Jelly Roll Morton's "Shreveport," from Jelly Roll Morton: 1926–1930 (5 CDs, JSP CD 321–326), rollicked along, the clarinet and snare drum tumbling out of the Cantons as if…
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What did the Paladins have that the other amps didn't? Clarity and focus, mainly, but along with those two big differences came a more subtle distinction. The clarity and focus were immediately apparent; bass was bolder and better differentiated from the overall thrum of the music, while different textures and timbres were, well, more different. Music sounded more like itself and less like a generic music product.
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state monoblock power amplifier. Maximum output power: 200W into 8 ohms (23dBW), 360W into 4 ohms (22.55dBW). Maximum output current: 20A. Voltage gain: 28dB. Frequency response: 5Hz–100kHz, ±3dB. Distortion: <0.1% THD, 20Hz–20kHz. Slew rate: >50V/µs. Damping factor: >250. Input impedance: 10k ohms or 50k ohms single-ended, 20k ohms or 100k ohms balanced.
Dimensions: 17" (435mm) W by 4.5" (115mm) H by 12" (310mm) D. Shipping weight: 40 lbs (18.2kg).
Serial Numbers Of Units Reviewed: M5 00494/495.
Price: $3500/pair.…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Source: Ayre C5-xe universal player.
Preamplifier: Conrad-Johnson CT-5.Power Amplifiers: Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 300, NuForce Reference 8b.
Loudspeakers: Canton Vento Reference 1 DC, Dynaudio Special Twenty-Five, Thiel CS2.4.
Cables: Interconnect: Audience Au24, 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…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I preconditioned one of the Portal Paladin monoblocks by running it for 60 minutes at one-third the measured clipping power into 8 ohms. With the amplifier cold, the measured THD+noise was 0.06%; with it hot, this changed only very slightly, to 0.064%. At the end of the hour the amplifier's heatsinks were very hot, though the top panel and chassis were around 55°C—not too hot to keep my hand on. The amplifier's voltage gain differed, depending on whether the unbalanced or balanced input jack was used. With balanced drive, the voltage gain was very slightly higher…
Best known for its omnidirectional loudspeakers, the German manufacturer mbl also produces three complete lines of high-performance electronics that, despite being large and built to jewel-like perfection, are sometimes lost in the shadow cast by the dramatic-looking—and -sounding—Radialstrahler 101E, which I reviewed in October 2004.
While mbl's least expensive line, the Basic models, is limited to one each of a preamp, stereo amp, integrated amp, CD player, tuner, and loudspeaker, the Noble and Reference lines are crowded with products from which numerous complete systems (…
I also ran my reference Musical Fidelity kWP single-ended preamp into a single 9007 configured for stereo, though mbl of America's Jeremy Bryan made clear that the stereo configuration was intended more as a convenience for those who couldn't afford to buy two 9007s at once, and that it wouldn't sound nearly as good that way.
He was right. You don't want to buy a $13,300 Reference 9007 and use it as a single-ended stereo amp unless you plan on adding a second one some time soon. The 9007's performance in stereo mode, while competent, was not particularly distinguished for a $13k…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state power amplifier capable of being used as a balanced monoblock or a single-ended stereo model. Rated power output: 440W into 8 ohms (26.4dBW), 570W into 4 ohms (24.6dBW), 800W into 2 ohms (23dBW), mono; 130W into 8 ohms (21.1dBW), 200W into 4 ohms (23dBW), 290W into 2 ohms (18.6dBW), stereo. Frequency range: DC–200kHz, mono; DC–320kHz, stereo. Distortion: <0.003%, 1kHz at 50W into 4 ohms. Output current: 30A peak maximum. Signal/noise ratio (no reference level given): 114dB unweighted, 118dB A-weighted, mono; 113dB unweighted, 123dB A-…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn turntable; Graham Engineering Phantom, Continuum Cobra tonearms; Lyra Titan (stereo, mono), Miyabi/47 Labs cartridges.
Digital Sources: Musical Fidelity kW DM25 two-box CD player; Alesis Masterlink BPT-modified hard-disk recorder.
Preamplification: Manley Steelhead phono preamplifier; McIntosh C1000, Musical Fidelity kWP preamplifiers.
Power Amplifiers: Musical Fidelity kW monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties MAXX 2, Merlin Music Systems VSM Millennium.
Cables: Phono: CrystalConnect…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
One mbl Reference 9007 amplifier (10125) was preconditioned in balanced monoblock mode by running it at one-third the specified clipping power into 8 ohms for one hour. At the end of that period, the heatsinks were just too hot to keep my hand on, implying a temperature of around 60°C; the chassis was much cooler. The initial THD+noise figure at this power level was 0.016%; after 60 minutes, this had dropped very slightly, to 0.013%.
The 9007's voltage gain into 8 ohms was 27dB in both balanced (mono) and single-ended (stereo) modes, and the amplifier…
Bryston describes its SP2 multichannel preamplifier-processor ($4995) as consisting of a stereo analog preamp with a volume-controlled 5.1-channel analog pass-through plus a full-featured multichannel digital audio processor, and claims that none of those functions compromises any of the others. The analog preamp is fully equivalent in features and performance to their BP26 preamp. The digital processor includes all the latest Dolby Digital, DTS, and THX modes, and is based on Texas Instruments' powerful Aureus DSP chip, which can be updated via an S/PDIF input. The digital and analog…