Examples include the chance arrival of the airborne penicillium mold in a particular scientist's laboratory, while centuries earlier, Kepler had been attempting to solve the problem of planetary motion within the conventional paradigm. Ptolemaic and Copernican laws only allowed for purely circular orbits. Kepler's…
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Such attitudes tend to suppress freedom of thought and innovation. Furthermore, science is littered with discoveries which were largely accidental; had they been ignored simply because they did not conform to the status quo, the loss to mankind would have been incalculable.
It took a full three years of commercial development before CD sound broke through the "10" level, which in 1990 represented the average for the whole industry. Players scoring 5 on the current 24-maximum scale are usually found in cheap music centers, while a player that wins respect in the more critical areas of the industry will score 14 or more. Genuine audiophile players are rare and score above 16, generally costing in excess of $1000. Recent high-end players and processors using both Bitstream and multi-bit DAC technology have shown that a score of 24 is attainable; no doubt this…
Another revealing example is the effect of printed circuit boards on amplifier sound quality. In one example, an amplifier was prototyped in hardwired form using phenolic paper pin board, with a physical layout and connection wiring precisely conforming to a correctly designed printed circuit board. Thoroughly measured and auditioned, it gave an excellent performance. Second prototypes were then built using pre-production pcbs. By intensive measurement, the two were judged to be almost identical, yet the sound quality of the second version was significantly poorer.
After some…
• Metallurgy: Many establishment audio engineers consider that Ohm's Law is wholly sufficient to describe current flow in a wire, and that all metallic conductors must sound the same owing to the fundamental property of free electron mobility in this class of material. However, there is now strong evidence to indicate that the choice of element or alloy for a conductor, its metallurgical history, and its absolute purity all affect the sound quality. This finding, unwelcome for those working in this field, cannot be ignored. It seems a cruel twist of fate that of the many conducting materials…
Sidebar: Massed violins & digital sound
Why should the sound of massed violins should be so susceptible to processing damage? Given that all links in the chain are non-linear to some degree, either in terms of transfer function or in terms of delayed energy storage, the potential for audible damage to a given musical signal is proportional to its complexity. The intermodulation products for just a few tones look horrifying on a spectrum analyzer display. Imagine a musician sounding two notes on his violin: high-order harmonics are predominant, with perhaps 15 significant components.…
Why should the sound of massed violins should be so susceptible to processing damage? Given that all links in the chain are non-linear to some degree, either in terms of transfer function or in terms of delayed energy storage, the potential for audible damage to a given musical signal is proportional to its complexity. The intermodulation products for just a few tones look horrifying on a spectrum analyzer display. Imagine a musician sounding two notes on his violin: high-order harmonics are predominant, with perhaps 15 significant components.…
VPI Industries' TNT turntable and JMW Memorial tonearm have evolved through several iterations over the last two decades. Some changes have been large, such as the deletion of the three-pulley subchassis and the introduction of the SDS motor controller. Others have been invisible—a change in bearing or spindle material, for example, or the way the bearing attaches to the plinth. And, as longtime Stereophile readers know, I've been upgrading and evolving along with VPI, most recently reporting on the TNT V-HR turntable (Stereophile, December 2001).
But about the time I was…
Where the HR-X tore the TNT envelope was just where its designer had intended: in the areas of dynamics, temporal precision, and tonal balance. The HR-X was more explosive, much faster, and considerably leaner-sounding than any TNT. Its dynamic transients were huge, from the lowest bass up through the lower treble, and from the softest passages to the loudest. Across the midrange, the resulting combination of dynamic power, speed, and precision was the best I've ever heard, and a big factor in Lakmé's sounding so realistic. The voices had more of that lifelike "jump" that tells you it's a…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Integrated manual, belt-driven turntable with JMW 12.6 tonearm and SDS motor/speed controller. Tonearm length: 12.5" from headshell to pivot point. No other specifications given.
Dimensions: 25" W by 8.5" H by 19" D (turntable). Weight: 115 lbs.
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed: 0063 (turntable); 717 (tonearm).
Price: $10,500 (with tonearm and motor controller). Approximate number of dealers: 95. Warranty: 5 years.
Manufacturer: VPI Industries, 77 Cliffwood Avenue #3B, Cliffwood, NJ 07721-1087. Tel: (732) 583-6895. Fax: (732) 946-8578. Web…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Lyra Titan & Titan-I, Grado Statement Reference cartridges.
Digital Sources: EMM CDSD & DCC2 SACD system, Simaudio Andromeda CD player.
Preamplification: VTL TL-7.5, Placette Active, Sutherland Director line stages; Sutherland PhD, Ensemble Fonobrio phono stages; Halcro dm10 preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: Halcro dm58 & dm88 monoblocks, Mark Levinson No.20.6 monoblocks, Simaudio Moon Rock monoblocks, VTL Ichiban & S-400.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Sophia, Thiel CS6.
Cables: Interconnect: Stereovox, Nordost…
Since the introduction of the original B&W 801 monitor loudspeaker in 1980, it has been adopted as a reference by several recording studios around the world, Over the past five years, I have seen 801s present in just about every recording session with which I have been artistically involved. While the original 801 monitor had its strong points, I was never satisfied with the detached and muddy-sounding bass, discontinuous driver balance, and low sensitivity. Unless this speaker was driven by an enormous solid-state power amplifier, with an elevated high-frequency response, the tubby and…