Analog Sources: Thorens TD-124 Mk.II turntable; EMT 997 tonearm; Shindo SPU, Ortofon SPU 90th Anniversary, EMT OFD 25 & OFD 65 cartridges.
Digital Sources: Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player; Sony PlayStation 1; Wavelength Cosecant v3 USB DAC (with Apple iMac), High Resolution Technologies Music Streamer+.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Hommage T1 step-up transformer, Shindo Masseto preamplifier.
Power Amplifier: Shindo Haut-Brion.
Loudspeakers: Audio Note AN-E/SPe HE.
Cables: USB: Belkin Pro Series, Kimber B Bus. Interconnect: Audio Note AN…
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I examined the measured behavior of the Music Streamer 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 Audio Research Jitter Analyzer. I drove the Music Streamer with 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 and operating off battery power. As the Streamers are bus-powered, I wondered if it was possible that they might perform slightly differently…
I have reviewed and owned so many Paradigm speakers that they feel almost like members of the family. I've owned the v.2 and v.3 versions of the Reference Studio 60, and reviewed the v.3 version in Stereophile (in December 2004, Vol.27 No.12). My long and intimate relationship with this speaker is founded on the best of reasons: We are extremely compatible. The Studio 60, in all its incarnations, is large enough to be used as a full-range speaker with nearly any program material, and yet is compact enough to be easily accommodated in my relatively small Connecticut listening room. It neither…
The clarity and distinction of voices dissolved my initial disappointments about the driver and crossover configuration of the v.5. I dug out my usual suspects, including Sara K.'s Solo Live (CD, Stockfisch SFR 357.6055.2), and Margo Timmins on the Cowboy Junkies' The Trinity Session (CD, RCA 8568-2). This helped me to appreciate that Paradigm Reference has, in the Studio 60 v.5, finally achieved the midrange balance that it has long offered in its Signature line. Beyond—or, rather, below that, the v.5's midbass was full and clean enough that male voices similarly benefited.
One…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-and-a-half-way floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" G-PAL, ferrofluid-cooled dome tweeter; 5.5" S-PAL-cone bass/midrange unit; two 5.5" mineral-filled polypropylene-cone woofers. Crossover frequencies: 500Hz, 2kHz. Frequency response: 45Hz–22kHz, ±2dB (on axis), 45Hz–20kHz, ±2dB (30° off axis). Low-frequency extension: 29Hz (DIN). Impedance: compatible with 8 ohms. Sensitivity: 89dB anechoic, 92dB in room.
Dimensions: 39.7" (1018mm) H by 7.8" (200mm) W by 11.7" (301mm) D. Weight: 50 lbs (22.7kg).
Finishes: Cherry, Rosenut, Black.
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Denon DV-3800 Blu-ray player, Oppo DV-983H universal player.
Preamplifier-Processors: Arcam AV888, Integra DTC-9.8.
Power Amplifier: Bryston 9B STT.
Cables: All Kubala-Sosna: Interconnect: Fascination (balanced). Speaker: Fascination. AC: Emotion.
Accessories: APC S-15 power conditioner.—Kalman Rubinson
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The Paradigm Reference Studio 60 v.5 is specified as having a voltage sensitivity of 89dB, but with no drive voltage given. My estimate of its sensitivity on the speaker's tweeter axis was a little higher, at 90dB(B)/2.83V/m, which is usefully higher than average. The Paradigm will play at satisfyingly high levels with relatively low-powered amplifiers. Its impedance (fig.1) remains between 5 and 8 ohms over most of the audioband, though a minimum magnitude of 3.6 ohms at 185Hz and a combination of 5 ohms and –37° electrical phase angle at 110Hz mean that the…
About 2200 years ago, a Greek writer named Antipater of Sidon compiled a list of the seven wonders of the world, which included a 100'-high statue of the Sun god Helios, erected next to the harbor of Rhodes on the Aegean sea. A of S called it the Colossus of Rhodes, for an obvious reason. Now there's a new Colossus, the derivation of whose name is a little less obvious, but which could justifiably be included in any contemporary listing of the seven wonders of the audio world.
Developed by Louis Dorren, inventor of Quadracast, the national FM quadraphonic broadcast standard, Colossus is…
Sidebar 1: Error Correction
Most audiophiles still do not understand that error correction is not a Band-Aid for patching together a damaged signal, but is in fact the recovery of a perfect signal. Digital recording systems simultaneously use several systems for checking for lost or erroneous data and for completely correcting what's lost. The result is not "an educated guess" at the missing data, but a full reconstruction of it, identical in every detail to the original data. Listeners who claim to be able to hear error correction taking place are deluding themselves; corrected…
Sidebar 2: Colossal Reviews
BEETHOVEN: Sonata No.32, Op.111; Sonata No.21, Op.53 ("Waldstein")
Tibor Szasz, piano
Bainbridge BCD-6275 (CD). Leo de Gar Kulka, eng. & prod. DDD. TT: 58:03
MOZART: Piano Concerto No.13, K.415; Overture to Lucio Silla, K.135
Jeremy Menuhin, piano; George Cleve, 1987 Midsummer Mozart Festival Orchestra
Bainbridge BCD-6273 (CD). Leo de Gar Kulka, eng. & prod. DDD. TT: 36:58
PROKOFIEV: Alexander Nevsky, Lieutenant Kijé
Andre Previn, Los Angeles Philharmonic
Telarc CD-80143 (CD). Jack Renner, eng.; Robert…