I first looked at the VAC Renaissance Signature Mk.II's phono stage, taking the output signal from the tape-out jacks. The input impedance and voltage gain at 1kHz were 47k ohms and 43.7dB (MM setting) and 365 ohms and 64dB (MC). The RIAA error, shown in fig.1, is distinguished by a double-humped response curve with an upper-midrange valley some 0.5dB deep. This covers a wide enough frequency range to be audible. The response is sensibly curtailed above and below the audioband, reaching -3dB ref. 1kHz at 11Hz and 76kHz. Channel separation (fig.2) is good rather…
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Fig.8 shows the spectrum of a balanced 50Hz sinewave signal at 2V, about the maximum level the preamp will be required to deliver to the partnering power amplifier. Odd-order harmonics typical of transformer saturation are evident, with the third harmonic visible just below -50dB (0.3%)—but so are even-order harmonics. The second harmonic, for example, lies at -54dB (0.2%). As anticipated from the THD curves, the distortion spectrum at higher frequencies (fig.9) is significantly cleaner. Though the third harmonic is still the highest in level, it now lies at almost -70dB (0.03%).
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Let's talk cable dressing. Make mine vinaigrette! (And you thought I'd go for French . . . ) Cable dressing is actually a rather delicate issue that requires a certain leap of faith. The concept is so simple that even I can explain the science to you. But the leap occurs when you realize how the positioning of cables and interconnect can make a real difference in the sound of your system. In spite of this, I've seen power cords and interconnects tangled up in a hopeless mess at the back of some pretty serious components.
The mechanical universe tells us that a signal flowing through a…
"A field has a point of origin, but that's it. What's important is not that the field extends to infinity but that it extends beyond the cable itself. In fact, there's good evidence that it's not the electrons that carry the signal, but the electric field around the cable that does. You see what this means? If the field is affected by the dielectric and everything is the dielectric, then everything affects the sound of the cable. That's where the inverse square law comes in. The relative effect of the dielectric depends on the distance. It's only what lies an inch or two from the cable that…
Letters in response appeared in the March and April 1999 issues:
The big grin factor
Editor: I read Mr. Scull's "Fine Tunes" in the January 1999 Stereophile about cable-dressing etiquette. I have heard that cable dressing was important, but I never actually believed it would make any noticeable difference.
WOW, was I ever wrong! I fussed with all my cable routings for about half an hour, with amazing results. I ensured all my power cables were at 90 degrees to my interconnects, raised my speaker cable off the carpet floor, and separated the interconnects as best I could.…
You'd be hard-pressed to find a company more protective of its reputation than Krell. At a recent meeting of the Academy for the Advancement for High End Audio and Video, a motion was made to replace the phrase "High End" with the more purely descriptive "High Performance." Krell's CEO, Dan D'Agostino, objected—while he knew the description fit his products, he wasn't sure about those from some of the other members.
So when Krell announced its KAV line of products, designed to offer components that conform to Krell's design philosophy and build standards but intended to sell at…
The power supply includes EMI filtration and a whopping big toroidal transformer that features numerous secondary windings, which, in turn, feed a variety of regulation stages that deliver power to each section while maintaining circuit-to-circuit isolation. There is no facility for turning off the unit, only a logic-controlled switch to place it in powered standby mode.
Excellent things are rare
I used the KAV-300cd in a variety of systems during my audition, but most of my serious listening revolved around using it in my main system: Conrad-Johnson ART preamp, Krell FPB 600 power…
To further illustrate that it's no one-trick pony, the Krell responded to the complex overtone structures of the winds, breathy voices, and all those mallet instruments with éclat. After hearing the first recording of this piece on ECM, nearly 20 years ago, I was startled when I heard Reich perform it at the Brooklyn Academy of Music several years later. While the recording featured a dry studio acoustic, it sounded timbrally true, capturing a natural breathiness that was quite convincing. In performance, however, the overtones stacked upon each other, creating a clangorous hash of high-…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Front-loading CD player. Transport: monolithic assembly featuring full-size clamp. DAC: Burr-Brown PCM1702K, 20-bit. Analog outputs: one pair balanced via XLR, pin 2 noninverting; one pair single-ended via RCA. Digital outputs: one EIAJ optical (TosLink), one S/PDIF coaxial. Frequency response: 20Hz-20kHz, +0.0/-0.18dB. S/N: 103dB, A-weighted. Distortion: 20Hz-16kHz, -87dB; 20kHz, -82dB. Power consumption: 50W.
Dimensions: 19" W by 4.6" H by 15" D. Weight: 22 lbs net, 32 lbs shipping.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 9097050146.
Price: $3500…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
CD Player: Mark Levinson No.39.
Preamplifiers: Conrad-Johnson Premier Fourteen, ART; Krell KRC-HR.
Power Amplifiers: Arcam 7; Krell KAV-300i, Krell FPB 600.
Loudspeakers: B&W DM-302, EgglestonWorks Andra, ProAc Response One S.
Interconnects: AudioQuest Opal v.3, Kimber KCAG.
Speaker Cables: AudioQuest Dragon 2, Kimber Black Pearl.
Accessories: Audio Power Industries Power Wedge 112, Magro Stereo Display Stand.
Sound Treatment: ASC Tube Traps, Studio Traps, Bass Traps; RPG Abffusors; Chaetiferous cat.—Wes Phillips