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Conrad-Johnson ART Preamplifier Jonathan Scull June 2002

Jonathan Scull wrote about the Conrad-Johnson ART Series 2 in June 2002 (Vol.25 No.6):

Conrad-Johnson Design (footnote 1) The name rings quite a bell, doesn't it? I began my audiophile doings with a sweet demo PV-5 preamp and a used MV-50 power amp. When Kathleen blew up one of the MV50's old Mullard tubes in a shower of sparks, I informed her with a sad, sad look that the amp was toast.

I'd always wanted to listen to C-J's ART (for Anniversary Reference Triode) preamplifier, and got my chance recently, when Lew Johnson and Tor Sivertsen showed up at our door with one, before we…

Primare D30.2 CD player

High-end audio has always been a tricky business, and in recent years it's become more so. Home theater is pulling in one direction, and MP3, iPods, and the Internet are pulling in another. And customer expectations—not just of sound quality, but also of usability and integration into their space and lives—are spiraling upward. The companies that are thriving amid these pressures seem to have adopted one of two strategies: either they focus more narrowly and try to convince the world to accept their vision, or they evolve their products in an attempt to anticipate the market.

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Primare D30.2 CD player Page 2

Like the players from GamuT (the $2999 CD 1), Wadia (the $3250 830 and $7950 861), and Cary (the $3000 CD-303/200) that I've auditioned, the $2250 D30.2 sounded excellent. However, it lacked the sort of single, distinguishing characteristic that each of those other players has. What the Primare had was a natural ease, and a beguiling sweetness across the midrange. On Patricia Barber's Nightclub (CD, Premonition/Blue Note 27290 2), this was most noticeable as a lovely, clear ring in piano notes, and the lush richness of the cymbals' bell-like low-frequency component. I was also struck by the…

Primare D30.2 CD player Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: CD player with 8x-oversampling, Burr-Brown DF1704 digital filter and 4 Burr-Brown PCM1704 DACs. Analog outputs: 1 pair unbalanced (RCA), 1 pair balanced (XLR). Digital outputs: 1 S/PDIF (RCA). Output level: fixed, 2.2V unbalanced, 4.4V balanced. Frequency response: 20Hz-20kHz, +0/-0.2dB. Output impedance: 100 ohms. THD+noise: 0.01%, 20Hz-20kHz (no reference level stated). Signal/noise: 100dB (A-weighted, no reference level stated). Power consumption: <7.5W standby, <13.5W standby with Fixed Power on, <23.5W playing.
Dimensions: 17" (…

Primare D30.2 CD player Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog source: VPI HR-X turntable & JMR tonearm, Grado Statement Reference cartridge.
Digital source: Burmester 001, Cary Audio Design CD-303/200, Wadia 830 and 861 CD players.
Preamplifier: VAC CPA1 Mk.III, Placette Remote Volume Control.
Power amplifiers: VTL Ichiban, Mark Levinson No.20.6 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Thiel CS6.
Cables: Nirvana S-X Ltd., Audience Au24 & PowerChords, Kimber Kable AGTC.
Accessories: Merrill equipment rack; Bright Star, SSC, Finite Elemente Cera-ball, AudioQuest isolation products; Nordost ECO3, Disc…

Primare D30.2 CD player Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

The Primare D30.2 had excellent error-correction, the intentional gaps in the data spiral on the Pierre Verany Test CD not leading to audible glitches until they were 2.4mm in length—way better than is required by the CD Standard. The maximum output level from the unbalanced output jacks was 1.35dB higher than the CD standard's 2V RMS, at 2.34V. As expected, this exactly doubled from the balanced jacks, and neither output inverted signal polarity. (The XLRs are wired with pin 2 "hot.") The output impedance was to specification across the audioband, at 98 ohms…

Simaudio Moon Equinox CD player

Simaudio has been doing well in the middle of the high-end market, providing products such as their Moon i-5 integrated amplifier (reviewed by Chip Stern in July 2002), which offers a glimpse of high-quality sound at an affordable price. That's not to say that the Canadian manufacturer neglects the cost-no-object market: the two-box, $5700, Simaudio Moon Eclipse CD player impressed the heck out of Brian Damkroger when he reviewed it for Stereophile in April 2001 (with a Follow-Up in April 2003). So when Simaudio's Lionel Goodfield offered me their Moon Equinox player ($2000) for inclusion…

Simaudio Moon Equinox CD player Page 2

Comparisons
My first comparison was with the Benchmark DAC1 D/A processor ($975), which has become my reference for affordable digital playback since I wrote about it in the May 2004 issue. I drove the Benchmark with the Moon's S/PDIF output and, using the input Level Offset function of my Levinson No.380S preamp, was able to match levels to within 0.1dB at 1kHz. Playing Mary Chapin Carpenter's "Grand Central Station," the difference was relatively easy to hear, at least until I inverted polarity for the Canadian player (see the "Measurements" Sidebar). Even so, I felt that the…

Simaudio Moon Equinox CD player Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Remote-controlled CD player with one set of single-ended analog outputs (RCA), one S/PDIF digital output (RCA). Maximum output level: 2V. Frequency response: 20Hz-20kHz, -0.3dB; 2Hz-72kHz, -3dB. Channel separation: >109dB. Signal/noise: >108dB ref. 0dBFS. THD: <0.001% at 1kHz, 0dBFS (A-weighted). IMD: <0.005%. Slew rate: 50V/µs. Low-level linearity: <1dB to below -110dBFS. Intrinsic jitter: <50ps RMS. Output impedance: 100 ohms. Power consumption: 8W at idle.
Dimensions: 17" (435mm) W by 4.25" (110mm) H by 14" (360mm) D.…

Simaudio Moon Equinox CD player Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital sources: Benchmark DAC1 D/A processor, Arcam FMJ CD33 CD player, Toshiba SD-3950 DVD-Video player.
Preamplifier: Mark Levinson No.380S.
Power amplifiers: Mark Levinson No.33H monoblocks, Halcro dm38.
Loudspeakers: Revel Ultima Studio.
Cables: Datalink: Kimber Illuminations Orchid AES/EBU, DH Labs Silver Sonic S/PDIF. Interconnect: AudioQuest Cheetah, Madrigal CZ Gel-1 (balanced); DiMarzio, AudioQuest Lapis (unbalanced). Speaker: AudioQuest Kilimanjaro. AC: Synergistic Research Designer's Reference2, PS Audio Lab Cable.
Accessories:…