search

Recording of September 1990: <I>Dream Letter</I>

TIM BUCKLEY: Dream Letter (Live in London 1968)
Tim Buckley, vocals, 12-string; Lee Underwood, guitar; David Friedman, vibes; Danny Thompson, bass
Enigma Retro/Straight 73507-2 (2 CDs only). Bill Inglot, Lee Hammond, prods.; Bill Inglot, Ken Perry, John Strother, engs. AAD. TT: 116:42

From time to time during the third of my life I sleep away every night, I dream of new releases by some of my favorite musicians. The music of those dream-records is always less interesting but always more melancholy than what's eventually released. Listening to this aptly titled album, the first of…

Good Bets, Possibilities, & Improbables

During the past 10 years, perfectionist audio has garnered for itself an impressive accretion of lore, much of which has never been accepted by the so-called scientific community.

Some of this is backed by sufficient evidence, forrnal or otherwise, that it must be accepted as Probable Truth. Some is almost certainly rubbish, worthy of note only by mystics and charlatans who would use mysticism to promote their audio image. In the middle is a wide range of what can be considered questionable doctrine, embraced by some and scorned by others.

Much of this audio legend has to do…

Good Bets, Possibilities, & Improbables Page 2

"Different audio plugs sound different."

Different plug materials are more prone to oxidation of their contact surfaces than others, and oxide accumulations often are audible. (Many metallic oxides are partial rectifiers, passing one signal polarity more readily than the other. This imposes an asymmetrical bias on audio signals.) However, no evidence has been presented to support the claim that different plug materials affect sound when all contact surfaces are clean.

Improbables
"Sound quality is affected by the proximity of structural surfaces to the speaker wires…

Cary Audio Design SLM-100 monoblock power amplifier

Although I'll be spending most of my time at Stereophile reviewing affordable gear, I will from time to time examine so-called "trickle-down" designs from high-end designers who have made their mark in the upper-price echelons. More and more, such designers are taking what they've learned and applying it to less-expensive products in order to broaden their customer base. Cary Audio Design, for example, of single-ended triode fame, has entered the ring with the SLM-100 pentode monoblocks.

I should mention that I reacted to the single-ended triode phenomenon with great skepticism. My…

Cary Audio Design SLM-100 monoblock power amplifier Page 2

The Cary's high-frequency reproduction was sweet and extended, but on certain recordings the transients could sound a bit slow. This occasionally made percussion sound a bit blunted, and highly modulated cymbal and gong crashes swished a bit. But this was a very subtle effect, and was less noticeable than with the original SLM-100, in production before the middle of 1994 (and which used a slightly different input stage and tube complement). The earlier model sounded noticeably sluggish on all material.

Bass reproduction could plunge convincingly into the nether regions, at least up to…

Cary Audio Design SLM-100 monoblock power amplifier Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Push-pull, class-A, monoblock tube amplifier. Output power: 113W into 8 ohms (20.5dBW), 100W into 4 ohms (17dBW). Frequency response: 9Hz–30kHz, +0, –0.75dB, at 1W; 15Hz–23kHz, ±0.5dB, at full power. Input sensitivity: 750mV for full output. Input impedance: 150k ohms. Noise and hum: 80dB below rated output. Damping factor: >30, equivalent to an output impedance just above 0.3 ohms.
Dimensions: 6" H by 10" W by 20" D. Weight: 40 lbs.
Price: $3495/pair; optional chrome chassis adds $500/pair (1996); no longer available (2009). Approximate…

Cary Audio Design SLM-100 monoblock power amplifier System

Sidebar 2: System

To audition the Carys, I utilized my Goldmund Studio/Syrinx PU-3 Revised/Koetsu Urushi and CAL Delta/Sigma II front-ends. Preamplification was via a Vendetta Research SCP-2C phono stage and Audible Illusions Modulus 3 and L1 line stages. Speakers were the Infinity RS-1Bs (amplified by a Perreaux 2150B amplifier below 100Hz), and the full-range Acarian Systems Alón 5 Mk.IIs. Comparison amplifier was the Audio Research Classic 60. Wires included MIT MI-350 Twin CVTerminator and MIT '330 Shotgun interconnects, MIT Digital Reference interconnect, MIT MH-770 Twin…

Cary Audio Design SLM-100 monoblock power amplifier Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

Following its one-hour, 1/3-power preconditioning test, the Cary SLM-100 was typically hot for a tube amplifier. Its voltage gain into 8 ohms measured 26.7dB, the input impedance a high 123.6k ohms. DC offset was effectively zero. The SLM-100 was non-inverting, a positive-going input emerging positive at the output. The unweighted S/N ratio (ref. 1W into 8 ohms) was 77.4dB over both 22Hz–22kHz and 10Hz–500kHz bandwidths. A-weighting improved the figure to 90dB. Despite Cary's claimed high damping factor, the SLM-100's output impedance varied between 5.4 ohms and a…

Manley Labs Reference 240 monoblock power amplifier

In the name of journalistic ethics (footnote 1) I have to come clean. David Manley once gave me a gift. He presented me with a large, rather heavy, Russian-made watch at the 1995 Las Vegas WCES. A very manly watch: In fact, it said "Manley" right on the dial. The watch worked fine for about six months. Then it developed a very subjective approach to timekeeping. Time stood still, and my life wasn't even passing before my eyes. The watch has become a nice, albeit slightly ugly, mini–boat anchor; now my rubber ducky stays where I put it in my bathtub.

Giving someone a present is…

Manley Labs Reference 240 monoblock power amplifier Page 2

The Soft-Start setting also protects the amplifier against brownouts. Unlike most tube amps, whose owners often leave them on permanently to insure optimum performance, the Manley 240 can be left in Soft-Start mode. Then, if your local power company decides to brownout (suddenly dropping the voltage), the subsequent surge should do no damage. In an amplifier with a regular standby mode, such surges may damage components, since all but the B+ rail is still fully powered.

The Manley's Soft-Start setting is not the same as a mute. Not only will music still play through the Reference 240…