Upsampling is that vexatious business involving bogus bits—bogus in that a "Red Book" CD,…
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Meanwhile, I could not try the M1 DAC with my Mac mini because it requires the Snow Leopard or later version of the OS X operating system(OS X 10.6). I can't upgrade OS X because my G4-based computer is too old, so I'm stuck with Panther or Leopard. If I wanted to force the issue—work with my Mac's Audio MIDI setup, for instance—I perhaps could, but I didn't want to screw up my settings, since I have got my original Mac mini to work with my Musical Fidelity X-CanV8 headphone amp. (More later.)
There was bite, too. The M1 DAC was anything but too polite—like, perhaps inherently, SACD: the very format seems to round off everything. There are many times when I want my music edgy, even raucous. Been to any string-quartet recitals lately? I have, and the music is meant to put you on edge: that's the point. Don't look to the M1 DAC to make a system's sound excessively polite. Or the DAC Magic, either—by Cambridge Audio.
The sound of brass instruments on fine classical recordings was breathtaking—so alive I almost jumped from my seat. Woodwinds, too, were ravishing. Transients were…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state, oversampling D/A processor with USB, AES/EBU, coaxial and Toslink S/PDIF inputs, unbalanced and balanced analog outputs. Sample rates handled: 32–192kHz, S/PDIF & AES/EBU; 32–48kHz, USB. Bit depths handled: 16–24, S/PDIF & AES/EBU; 16, USB Total correlated jitter: <12 picoseconds peak–peak. Linearity: <0.1dB down to –96dB. Frequency response: 10Hz–20kHz, –0.1dB. Channel separation: >105dB, 20Hz–20kHz. Signal/Noise Ratio: >119dB A-weighted ref. maximum output level. Total harmonic distortion: <0.0025%, 10Hz–20kHz.…
Sidebar 2: Review System
Digital Sources: Sony SCD-XA777ES SACD player; Cambridge Audio DAC Magic.
Preamplifier: George Hi-Fi Lightspeed passive attenuator.
Integrated amplifier: LFD Mk.IV.
Power amplifiers: Sun Audio SV-2A3, Musical Fidelity M1 HPA headphone amplifier.
Loudspeakers: Triangle 30th Anniversaire Comète.—Sam Tellig
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used Stereophile's loan sample of the top-of-the-line Audio Precision SYS2722 system to perform the measurements on the Musical Fidelity M1DAC (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. Except where noted, all tests were performed on the M1DAC's balanced analog outputs using its AES/EBU data input.
Probing the M1DAC's USB input identified the processor as "USB Audio DAC," manufactured by "Burr-Brown from Texas Instruments…
Universal Classics, owners of the great Deutsche Grammophon, London/Decca, and Philips catalogues, has made its entire treasure trove of Mahler recordings available for free, full-track, online streaming. Whether you are a babe in the Vienna woods or a seasoned Mahlerite, this is a rare opportunity to audition and compare a good 180 Mahler symphony recordings, including over 60 out-of-print Mahler titles.
The tracks, first posted to Mahler150.com last year in honor of the 150th anniversary of Gustav Mahler's birth, remain available in 2011, the 100th anniversary of Mahler's death. While…
Every young audiophile could use a mentor. In my position here at the magazine, I am fortunate to have about two dozen of them. They give me inspiration, criticism, advice, the heebie-jeebies, and sometimes even gifts. Most recently, Uncle Art sent me a couple of really neat gifts: A lovingly used Dynavector DV10x5 high-output moving-coil cartridge and a tough-looking Rega torque wrench.
The latter was reviewed by another mentor, Mikey Fremer, in our November 1996 issue (Volume 19 Number 11). At the time, this precision-made, round-knurled tool sold for $125, and Mikey deemed it…
Madlib finds himself surrounded by vinyl. Photo: Stones Throw Records.
David Gilbert from Italy sends this link to images of famous people (and beasts), from Bill Clinton to Chewbacca, spending quality time with their LPs. And Wes Phillips shares a wonderful Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, in which Calvin’s dad teaches his son a lesson about RPMs.
I say this all the time, but I’ll say it again: I cannot keep up with all of the great new music that’s being released. It’s coming from all over the world, it’s beautifully packaged, and it’s lovingly presented by people who care deeply about their relationships with the artists and the listeners. This is a wonderful time for music, and, therefore, a wonderful time for hi-fi.
Today, I’m listening to Jannick Schou’s Act of Shimmering, a new vinyl-only release limited to 300 copies and made available by Experimedia, a home for sounds that reliably fascinate, enthrall, enrich.
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If Fleet Foxes were to trade their acoustic guitars for synthesizers and drum machines, move from the grassy fields to the dance clubs, and lighten up a bit, they might sound something like When Saints Go Machine. The Danish four-piece’s debut album, Konkylie, is an alluring mix of pure pop, misshapen chamber, and electronic music. It is odd, lovely, infectious, and confounding—and I keep coming back to it.
While the music bobs and sways, it’s Nikolaj Manuel Vonsild’s strange, nearly androgynous vocals—recalling the trembling falsetto of Antony Hegarty and the raw…