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Recording of February 2009: <I>Cardinology</I>

RYAN ADAMS: Cardinology
Lost Highway B0012195-02 (CD, LP, 7" EP). 2008. Tom Schick, prod., eng.; Noah Goldstein, asst. eng. AAD?, AAA. TT: 40:29
Performance ****
Sonics ****

For many years, music fan, singer-songwriter, and cantankerous artiste Ryan Adams paid homage to what felt right. With his first band of note, the Raleigh, North Carolina–based Whiskeytown, he played a twangy fiddle-and-pedal-steel country-rock birthed on the altar of punk rock and liberally raised with respect for the songwriting and soul of performers like Gram Parsons and Jagger-Richards. Slowly but…

Bryston BCD-1 CD player

Bryston's first CD player, the $2695 BCD-1, is a drawer-loading player with a front panel of polished aluminum. The slim disc drawer, engraved with the Bryston logo, sits in the panel's center. To the drawer's left are an infrared sensor and Open/Close button, then a two-line, 16-character alphanumeric display. To the drawer's right are the usual transport controls and a power On/Off button. All of these functions are also accessible via the BCD-1's remote control, as well as two more: Back and Forward. Hold down either and the player moves through the selected track at several times normal…

Bryston BCD-1 CD player Page 2

The DAC's analog signal is fed to an output stage running in class-A and assembled from discrete components, which makes possible higher power outputs than are obtainable from integrated circuits. Bryston's extensive sorting and grading of the components comprising the analog output amplifiers are claimed to result in superior test-bench performance.

Listening
The BCD-1's shape and compactness allowed me to place it on one of my narrow equipment shelves, where it neatly replaced the Krell KPS-28c that had been returned to the manufacturer. Having reviewed and loved the sound of…

Bryston BCD-1 CD player Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: CD/CD-R player with remote control. Digital outputs: transformer-coupled AES/EBU (XLR), S/PDIF (RCA), TosLink (optical). Analog outputs: 1 pair balanced (XLR), 1 pair unbalanced (RCA). Control inputs: RS-232 port via 9-pin subminiature connector. Digital inputs: none. Remote 12V power-on/off trigger included. Maximum output level: 2.3V RMS unbalanced, 4.6V balanced. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, ±0.2dB. Channel separation: 109dB at 1kHz. THD+noise: 0.002%. Output impedance: not specified. Noise: <100dB, 20Hz–20kHz, ref. 1V. Signal/noise ratio:…

Bryston BCD-1 CD player Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital Sources: Sony SCD-C555ES multichannel SACD/CD player, Krell KPS-28c CD player, Bryston B100-DA D/A amplifier.
Preamplifier: Mark Levinson ML-7.
Power Amplifiers: Mark Levinson ML2 (monoblocks) & No.334.
Integrated Amplifier: Bryston B100-DA.
Loudspeakers: Burmester B25, Quad ESL-989, Revel Ultima Salon2.
Cables: Digital: Wireworld Starlight coaxial. Interconnect: Mark Levinson Silver, Red Rose Silver One, Totem Acoustic Sinew single-ended, PSC Pristine 8, Bryston balanced. Speaker: QED X-Tube 400, PSC R50 double-ribbon biwire,…

Bryston BCD-1 CD player Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

I examined the Bryston BCD-1's measured behavior mainly using Audio Precision's top-model SYS2722 system (see www.ap.com and "As We See It" in the January 2008 issue), as well as, for some tests, our Audio Precision System One and the Miller Audio Research Jitter Analyzer. As always, I experimented with the grounding between the player being tested and the test set to give the lowest level of measured hum.

The BCD-1's error correction was excellent; the player suffered no dropouts until the gaps in the data spiral on the Pierre Verany Test CD reached 1.5mm…

Marantz SA-11S2 Reference SACD/CD Player

Unless you've already acquired a large collection of SACDs, buying a player in 2009 necessitates an act of faith similar to the one turntable buyers faced back in 1992. As with the LP back then, the major labels today have all but abandoned the SACD to such niche players as Chesky, Proprius, Harmonia Mundi, Pentatone, Channel Classics, 2L, Telarc, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, Groove Note, and Acoustic Sounds.

Meanwhile, at least for the time being, major labels—even Sony—have gotten back into vinyl in a big way; between them and the independent and reissue labels, there are now…

Marantz SA-11S2 Reference SACD/CD Player Page 2

The choice of filters was less important with bright, hard-sounding CDs, of which there are too many; like a warm-sounding phono cartridge, the Marantz could make a silk purse of a sow's ear, and did so with many CDs, particularly recent reissues of vintage pop recordings.

Against the Cary 306
After I'd been happily listening for a few months to the SA-11S2's warm, detailed, emotionally involving sound, John Atkinson sent along Cary Audio Design's CD 306 Professional Version SACD player ($8000) that he had reviewed in November 2008 (Vol.31 No.11). He suggested I use it as a…

Marantz SA-11S2 Reference SACD/CD Player Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Single-box, fixed-output, two-channel SACD player with remote control, switchable DC filter and Noise Shaper, and three playback Filter settings. Formats played: SACD, CD, CD-R, CD-RW. Analog outputs: 1 pair unbalanced (RCA), 1 pair balanced (XLR). Digital outputs: coaxial S/PDIF, TosLink S/PDIF. Clock input: BNC. Frequency range: 2Hz–50kHz (SACD, Filter 3), 2Hz–20kHz (CD, Filter 1). Dynamic range: 114dB (SACD, Filter 3), 100dB (CD, Filter 1). THD: 0.0009% (SACD, Filter 3), 0.002% (CD, Filter 1). Power consumption: 26W.
Dimensions: 17.3" (444mm…

Marantz SA-11S2 Reference SACD/CD Player Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog Sources: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn, Cobra, & Castellon turntable, tonearm & stand; Graham Phantom tonearm; Lyra Titan i, Koetsu Coralstone Platinum mono cartridges.
Digital Sources: Musical Fidelity kW DM25 CD transport & DAC, Cary Audio Design 306 Professional Version SACD player, BPT-modified Alesis Masterlink hard-disk recorder.
Preamplification: Manley Steelhead, Einstein Turntable's Choice phono preamplifiers; darTZeel NHB-18NS preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: Musical Fidelity kW monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson MAXX…