search

Book Review: <I>Get Better Sound</I> Manufacturer's Comment

Manufacturer's Comment

Editor: Just a few comments regarding Art Dudley's review in the July issue (p.107):

1) Get Better Sound is available exclusively from Quarter Note Press, through its dedicated www.getbettersound.com website; by calling Quarter Note at (770) 777-2095; or by e-mail at jim@getbettersound.com.

2) Included with GBS is a free addition to the manual in the form of a quarterly newsletter called (you can probably guess) Quarter Notes. It includes additional tips, plus comments by knowledgeable manufacturers (not about their products, but about getting…

Music in the Round #37

HDMI is the invention of the Devil. I grant that the Devil is very smart—he has put on a single cable both hi-rez audio and video, and paid tribute to the gods of industry by incorporating obligatory content protection. However, he has confounded the rest of us by using a connector that, while it relies on friction to maintain physical contact, has so little friction that the cable connector can be easily displaced from or misaligned with the chassis connector. The traditional audiophile predilection for heavy cables is, in this case, actually counterproductive—exerting just a bit of torque…

Music in the Round #37 Page 2

Last but not the least is the Blue Echo Solutions hd EZ lock, which firmly locks a conventional HDMI cable to the chassis socket ($20/pair). Installation of this gadget was a bit fiddly, and required manipulation of small parts in tight quarters. However, while it permits the replacement of cables (with a hex key!) and can itself be removed, the hd EZ lock is not intended for quick and casual cable swapping. Conversely, it did afford the most firmly secure HDMI connection, while still giving me complete freedom of choice in cable selection. This I like.

In fact, I like every one of these…

Music in the Round #37 Page 3

Scrolling through the menus on the neptuneEQ's display (no OSD or other outputs are provided) revealed that it had made relatively subtle adjustments in the outputs of my front left and right B&W 802D loudspeakers (3.5dB max, but typically within an envelope of 0.5–1dB). Slightly more adjustments had been made to the center 802D, whose lower woofer is partly obscured by an upholstered settee, and to the 804S surround speakers. I then swept a pink-noise signal around the room, both with and without the neptuneEQ in circuit, to confirm the settings. The L/R speakers had been minimally…

Music in the Round #37 Contacts

Sidebar 1: Contacts

Blue Echo Solutions, Inc., 5700 100th Street SW, Suite 330-192, Lakewood, WA 98499. Tel./Fax: (800) 723-2304. Web: www.blueechosolutions.com.
Gefen Inc., 20600 Nordhoff Street, Chatsworth, CA 91311. Tel: (800) 545-6900, (818) 772-9100. Fax: (818) 772-9120. Web: www.gefen.com.
Neptune Audio, 2790 Loker Avenue W., Suite 106, Carlsbad, CA 92010-6613. Tel: (760) 431-8159. Fax: (760) 431-5077. Web: www.neptuneaudio.net.
Oppo Digital, Inc., 2629 D, Terminal Boulevard, Mountain View, CA 94043. Tel: (650) 961-1118. Fax: (650) 961-1119. Web: www.oppodigital.com.…

Music in the Round #37 Recordings In The Round

Sidebar 2: Recordings In The Round

J.S. BACH: St. John Passion, BWV 245 (1725 version)
Soloists, La Furia vocal ensemble; Concerto D'Amsterdam, Nico van der Meel
Quintone Q08001 (2 SACD/CDs)

Here is a lovely SACD from a new label, Quintone (www.quintone.nl), based in the Netherlands. The things that impress me about it include the warm yet detailed sound of these small ensembles, recorded in a Rhoon church. The ambience is rich and almost pervasive, but with no loss of immediacy in the voices and instruments. The performance is similar to and can be contrasted with the…

Audio Research SP-10 preamplifier Page 2

Both preamps are nicely styled and have good basic features. The Audio Research SP-10, however, wins hands-down on ergonomics. You have switchable gain, a choice between two turntable inputs or Mute at the phono stage, and switchable cartridge loading. For most high-end audiophiles these are useful controls. The Conrad-Johnson combination has a slight advantage because its balance control is infinitely variable while the Audio Research control is stepped-and yes, dammit, there are times when the ARC's balance switch won't "lock in" at just the right place.

Both units are big and involve…

Audio Research SP-10 preamplifier Follow-up December 1984

Anthony H. Cordesman followed-up his SP-10 review in December 1984 (Vol.7 No.7):

Audio Research hasn't formally changed the model designation on one of high-end audio's greatest status symbols, nor have they raised the price. They have "only" improved the phono section of each channel, improving that already-superb preamp so much that I felt justified in adding my own "II" to the model number. And you can convert your existing SP-10 for a quite reasonable $100–$150.

Now, let me whet your appetite: the improved phono stage of the SP-10 is superb. I won't go quite as far as…

Audio Research SP-10 preamplifier Follow-up November 1986

Anthony H. Cordesman wrote again about the SP-10 in November 1986 (Vol.9 No.7):

The sound of the Convergent Audio SL-1 is very good indeed (as it should be at $3495)—good enough that it can probably be best reviewed by comparing it to its top competition. The Audio Research SP-11 and SP-10 are obvious standards of reference in tube design, and the original and revised Motif MC-7 are good transistor standards of comparison.

Bass: The original Motif MC-7 had excellent bass and lower midrange, with an emphasis on control rather than sheer bass power and dynamics, and the revised MC…

Manley Labs 440 monoblock power amplifier

My reviews always begin in bizarre ways. Take David Manley...please! (Just kidding.) On the last day of Winter CES 1995, I found myself towing a tuckered-out JA to a few final rooms. (This was just after the January '95 David Manley/Dick Olsher tube-rolling brouhaha, footnote 1, regarding who should do what to whom, and with which particular tube.) So as we passed Manley's room, John Atkinson thought to stick his head in (the noose) and say hello.

Of course, David Manley had plenty to say, but as we spoke I didn't realize I was standing in one of his ManleyClan® Audio Traps. You…