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James Harrell’s Jumping Cactus Loudspeakers are high-efficiency designs (94dB) with isolated aluminum enclosures. The speaker’s front panels are finished in Bubinga wood, while the aluminum portions feature a nice satin black power coat. All three drive units are from Eminence. That’s a 10” paper cone woofer, a 6” paper cone midrange unit, and a 1” phenolic dome tweeter. The midrange and tweeter are secured atop the woofer enclosure via Velcro, and can be angled or moved back and forth. A passive Butterworth 1st order crossover is in its own enclosure and is velcro’ed onto the back…
In his Jumping Cactus room, James Harrell has put together a very fun system, and one that promises to be unlike anything else here in Denver.
Speakers: Jumping Cactus
Amplifier: Cary AES SE-1 kit
Preamplifier: Dynaco PAS 3 upgraded with Curcio power supply, Alps volume pot, 12AX7 Telefunkens
DVD player: Denon 2910 modified by Underwood HiFi
Turntable: Rega P3 (from 2001) with RB300 tonearm, Shure V15 VxMR cartridge with Jico replacement stylus
Subwoofer: Genesis Servo 12
Interconnects and speaker cables: homemade silver over copper Teflon-coated
Power…
Win Analog’s S Series-833 100W monoblock power amplifier (in the rear of this image) was designed to be “a statement product, both sonically and visually,” sales director John Dark explained. The amps measure 18” x 24” x 19” and weigh 200lbs. Its aluminum chassis panels are CNC-milled, 0.375” thick. That colossal tube in the center of the chassis is an RCA 833, originally employed as a radio transmitter. Dark says it was chosen here for its “very, very liquid sound.”
The amps were driving a pair of Rockport Technologies Mira Grand II loudspeakers. The system had a distant…
Attendees were treated to a fine demonstration in the Amarra room. A system featuring Focal loudspeakers and Parasound amplification was used to demonstrate the benefits of the Amarra music player software. On a desk between the loudspeakers and beside a Mac laptop was a screen, and on the screen were slides which contained simple talking points:
Hi-res files provide a better representation of the audio signal.
A compact disc can be thought of as the simplest music server; it’s limited, however, to 16-bit/44.1kHz resolution.
The internet can be thought of as the…
That's sure how it felt when I waded through the mob at the registration table. Graced by the presence of William Togno, a fellow member of the San Francisco Bay Area Audiophile Society, the registration table was swamped a good 90 minutes before the show opened on Friday. There were so many people packing into the elevators to the five floors of exhibits in the Denver Marriott Tech Center Tower that the elevator frequently refused to move; when it finally got up the courage to ascend, it alighted on each floor with a huge thump. Scary.
Needless to say, RMAF administrator Marjorie…
Lest anyone think that we at Stereophile don't pay attention when manufacturers speak, take a look at Stephen Mejias, virtually mesmerized by Luke Manley's energetic and ever-enlightening prose. Also pictured, Steven Rochlin of Enjoythe Music, Peter McGrath of Wilson Audio, and the empty chair and scattered detritus of the photographer-in-action.
For many of us in the press, RMAF 2010 began with VTL's well-orchestrated press breakfast launch of the new MB-450 Series III monoblocks ($18,000/pair) and TL7.5 Series III preamplifier ($20,000). Speaking before a full house that included representatives from Stereophile, The Absolute Sound, Positive Feedback On-Line, Enjoy the Music, and many other media outlets, VTL's Luke Manley explained that the Series III is VTL's first fully balanced amplifier.
With auto-bias, and three layers of fault sensing, the amps feature a shorter, faster and fully balanced negative feedback loop,…
After years of searching for the right speakers to match deHavilland electronics, Kara Chaffee of Vancouver, WA has happily alighted on the ultra-efficient Sonist line. It's a wonderful match.
When I entered the room, the CD sound was as mellow as can be, with a gorgeous midrange and excellent sound staging. Gone was the darkness I used to associate with the deHavilland Mercury III tube preamp with remote control ($4495) and KE-50A KT88 monoblock power amps ($9995/pair). For this, credit is due Chafee's latest electronic refinements and the excellence of the Sonist Concerto 3…
Philip Bamberg's Bamberg Audio was playing the Series 5 TMW ($8800/pair) and displaying the Steries 2 TMM ($4800/pair) when I entered. The 5 is a 3-way design with a 375W active woofer, parametric EQ, and separate monitor. It is said to descend flat to 25Hz, and down to 18Hz –6dB.
Paired with Modwright's LS 1000 preamp and KWA 100 amp, a Transporter ($3995) and Uberbuss ($995), the system was producing fine, controlled bass, and a lovely midrange glow. Though on a jazz recording featuring a piano of unknown pedigree, the high notes were a bit tinkly, the sound overall was most…