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Cayin SP-10A Integrated amplifier Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

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) to measure the Cayin SP-10A amplifier. Because some of the measurements produced anomalous results, I repeated some of the tests with our Audio Precision System One.

With its volume control set to its maximum, the Cayin's voltage gain from its 8 ohm tap was lower than the norm for an integrated amplifier—30.7dB into 8 ohms—and even lower from its 4 ohm tap: 23.8dB into 8 ohms. This won't be an issue with CD players,…

Nuojuva: <i>Valot Kaukaa</i>

On Valot Kaukaa, Finnish producer Olli Aarni, working as Nuojuva, creates a strange, romantic world of sound. We hear wind and birdsong; crackle and hiss; hints of familiar classical pieces; cello, flute, and violin; whispers and sighs from Rachel Evans of Motion Sickness of Time Travel; and the lovely piano work of Sophie Hutchings, whose 2010 album, Becalmed, was one of my 2011 “Records to Die For.”

The sounds here are gentle, soothing, and soft, rather than aggressive, harsh, and angular. Something about these sounds seems to look into the past, as if turning pages in a photo album or…

Stenheim Alumine loudspeaker

The sound of the Stenheim Alumine loudspeaker—its openness, transparency, and freedom from temporal distortions, not to mention its good bass extension for such a small enclosure—reminded me at once of my favorite small loudspeaker from the late 1980s, the Acoustic Energy AE1. On reflection, the comparison is extraordinary: The two products are as different as night and day, the AE1 being a wooden loudspeaker with a metal-cone woofer, the Alumine a metal loudspeaker with a pulp-cone woofer. I suppose one can skin a catfish by moving the knife or by moving the fish.

Yet from there,…

Stenheim Alumine loudspeaker Page 2

It was easy to find places at which the Stenheims performed well—my review samples wound up about 5' from the wall behind them and a little less than 2' from their respective side walls—but getting them to "disappear" required a bit more trial and error with regard to toe-in angle and distance from the listening area. Ultimately, I wound up aiming the cabinets directly at a single, centered listener, with the listening seat closer to the speakers than is the case with my Audio Note AN-Es, which I place against the front wall.

Listening
Listening to Malcolm Sargent and the London…

Stenheim Alumine loudspeaker Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Two-way, reflex-loaded dynamic loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25mm) fabric-dome tweeter, 5" (165mm) fiber-cone mid/woofer. Measured crossover frequency: 2.2kHz. Frequency response: 45Hz–30kHz, –6dB (half-space); 60Hz–30kHz, –6dB (anechoic). Impedance: 8 ohms nominal, 5.8 ohms minimum. Sensitivity: 90dB/2.83V/m. Power handling: 90W RMS, 200W peak. Recommended amplification: 20–200W.
Dimensions: 13" (330mm) H by 9.1" (230mm) W by 10.8" (275mm) D. Weight (without stand): 37.4 lbs (17kg).
Finishes: Dark aluminum; extra-cost options available.…

Stenheim Alumine loudspeaker Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog Sources: Garrard 301, Thorens TD 124 turntables; EMT 997, Schick tonearms; Ortofon SPU & Xpression, EMT TSD 15 70th Anniversary & OFD 25 pickup heads.
Digital Sources: Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player; Wavelength Proton USB D/A converter; Apple iMac G5 computer running Apple iTunes V.10.2.2, Decibel V.1.0.2.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Standard (SPU version), Silvercore One-to-Ten step-up transformers; Shindo Masseto preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: Shindo Corton-Charlemagne monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Audio Note AN-E/SPe HE.…

Stenheim Alumine loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

I measured the Stenheim Alumine using DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone. The Alumine's B-weighted sensitivity on its tweeter axis was 89.5dB/2.83V/m, which is both higher than average and within experimental error of the specified 90dB. The Stenheim's plot of impedance magnitude and electrical phase angle (fig.1) suggests that it is an easy speaker to drive, the impedance remaining above 8 ohms for much of the audioband and dropping to 5.5 ohms in the lower midrange. The phase angle is also fairly benign, meaning that, in conjunction with…

The Kymera Project: A Visual Mixtape

As I’ve mentioned, I enjoy making connections between all kinds of seemingly disparate things and ideas, but I take special interest in finding connections between different musical genres or artists. I obsess over this game, as though finding common ground between Drake and Ryuichi Sakamoto&#151an easy example, but a valid one&#151will somehow make me a stronger person, make me more intelligent and attractive, allow me to better understand others, make the world a more beautiful place.

It’s in these connections that stories are made. And I love stories. Caught by the idea that…

Neneh Cherry and The Thing: "Dream Baby Dream"

Courtesy Neneh Cherry and The Thing

People have been understandably curious about The Cherry Thing, the surprising collaboration between Neneh Cherry and free-jazz monster, The Thing, scheduled to be released on June 19 by Smalltown Supersound.

For now, we can hear the band’s version of Suicide’s “Dream Baby Dream.”

I love this song.

It’s wonderful&#151a gift, really&#151that something can be so soothing, such a lullaby, and also be so blindingly powerful.

The Show at Lyric HiFi

Saturday–Sunday, April 14–15, 10am–5pm: Lyric HiFi (1221 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY) invites audiophiles to listen to an assortment of systems, interact with representatives from brands such as McIntosh, Focal, and Audio Research, and qualify to purchase demo units at 20% off, all part of The Show at Lyric HiFi.

Lyric co-owners Lenny Bellezza’s and Dan Mondoro’s fine-tuned listening rooms will host at least seven different systems. In renovations which cost nearly $500,000 (and that’s in 1982 dollars), architects and acoustical engineers sought to stifle the rumbles of the…