For the past 18 years, the Bryston 7B-ST, a 500W solid-state monoblock, has been the company's flagship power amplifier. Stereophile praised it in 1996 for "its speed, drive, slam, bass control, and superb control of the mid- and upper bass response" (Vol.19 No.10). The 7B-ST supplied very high power (954W into 4 ohms!) and a powerful bass response for bass-shy dynamic loudspeakers in a relatively small, lightweight, economical (less than $6000/pair) package whose bridged output circuit could be switched into parallel…
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Larry Greenhill wrote about the 7B-SST in April 2003 (Vol.26 No.4)
Sidebar 6: Larry Greenhill's 2003 Review System
The loudspeakers used for the Bryston review were Quad ESL-989 and Innersound Eros Mk.III electrostatic panels and Revel Ultima Salons. Preamplifiers included a Krell KCT for CDs and a Mark Levinson ML-7A with L3A moving-coil phono module for LPs, which I played on a Linn Sondek-Lingo-Ittok turntable-tonearm with a Sumiko cartridge. The digital source was a Krell KPL-28c CD transport. A Day Sequerra FM Reference Classic stereo tuner provided music from WQXR, our local New York classical music station. Interconnects were Bryston Balanced,…
Some people believe that high-end audio is mostly fluff whose cost, compared to standard professional studio electronics, is not justifiable. Moreover, they argue, if the music has been piped through any number of studio devices before it gets to your home, you can't expect to get more out of it than the studio devices will pass. Just as the argument is made about the final 6' of power cord, how can one Over-The-Top device make up for the foibles of those that precede it?
But how good, really, is studio equipment? Although most professional components are not readily available…
My first sample of the Medea DAC took more than 10 seconds to lock on to a new input. After I'd spent a weekend away, it failed to lock without multiple cycles of power on/off. Another week, and it wouldn't lock at all. Weiss suggested that the lock window might be too narrow for my Meridian 508.24 CD player, California Audio Labs CL-20 DVD-Audio player, and Sony SCD-XA777ES SACD player, and that I should try to adjust the internal trimmer that sets the acceptable lock window. When this didn't work, Weiss sent me a replacement sample, which is the subject of this report. It sounded identical…
All meaningful comparisons were based on coax S/PDIF connection via the Illuminati D-60, as TosLink obscured many distinctions, particularly in the bass. I preferred to use the balanced outputs with the High output-level setting, since that permitted me to reduce the gain in the preamp and take advantage of the Medea's very low level of noise. I could confirm that preference with my ear to the speakers, but it was less than obvious from the listening position. Nonetheless, the Medea seemed quieter and more dynamic with this setting. Lest you suspect that this put the other DACs at a…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: 24-bit D/A converter with automatic upsampling. Digital inputs: 3 with RCA and XLR jacks, 1 with RCA and TosLink. Sampling rates: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, and 192kHz. Sampling frequency tolerance: ±80ppm. Frequency response: 0Hz->20kHz, ±0.05dB (Fs=44.1kHz, 48kHz); 0Hz->40kHz, ±0.5dB (Fs=88.2kHz, 96kHz). S/N Ratio: >114dBFS unweighted, >117dBFS A-weighted. Channel separation: >110dB. THD+noise at 1kHz: <-104dB. Analog output: adjustable, -infinity to +15dBu (low mode), -infinity to +27dBu (high mode). Output impedance: 0.2 ohm.…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: Heybrook TT2 turntable, SME III tonearm, Ortofon SME30H cartridge.
Digital sources: Meridian 508.24 CD player; California Audio Labs CL-20 DVD-V player; Meridian Reference 800 DVD-Audio/CD player; Sony SCD-XA777ES SACD player; Mark Levinson No.360s, Musical Fidelity A324, MSB Platinum Plus DACs.
Preamplification: Sonic Frontiers Line-3, Audiolab 8000PPA phono stage.
Power amplifiers: Bel Canto eVo2, Sonic Frontiers Power-3, Classé CAM-350 monoblocks, McCormack DNA-1 Rev.A.
Loudspeakers: Revel Ultima Studio.
Cables:…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The hot-running Weiss Medea DAC locked to sample rates from 44.1kHz to 192kHz (the latter using inputs 1 and 2 in parallel), though as Kal noted, its narrow PLL acceptance window means that it takes a long time to lock. With the analog output set to High, the maximum output level at 1kHz was 8.44V from the unbalanced outputs, 16.89V from the balanced. These figures dropped to a more sensible 2.131V and 4.262V, respectively, when the output was set to Low. The DAC didn't invert absolute polarity from either set of outputs—the XLRs are wired with pin 2 hot—and the…
I was introduced to Legacy Audio at the CEDIA Expo in September 2002, and I'll long remember it. A pair of Legacy's huge new Helix loudspeakers anchored the company's silent display, and I was irresistibly drawn to them. Sales manager Bob Howard introduced himself, and, after a few minutes of chatting, introduced me to Bill Dudleston, Legacy's founder and chief designer. Within two minutes, Dudleston had told me "I don't design speakers for hi-fi people. I design speakers for people who love music."
When you've been in the audio press for a few years, you've heard rhetoric like this…
The midrange was always very neutral and highly detailed, with vocals being especially well-served. Crispian Mills' passionate singing on Kula Shaker's "Great Hosannah," from Peasants Pigs & Astronauts (CD, Columbia CK 69885), and Diana Krall's mind-foggingly sultry take on "Let's Face the Music and Dance," from When I Look In Your Eyes (CD, Verve IMPD-304), were near-perfect in every respect. Choral music is one of the most demanding tests, and the Focus handled the challenge very well on the Rachmaninoff Vespers (SACD, PentaTone Classics PTC 5186 027). Voices were nicely individualized…