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Yet, as the weeks unfolded, I began to use the system less for serious listening and more to provide aural wallpaper. In my opinion, this is a good test of my overall satisfaction and enjoyment of an audio product, as it bypasses any conscious attempt to analyze the sound. I'd had a similar experience with the Kharma Ceramique CD-2.0 speakers, which I reviewed in October 2000. It was hard to put a finger on the problem. Worse, I began to doubt my own judgment after I'd invited a friend over for a listen. This friend, an experienced listener, pronounced the Reference 3.2 DCs the best-sounding…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, reflex-loaded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25mm) ADT-25 aluminum-oxide/ceramic-dome tweeter; 7" (180mm) aluminum-cone midrange unit; two 9" (220mm) aluminum-cone woofers. Crossover frequencies: 200Hz, 2.8kHz. Frequency range: 18Hz–40kHz. Sensitivity: 89dB/W/m. Nominal impedance: 4–8 ohms. Nominal music power handling: 350–600W.
Dimensions: 45.3" (1150mm) H by 11.6" (295mm) W by 16.5" (420mm) D. Weight: 108 lbs (49kg).
Finishes: Silver, Black, or White lacquer, or cherry veneer; black fabric grille.
Serial Numbers…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Sony XA-5400ES SACD/CD player, Oppo BDP-83SE universal player.
Preamplification: Meridian HD621 HDMI audio processor & 861 Reference v4 digital surround controller.
Power Amplifiers: McIntosh MC303 (three-channel), Bel Canto Design REF1000mkII (monoblocks).
Cables: Interconnect: van den Hul Flat 180 HDMI, AudioQuest Cheetah/DBS balanced. Speaker: AudioQuest Mont Blanc/DBS biwire. AC: JPS Aluminata.
Accessories: APC S-15, Environmental Potentials EP-2450 power conditioners.—Kalman Rubinson
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I performed the quasi-anechoic measurements of the Canton Reference 3.2 DC with DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone. I measured the speaker without its grille, as this was how Kal Rubinson had found it to sound best. My estimate of the Canton's voltage sensitivity was a high 91dB/2.83V/m; this loudspeaker will play loudly with just a few watts. However, its impedance plot (fig.1) indicates that the partnering amplifier needs to be comfortable driving a low impedance. The magnitude remains below 4 ohms for almost the entire bass and midrange…
YBA Design's new WD202 D/A processor and headphone amplifier showed up while I was turning the pages of Don and Jeff Breithaupt's Precious and Few: Pop Music of the Early '70s, recommended by John Marks in his October 2009 "Fifth Element" column. Each page drips with great examples of why the 1970s often wind up on the wrong end of the culture stick (the Osmonds, anyone? Terry Jacks?).
Still, piles of the awesome tunes that redeem that era beckon from every chapter, and with CD prices in free fall on Amazon.com, I started grabbing dozens of titles. Most could be had used, or even new,…
I'd love to tell you about the digital filter used in the WD202, since I've found that I can easily hear differences among the filter settings of products that let you adjust them. But YBA isn't talking, and there are no settings to mess around with. When I asked Michel Rousseau, of YBA Design, about the filter, he said that designer "Jérôme [Schonfeld] tells me that he can't remember what filter was used (!!??) or he just won't tell me." I didn't like this answer, but thought, Okay, maybe it's better to go into the listening tests with no preconceived ideas.
Listening
Listening…
For a USB source, I turned to a new MacBook Pro (2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD). Using Sonic Studio's Amarra Computer Music Player software (highly recommended) with its USB dongle, I created a playlist of several early-'70s tracks ripped from CDs to iTunes as uncompressed AIFF files.
A note about comparing DACs: Using my preamp to switch back and forth between DACs during a single playing of a song never seems to work for me. I've found that it takes at least five or six comparisons using a single track, played all the way through each time, to lock on to what each DAC…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: 24-bit/192kHz upsampling D/A processor with headphone outputs and remote control of volume. Digital inputs (4): AES/EBU (XLR), S/PDIF (RCA, TosLink), USB. Sample rates handled: 32, 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, or 192kHz, at 16, 18, 20, or 24 bits (S/PDIF and AES/EBU); 32, 44.1, or 48kHz, at 16 bits (USB). Digital output: S/PDIF (RCA). Analog outputs: 1 pair RCA, 1 pair balanced XLR, 1 ¼" stereo headphone jack. Other inputs: IR, Upgrade Port. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz. Maximum output level: variable up to 2V (unbalanced), variable up to 4V (2V/phase,…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Apple MacBook Pro computer (2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo/4GB RAM/320GB HDD) running OS 10.6.2, iTunes 9.0.3, and Sonic Studio's Amarra Computer Music Player 1.2; Oppo BDP-83 universal player; Sooloos Music Server (Control Ten, TwinStore x3).
Digital Processors: Ayre Acoustics QB-9, Benchmark DAC1 USB, Cambridge Audio Azur DacMagic, Musical Fidelity V-DAC.
Preamplifiers: Integra DTC-9.8, Lexicon MC-12.
Power Amplifiers: Classé CAM 350 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: MartinLogan Prodigy & Descent subwoofers (2).
Headphones: Grado…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I examined the measured behavior of the YBA Design WD202 using the Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see www.ap.com and "As We See It" in the January 2008 issue), as well as, for some tests, my Audio Precision System One Dual Domain and the Miller Jitter Analyzer. I mainly drove the YBA with the SYS2722's AES/EBU output; I also used the USB 2.0 output of my Intel MacBook running OS10.4.11 for the testing, playing back WAV files using Bias Peak 6.2. Examining the WD202's USB properties with the USB Prober program for the Mac identified the device as "USB Audio DAC…