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Somewhere in Budapest, something very scary is happening. Somewhere in Budapest, something very beautiful is blooming. Stereophile forum user vencel has reposted images of his rebuild of a Koetsu Rosewood cartridge starting at its grim and crud-crusted beginnings leading to its careful reconstruction and finishing with a gorgeously refurbished cartridge glowing in the light. The gruesome details of death and deconstruction are told through haunting images, and then hope is reborn through the hard work of vencel and his team’s delicate re-coiling and cleanup. The story can be seen here in our…
"This product is an industry disrupter."
Thus spoke AudioQuest's Steve Silberman, VP of development, of their brand-new USB D/A converter, the DragonFly. "There are a lot of very good DACs out there," he continued. "There are even a lot of very good affordable DACs. But the problem is, people outside of audio don't want them: They don't want old-style components like that.
"I know a lot of people who have started and sold companies, who could have anything they want. People who love music. And they don't want what our industry makes. For so long, our industry has dictated to the…
As indicated by its chameleonic emblem, the DragonFly did, in fact, adapt to various incoming sampling rates, and I managed to see it display all four of its colors during the review period. But prospective owners should keep in mind: To see and to hear the DragonFly perform at different frequencies, a Mac owner must either select a music player that can adapt on the fly (sorry) to different sampling rates—such as the aforementioned Decibel—or remember to exit iTunes, manually change frequencies in the Apple MIDI setup utility, then relaunch iTunes before switching from one rate to another…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Single-box digital-to-analog converter. Formats supported: all PCM audio codecs (AIFF, WAV, MP3, etc.). Sampling rates directly supported: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96kHz. Digital input: USB type A, male plug (hardwired). Analog output: 3.5mm stereo phone jack. Maximum output voltage: 2V RMS. Minimum headphone impedance: 12 ohms. Maximum headphone output power: 150mW.
Dimensions: 2.5" (65mm) L by 0.675" (17mm) W by 0.375" (10mm) thick. Weight: 0.77 oz (22gm).
Serial Number of Unit Reviewed: Not found.
Price: $249 (2012); $149, v1.2 (2014).…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Garrard 301, Thorens TD 124 turntables; EMT 997, Ortofon TA-210, Schick tonearms; EMT TSD 15 70th Anniversary & OFD 25 & OFD 65, Ortofon SPU pickup heads; Denon DL-103, Miyabi 47 & Mono, Ortofon 2M cartridges.
Digital Sources: Halide DAC HD, Wavelength Proton USB D/A converters; Apple iMac G5 computer running Apple iTunes v.10.2.2, Decibel v.1.0.2; Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Standard (SPU version), Hommage T2, Silvercore One-to-Ten step-up transformers; Shindo Masseto preamplifier.…
John Atkinson also wrote about the DragonFly in October 2012 (Vol.35 No.10):
I compared the CEntrance DACPort LX ($299.95) with AudioQuest's new $250 DragonFly, reviewed elsewhere in this issue by Art Dudley. Levels were matched to within 0.1dB at 1kHz, and for the test track I used a mix I had done a couple of years back of a song called "New York Afterparty," from Heroes of the Open End, the band for which Stereophile's Ariel Bitran plays lead guitar. The backing features two electric guitars and synth, overlaying drums and bass. I had tried in the mix to recreate some of the phat low…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the AudioQuest DragonFly with Stereophile's loan sample of the top-of-the-line Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see www.ap.com and the January 2008 "As We See It"); for some tests, I also used my vintage Audio Precision System One Dual Domain. I received two samples of the DragonFly: one from initial production, the second following a running production change in which a slight modification was made in the operation of the digitally controlled analog volume control.
With the DragonFly connected to one of the USB ports of my MacBook Pro, the Mac…
On September 27, 2012, Stereophile Contributing Editor and choral conductor Erick Lichte was appointed Artistic Director of Vancouver's Chor Leoni Men's Choir, effective September 2013. Lichte previously served as the ensemble's Associate Conductor under founder and current Artistic Director, Diane Loomer, C.M. In that capacity, Lichte conducted the choir's close to 60 members to Europe this past summer, where they won 12 major awards at the 51st Seghizzi Concorso Internationale Di Canto Corale in Gorizia Italy.
Lichte's appointment follows a string of prestigious conducting positions…
A highlight for me of Stereophile's 2011 equipment reviews was Kalman Rubinson's report on Sony's SS-AR1 loudspeaker in July. I had been impressed by this unassuming-looking floorstander at the 2009 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, when, courtesy Ray Kimber, I had used a pair for my "Loudness Wars" demonstration—and was equally impressed when I used another pair for a dem of my recordings at Massachusetts retailer Goodwin's High End, in summer 2011. The SS-AR1 costs $27,000/pair and combines a full frequency range with an uncolored, detailed midrange, sweet-balanced highs, and excellent dynamics. "…
As I mentioned in my September 2011 review of Musical Fidelity's AMS100 amplifier, I use, as a reference for midrange purity, a 1998 recital by the late mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, accompanied by pianist Roger Vignoles (CD, Wigmore Hall Live 0013). The SS-AR2s sounded superbly natural with this album; Lieberson's rich, creamy-toned performance of the aria "E Viva Ancora," from Handel's opera Ariodante, was uncolored, with apparently unlimited dynamic expression.
Nor was the SS-AR2's superlatively natural way with voices restricted to those of women. Not only was there a lack…