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The biggest news is that the m903 is not only a USB 2.0 device, and plug'n'play on a Macintosh up to 192kHz (to go above 96kHz with Windows requires installation of a driver, available free from Grace's website), but, equally as important, its USB module is an asynchronous-mode USB converter using technology licensed from Wavelength Audio that was developed by Gordon Rankin—the same technology behind Ayre Acoustics' well-regarded QB-9 USB-only DAC. As one would expect, Grace's implementation of the USB upgrade is impressive: the m903's USB port is isolated from the audio ground, to prevent…
Sidebar: Contacts
Arcam, Pembroke Avenue, Waterbeach, Cambridge CB25 9QR, England, UK. Tel: (44) (0)1223-203200. Fax: (44) (0)1223-863384. Web: www.arcam.co.uk. US distributor: American Audio & Video. Tel: (866) 916-4667. Web: www.americanaudiovideo.com.
Grace Design, 2434 30th Street, Boulder, CO 80301; PO Box 204, Boulder, CO 80306-0204. Tel: (303) 443-7454. Fax: (303) 444-4634. Web: www.gracedesign.com.
Howard Leight by Honeywell, Sperian Hearing Protection, LLC, 7828 Waterville Road, San Diego, CA 92154. Tel: (800) 430-5490. Fax: (401) 232-3110. Web: www.howardleight.com…
For the musically prolific, releasing too many records too close together can be problematic or worse. Just because you can make a record every week in your home studio doesn't mean you should. The impulse to commit every golden thought and performance to tape without self-editing or even pausing to reflect screams narcissism run amok. Asking listeners—even dedicated fans—to then buy and spend time listening to half-baked nonsense that might have become something, given more time and care, is a sure career destroyer. There's truth in the old saw about building demand, avoiding saturation,…
Happy New Year! The January 2012 issue of Stereophile is now on newsstands. In this issue, you’ll find in-depth reviews of loudspeakers from TAD, Sonus Faber, Nola, and Dynaudio; amplification components from Sutherland, Fi, and Anthem; D/A processors from Weiss, Bel Canto, dCS, and Musical Fidelity; power conditioning from Audience, AudioQuest, and Shunyata; and CD players from Emotiva and Sony.
In “As We See It,” Bob Deutsch offers five ways to determine whether a “tweak” is worth our time and money. In “Letters,” readers tell us why they listen, and offer memories of audio…
If you follow jazz, you know that Ella & Louis, the 1956 Verve album of duets with Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, is one of the most delightful vocal recordings ever.
If you're an audiophile, you've read that Chad Kassem, proprietor of Acoustic Sounds, in Salina, Kansas, has bought the finest vinyl-pressing equipment, hired some of the hottest engineers to modify and operate it, and come up with a new line of LPs called QRP, for Quality Records Pressings.
One of his first QRP products is a 45rpm, 200-gram pressing of Ella & Louis. If you're a jazz-following…
I must admit that, for a long time, I found it difficult to accept the idea that a major portion of one's audio budget should be spent on the preamplifier. Speakers, yes—they produce the sound; amps drive the speakers, so they're important. And source components? Well, everyone knows it's garbage in/garbage out. But a preamp? Even the name suggests something that's not quite the real thing, like pre-school, pre-med, or premature. Unlike amplifiers, they don't have to contend with loads that sometimes approach a short circuit, and heat dissipation is not normally a problem. What's the big deal…
The phono stage was particularly outstanding, allowing the audiophile favorite "Tiden Bara Gär" from the Opus 3 Depth of Image disc to be reproduced with a great deal of presence and a minimum of sibilant (over)emphasis. (The LP comparisons were done with the Bryston TF-1 in the system. With the AQ 7000 running straight into the phono input, there was just enough volume at maximum gain, but the noise level was too high for it to be listenable. I know that the phono stage in general is getting to be an endangered species, but I still wonder why Conrad-Johnson doesn't make this preamp in a…
Sidebar 1: System and setup
My audio system has evolved somewhat since I described it in "A Matter of Taste" (Vol.12 No.6). The analog front end consists of a Linn LP12, now with Lingo power supply, Ittok, AudioQuest AQ 7000 replacing the Talisman S, and a Bryston TF-1 stepup. Digital source is a Philips CD650 (internally damped and otherwise messed-around-with), now feeding an Aragon D2A via MAS masTER LINK digital interconnect.
My PV5 has been re-tubed; the phono-stage tubes have AudioQuest tube dampers on them; the balance pot and mode switch have been bypassed, and the unused…
Sidebar 2: Measurements
Fig.1 shows the PV11's frequency response. The top curve (which becomes the lower curve below about 75Hz) shows the phono RIAA response taken from the tape outputs. Note the expanded scale. The RIAA EQ is accurate to within ±0.2dB from about 28Hz to 42kHz. The rise in the phono response above 1kHz may be audible as a slight brightening of the sound, but at less than 0.2dB it is insignificant when mated with the response of any phono cartridge that I know of. The same may be said of the small rolloff in the bass. Both channels are shown (solid and dotted lines),…
Sidebar 3: Specifications
Description: Tube preamplifier: Frequency range: 2Hz to more than 100kHz, RIAA equalization ±0.25dB (20Hz–20kHz). Distortion: THD less than 0.15%, IMD less than 0.15%. Gain: phono stage, 47dB, high-level, 18dB. Phono overload: 200mV at 1kHz. Hum and noise: phono stage, –78dB ref. 10mV input; line stage, –92dB ref. 2.5V output. Maximum output: 20V. Output impedance: less than 500 ohms. Absolute polarity: line stage inverts polarity of all inputs.
Dimensions: 19" W by 3.5" H by 12.5" D. Weight: 13 lbs.
Prices: $1895, $1495 for Model PV11-Line (line-stage…