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I examined the measured behavior of the BNC version of the Halide USB converter using the Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see www.ap.com and "As We See It" in the January 2008 issue), as well as the Miller Audio Research Jitter Analyzer. I played test tones at various sample rates and bit depths from BIAS Peak Pro 6 on an Intel MacBook running OS10.6.4, with some tests repeated on a dual-core PC running Windows 7 and Adobe Audition 3.0.

The Halide operated at whatever sample rate the audio file had been recorded at, provided the sample rate had been set…

So when NHT approached me about reviewing a new floorstanding model with a small footprint, the…

What finally put the entirety of the Absolute Tower's performance together for me was Tomiko Kohjiba's The Transmigration of the Soul, from the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival's Festival (CD, Stereophile STPH007-2). I reveled in the detailed and delicate…

Description: Three-way, acoustic-suspension loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" aluminum-dome tweeter, 5.25" polypropylene-cone midrange (in separate chamber), two 5.25" polypropylene-cone woofers. Crossover: third-order low-pass and high-pass at 450Hz, second-order low-pass and high-pass at 2.2kHz. Frequency range: 58Hz–20kHz. Impedance: 8 ohms average, 4 ohms minimum. Sensitivity: 86dB/2.83V/m. Distortion: 0.3%, 150Hz–20kHz; 1% at 60Hz (1W).
Dimensions: 36" (920mm) H by 5.7" (145mm) W by 7.25" (185mm) D. Base: 10.63" (270mm) W by 1.9" (50mm) H by 12" (305mm) D.…

Analog Sources: VPI TNT IV, Rega Planar 3 turntables; Immedia, Syrinx PU-3 tonearms; Koetsu Urushi, Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood cartridges.
Digital Sources: Lector CDP-7T, Creek Destiny CD players.
Preamplification: Vendetta Research SCP-2D phono stage, Audio Valve Eclipse line stage.
Power Amplifier: Audio Research Reference 110.
Integrated Amplifier: Creek Destiny.
Loudspeakers: Alán Circe, Dynaudio Excite X12, Monitor Audio Silver RS6, NHT Classic Three.
Cables: Interconnect (all MIT): Magnum M3, MI-350 CVTwin Terminator, MI-330SG…

I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the NHT's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield responses. NHT specifies the Classic Absolute Tower as having a sensitivity of 86dB/W/m. My estimate was within experimental error of this figure, at 85.5dB(B)/2.83V/m. The impedance lies above 6 ohms for much of the audioband, dropping below 5 ohms in just two regions, with minimum magnitudes of 4.56 ohms at 133Hz and 4.27 ohms at 550Hz (fig.1). The speaker is a relatively easy load for the…

Leonard was the consummate jazz photographer, a true artist as well as a chronicler, whose black-and-white pictures—most of them taken between the late 1940s and the early ’60s (though with a remarkable reprise in the late ’80s and ’90s)—captured, even visually defined, the passion of the music, the intimacy between the musicians and the moment, the spirit of the times.

He…

Editor: Thank you for introducing the Timeline. The Timeline is all about precision. Two things make that claim come true.

First is the accuracy of the time base. It is incredibly accurate—to within two parts per million. At that level, it must be considered that the resonant frequency of a crystal changes with temperature. Usually, time bases of that precision use a temperature-regulated oven to keep the crystal temperature constant. Instead, the Timeline circuitry takes a measurement of the crystal's temperature every 64 seconds. Using that information,…