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It began when my oldest brother, 13 years my senior, returned from military service and told me about "hi-fi." Until then, all I'd known was our ancient tabletop radio-phonograph with its insatiable appetite for osmium styli. Back then, in the early 1950s, audio componentry was scrappy, still evolving from World War II military electronics and public-address systems. I began reading the electronics magazines and learned that, to get started, I needed a record player connected to an amplifier and a speaker. I toured the shops and stalls on old Cortlandt Street, before the building of the…
The AV888 menu system is decidedly different in navigation from those of the Denon and Integra preamp-processors but relatively easy to manage: all page titles are listed in the left panel of the Arcam's display, the current page occupies the large window, and help texts are displayed below as you scroll from option to option. Setting up each input is independent and logical, and in most ways the AV888 is far more flexible than the Integra DTC-9.8 or Cary Cinema 11 pre-pros. An exception is that there is only one choice of bass-management crossover frequency for all speakers designated as…
DELBERT McCLINTON: I'm With You
Curb D2-77252 (CD only). Justin Niebank, Carry Summers, engs.; Delbert McClinton, Barry Beckett, prods. DDD? TT: 34:11
Curb D2-77252 (CD only). Justin Niebank, Carry Summers, engs.; Delbert McClinton, Barry Beckett, prods. DDD? TT: 34:11
It's 1975, Saturday night. Disco is still a phenomenon of big-city gay bars. Punk? The Ramones, man. You're way off in the hinties of Northern New Mexico, at the Line Camp, a huge barn of a roadhouse on the edge of Pojoaque, lurch-dancing in post-hippie beer/grass style with hundreds of first-generation freaks turned carpenters and adobe makers, Hispanic Vietnam vets looking permanently spooked and moving quietly, ranchers and their…
Every once in a while, and particularly around the first of the year, news writers (of which I am one) get the urge to play oracle, laying our credibilities on the line by attempting to divine what the coming year will bring. Since I am writing this at the end of January, the chances of my miscalling my shots have already been reduced by a factor of 0.083. But there are still 11 months to go, and some possibility that a prediction or two may be wrong. Nonetheless, I shall intrepidly grab the bull by the horns, the crystal by the ball, and the opportunity of the moment to take an educated…
The face was different, but the look was familiar. It should have been. The $2395 Aria Mk.III is a close cousin to the Aria II that I'd hung around with for about two years. Same sense of style, same heart of tubes. CAL Audio apparently made it what it is today, from the ground up. They even designed its transport and transport-drive circuitry in-house (footnote 1). In a high-end world which has gone increasingly to separate digital processors, CAL has been, up till now, a conspicuous holdout. They've only recently introduced their first outboard converter, and have in the past argued in…
And voices! I make no secret of the fact that I consider vocal reproduction of paramount importance (footnore 3). A heavy percentage of my listening is done to vocal music of one sort or another. And while the Aria Mk.III was not the only player in this group to present the human voice in a convincing fashion, it managed, somehow, to reproduce it with a combination of natural warmth and tactile presence which wasn't quite matched by the others. Eileen Farrell Sings Harold Arlen (Reference Recordings RR-30CD) is not, in many ways, my favorite vocal recording. But over the Aria Mk.III it…
Martin Colloms wrote about the Aria Mk.III in February 1991 (Vol.14 No.2):
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
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…