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Although Istomin's approach to these towering works may not please all tastes, they leave no doubt that he is a thoughtful and probing musician. Less controversial of the two readings is this superb K.491. Whereas some performers opt for conveying either the music's Sturm und Drang intensity or its otherworldly, eerie gloom exclusively,…

Last May, I suspected that my lifelong electrostatic drought had come to an end when I heard the Innersound Kaya Reference system ($20,000/pair) at Home Entertainment 2004 East,…

Description: Two-way, biamplified hybrid loudspeaker with crossover-amplifier for bass drivers. Electrostatic Panel: 13" by 45". Momentary power-handling capacity: 1000W. Impedance: 4 ohms nominal, 2 ohms at 20kHz. Woofer: 10" paper-cone unit in transmission-line enclosure. Momentary power capacity: 600W. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Amplifier-crossover: Crossover: 350Hz, 24dB/octave. Maximum output power: 600Wpc into 4 ohms (24.8dBW). Input impedance: 47k ohms. Output impedance: 0.1 ohm. Distortion: ±0.05% at rated output. Frequency response (without crossover…

Analog source: SOTA Cosmos Series III turntable, Graham 2.2 tonearm, Dynavector XV-1S cartridge.
Digital source: Classé Omega SACD/CD player.
Preamplification: Manley Labs Steelhead phono stage, VTL TL-7.5 Reference line stage, McIntosh C200 preamplifier (as line stage).
Power amplifiers: Lamm ML1.2 Reference and McIntosh MC501 monoblocks.
Cables: Phono: Hovland Music Groove 2. Interconnect: Cardas Golden Reference, Nordost Valhalla, Acoustic Zen Silver Reference. Speaker: Cardas Golden Reference, Innersound. AC: Shunyata Anaconda Alpha &…

The Innersound Kaya was more sensitive than I was expecting, at an estimated 89dB/2.83V/m. However, this is way lower than the specified 98dB. Because the woofer and the electrostatic panel are driven by separate amplifiers, I have shown the impedance graphs for each separately. Fig.1 shows that of the panel. It is generally very high, staying above 50 ohms between 225Hz and 1950Hz. However, it plummets in the high treble, reaching a minimum value of 0.5 ohm at 29kHz, which is probably the series resistance of the speaker cable and the internal wiring. There is…

Toward the end of my original audition of the Kaya, John Atkinson suggested that I experiment with the polarity of the speaker's electrostatic panel. Much to my surprise (as mentioned briefly in my December 2004 review of the Kaya), inverting the polarity of the panels of both left and right speakers had a drastic impact on the speaker's sound. With both woofers and panels connected in conventional polarity, the Kaya, at least in my room, had some problems in the upper bass/lower midrange. There had been a substantial…

According to evolutionist Richard Dawkins, the most important variable determining a person's religion is the accident of birth. Man of faith though I am, I agree—and I'll risk further sacrilege by suggesting that Dawkins' rule can be applied with equal…

Description: Tube monoblock power amplifier. Tube complement: two EF86, two KT66, one GZ34. Output power: 15W (11.8dBW into 8 ohms). Frequency response: 10Hz–20kHz, ±0.2dB. Input sensitivity: 570mV for rated power. Rated load impedance: 8 ohms. Damping factor: 11.75 at 700Hz, equivalent to a source impedance of 0.68 ohms into 8 ohms. THD: 0.08% at 12W/700Hz. Residual hum and noise: better than –90dB (no reference level quoted).
Dimensions: 12.25" (315mm) W by 6.5" (165mm) H by 4.75" (120mm) D. Weight: 18.25 lbs (8.3kg).
Serial numbers of units reviewed:…