Cambridge Audio has been manufacturing in China for more than a decade. Its parent company, The Audio Partnership…
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Roy Hall has been Creek Audio's US importer for more than 20 years. Did you know that all Creek gear is now made in China? Just like Cambridge Audio, Quad, and many B&W models. Just like some US speaker brands, for which virtually all parts are made in China but are assembled, it's claimed, in the US. Three cheers for brands like LFD, Rega, Sugden, and Harbeth—all still made in the UK. For French marques made in France. For Italian products produced in Italy. Etc.
With my venerable Advents connected to the dac25.2's headphone output, I thought the sound of Internet radio was splendid. Same with my Audio-Technica ATH-AD700 headphones: splendid but not stupendous. What can you expect from Internet radio? One thing I didn't like: Turning off the dac25.2 produced a squeak, followed by something between a speak and a pop. Unplug your 'phones first. Turn off your powered speakers. I heard no such transients through the dac25.2's fixed-level analog outputs; this problem seems to affect only the headphone stage.
Art Dudley loves Wavelength Audio's…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Tubed D.A processor and headphone amplifier with optional oversampling. Tube complement: 1 6922. Inputs: AES/EBU, S/PDIF optical and coaxial, USB. Outputs: balanced on XLRs, unbalanced on RCAs, headphone on ¼ stereo jack.
Dimensions: 8.5" (220mm) W by 3.75" (95mm) H by 13.5" (345mm) D. Weight: 7.8 lbs (3.5kg).
Serial number of review sample: 08009756.
Price: $599.
Manufacturer: Music Hall, 108 Station Road, Great Neck, NY 11023. Tel: (516) 487-3663. Web: www.musichallaudio.com.
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
I had both the Parsifal Ovations and the Leonores with which to evaluate the new dac25.2 D/A converter/headphone amplifier from Roy "Music" Hall. (The man is now a brand.) I used the McIntosh MCD205 CD changer or the Denon DCD-1650AR CD player as a digital transport, with Analysis Plus Digital Oval S/PDIF interconnect. The integrated amp was the LFD. I also used Powered Advent speakers and Audio-Technica ATH-AD700 headphones.—Sam Tellig
Sidebar 2: Measurements
I don't routinely measure the products written about by Stereophile's columnists—Sam Tellig, Michael Fremer, Art Dudley, Kalman Rubinson, John Marks—but when something comes along that catches their and my fancies, I do get it up on the test bench. Such was the case with the Chinese-made Music Hall dac25.2 D/A processor, which Sam Tellig wrote about in the August 2009 issue, as it offered a lot of both features and sound quality for just $599. It even uses a tube—a single 6922 dual-triode—to give it the required degree of audiophile coolness.
Looking…
CARLA BLEY: Carla's Christmas Carols
Carla Bley, piano, celeste; Steve Swallow, bass, chimes; Partyka Brass Quintet
WATT 35 (CD). 2009. Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, prods.; Gerard de Haro, Nicolas Baillard, engs. DDD? TT: 60:36
Performance ****
Sonics ****½
Carla Bley, piano, celeste; Steve Swallow, bass, chimes; Partyka Brass Quintet
WATT 35 (CD). 2009. Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, prods.; Gerard de Haro, Nicolas Baillard, engs. DDD? TT: 60:36
Performance ****
Sonics ****½
BOB DYLAN: Christmas in the Heart
Columbia (CD). 2009. Jack Frost, prod.; David Bianco, eng.; David Spreng, Bill Lane, Glen Suravech, asst. engs. AAD? TT: 42:20
Performance ****
Sonics ****
From Chuck Berry to Frank Sinatra, from the Sex Pistols, Ryan Adams, and Death Cab for Cutie, from Pops to Dex…
I'm fortunate to own some very nice hi-fi gear: Different turntables, tonearms, and pickups for different records. Two pairs of really superb full-range loudspeakers. A choice of mildly exotic amplifiers—my favorite combination of which (a stereo preamplifier and a pair of monoblock power amps) sells for a little over $21,000. The average American consumer would think that's insane.
The average American consumer would be correct, but only insofar as it applies to his or her own buying habits. After all, we're nothing if not a nation of customers, and the customer is always right. From…
In Greek mythology, Atlas was the Titan who supported the heavens—although he's more commonly shown supporting Earth itself. (Funny thing, that: the globe he was always shown supporting actually did once represent the cosmos, but at some point became the Earth.) According to Hygenus, Atlas was the son of Aether, the personification of the sky and heaven, and Gaia, the personification of the Earth. Atlas was brother to Prometheus (foresight), Epithemius (hindsight), and Menoetius (a warrior whose insolence got him smitten by a lightning bolt from Zeus, resulting in a name synonymous with "…
On Los Lobos' live cover of Cream's "Politician," from Just Another Band from East L.A. (CD, Slash 45367-2), David Hidalgo's lead guitar had all the screaming assertiveness of Clapton's original. The Atlas gave the band the appropriate heft of a heavily amplified rock band in a large venue. Through the Atlas, the track rewarded play after play, at increasing loudness. No, you can't reproduce the concert experience at home, but the Aesthetix proved you can get satisfyingly close.
Of course, that level of audio verité wasn't all the Atlas's doing—almost every rock track I played after "…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Stereo power amplifier with tubed input stage, solid-state output stage, and separate high-pass crossover input with 6dB/octave filter slope and selectable crossover frequency. Tube complement: two 6NS7. Maximum power output: 200Wpc into 8 ohms (23dBW), 400Wpc into 4 ohms (23dBW). Full-power bandwidth: 4Hz–150kHz. THD at full power: 1%. Input sensitivity: 60mV for 1W output, 2.3V for full power. Input impedance: 470k ohms. Output impedance: 0.25 ohm at 1kHz. Signal/noise ratio: 120dB (no reference level quoted). Power consumption: 100W in standby.…