Description: Integrated CD player. D/A conversion: 8x-oversampling, 4 Burr-Brown PCM1704 K 24-bit/96kHz D/A converter chips. Digital filter: Burr-Brown DF1704 24-bit/96kHz. Output level: fixed, 2.0V unbalanced, 4.0V balanced. THD+noise: 0.01%, 20Hz–20kHz. Output impedance: 100 ohms. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, +0/–0.5dB. Signal/noise: 105dB, A-weighted. Outputs, analog: 1 pair unbalanced (RCA), 1 pair balanced (XLR). Outputs, digital: 75 ohm S/PDIF (RCA), 110 ohm AES/EBU (XLR), optical. Inputs: RS-232, Primare intercomponent data link. Power consumption: 34W…
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Source: VPI HR-X turntable & tonearm, Lyra Titan cartridge.
Preamplification: Sutherland PhD phono stage; Sutherland Direct, Placette Active, VTL TL-7.5 Series 2 line stages.
Power Amplifiers: VTL Ichiban & S-400, Halcro dm58 & dm88.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Sophia 2.
Cables: Interconnects & speaker: Stereovox, Shunyata Research, Nordost. AC: Audience, Shunyata Research.
Accessories: Audience AdeptResponse, Shunyata Research Hydra power conditioners; Finite Elemente Reference equipment stand, Cera-ball…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
From its unbalanced jacks, the Primare CD31's maximum output level at 1kHz was 2.086V, just 0.37dB higher than the CD standard's 2V. As expected, the balanced output was exactly twice the unbalanced value, at 4.173V. Both outputs were absolute-polarity correct; ie, non-inverting (the XLRs are wired with pin 2 hot, the AES standard). The output impedance was a low 100 ohms across the audioband from the unbalanced jacks and, again as expected, exactly twice that figure from the balanced jacks. Error correction was superb, the CD31 suffering no audible glitches in…
"I have a really special loudspeaker I want you to hear," said Immedia's Allen Perkins at Home Entertainment 2006.
I entered the Immedia room and followed Perkins to the floorstanding Sonics by Joachim Gerhard Allegrias ($15,000/pair). Yes, baby! I thought. But Perkins kept walking, all the way to a table in the rear of the showroom. He waved at a pair of tiny boxes.
"They're, um, small," I said.
"Yes. I think the Anima is my favorite speaker in the Sonics by Joachim Gerhard product line."
"Is Sonics by Joachim Gerhard really the brand name? I think…
Another example of this was John Atkinson's unreleased recording of Attention Screen performing live at Otto's Shrunken Head, a bar on Manhattan's Lower East Side. The recording isn't fancy—JA just set up an ORTF pair of DPA cardioid microphones and recorded direct to his PowerBook's hard drive at 24/88.2. He left the intervals between the songs intact, so there's lots of ambient crowd chatter and bar business going on throughout the recording. And between songs, someone received a cell-phone call—one of the sounds of the real world we're all too familiar with. JA gave me a copy of the…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, stand-mounted, ported loudspeaker. Drive-units: 0.86" (22mm) metal-dome tweeter, 5.9" (150mm) anodized-aluminum woofer. Crossover frequency: 2.7kHz . Frequency responses: 70Hz–33kHz, –3dB; 100Hz–30kHz, –2dB. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Sensitivity: 86dB/m/2.83V/m.
Dimensions: 13" (330mm) H by 7" (180mm) W by 9" (240mm) D. Weight: 11.7 lbs (5.3kg).
Finishes: Birdseye maple, Maccassa ebony, pear wood.
Serial Numbers Of Units Reviewed: 118 A/B.
Price: $2600/pair. Approximate number of dealers: 7.
Manufacturer: Sonics by Joachim…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Oppo Digital DV-970HD universal player, Slim Devices Transporter digital network player.
Preamplifier: Krell Evolution 202.
Power Amplifiers: Channel Island Audio D-100, Portal Paladin (both monoblocks).
Loudspeakers: Dynaudio Special Twenty-Five, Wilson Audio Specialties WATT/Puppy 8.
Cables: Interconnect: Kimber KCAG, Shunyata Research Aries & Antares. Speaker: Shunyata Research Lyra.
Accessories: Foundation speaker stands, Furutech eTP-609 distribution box & FP-20A(R) duplex outlets, RealTrap Mini & Mondo…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The little Sonics by Joachim Gerhard Anima is of slightly below-average voltage sensitivity, at an estimated 85dB(B)/2.83V/m. Its impedance varies around an average of 8 ohms in the midrange and bass, but falls to a minimum of 3.6 ohms in the mid-treble (fig.1). As a result, it might sound a little more laid-back with tube amplifiers having a high source impedance than it will with typical solid-state amps. The electrical phase angle is generally modest, so the Anima should be fairly easy to drive.
Fig.1 Sonics Anima, electrical impedance (solid)…
There's something a bit oddball about the notion of a $16,500 integrated amplifier—until you stop to consider that the market is fairly drenched with preamps and power amps that, together, cost that much and more. And putting both pre- and power amp in a single chassis cuts down on storage (one less shelf), accessories (one less pair of cable), and electrical outlets (one socket freed up).
Still, it must be a tough sell; it seems a novelty, along the lines of the $100 Kobe beef burger or the $1000 caviar omelet offered at certain Manhattan restaurants. The kind of people who…
Finally, I switched to the CAST outputs, using Krell's proprietary CAST cable. That's when everything locked into focus.
Sound
As noted, I spent a few months last year listening to Krell's FPB-400cx, the beefier version of the 300cx that serves as the FBI's foundation. Certain things about the FBI sounded familiar: the tight deep bass, thunderous dynamics, and snappy transients. But, even at the outset, when I was using the single-ended inputs, there was something new: greater detail, even delicacy, in the timbres and textures of instruments.
Long gone are the days when…