I was excited when I heard that Art Dudley was going to review the Eclipse line preamplifier from German manufacturer Audio Valve (Stereophile, August 2007). I have owned the preamp for four years now and have enjoyed every minute of it. But I wondered what Art might say about it. To my ears, the Eclipse was detailed and dynamic, but had no sound of its own—no coloration, no sonic signature. How could AD stretch that into an entire review and make it informative and entertaining? I then thought…
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Robert J. Reina wrote about the Audio Valve Eclipse preamplifier in June 2008 (Vol.31 No.6):
Sidebar: Bob Reina's Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: VPI TNT IV turntable, Immedia RPM tonearm, Koetsu Urushi cartridge; Rega Planar 3 turntable, Syrinx PU-3 tonearm, Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood & Aurum Beta S cartridges.
Digital Sources: Lector CDP-7T, Creek Destiny CD players; Pioneer DV-333 DVD player.
Preamplification: Vendetta Research SCP-2D phono stage.
Power Amplifier: Audio Research Reference 110 II.
Integrated Amplifiers: Creek Destiny & Creek 5350SE.
Loudspeakers: NHT Classic 3, Nola Mini, Epos M5.
Cables: Interconnect (all MIT): Magnum M3, MI-350…
When I attend Stereophile's annual Home Entertainment show, I rarely sit and listen to music for very long. Instead, I try to hit every room, press the flesh, find out about new products, and play a little jazz.
But HE2006, in Los Angeles, was different. I must have spent three hours listening critically to the wonderful music and sound I heard in the three rooms occupied by the Audio Research Corporation, who'd hooked up their Reference line of electronics to speakers from Thiel, Vandersteen, and Wilson. The ARC gear included the Reference CD7 CD player, the Reference 3 line-…
The second of the 110's remarkable strengths was its ability to render high frequencies with a clean, pristine, extended presentation totally devoid of electronic artifacts. This was also my reaction to the high frequencies of ARC's Reference 3 line-stage preamplifier (see my Follow-Up in the June issue, p.139); in this region, clearly, these two designs were cut from the same sonic cloth. I tested the Reference 110 with both the Reference 3 and Audio Valve Eklipse's line stage, and the amp's high-frequency strengths shone through both (although the effect was notably greater with the ARC…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Stereo tubed power amplifier with balanced inputs and 4, 8, and 16 ohm output transformer taps. Tube complement: 4 matched pairs of 6550C output tubes, 4 6H30 driver tubes. Maximum output power: 110Wpc continuous, 20Hz–20kHz at 1kHz with THD typically 0.3% at 110W, <0.03% at 1W; 120W at clipping (20.8dBW). Frequency response: 0.6Hz–90kHz, –3dB. Input sensitivity: 1.8V RMS balanced for rated output (24dB balanced gain into 8 ohms). Input impedance: 300k ohms balanced. Output polarity: non-inverting. Damping factor: approximately 12. Hum &…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: VPI TNT IV turntable, Immedia RPM tonearm, Koetsu Urushi cartridge; Rega Planar 3 turntable, Syrinx PU-3 tonearm, Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood, Aurum Beta S cartridges.
Digital Sources: Lector CDP-7T, California Audio Labs Icon Mk.II Power Boss, Creek Destiny & CD53 Mk.II CD players; Pioneer DV-333 DVD player.
Preamplification: Vendetta Research SCP-2D phono stage; Audio Valve Eklipse, Audio Research Reference 3 line stages.
Power Amplifier: Audio Research VT100 Mk.II.
Integrated Amplifiers: Creek Destiny & Creek 5350SE.
…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Before performing any measurements on the Audio Research Reference 110 amplifier, I checked the bias of each pair of tubes, something made easy by the convenient probe sockets adjacent to the tubes on each of the circuit boards. All bias readings were within 1mV of the target 63mV, and the "Check" readings were all in the center of the specified range.
The specified input impedance is very high, at 300k ohms, and my estimate was in this region. (Measuring high input impedances is not very precise with our usual voltage-drop method, because of the very…
John Atkinson: Making It Live
The e-mail from Stereophile reviewer Bob Reina was straightforward: "I want to make a demo of my new jazz group. I plan to record the session in my living room by getting my old four-channel Teac 3440 out of mothballs and sticking one or two mikes on each instrument. I'd like your view on which mikes would be most appropriate for the four instruments . . . "
The e-mail from Stereophile reviewer Bob Reina was straightforward: "I want to make a demo of my new jazz group. I plan to record the session in my living room by getting my old four-channel Teac 3440 out of mothballs and sticking one or two mikes on each instrument. I'd like your view on which mikes would be most appropriate for the four instruments . . . "
After some thought, I got back to Bob with my ideas on miking and an offer to run tape for him. But what new group? Bob and I have been playing very occasional gigs in a jazz trio for the…
"Attention Screen is an attempt to do collectively in real time what a single composer does over a much longer period," explains Bob Reina. "To do that, we have to listen very carefully to what the other three guys are doing, and we have to react immediately to everything we hear to move the piece in a different direction. It's satisfying, but it's also a nerve-racking process."
In 1968, I ran into Steve Lacy on the street in Rome. I took out my pocket tape recorder and asked him to describe in 15 seconds the difference between composition and improvisation. He answered: "In 15 seconds,…
John Atkinson: Making It Different
If there is one aspect of modern rock recording techniques that tires me, it is the overuse of compressors and limiters. Not only are songs dynamically squashed to the point where they sound uniformly and fatiguingly loud throughout, even when played quietly, but the natural dynamics of the drum and bass guitar tracks, in particular, are reduced so that they are reproduced at an unrealistically uniform level.
If there is one aspect of modern rock recording techniques that tires me, it is the overuse of compressors and limiters. Not only are songs dynamically squashed to the point where they sound uniformly and fatiguingly loud throughout, even when played quietly, but the natural dynamics of the drum and bass guitar tracks, in particular, are reduced so that they are reproduced at an unrealistically uniform level.
The situation is similar in the frequency domain: modern rock recording techniques appear to demand that every instrument be…