I think of Tony's theory every time…
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Tony, a mechanic friend of mine, once ran down for me his "national characteristics" theory of automobile engineering. Germans, he said, love precision engineering but don't take repair into account, so their engines are always placed in wells so perfectly proportioned that skinned knuckles are inevitable. British cars, he said, are marketed to a nation of tinkerers, hence the existence of dual carburetors. And Italian cars? "Well, let's just say they all resemble espresso makers." He said it—and he was the proverbial Fiat mechanic named Tony.
Out came Telarc's latest wonder disc: Paavo Järvi and the Cincinnati Symphony's performance of Elgar's Enigma Variations, coupled with Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra and Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes (CD-80660). Well, nothing shallow about that soundstage. As with the Chaloub, I was again impressed by the heft of the bottom end and the SuperNova's subtle delineation of dynamic contrast. The sound was articulate and vivid without seeming unusually forward or crisp, yet I was very aware that its presentation was forward rather than laid-back.
Many of us choose…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: CD player with remote control and digital input and output. Analog outputs: 1 pair unbalanced (RCA), 1 pair balanced (XLR). Digital outputs: 1 S/PDIF (RCA), 1 AES/EBU (XLR). Digital input: 1 S/PDIF (RCA). Maximum output level: 4V RMS at 1kHz (balanced), 2V RMS (unbalanced). Frequency response: 2Hz–72kHz, +0/–3dB (full-range); 20Hz–20kHz, +0/–0.1dB (audible). THD: <0.001% at 1kHz, 0dBFS, A-weighted. Intermodulation distortion: <0.003%. Intrinsic jitter: <25 picoseconds RMS. Power consumption: 25W.
Dimensions: 18.25" (476mm) W by 5.5" (…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Source: Ayre C-5xe universal player, Slim Devices Squeezebox.
Preamplifiers: Ayre K-1x, Conrad-Johnson ACT2, Krell Evolution 202, Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista.
Power Amplifiers: Ayre MX-R, Krell Evolution 600 (both monoblocks); Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 300.
Loudspeakers: Dynaudio Special Twenty-Five, Dynaudio Confidence C-4, Dynaudio Contour C-1, Vandersteen Quatro Wood.
Cables: Interconnect: Krell CAST, Shunyata Research Aries. Speaker: Shunyata Research Lyra, Stereovox Firebird. AC: Shunyata Research Anaconda & Orion.
Accessories…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The Simaudio Moon Evolution SuperNova put out a maximum of 4.132V at 1kHz from its balanced jacks, and exactly half that level from the unbalanced jacks, the latter 0.3dB above the CD standard's 2V RMS. Both outputs preserved absolute polarity (ie, were non-inverting), and the source impedance was a low 50 ohms unbalanced, 100 ohms balanced. Error correction was superb, the player not stuttering until the laser-cut gaps in the data spiral on the Pierre Verany Test CD were 2.4mm in length! (When a player has a digital output, I monitor the error-flag bit in the…
The first time I attended the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show, in January 1986, I didn't get there until the second day of the Show. Still, by the beginning of the fourth and final day I'd managed to visit every high-end audio exhibit, and still had time to go back for seconds to the rooms that had sounded the best. Twenty years later, CES has grown so much that it's impossible for a single writer to visit even a quarter of the exhibits in which he might be interested. And even with the sort of team reporting Stereophile now practices, covering the Show has become an exercise in applied…
And this enormous, stable soundstage had not been achieved—at least not obviously so—by the Design 4s throwing the necessary recorded treble detail forward at the listener so that the sonic clues to image depth could be more easily decoded. Tonally, yes, the Era's low treble was a little exaggerated in absolute terms, but this didn't flatten the image. What it did do was make the speaker rather intolerant of poor source quality. A favorite CD of mine, of orchestral works by Delius, is La Calinda (CD, EMI CDM 7 69534 2), a collection of recordings from 1962 through 1977. Not only was the…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, reflex-loaded, stand-mounted loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25mm) silk-dome tweeter, 4" (102mm) Kevlar/fiber-composite–cone woofer. Crossover frequency: 2kHz. Frequency response: not specified. Measured sensitivity: 83.5dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Nominal music power handling: 50–150W.
Dimensions: 9.6" (244mm) H by 6.8" (173mm) W by 5.8" (148mm) D. Weight: 10.6 lbs (4.8kg).
Finishes: Rosewood, cherry, sycamore, piano-black wood veneers; black fabric grille.
Serial Numbers Of Units Reviewed: 000067, 68.
Price: $600/pair…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Classé cdp-202 CD/DVD player, Ayre C-5xe universal player; Mark Levinson No.30.6, Benchmark DAC 1 D/A processors; Slim Devices Squeezebox WiFi music server with Apple Mac mini running OSX for media storage.
Preamplifier: Mark Levinson No.326S, Audio Research Reference 3.
Power Amplifiers: Mark Levinson No.33H monoblocks, Halcro dm38.
Loudspeakers: Revel Ultima Studio, Snell LCR7XL.
Cables: Digital: Kimber Illuminations Orchid AES/EBU, AudioQuest OptiLink-5 S/PDIF. Interconnect: AudioQuest Cheetah, Madrigal CZ Gel-1, Ayre…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
It came as no surprise to find that the tiny Era Design 4 was not very sensitive, 2.83V drive raising just 83.5dB(B) at 1m. However, its impedance remained above 8 ohms at almost all frequencies, with a minimum value of 6.2 ohms at 204Hz (fig.1). This speaker will not ask for much in the way of current from the partnering amplifier. In fact, it might work well with high-powered tube designs.
Fig.1 Era Acoustics Design 4, electrical impedance (solid) and phase (dashed). (2 ohms/vertical div.)
The impedance traces are free from the wrinkles…