Description: Solid-state stereo power amplifier. Rated power output: 125Wpc into 2 to 8 ohms (15–21dBW), 100Wpc into 1 and 16 ohms (11 & 23dBW), 250Wpc into 3 ohms (maximum) (19.7dBW), both channels driven. Maximum voltage swing: 45V peak, both channels driven. Maximum current swing: 30A peak, both channels driven. Transient Intermodulation Distortion (TID): less than 0.01% (–80dB) up to 25V output into 8 ohms. Total Harmonic Distortion (THD): less than 0.01% (–80dB) up to 25V output into 8 ohms. Frequency response: DC–100kHz, ±0.1dB; DC–400kHz, ±1dB; DC–…
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In our December issue, I write about the Emotiva ERC-2 CD player, which, at $449, brought me many hours of listening pleasure. Stereophile editor John Atkinson will describe the player’s measured performance in an upcoming issue. In January, I’ll write more about the Emotiva, and, in February, I’ll discuss NAD’s affordable ($300) C 515BEE CD player.
Obviously, I’ve been listening to a lot of CDs lately; and, while I have started to long for my LPs, I haven’t really gone crazy or anything. Listening to CDs can be fun, too—especially when the discs hold music by the likes of…
Most jazz musicians who try to rock out come off lame. Most rock musicians who dig into jazz sound pathetic. Medeski Martin & Wood have long straddled both camps with authenticity. Or actually "fused" is the better word; in fact, they're among the very few rock-jazzers, another being Miles Davis at the top of that game, who turn "fusion" into a tasty term.
On their latest album, the trio are joined by guitarist John Scofield, not as a sideman (as MMW were on his A Go Go from 1998) but as a fully insinuated member of the band, which is thus called MSMW. The double-disc album's (…
Bill Frisell All We Are Saying . . .
Bill Frisell, guitar; Jenny Scheinman, violin; Greg Leisz, pedal steel guitar; Tony Scherr, bass; Kenny Wollesen, drums
Savoy Jazz SVY17836 (CD). 2011. Lee Townsend, prod.; Adam Blombert, prod. asst.; Adam Munoz, eng.; Greg Calbi, mastering. AAD? TT: 68:12
Performance ****
Sonics *****
Bill Frisell, guitar; Jenny Scheinman, violin; Greg Leisz, pedal steel guitar; Tony Scherr, bass; Kenny Wollesen, drums
Savoy Jazz SVY17836 (CD). 2011. Lee Townsend, prod.; Adam Blombert, prod. asst.; Adam Munoz, eng.; Greg Calbi, mastering. AAD? TT: 68:12
Performance ****
Sonics *****
How do you escape the pressures that come with making a record of well-known John Lennon tunes, many of them from archetypal Beatles songs? Convene a quartet of longtime bandmates, each a skilled instrumentalist with whom you've played this material…
On this page in the May 2011 issue of Stereophile, Steve Guttenberg became the latest in a long line of prophets of doom who periodically announce that jazz is deceased. Guttenberg argued that "Digital audio mortally wounded recorded music's creative mojo in 1982" and was "stifling creativity in rock and jazz."
I bring glad tidings to Stereophile readers. When it comes to jazz, Guttenberg is dead wrong. The jazz art form today is rich, diverse, deep, and international.
Digital audio could not kill jazz even if it wanted to. Digital technology has made jazz albums easier and…
What makes one particular hi-fi component stand apart from all others in its class? In this issue's "The Entry Level," I state that an outstanding hi-fi component will fuel the listener's desire to explore new music. If a component does not achieve that fundamental goal, it has failed altogether and should be passionately heaved from the nearest listening-room window to hit the unforgiving asphalt with a definitive, satisfying boom (or traded on one of the online auction sites). But that rule is most pertinent when the discovery of new music is the listener's only goal. Most of us want our hi…
2011 LOUDSPEAKER OF THE YEAR
Magico Q5 ($59,950/pair; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.33 No.11, November 2010 Review)
2011 RUNNERS-UP (in alphabetical order)
Atlantic Technology AT-1 ($2500/pair; reviewed by Erick Lichte, Vol.34 No.9 Review)
Bowers & Wilkins 800 Diamond ($24,000/pair; reviewed by Kal Rubinson, Vol.34 No.5 Review)
Focal Chorus 826W 30th Anniversary ($3495/pair; reviewed by Robert Deutsch, Vol.33 No.11 Review)
Sony SS-AR1 ($27,000/pair; reviewed by Kal Rubinson, Vol.34 No.7 Review)
Vivid Audio B1 ($15,000/pair; reviewed by…
2011 ANALOG SOURCE COMPONENT OF THE YEAR
VPI Classic 3 turntable ($6000; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.34 No.10 Review)
2011 RUNNERS-UP (in alphabetical order)
Brinkmann Bardo turntable ($7990; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.34 No.5 Review)
Clearaudio Concept turntable ($1400; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.34 No.6 Review)
EMT TSD 15 phono cartridge ($1950; reviewed by Art Dudley, Vol.34 Nos. 5 & 9 Review)
Kuzma 4Point tonearm ($6500; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.34 Nos. 9 & 10 Review)
Linn Radikal Sondek LP12 motor upgrade ($…
2011 DIGITAL COMPONENT OF THE YEAR
dCS Debussy D/A processor ($11,499; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.34 No.1 Review)
2011 RUNNERS-UP (in alphabetical order)
Ayre Acoustics DX-5 Blu-ray player ($9950; reviewed by Michael Fremer & Kal Rubinson, Vol.33 No.12 & Vol.34 No.1 Review)
Bricasti M1 D/A processor ($7995; reviewed by John Marks, Vol.34 No.8 Review)
Bryston BDP-1 digital audio player ($2150; reviewed by Larry Greenhill, Vol.34 No.6 Review)
Halide Design USB-S/PDIF Bridge ($395; reviewed by John Atkinson, Vol.33 No.12 Review)
HRT…
A Spotify advertisement interrupts my listening. The ad is invisible, embedded in between the lines of my play queue. As it begins, a modern crooner soars over a twinkling piano. This is not the 311 I was just listening to. A voice very politely interrupts: “Hi, this is Bruno Mars.”
I need my riffage! Not ads!
Seconds later, a reminder pops up in my Microsoft Outlook program: “Rdio”
What the heck is Rdio? Rdio is a sound salvation. Rdio is cleaning up the nation. Rdio? Rdio? Well for starters, its pronounced “ar-dee-oh,” not ray-dee-oh, and it is a totally ad-…