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Listening #44

"Happy is he who gets to know the reasons for things." —Virgil

In February 2000, a physicist at Bell Labs announced that he had succeeded in creating molecular-scale transistors. Imagine!

The researcher in question, one Jan Hendrik Schön, produced hundreds of pages of graphs and other data that appeared to support his claim, some of which were submitted for publication in Science. Virtually overnight, as these things go, Science's readers hailed the work as a genuine breakthrough in the field of nanophysics.

But there was a problem: When fellow researchers…

Listening #44 Page 2

Listen twice, boast once
Granted, this isn't Psychology Today, and I haven't the remotest idea why some people (footnote 3) are driven to prevent others from enjoying audio in their own harmless ways, any more than I can explain why some people bring the same crusader fixation to such disparate fields as dietary supplements, tropical fish, and religion. It simply appears that, no matter how socially inert the sin, there will never be a shortage of people whose sole pleasure is in haranguing the sinners. Not punishing, mind you. Not rehabilitating. Just amusing themselves with public…

McIntosh C1000 preamplifier system

Still burning in my bank of childhood memories are misty images of the glowing green lettering on the McIntosh tube preamps and tuners that populated the windows of the audio stores that once lined lower Manhattan's Cortlandt Street. Leonard's and most of those other retailers are long gone—as are most of the audio brands that shared their windows with McIntosh, and that once symbolized the might of American innovation and manufacturing. Even the World Trade Center, the controversial complex that replaced Cortlandt Street's "Radio Row," where the hi-fi industry was born, is tragically gone…

McIntosh C1000 preamplifier system Page 2

Among the Setup features are input-level trim, so that the volume doesn't "jump" between inputs; a Pass Thru mode for use in a multichannel sound or home theater system; adjustments for the fluorescent display and meter brightness; input title reassignment (for instance, if you have a DVD player plugged into the Aux input, you can change that input's label to read "DVD"). And, of course, in Setup mode you can change MM capacitance and MC resistive loading. You can even set the C1000 for mono operation, via the Setup menu or the remote control. Actually, there are two remote controls: a…

McIntosh C1000 preamplifier system Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

C1000T: tube preamplifier. Tube complement: eight 12AX7. Frequency response: 10Hz–20kHz, +0/–0.5dB. THD: 0.08%, 20Hz–20kHz (no level quoted). Signal/noise ratios: high level: 93dB (ref. 2.5V output unbalanced, 5V balanced); phono, 80dB(ref. 10mV input, MM; 1mV input, MC). Maximum output: 8V RMS single-ended, 16V RMS balanced. Output impedance: 220 ohms. Maximum input levels: 5V single-ended, 10V balanced, high level; 50mV (MM), 5mV (MC), phono. Sensitivity, high level, for 2.5V output: 450mV (high level), 4.5mV (MM), 0.45mV (MC).
Serial Number Of Unit…

McIntosh C1000 preamplifier system Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog Sources: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn turntable; Continuum Cobra, Graham Phantom tonearms; Lyra Titan (stereo & mono), Miyabi/47 Labs cartridges.
Digital Sources: Musical Fidelity kW SACD player, Alesis Masterlink BPT-modified hard-disk recorder.
Preamplification: Manley Steelhead, Blue Amp 42, PS Audio GCPH, Oracle Temple phono preamplifiers.
Power Amplifiers: Musical Fidelity kW, mbl 9007 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson MAXX 2, Merlin VSM.
Cables: Phono: CrystalConnect Piccolo. Interconnect: Acrolink 6100, Shunyata Research…

McIntosh C1000 preamplifier system Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

I performed full sets of measurements on both McIntosh preamplifiers, for both balanced and unbalanced operation, but the two units turned out to be electrically so similar that I've combined my comments on both into a single sidebar.

The phono stages, of course, are unbalanced only; I examined their behavior at each preamp's Processor Out jacks. The MM stages of the C1000P and C1000T are noninverting and offered a voltage gain of 40.1dB and an input impedance of 47k ohms across most of the audioband, the latter dropping inconsequentially to 42.5k ohms at…

Infinity Reference Standard 1B loudspeaker

I'll say one thing right off about the Infinity RS-1B: It sure looks as if you're getting your money's worth.

The system comes in five sections: two woofer columns, two upper-range columns, and an active crossover and servo control module. Each bass column contains six 8" polypropylene-cone woofers. Each upper-range column contains seven of Infinity's proprietary EMIM ribbon midrange drivers and four EMIT ribbon tweeters (one of them aiming out the rear, of all things!). System crossovers are at 125Hz (nominal), 750Hz, 3kHz, and 8kHz, and the number of operating drivers diminishes as the…

Infinity Reference Standard 1B loudspeaker Testing for Oscillation

Sidebar: Testing for Oscillation

Here is the most straightforward way of ascertaining whether a power amplifier will be stable (ie, won't oscillate) in actual use, with adequate protection against damage if it does oscillate. Low-current fuses are the cheapest form of protection.

If the amplifier is already equipped with speaker fuses in its outputs, replace these with 0.25A (250mA) fast-blow fuses. (If it hasn't its own fuses, buy a couple of standard in-line fuse holders, put one in series with the Hot output from each amp channel, and install the 0.25A fuses.)

Connect…

Infinity Reference Standard 1B loudspeaker Anthony H. Cordesman

Anthony H. Cordesman also wrote about the RS-1B in April 1985 (Vol.8 No.4):

It is a 14-mile drive from my mansion to the outer gates of the estate. I normally enjoy the quiet groveling of my peasants as the chauffeur drives my Rolls along this route. More and more, however, these peasants stop my Rolls to ask why I review so many expensive speakers. My answer—as I casually flick their broken and mangled bodies off the fender—is that expensive speakers sound better.

The Infinity Reference Standard 1B is a good case in point. Truly a speaker for members of our social and economic…