A recent encounter with a CAL Aria 3 proved disappointing. While it sounded pleasantly sweet (with a measurable treble rolloff), like Bitstream, it also sounded soft and distinctly lacking in pace and dynamics. For this player CAL has proudly announced the abandonment of the Philips technology used in their successful Tempest series for new Japanese components. I wonder if it was such a good idea?—Martin Colloms
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Martin Colloms wrote about the Aria Mk.III in February 1991 (Vol.14 No.2):
Sidebar 1: Tom Norton's Reference System
All of the players were auditioned in a system which consisted of the Rowland Consonance preamp, Threshold SA/12e monoblock power amplifiers, and Apogee Stage loudspeakers (on their optional stands). The connection from preamp to all players was via 1.5m lengths of AudioQuest Lapis. Balanced Cardas Hexlink cable was used from preamp to amplifiers. The Stages were bi-wired with Symo cable. Playback levels were adjusted to compensate for the different outputs of the various players when comparison listening was done—a particularly easy (and easily…
Sidebar 2: Measurements
I checked the AC voltage from chassis ground to main (house) ground on the player to determine the correct line-cord orientation. The Aria III, with its three-prong connector, measured about 12V, though this voltage will be shunted to ground when the player is connected to a properly grounded preamplifier.
In order to determine the cause of the slight tracking problems encountered with the Aria, I checked it with the dropout tests on the Pierre Verany Digital Test CD. The results were perhaps indicative of the problem but not necessarily conclusive: the…
Sidebar 3: Specifications
Description: CD player with tubed output stage and 18-bit D/A converters with 8x-oversampling digital filter. Tube complement: two 6DJ8s.Frequency response: 10Hz–20kHz, +0dB, –1.8dB. THD: 0.005%. S/N Ratio: 96dB (A-weighted).
Dimensions: 19" (483mm) W by 12.4" (315mm) D by 5.5" (140mm) H. Weight: 25 lbs.
Price: $2395 (1991); no longer manufactured (2009). Approximate number of dealers: 95.
Manufacturer: California Audio Labs, Huntington Beach, CA 92641 (1991). California Audio Labs, 113 Taylor Way, Blue Lake, CA 95525 (1998); no longer trading (2009…
Though the January 2010 issue of Stereophile will be hitting newsstands before the holidays, this is nominally the last issue of 2009. But already in October, on my return flight from Denver to New York following this year's Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, it struck me that 2009 had not been a good year for the world of high-end audio. Yes, the worldwide recession has bit deep into the economic health of audio manufacturers and retailers, but in the past 12 months too many of those who have helped make our hobby great, and have helped promote our shared passion for listening to music with as high…
Anouar Brahem: The Astounding Eyes of Rita
Anouar Brahem, oud; Klaus Gesing, bass clarinet; Björn Meyer, bass; Khaled Yassine, darbouka, bendir
ECM 2075 (CD). 2009. Manfred Eicher, prod.; Stefano Amerio, eng. DDD. TT: 53:31
Performance ****
Sonics *****
Anouar Brahem, oud; Klaus Gesing, bass clarinet; Björn Meyer, bass; Khaled Yassine, darbouka, bendir
ECM 2075 (CD). 2009. Manfred Eicher, prod.; Stefano Amerio, eng. DDD. TT: 53:31
Performance ****
Sonics *****
For many in the new world, the sinuous melodic lines and infinite variety of dark harmonic shading produced by the exotic oud define the term "Middle Eastern music." And when it comes to players of that ancient instrument, only a handful, Hamza El Din for example, have ever been as internationally well known as the…
It's now 10 years since the launch of the two high-resolution audio disc formats, SACD and DVD-Audio. Yet, perhaps partly because both were hobbled in various ways to please the record industry, perhaps partly because too many supposed hi-rez releases sounded no better than CD, and perhaps partly because record retailers weren't sure how to display the formats to their best advantage, neither took off in any substantive way. DVD-A disappeared, and SACD survived only as a niche format for high-quality classical releases in both two- and multichannel forms. As we got deeper into the same…
But there was trouble in paradise. The Philips transport mechanism used in the P8i proved, over the long haul, to be as unreliable in the dCS player as it was in contemporaneous SACD players from Krell and Musical Fidelity. The Puccini, therefore, uses a high-quality transport mechanism from Japanese company Esoteric, the UMK5. Though an expensive part, it has so far proved bombproof in use.
Discs are loaded on an elegant, slim drawer mounted on the right of the player's gracefully carved front panel. The central blue LCD display is, thankfully, large enough to see from my listening…
When the Puccini is clocked by the U-Clock, the former's display shows a pair of meshing gear wheels that solidify when lock is achieved. To decode USB-derived data, one of the U-Clock's S/PDIF outputs must be connected to the Puccini player's digital inputs. When you hook up the U-Clock to your computer, it identifies itself as "dCS Puccini Clock" and, somewhat confusingly, both sample-rate LEDs on the front panel illuminate.
The U-Clock will handle USB data with sample rates from 32 to 96kHz and bit depths up to 24. The U-Clock acts as a master clock when the Puccini is playing SACDs…
Even so, Sonata didn't approach Zenph Studios' recent re-creation of Rachmaninoff performing his arrangement of Kreisler's Liebeslied, from Rachmaninoff Plays Rachmaninoff (CD, RCA Red Seal 748971). Recorded by Richard King with three DPA4006 omnis, this is perhaps the best recording of a piano I have heard. Upsampled to DSD by the Puccini and clocked by the U-Clock, there was a richness, a believability to the sound of the restored 1909 Steinway D on the Simaudio-driven Aerial 20T V2s that almost made me forget I was listening to recorded sound. Almost.
The Puccini's low frequencies had…