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Classé cdp-202 CD/DVD player Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

The Classé cdp-202's balanced jacks put out a maximum of 3.8V from both CD and DVD, the single-ended RCA jacks 1.915V, the latter 0.4dB below the CD standard's 2V RMS level. The source impedance was a low 100 ohms from the unbalanced jacks, 596 ohms from the balanced jacks. The signal polarity was noninverting from both the single-ended and the balanced outputs, suggesting that the XLRs are wired with pin 2 hot, the AES-recommended practice.

Monitoring the cdp-202's digital output with RME's DIGIcheck program running on my PC, there were no flagged errors…

Brinkmann EMT Titanium phono cartridge

There are a thousand different ways to make a loudspeaker. A hundred to make an amplifier. And at least a million to make a piece of wire. But here's the deal with a moving-coil phono cartridge: stylus, cantilever, rubber grommet, tensioning wire, coils, magnet, output pins, and maybe a body. Done.

,. That's one reason I love cartridges so well: The physical and technical differences among various makes and models don't seem remarkable, yet the sonic and musical results of those differences certainly are. Even those audio mavens who think of themselves (howsoever wrongly) as…

Brinkmann EMT Titanium phono cartridge Page 2

From within that space, a wealth of realistic sonic detail emerged—something I also like well. I've written before about my fondness for Leonard Cohen's New Skin for the Old Ceremony (Columbia C 33167), and how that 1974 album really came to life for me when I acquired my first moving-coil phono cartridge. The Brinkmann EMT extracted still more realism—Cohen's nylon-string guitar sounded even righter than before, with no trace of brightness. The acoustic and electric basses on the record sounded fine, too, with similar gains in texture and believable color.

On John Barbirolli…

Brinkmann EMT Titanium phono cartridge Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Low-output moving-coil cartridge. Stylus profile: van den Hul. Nominal Output: 0.21mV. Compliance: 15cu. Crosstalk: >25dB (1kHz). Vertical tracking angle: 23°. Recommended load: 600 ohms (active). Recommended downforce: 1.8–2.0gm.
Weight: 11gm.
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed: 1205.
Price: $2850. Approximate number of dealers: 14.
Manufacturers: EMT Studiotechnik GmbH, Industriestrasse 25, 77972 Mahlberg, Germany. Tel: (49) 7825-877811. Web: www.emt-studiotechnik.de. Brinkmann Audio, Im Himmelreich 13, 88147 Achberg, Germany. Tel: (49)…

Brinkmann EMT Titanium phono cartridge Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog Sources: Linn LP12 turntable, Naim Armageddon power supply, Naim Aro tonearm; Linn Akiva, Miyabi 47, Supex 900 Super cartridges; Linn Linto, Artemis PH-1 phono preamplifiers; Tamura TKS-83 moving-coil step-up transformer.
Digital Sources: Naim CD5x/Flatcap 2X CD player; Sony SCD-777ES SACD player.
Preamplifiers: Audio Note M3 Phono, Lamm LL2.
Power Amplifiers: Lamm ML2.1 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Quad ESL, Quad ESL-989.
Cables: Interconnect: Audio Note AN-Vx & Sogon, Nordost Valhalla, Ayre. Speaker: Audio Note AN-SPe, Nordost…

AKG Acoustics K 701 headphones

Oh mama, was I ever excited when I heard rumors of the existence of AKG's K 701! If you're among the audiophiles who sneer at those of us who like headphones, you're probably rolling your eyes and thinking I must lack a rich inner life.

But hold on there, Skippy—some of us use those cans in our prosumer studios, in recording sessions, and even in barn-burning late-night critical listening sessions where we employ ancillary equipment that would beggar your jaded high-end sensibilities. We're not talking about the three-buck, upchuck disposable 'phones your friendly flight attendant flogs…

AKG Acoustics K 701 headphones Page 2

I'd been given a copy of Geoff Emerick's Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles, so it seemed only natural to pull out copies of the Beatles recordings I was reading about, starting with Revolver (CD, Capitol 025764), the first album on which Emerick sat in the balance engineer's chair. Whoa! I came to about 40 minutes later, when the book fell off my lap. The 701s are not a good choice for listening and reading—music sounds too good to be relegated to the background.

The things I do for this magazine.

I'd intended to follow the text and home in on…

AKG Acoustics K 701 headphones Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Open-back, circumaural, dynamic headphones with neodymium magnet system. Frequency range: 10Hz–39.8kHz. Impedance at 1kHz: 62 ohms. Sensitivity: 105dB/V. Maximum input power: 200mW. Acoustic seal: open. Ear coupler: full size. Driver: dynamic. Coupler: large. Cable: 99.99% OFC, "balanced" (separate ground for each channel). Cord: 10', straight, left side. Connector: ¼".
Weight: 8.3oz (235gm), not including cable.
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed: 1935.
Price: $450. Approximate number of dealers: 1100.
Manufacturer: AKG Acoustics GmbH,…

AKG Acoustics K 701 headphones Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital Sources: Ayre C5-xe universal player; Musical Fidelity X-RayV3, Quad CDP-2 CD players.
Headphone Amplifiers: HeadRoom Micro DeskTop & DeskTop Max, Channel Islands VHP-1, Ray Samuels Audio SR-71 & Hornet, Musical Fidelity X-CansV3.
Preamplifier: Conrad-Johnson CT5.
Cables: Interconnect: Audience Au24, Shunyata Research Aries, Stereovox Colibri.
Accessories: Furutech TP-80 and Audience adeptResponse power conditioners, Shunyata Research Hydra power-distribution system; OSAR Selway/Magruder equipment racks; Ayre Myrtle Wood Blocks…

AKG Acoustics K 701 headphones Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

It is difficult to make a meaningful measurement of a headphone's frequency response, not least because a flat response is not actually what is required. However, I did measure how the K 701's impedance changes with frequency (fig.1), as that gives an indication of how hard the headphones will be for the amplifier to drive. The AKG's impedance ranges between 60 and 65 ohms across most of the audioband, with a low electrical phase angle. The angle starts to increase above the low treble, but so does the impedance, due to the voice-coil inductance. This increase…