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Berkeley Audio Design Associates' Alpha DAC

"You know," Alon Wolf told us. A lot of what you liked about the sound of my music server was the Pacific Microsonics Model Two DAC I was using. But that's no longer manufactured, this is even better and only $5000."

He pointed at Berkeley Audio Design Associates' Alpha DAC. It did seem pretty fly; 32–192kHz sampling rates, 24-bit word lengths, HDCD decoding, advanced input signal jitter rejection, and specs that were just stunningly low.

We're betting it's a DAC to watch, listen to—you know what we mean.

Resolution iXS

The simple but effective iXS.

Resolution Revolution

When we wandered into Resolution Audio's room, we hadn't heard about the company for a while and weren't sure what to expect. It didn't matter, nothing could have prepared us for Jeff Kalt.

"Got any new source components?"

"Oh yeah, I have an interesting CD player and power supply, the Opus 21 CD and PS ($3500). It has the finest multi-bit DACs available, is low jitter, and incorporates a system volume control."

We went over to listen and Jon Iverson noticed the source read "iTunes." "Is that a music server too?"

"No, it's a streaming component, the iXS ($…

Revolver's Back!

The Replay Turntable ($3499) is Revolver's re-entry into the turntable market after a lengthy absence. It comes packaged with a Jelco tonearm although the company might eventually supply a top plate that can be drilled for any arm. It has a decoupled suspension—which is not sprung–and a large flat belt driven by an AC motor with an outboard power supply. At 50 lbs, it's no lightweight.

Unity, What a Concept

We'd heard of Aurum Acoustics, of course. We read Stereophile and were impressed by Art Dudley's account of his adventures with the Integris 300B Active loudspeakers.

Now Aurum's Derrick Moss has applied some of the same principles to the $13,500 Integris CDP CD player-preamplifier. It's a top-loading CD player with an Anagram Technologies Quantum sample-rate converter, has 11 inputs (five digital, three RCA, two XLR balanced), and has slots for a phono module ($2500) and headphone amplifier ($1000).

Driving the 300B Active loudspeakers, it sounded fabulous. Immense,…

Blue Note 45s

The first two pressings from Music Matters Jazz arrived the other day. This is the new audiophile company that reissues classic stereo albums from the Blue Note catalogue on two slabs of 180-gram vinyl mastered at 45 rpm, packaged in a gatefold cover with not only a facsimile of the original cover but, inside, five finely reproduced photos from the session, taken by Blue Note’s masterly inhouse photographer, Francis Wolff. This is exciting stuff for jazz-loving audiophiles.

That said, the rollout leaves me lukewarm. The first two albums are Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers’ Big Beat and…

Total Feast

"What have you heard that’s good at THE Show?" I asked the fabulous Kara E. Chaffee of deHavilland Electronics. "I'm heading to Joe Cohen's The Lotus Group,” she replied. "I've been told I've got to hear the new Feastrex speakers."

So do you. To say I was blown away is an understatement. Never ever did I expect that the single driver that comprises the Feastrex D9e 9" Field Coil Speaker ($35,000/pair), which was housed in an unfinished prototype cabinet and internally wired with PranaWire Nataraja speaker cable, could possibly transmit the entire range of Gustav Mahler's Symphony 2…

Please Don’t Stop

Choose a door, any door. Confronted with three entirely different systems in the Norvinz room, for some reason I ignored my usual inclinations and moved to the far right. There I encountered veteran electrostatic guru Roger Sanders, formerly of Innersound, who now markets Sanders Sound Systems products online and through Norvinz.

Sanders has just unveiled the not-to-be-missed, must-audition Sanders Sound Systems Model 10A electrostatic hybrid speakers ($12,995/pair). Extending down to 22Hz, and capable of playing some pretty loud music, the 10As feature adjustable midrange and…

B&W's Zeppelin plays Tal Wilkenfeld

"Wow, that's great," I said, looking down at B&W's new $599 Zeppelin iPod player, the football-shaped Zeppelin, as it played a track from Tal Wilkenfeld's new Transformation album off of my Apple iPhone. Tal Wilkenfeld, a 21 year-old, very pretty, Australian girl, was all the buzz after she played bass with Jeff Beck at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Festival Concert in Chicago last summer.

"Yes," said B&W's Chris Smith, "it's impressive how we've incorporated both tweeters and a woofer into this system. The iPod docking portion is made out of stainless steel. And as you may…

YG's Kipod Speaker

"The best loudspeaker on earth!" proclaimed the sign for the YG Acoustics Limited Exhibit. The company's founder, designer, and CEO, the ever-upbeat Yoav Geva, was just as proud as the papa of his new $33,000/pair "Kipod" floorstanding speaker. And proud he should be. "Kipod means hedgehog," he told me, "which is my daughter's nickname because of her hairstyle."

The speaker has two parts, a two-way upper "main module," and a lower woofer section, which when added, comprises the "studio" version of the Kipod. Driven by Krell Full Power Balanced amplifiers and a dCS player, the sound…