Comparing the Krell KAV-300cd with the Audio Research CD2, it was déjà vu all over again, to resort to that overworked phrase. The difference in slam was discernible, but the Audio Research certainly didn't sound anemic or deficient, nor did the Krell sound too bass-heavy. The presentations were just different. This doesn't mean that there was nothing to choose among the two. If only it were that easy...
Some will find the Krell more up-front in perspective, preferring the smoothness of the…
The author of Ecclesiastes was a world-weary chap. He beat the existentialists at their own game, and he did it nearly three millennia before they even suited up. (As Mark Twain noted, those dead guys stole all our best ideas.) I think that the reason the author of Ecclesiastes' writing still resonates with so many people is that, over the run of human experience, he ends up being right enough of the time that you can't discount his attitude out of hand…
After much searching of soul and of bank account, we have reached an earth-shattering decision. The Stereophile is going to start taking ads.
Before you throw your hands up in horror and scream "Sellout", though, bear with us for another couple of paragraphs while we explain why this decision on our part need not prompt you to cancel your subscription immediately.
First of all, we are not considering, and neither will we consider, taking ads from manufacturers. There is just too intimate a relationship between a…
(1) We are deluged with ads, and must add extra text pages to maintain a decent ad/text ratio, or
(2) There is too much to report on…
The new C370 was designed to…
The C370 held its own so well that I was inspired to reach for Benjamin Zander and the Philharmonia Orchestra's new multichannel hybrid CD/SACD recording of Mahler's Symphony 5 (Telarc 2SACD-…
Description: Remote-controlled integrated amplifier with seven line-level inputs (including two tape in/record out); preamp out/main in, and a second preamp out with up to 12dB attenuation; NAD Link; Soft Clipping and Bridging switches. Output power: 120Wpc (20.8dBW), continuous average power into 8 ohms, both channels driven. IHF dynamic headroom into 8 ohms: 3dB. IHF dynamic power (8, 4, 2 ohms): 210W, 340W, 450W. Frequency response: 20Hz-20kHz, ±0.3dB. THD: 0.03%. S/N Ratio (A-weighted, ref. 1W): 94dB. Damping factor (ref. 8 ohm 1kHz): >150. Preamp output…
The chassis of the NAD C370 was hot after the usual one-hour preconditioning period at 1/3 power into 8 ohms, but, at around 55 degrees C, well within the bounds of safety. (The internal heatsinks were much hotter, of course, but these cannot be reached by inquisitive fingers.) The amplifier didn't invert signal polarity, and the maximum voltage gain (into 8 ohms) was a high 39.4dB. Input impedance at 1kHz was 300k ohms and the output impedance across most of the audioband a moderate 0.16 ohm, this rising slightly to 0.19 ohm at 20kHz. This is equivalent to a…