What I expected of them—in the short term, at least—was this: They were required to answer three new questions, written for their benefit on that still-vibrating…
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At the start of my teaching career, I discovered that it was more difficult to maintain order in a sixth-grade classroom early in the day than at any other time. First thing in the morning the kids were noisy and aimless, and banging my open palm on the chalkboard for their attention worked only once. So I gave my students that which most children crave, consciously or un-: a simple, clear explanation of what I expected of them.
And I wouldn't have noticed, except that, in their earlier days, those companies fairly crowed about the technologies they would come to abandon!
Seriously now, the question(s): In order to do great things, is it important for a manufacturing company to have a distinct point of view, in the same manner as an individual artist or artisan? And if so, does the abandonment of that point of view necessarily correlate with a decline in quality—of ideas, if not of consumer goods themselves? Compare, contrast.
The number of the color
In the earliest days of the CD, during a time…
Ten thousand hours. According to Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Outliers: The Story of Success, it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become truly exceptional in your field. For any endeavor, Gladwell contends, what will get you to Carnegie Hall isn't inborn talent but practice, practice, practice.
I can relate. I've worked hard to put in my 10,000 hours as a critical listener, both as an audiophile and as a full-time, professional musician. In one area, however, I feel I'm still working up to that 10,000 hours: writing reviews for Stereophile. Few people can say they've spent 22 hours a…
After giving the INT-150 a long break-in, the first music I wanted to hear through it was something containing large dynamic swings. I put on my own recording of Babatunde Olatunji's "Betelehemu," from Cantus's Comfort and Joy: Volume Two (CD, Cantus CTS-1205). The performance of this Nigerian Christmas song features full-throated, jubilant singing and a bevy of percussion instruments, including two djembes, an African drum with a ported opening that acts much like a bass-reflex speaker enclosure. The INT-150 reproduced this track at concert levels with ease. Each sound had adequate body,…
"Oh Baby, pass the butter"—Brak (Space Ghost)
In the last year, a bunch of amps have come through my house—integrated and power, solid-state and tubed—and I've learned a lot from listening to each of them. The main lesson has been that anyone who thinks all amps sound the same is inexperienced, unobservant, philosophically brainwashed, deaf, or crazy. During the Pass Labs INT-150's ($7150) stay at my house, it cohabitated with three other amps: the Rogue M180 tube monoblocks ($5495/pair), the Simaudio Moon i3.3 ($3300–$4000, depending on options), and Pass Labs' own XA30.5 ($5500),…
In the last year, a bunch of amps have come through my house—integrated and power, solid-state and tubed—and I've learned a lot from listening to each of them. The main lesson has been that anyone who thinks all amps sound the same is inexperienced, unobservant, philosophically brainwashed, deaf, or crazy. During the Pass Labs INT-150's ($7150) stay at my house, it cohabitated with three other amps: the Rogue M180 tube monoblocks ($5495/pair), the Simaudio Moon i3.3 ($3300–$4000, depending on options), and Pass Labs' own XA30.5 ($5500),…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state integrated amplifier with remote control. Volume control: 63dB range in increments of 1dB. Inputs: 2 XLR/RCA, 3 RCA only. Voltage gain: 26dB. Frequency range: 1.5Hz–60kHz. Power output: 150Wpc into 8 ohms (21.8dBW). Maximum output voltage: ±35V. Distortion at 1kHz, full power: 1%. Input impedance: 30k ohms balanced, 20k ohms single-ended. Damping factor: 150. Output noise <300µV. Power consumption: 225W.
Dimensions: 19" (490mm) W by 7" (180mm) H by 19" (490mm) D. Weight: 67 lbs (30.5kg).
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed: 22624.…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Theta Miles (S/PDIF output), Bel Canto CD2 (with VBS1 power supply) CD players; Benchmark DAC1 & DAC1 HDR, Bel Canto DAC 3.5VB, CEntrance DACport D/A converters; Sony Vaio laptop computer.
Power Amplifiers: Pass Labs Aleph 3 & XA30.5, Rogue Audio M180 monoblocks.
Integrated Amplifier: Simaudio Moon i3.3.
Loudspeakers: Revel Performa F30.
Cables: Digital: Kimber BiFocal X, Stereovox HDVX coaxial, Wireworld Gold Starlight AES/EBU, Silver Sonic D-110 AES/EBU. Interconnect: Sain Line Systems Pure Balanced & Pure.…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
To perform the measurements on the Pass Labs INT-150, I used Stereophile's loan sample of the top-of-the-line Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It" and www.ap.com). Before doing the testing, I ran the INT-150 at one-third its rated power for 60 minutes, which thermally is the worst case for an amplifier with a class-A/B output stage. At the end of that period, the heatsinks along the chassis sides were way too hot to touch. This amplifier needs plenty of ventilation.
The maximum gain at 1kHz was basically to specification, at…
Last night, I listened to Mississippi Records’s latest Abner Jay release, Last Ole Ministrel Man, a lovingly packaged 10”, three songs on each side, rawer than winter in New York City.
I listened over and over while reading Jack Teague’s wonderful liner notes, telling his story of how he got to know Abner Jay, how he got scolded by Abner Jay, how he got to mow the man’s lawn one hot summer day, how he got to rub lotion on the man’s dry legs when the man was finally confined to a hospital bed, getting ready to leave this world.
I just kept flipping the record over and…
In November 2009, I took part in an intriguing comparison between live and recorded sound. I first recorded a live piano recital in 24-bit/96kHz digital, then allowed the audience to immediately hear the recording in the same room. (See my February 2010 thoughts on the comparison here.) For playback, I used two of the mono Esoteric D-01VU D/A converters locked to the ultra-high-precision Esoteric G-0Rb "atomic" master clock. I was very impressed by the sound of this cost-no-object digital system, so when I visited the Japanese company's room at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show and saw their…