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…
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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.
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…
Sidebar: Recordings In The Round
DVORÁK: Cello Concerto; Piano Trio 4, "Dumky"
Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello; Isabelle Faust, violin; Alexander Melnikov, piano; Jiri Belohlavek, Prague Philharmonic
Harmonia Mundi HMC 801867 (SACD)
I can't recommend this one highly enough. Not only are these the best-sounding recordings of the Cello Concerto and the "Dumky" trio available today, they're becoming my favorite performances of these popular works. Too many recordings of the concerto emphasize the work's dramatic sweep almost to the point of vehemence; this one, thanks equally to…
"The public will put up with anything except boredom."—Giuseppe Verdi
Knowing my fondness for good music in general and the songwriter's craft in specific, a friend sent me a link to a recent article in one of Canada's most widely read newspapers, the National Post (COREX) In it, writing from Saskatoon, a fellow by the name of Wayne Eyre bemoans the depths to which songwriting has sunk, mostly by invoking the Canadian pop group Nickelback and comparing their work with that of the late Johnny Mercer.
Before I carry on, let me acknowledge that some of you already know where I'm…
No sense commenting on the quality of the wordplay: Some people will consider it witty and well-crafted (most of those will probably be urban males over a certain age who use the expression bon mot without irony) and others will not. But I can't ignore the matter of timelessness—or, in this case, the glaring shortage of same. That's why I asked my intelligent, worldly, non-homeschooled daughter if she knew who Lassie was. She said it's an Irish word for girl—and spent the next minute or so saying things like "Top o' the mornin' to ye, lassie, will ye fancy a wee pint?" in her funniest fake…
When I reviewed JBL's S38 loudspeaker for the June 2001 issue of Stereophile (Vol.24 No.6), I was impressed with the performance of this large, inexpensive ($599/pair) bookshelf speaker. When I received a press announcement at the end of 2005 announcing JBL's new affordable speakers, the Studio L series, which incorporates innovations developed for JBL's recording-studio monitors, I began a discussion with JBL's public-relations firm. They promised many significant design innovations and sonic improvements over the S series.
The Studio L series includes three bookshelf models (…
The L880 was a great rock speaker, and not just because it could blast and slam with great abandon—which it could—but also because its reproductions of the timbres of electric and electronic instruments were as convincing as I've heard from an affordable speaker. On Mighty Sam McClain's Give It Up to Love (CD, JVC JVCXR 0012-2), I was fixating on Bruce Katz's stunning Hammond B-3 tonewheel sound, following each growly dynamic nuance executed by his hands, feet, and by manipulation of the drawbars.
If you want to crank this baby, it will party. I make it a point never to listen to…