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
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Sidebar 3: Measurements
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…
You've heard it said that the early bird catches the worm, which is all well and good if you like worms. If you're more interested in music, you might want to follow the lead of Roy Gandy instead: He's the managing director of Rega Research, a 331/3-year-old audio company that was the very last of its kind to enter the CD market. Rega's first CD player, the Planet of 1996, was a success in virtually every way.
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…
As far as the control interface is concerned, the Apollo provides only one small surprise: After a disc is loaded and the transport door closes, the player doesn't respond to further user input for about eight seconds, during which time "INITIALISING" (spelled, or rather spelt, just so) remained on the display. I could, and often did, press the start button repeatedly, but the Apollo ignored me until it was ready. The culprit, if you want to call it that, is the new Cambridge-sourced chipset and its attendant surplus of memory: Each time the user loads a new disc, the Apollo reads the whole…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
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…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
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.
…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
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…
Sam Tellig wrote about the Rega Apollo in March 2007 (Vol.30 No.3):
Artie Dudley reviewed this CD-rotating apparatus (CD-only players have become nearly as obsolete as turntables) last June and went bananas over it. Quite rightly so, Mr. Dudley.
Now, $995 might seem a lot of money for a CD player to pair up with a $645 integrated amp, such as Rega's Brio 3 (footnote 1). But Rega doesn't make a less expensive CD player. Besides, Rega believes that it's always better to put as much money as possible into your source components: your CD player or turntable, and preferably both. Rega…
Were I trying to make a living by giving piano recitals, David Stanhope's new CD, A Virtuoso Recital (Tall Poppies TP184), just might tempt me to wash down a fistful of pills with a bottle of Scotch. The saving grace being that Stanhope seems to have enough things to occupy himself with in his native Australia. The risk of his showing up in New York City and playing a recital, thereby giving a lot of people existential crises and sleepless nights, seems remote.
Stanhope first came to my attention courtesy the nice folks at Stuart & Sons pianos, whose innovative refinements of piano…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Front-End: Krell KPS-20i/l.
Analog Front-End: Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Naim Armageddon power supply, Naim ARO tonearm, Transfiguration Temper cartridge; or VPI TNT Mk.III turntable, VPI JMW Memorial tonearm, van den Hul Frog cartridge.
Phono Section: Naim Prefix/HiCap or Krell KPE Reference.
Preamplifier: Ayre K1.
Loudspeakers: MartinLogan SL-3.
Interconnects: MIT balanced 350, Cardas balanced phono, Monster M-1000i.
Cables: MIT 850, AudioQuest Crystal/Argent bi-wire.
Accessories: The Shelf by Black Diamond Racing; Mark 3…