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The Fifth Element #42 Page 2

Ultrasone Edition 9 headphones
Ultrasone's earlier top-of-the-line model, the Edition 7, was a limited edition. The Edition 9 ($1500) does not appear to be such. Which is all to the good. I can imagine quite a few headphone listeners falling for the Edition 9's ultra-rich, lush, seductive sound.

The Edition 9s are dynamic, closed-back headphones. The drivers are 40mm titanium. The headphone cord is a nondetachable Y running to both sides. A hinge-and-pivot arrangement allows the earpieces to flop flat for storage in the provided mock-Anvil transit case. The earpieces can…

The Fifth Element #42 Page 3

Oppo DV-970HD universal player
A few quick words about this inexpensive universal digital player ($149), which punches far above its weight class. At the time of writing, I had no idea what Wes Phillips said about it, but his full review was published in the May issue. Judging only by its two-channel audio performance, the Oppo DV-970HD is a very respectable player. Taking its price into account, it is an exceptional bargain.

Oppo thoughtfully includes an Audio Only function on the remote control, which disables the player's video functions. However, I could hear no difference, even…

The Fifth Element #42 Contacts

Sidebar: Contacts

Cardas Audio, Ltd., 480 11th Street SE, Bandon, OR 97411. Tel: (541) 347-2484. Fax: (541) 347-2301. Web: www.cardas.com.

Brian Cheney. Web: www.briancheneytenor.com.

Oppo Digital, Inc., 453 Ravendale Drive, Suite D, Mountain View, CA 94043. Tel: (650) 961-1118. Fax: (650) 961-1119. Web: www.oppodigital.com.

Pearl Microphone Labs, Independent Audio, 43 Deerfield Road, Portland ME 04101. Tel: (207) 773-2424. Web: www.independentaudio.com.

RudiStor Sound Systems, AudioResearch Alliance LLC, 3422 Old Capitol Trail, Wilmington, DE 19808-6124.…

Chesky's 24/96 DVDs & HI-FI '98

"What the heck is that icon trying to tell me?" I had switched on Denon's new DVD-3000 player—a cute "Welcome to DVD World" message scrolled across its display—and put a disc in its drawer. The icon, which looked at best like a Japanese character and at worst like a child's drawing of a house (complete with windows), was lit up in light blue on the display. But the game was given away by the magic words "96kHz 24 bit" illuminated in red below the mysterious icon. For this was no DVD movie, but a test pressing of Chesky's new Super Audio Disc, The Super Audio Collection & Professional Test…

Bridges to Babylon

Stadium rock is my idea of the inner circle of Hell. I hate crowds. I have zero interest in the rich and famous. And I've never been much of a Rolling Stones fan. Give me a choice, and I'll take Weslia Whitfield at the Plush Room 10 times out of 10: a cushy seat, some witty companions, a little Irving Berlin and Cole Porter. Heavenly.

So why did I find myself within spitting distance of Mick Jagger & Crew at the Oakland Coliseum? My significant other's enthusiastic cajoling...and a music-merchandising friend's promise of easy tickets, easy parking, and a private box.

We…

Recording of July 2007: <I>The Third Quartet</I>

JOHN ABERCROMBIE: The Third Quartet
John Abercrombie, electric & acoustic guitar; Mark Feldman, violin; Marc Johnson, bass; Joey Baron, drums
ECM 1993 (CD). 2007. Manfred Eicher, prod.; James Farber, eng. DDD. TT: 59:45
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½

John Abercrombie has never become a star like the other major jazz guitarists of his generation, Pat Metheny and John Scofield and Bill Frisell. He gives up nothing to them in chops or artistic depth, but Abercrombie lacks the instincts of a crowd-pleaser. There are guitar hooks that are guaranteed to bring the masses to…

Life, Love, and The Big Ahh

A fellow member of the Bay Area Audiophile Society recently forwarded to me a link to Wikipedia's entry for audiophile. It's a horror. Even before the page defines the word, it begins with a large question mark, circled in green, and the warning, "This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references."

The one-sentence definition that follows, "An audiophile, from Latin audire 'to hear' and Greek philos 'loving,' can be generally defined as a person dedicated to achieving high fidelity in the recording and playback of music…

AAD Reference Silver-1 loudspeaker

Bookshelf loudspeaker. The phrase may be common usage, but I really dislike describing small speakers as "bookshelf" models. Place a pair of high-performance minis on a bookshelf against the wall and you destroy much of the sound quality for which you've paid. Yet place the same speakers on good stands well away from room boundaries, and while it could be argued that their footprint is no smaller than a conventional tower speaker, with the best designs you'll get true high-end sound, particularly regarding the accuracy of midrange reproduction and the stability of stereo imaging.

In…

AAD Reference Silver-1 loudspeaker Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Two-way, stand-mounted, reflex-loaded loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25mm) horn-loaded, flat-diaphragm, Helical Conductive Transducer (HCT) tweeter; 5" (127mm) honeycomb-cone woofer. Crossover frequency: 2.8kHz. Crossover slopes: second-order low-pass, third-order high-pass. Frequency response: 40Hz–40kHz, ±2dB. Nominal impedance: 6 ohms, "compatible with 8 ohm load." Sensitivity: 87dB/2.83V/m. Recommended amplification: 50–200W.
Dimensions: 14.6" (371mm) H by 7.6" (193mm) W by 14.2" (360mm) D. Weight: 22 lbs (10kg) each.
Finishes: High-gloss…

AAD Reference Silver-1 loudspeaker Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital Sources: Ayre C-5xe universal player; Mark Levinson No.30.6, Benchmark DAC 1 D/A processors; Slim Devices Squeezebox WiFi music player with Apple Mac mini running OSX for media storage.
Preamplifiers: Mark Levinson No.326S, Ayre K-5xe.
Power Amplifiers: Mark Levinson No.33H monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: PSB Alpha B1, Stirling LS3/5a V2, Harbeth HL-P3ES2.
Cables: Digital: Kimber Illuminations Orchid AES/EBU, AudioQuest OptiLink-5 S/PDIF. Interconnect (balanced): AudioQuest Cheetah, Ayre Signature Series, Crystalconnect. Speaker: AudioQuest…