The genre has, so far, failed to attract the lions of the loudspeaker industry. Yes, the Klipsch and Tannoy lines still include some high-efficiency models—living fossils, mostly, from an era when all amps were low-power amps—and, among smaller…
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For 15 years, lovers of low-power amplifiers have clamored for more and better high-efficiency loudspeakers (footnote 1). For 15 years, their choices have remained limited to products with varying combinations of colored sound, poor spatial performance, basslessness, high cost, and cosmetics that range from the weak to the repulsive.
The latter is important in light of the high-frequency driver chosen for the Essence: a 2.5" aluminum-alloy ribbon manufactured by Tang Band of Taiwan. The TB tweeter has a powerful neodymium magnet—metal tools must be used with caution, if at all, in the vicinity of the Essence's baffle—and a matching transformer brings the ribbon's impedance in line with that of the 10.3" main driver. The tweeter is driven through a second-order high-pass filter, and is blended into the main driver's output beginning at about 10kHz; the output of the full-range driver, which is wired directly to the input…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Theta Digital Miles CD player (S/PDIF output); Benchmark DAC1 & DAC1 HDR D/A converters; Sony Vaio laptop running Sony Soundforge 9; M Audio Fast Track Ultra USB interface.
Power Amplifiers: Pass Labs Aleph 3 & XA 30.5, Rogue Audio M180.
Integrated Amplifiers: Simaudio Moon i3.3, Manley Labs Stingray iTube.
Loudspeakers: Revel Performa F30 & Ultima Gem, Totem Acoustic Forest.
Cables: Digital: Stereovox HDVX coaxial. Interconnect: Sain Line Systems Pure Balanced & Pure. Speaker: Kimber Kable BiFocal XL. AC: Sain…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
My estimate of the Palladium P-17B's voltage sensitivity was a little lower than the specified 94dB/2.83V/m, at 90.7dB(B). However, this is still significantly higher than average; the P-17B will work well with relatively low-powered amplifiers. Its impedance (fig.1) varies widely: averaging 14 ohms above 1kHz, it drops below 3 ohms between 128 and 265Hz, with a minimum value of 2.6 ohms at 170Hz. There is also an amplifier-frightening combination of 4.5 ohms and –50° electrical phase at 104Hz, a frequency where music has high energy levels. So while the Klipsch…
Johnny Cash: American VI: Ain't No Grave
Lost Highways/American Recordings B0013954-02 (CD). 2010. Rick Rubin, prod.; David Ferguson, eng.; Greg Fidelman, Jimmy Tittle, Paul Fig, Dan Leffler, asst. engs. AAD.? TT: 32:23
Performance ****½
Sonics ***½
Lost Highways/American Recordings B0013954-02 (CD). 2010. Rick Rubin, prod.; David Ferguson, eng.; Greg Fidelman, Jimmy Tittle, Paul Fig, Dan Leffler, asst. engs. AAD.? TT: 32:23
Performance ****½
Sonics ***½
A second career is a luxury that few artists ever consider, let alone attempt—yet that is essentially what Johnny Cash had via the six records he made at the end of his life with producer Rick Rubin.
Following at least one previous "final" volume, American VI: Ain't No Grave may truly be the last word to come from this…
In an e-mail exchange with Stephen Mejias about why the mere mention of cassette decks on www.stereophile.com can so easily inflame our readers (and John Atkinson), I began to develop the idea that the brains of audiophiles and music lovers are governed by three complementary needs, or desires, that define who we are. I joked to SM that these desires, which apparently shift over time, constitute the Holy Trinity of Audiophiledom. They are, respectively, the love, desire, and need for:
1) Music
2) Quality audio reproduction
3) Ease of access to music
Well, SM took me…
Musical Fidelity's Tri-Vista kWP, introduced in 2003, was an impressive, high-tech, "statement" audiophile preamplifier. Its outboard power supply weighed almost 56 lbs—more than most power amplifiers—and its hybrid circuitry included miniature military-grade vacuum tubes. As I said in my review of it in the January 2004 Stereophile, the kWP's chassis and innards were overbuilt, the measured performance impressive, and any sonic signature imposed on the signal was subtle and, essentially, inconsequential.
But while the kWP's fit and finish were jewel-like, its appearance was…
The overall sound was harmonically rich without turning overripe. Attacks were surprisingly lightning-fast and ultraclean for an all-tube product. But sustain was where the magic lived: sounds just sailed generously on and on, their full harmonic envelope unfurled, slowly decaying into the sunset of background ambience before finally, cleanly disappearing altogether. Musical events effortlessly appeared, lingered, and dissolved, one after the other, meeting along the way no grain, glaze, or grit-induced resistance.
No syrup
I couldn't characterize the Primo's sound as "warm" or "…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Tubed, two-channel line preamplifier. Tube complement: 14 ECC81. Frequency response: 5Hz–50kHz, –0.5dB. Maximum output: 32V RMS. Output impedance: 600 ohms. Input impedance: 150k ohms, line inputs center-tapped. THD+noise, 20Hz–20kHz: <0.005% typical. Signal/noise: >105dB (no reference level quoted). Input sensitivity (full output): 8V. Overload margin: 30dB. Channel separation: 105dB.
Dimensions: 18.8" (483mm) W by 5.9" (150mm) H by 16" (410mm) D. Weight: 37 lbs (16.8kg).
Finishes: Silver, Black.
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed:…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn, Cobra, Castellon turntable, tonearm, stand, Graham Engineering Phantom II tonearm; Montegiro Lusso turntable, SME 309 & DaVinci Nobile tonearms; Lyra Titan i, Transfiguration Orpheus, Ortofon A90, MySonic Eminence EX cartridges.
Digital Sources: Camelot Technology Round Table DVD player with digital input Anagram Technologies DAC, BPT-modified Alesis Masterlink hard-disk recorder, Sooloos music server.
Preamplification: Manley Steelhead, Einstein Turntable's Choice, Boulder 1008, AMR PH77 phono…