Dear Erick:
I really want to get into computer audio, but the economy sucks and most of the stuff you review in Stereophile seems way overpriced. Is there anything that will play my…
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Sure, Stereophile gets letters to the editor. We also get some colorful responses for our "Manufacturers' Comments" section. (Vince Bruzzese and Roy Hall are literary standouts among their component-making peers.) And, as one of the magazine's Contributing Editors (Audio), I get lots of personal mail from readers seeking my advice. I thought I might share some of these letters with you, and my responses.
Dear Mr. Lichte:
Recently I acquired, through unnamed sources, high-resolution versions of my favorite music: Sheffield Lab's The Sheffield Track & Drum Record (CD, Sheffield Lab SL10081) and the channel-identification track from John Atkinson's Editor's Choice (CD, Stereophile STPH016-2). (The sound of JA playing Fender bass out of phase gives me shivers.) I want to hear this beautiful music in all its 24-bit glory. Could you recommend a DAC that could realize the potential of hi-rez audio.—Music Lover
Recently I acquired, through unnamed sources, high-resolution versions of my favorite music: Sheffield Lab's The Sheffield Track & Drum Record (CD, Sheffield Lab SL10081) and the channel-identification track from John Atkinson's Editor's Choice (CD, Stereophile STPH016-2). (The sound of JA playing Fender bass out of phase gives me shivers.) I want to hear this beautiful music in all its 24-bit glory. Could you recommend a DAC that could realize the potential of hi-rez audio.—Music Lover
Dear Music Hater:
You need to get out more.
The CEntrance DACmini…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state D/A processor, line preamplifier, and headphone amplifier with external power supply (will operate from 9–19VDC). Audio output: gold-plated RCA line out, stereo ¼" headphone out. Resolution: 24-bit (also supports 16-bit). Sample rates accepted: USB, up to 96kHz; S/PDIF, up to 192kHz. Nominal output level: +6.0dBV (RCA outputs). Frequency response: 20Hz–40kHz, +0.0dB/–0.1dB (line or digital inputs). Signal/noise: (A-weighted): 144dB (line), 113dB (digital). THD+noise: 0.00022% (line), 0.001% (digital). Channel separation: 128dB (line),…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Bel Canto Design CD2 CD player; Sony Vaio laptop computer; Benchmark DAC1 & DAC1 HDR, Bel Canto DAC3.5VB & VBS1 power supply, Weiss DAC202, dCS Debussy D/A converters.
Power Amplifiers: Rogue Audio M180 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Revel Performa F30, Atlantic Technology AT-1.
Cables: Digital: Stereovox HDVX coaxial, Silver Sonic D-110 AES/EBU, Cardas Clear USB. Interconnect: Sain Line Systems Pure & Pure balanced. Speaker: Kimber Kable BiFocal X. AC: Sain Line Systems Reference.—Erick Lichte
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used Stereophile's loan sample of the top-of-the-line Audio Precision SYS2722 system to measure the CEntrance DACmini CX (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 and the Miller Audio Research Jitter Analyzer. As well as driving the DACmini with S/PDIF data from the Audio Precision analyzers, I used a MacBook running Mac OS10.6.8 and Pure Music 1.8 to play test-signal files. I repeated some of the USB input testing using a PC running Windows XP and CEntrance's ASIO driver/…
Photo: Andy Henriques, CAS
The same weekend John Atkinson was serenading the Los Angeles/Orange County Audio Society, John Marks was showing the flag in Southern New England at the annual Holiday Meeting of the Connecticut Audio Society. JM brought with him to Connecticut not only Sooloos' Control:15 music server, into which he had loaded the playlist for his presentation, but also a Bricasti M1 DAC and Nordost Silver Shadow S/PDIF cable and Bricasti's Brian Zolner to answer questions about his M1 DAC. (JA's full review of the Bricasti will appear in the February 2012 issue of Stereophile…
On the corner of Sherman and Sanford in the quiet, residential neighborhood of Jersey City known as The Heights, just a block from Leonard Gordon Park and two blocks from Pershing Field, there is a beautiful, old Victorian house. Standing a little taller than the other houses in the neighborhood, 112 Sherman Place, with its turreted rooms, stained glass windows, and distinct green and ochre exterior, has a proud, stately, almost royal, appearance. This is the home of Dave and Paula Lalin, their three children, their three pets, and more high-end audio components than you would ever expect…
My thirst for vinyl can be blind and wild. I know this when I find myself dashing through the midday sun, from the Stereophile office and up Madison Avenue, into Grand Central Station, onto the 6 train to Astor Place, and into my favorite record shop, Other Music, like a man in lust or love or, worse yet, possessed wholly by need. But unlike some of my more dogmatic friends and colleagues, I have no real problem with the Compact Disc. It's just that CDs often lack a certain intangible charm, the ability to make my heart race.
Because we are audiophiles and because this is Stereophile, it…
I did all of my listening with an NAD C 316BEE integrated amplifier, PSB Alpha B1 loudspeakers, and AudioQuest Rocket 33 loudspeakers cables and Sidewinder interconnects. The Emotiva and NAD sat on shelves in my PolyCrystal equipment rack, plugged into a Furutech e-TP60 power conditioner, itself plugged into a Furutech GTX wall receptacle via an AudioQuest NRG X-3 power cord. As always, I listened only to awesome music.
Awesome music
Summvs (CD, Raster-Noton R-N132) is the fifth and final installment in the stirring and lovely Virus series of recordings from electronic composers…
I set out on a fishing trip but returned less than an hour later, empty-handed. You asked me, reasonably enough, "What happened?"
"I spent a half-hour digging in the garden for worms, but couldn't find any."
"You could have driven to Mr. Zetterstrum's farm, knocked on his door, asked his permission, and spent a few hours overturning the cowflops in his pasture. I'm sure you would have found one or two worms that way."
"You're right. I guess I didn't want to go fishing that badly."
So it goes today, as I take my first, tentative look at the world of direct-drive…