Perhaps the most logical place to start is with the 401's "HR" designation, which honors the late Harvey "Gizmo" Rosenberg, a true audio original: champion of the Futterman OTL legacy, founder of New York Audio Labs, and patron and inspiration for George Kaye's forays into…
Heat the beat and the rest'll turn sweet
George Kaye knows his amp. Effortless ain't the half of it. When I pressed Play on Manu Katché's Neighborhood (CD, ECM 1896), Marcin Wasilewski's piano leapt out of the Dynaudio Special Twenty-Five loudspeakers. No, leapt isn't quite the word, but neither is thundered or roared or…
Description: Two-channel, solid-state power amplifier with tubed input stage. Tube complement: choice of 6H30Pi, 6GU7, 6DJ8, 6922, 6FQ7, 5814, 7730, or 12AU7 (2 each). Tubes supplied: two 6H30Pi, two 6GU7. Maximum output power: 200Wpc into 8 ohms (23dBW), +300W into 4 ohms (21.8dBW), both channels operating. Voltage gain (tube dependent): ca 30–33dB. THD at full output (tube dependent; value with 6H30pi for V101 & 201): <0.15% at full power. Input impedance: 100k ohms. Noise (inputs shorted): <1mV. Power requirements: ca 120W at idle (1A), ca 960W at…
Digital Source: Ayre C5-xe universal player.
Preamplifier: Conrad-Johnson CT5.
Power Amplifier: Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 300.
Loudspeakers: Dynaudio Special Twenty-Five, Thiel CS2.4.
Cables: Interconnect: Shunyata Research Aries, Stereovox Colibri. Speaker: Shunyata Research Lyra, Stereovox Firebird. AC: Shunyata Research Anaconda & Orion.
Accessories: Audience adeptResponse power conditioner, Shunyata Research Hydra power-distribution system; OSAR Selway/Magruder equipment racks; Ayre Myrtle Wood Blocks.—Wes Phillips
Our review sample of the Moscode 401HR was fitted with 6H30Pi and 6GU7 tubes. I preconditioned the amplifier by running it for 60 minutes at 67Wpc (one-third the specified power) with both channels driven into 8 ohms. With the amplifier cold, the THD+noise was 0.049%; this rose very slightly to 0.06% with the amplifier fully warmed up. By the end of the preconditioning period the shielded heatsinks were too hot to touch, but the chassis temperature was acceptably low at around 50°C.
The amplifier preserved absolute polarity (ie, was noninverting) and…
The world has moved on since then, for better and for worse: better in the sense that digital sound has continued to improve, worse in the sense that the major corporations…
Description: Single-box CD player. Formats supported: CD, CD-R, MP3, WMA. Digital output jacks: RCA, optical. Analog output jacks: RCA. Maximum output level: 2.0V RMS. Power consumption: 12W.
Dimensions: 17" (435mm) W by 3.9" (100mm) H by 10.5" (270mm) D. Weight: 8 lbs (3.64kg).
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed: 036792.
Price: $995. Approximate number of dealers: 115.
Manufacturer: Rega Research Ltd., 119 Park Street, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex SS0 7PD, England, UK. Tel: (44) 1702-333071. Web: www.rega.co.uk. US distributor: The Sound Organisation, 11140…
Analog Sources: Linn LP12 turntable with Naim Armageddon power supply; Naim Aro tonearm; Miyabi 47, Linn Akiva, Brinkmann/EMT cartridges; Tamura TKS-83 moving-coil step-up transformer.
Digital Sources: Naim CD5x, Ayre CX-7e CD players; Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player.
Preamplifiers: Linn Linto phono preamplifier; Audio Note M3 Phono, Naim NAC 32.5 preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: Lamm ML2.1 monoblocks, Yamamoto A-08, Naim NAP 110.
Loudspeakers: Quad ESL-989, Audio Note AN-E Lexus Signature, Lowther PMM6a drivers in modified Medallion horns.
…
The Rega Apollo had a maximum output level of 2.175V at 1kHz, 0.73dB above the CD standard of 2V RMS. Its output preserved absolute polarity (ie, was noninverting). The Apollo's output impedance was a little higher than usual, at 596 ohms over most of the audioband and rising slightly to 653 ohms at 20Hz, but this should have no subjective consequences, even with amplifiers having a low input impedance. The Rega's error correction, assessed using the Pierre Verany Test CD, was simply superb, the player coping with gaps in the data spiral up to 2.4mm long without…