB (unweighted, 10Hz–500kHz), and 73.9dB (A-weighted), these all excellent. Reducing the voltage gain to the 58dB gain setting…
Sidebar 5: Specifications
Description: Phono preamplifier available in two versions, one for use in the Krell KRC-HR preamplifier, one as a standalone phono stage. Original KPE powered by the KRC-2. Frequency response/RIAA error: 20Hz–20kHz, ±0.1dB. Voltage gain (at 1kHz): 58dB–76dB in 6dB increments. S/N Ratio: 80dB, A-weighted. THD: <0.1%, 20Hz–20kHz. Crosstalk: <–80dB. Input impedance: adjustable, 10 ohms to 47k ohms.
Dimensions: 7.125" W by 2.275" H by 12" D (Reference); 8.4" W by 2.5" H by 6.8" D (Standard). Weight: 7 lbs, standalone version (power supply weighs 9 lbs).
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Ars-Sonum is a Spanish audio company that, as far as I can tell, makes only one product—but it's a doozy (footnote 1). The Filarmonía SE is a tube integrated amplifier that is, in many ways, an homage to Dynaco's iconic Stereo 70 power amplifier of 1959, but the Filarmonía is by no means a slavish copy. Get down to specifics, and it's actually more of a clean-sheet-of-paper design.
I first saw the Ars-Sonum Filarmonía some years ago, in a hotel-room bathroom at a Home Entertainment Show in New York; perhaps it was 2004. (That venue was not chosen for its acoustics, I can assure…
Palkovic reports that a hum not occasioned by power-line problems that has taken that long to work itself out had happened only once or twice before with the Filarmonía SE, and further, that when he put the first couple of dozen hours on the amplifier on my review sample at his factory, it was dead silent.
As you can tell by looking at the photo, the Filarmonía SE is quite handsome. The quality of the chassis work is extremely high, but it is a retro or nostalgic quality, not the modern high-tech feel you get from Nagra or Sound Devices. The Filarmonía looks like what a Stereo 70 might…
The other side of the coin: Despite the many fine qualities of a more likely candidate for "integrated amplifier for all seasons," Audionet's excellent SAM V2 (see this column, June 2006, Vol.29 No.6), it did not excite in me quite the same emotional response as the Filarmonía SE.
With the Verity Audio Rienzis
I had been curious for some time to hear a speaker from Verity Audio. US representative John Quick, of Tempo Sales & Marketing, lent me a pair of the upper modules from the Rienzi system ($3200–$3600/pair and up, depending on finish). My intention was to try a different…
Sidebar: Contacts
Ars-Sonum, Web: www.ars-sonum.com. US distributor: Merlin Music Systems Inc., 4705 Main Street, P.O. Box 146, Hemlock, NY 14466. Tel: (585) 367-2390. Fax: (585) 367-2685. Web: www.merlinmusic.com.
Furman Sound, LLC, 1690 Corporate Circle, Petaluma, CA 94954. Tel: (877) 486-4738. Fax: (707) 763-1310. Web: www.furmansound.com.
Verity Audio, 1005 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Avenue, Suite 150, Quebec, QC G2E 5L1, Canada. Tel: (418) 682-9940. Fax: (418) 682-8644. Web: www.verityaudio.com. US distributor: Tempo Sales & Marketing, P.O. Box 541443, Waltham, MA 02454. Tel: (…
As Stereophile's Equipment Reports Editor, I get a lot of calls from readers asking how we choose the gear we review, and from manufacturers asking how to get their products reviewed. So I told JA to take the month off from writing this column so that I could talk about Stereophile's Equipment Reports section.
Stereophile publishes about 130 equipment reports annually but even a magazine as comprehensive as Stereophile can't review all the new audio products that are introduced each year. We look for significant additions to the hi-fi canon: products that offer a lot of performance for…
Before I even turn on the recorder, Willie Nile is telling me his theory of how the granite under Manhattan Island conducts electricity, which accounts for the perceptible charge that many people feel makes New York City so special. It's also what draws artists like flies, none more passionate than singer-songwriter Nile, who's personally contributed a few volts during his years in NYC.
"I used to hitchhike down from Buffalo when I was still in high school, thrilled with all the romance and magic the city held. This big, dirty, dark, dank—it's got all the D's—dangerous place."
But…
GRATEFUL DEAD: Two from the Vault
Grateful Dead Records GDCD40162 (2 CDs only). Dan Healy, prod.; Jeffrey Norman, Don Pearson, engs. ADD. TT: 109:12
GRATEFUL DEAD: Infrared Roses
Grateful Dead Records GDCD40142 (CD only). Bob Bralove, prod.; Jeffrey Norman, John Cutler, Dan Healy, Bob Bralove, engs. ADD. TT: 58:30
Grateful Dead Records GDCD40162 (2 CDs only). Dan Healy, prod.; Jeffrey Norman, Don Pearson, engs. ADD. TT: 109:12
GRATEFUL DEAD: Infrared Roses
Grateful Dead Records GDCD40142 (CD only). Bob Bralove, prod.; Jeffrey Norman, John Cutler, Dan Healy, Bob Bralove, engs. ADD. TT: 58:30
What I've always liked about the Dead is their willingness to take chances, to screw up in public and on record. To paraphrase Miles Davis, if you're not making mistakes, you're not making music.
Live Dead, the classic 1960s Grateful Dead concert album, was…