The Clock Mode menu offers the usual choices between Master or Slaved to the input word clock. With the AutoSync mode…
search
Almost all the rest of the screen is devoted to output format: input or playback data; ADAT or S/PDIF formats; choices for the digital output of emphasis flag on or off, professional or consumer mode, audio or non-audio data; and output status. The analog output channels can be switched between adjacent pairs of ADAT tracks, and 6dB attenuation steps are offered. (Again, the current version of the card and software offers continually variable adjustment of level.)
I am generally not a big fan of TosLink data connections; their limited bandwidth, compared with ST-optical or AES/EBU, usually introduces data-related jitter. (See Malcolm Omar Hawksford and Chris Dunn's AES paper, "Is the AES/EBU Interface Flawed?," reprinted as "Bits is Bits?" in the March 1996 Stereophile.) But to my surprise, although I was hard-pressed to hear any difference at all between the RME's optical output and the AES/EBU output with the big Levinson processor, the TosLink sounded smoother in the high frequencies, less grainy, than an electrical S/PDIF connection with the…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Computer soundcard with PCI-bus interface (Mac- and PC-compatible); one pair of unbalanced analog outputs on a ¼" TRS jack; digital (S/PDIF coaxial and optical, and AES/EBU; ADAT optical) input and output. Sample rates supported: 32, 44.1, 48, 64, 88.2, 96kHz (unit will operate with reference word clocks from 25kHz to 105kHz). D/A resolution: 20 bits maximum (since upgraded to 24 bits). Analog output impedance: 75 ohms. Nominal analog output level: +10dBU, externally switchable to -2dBU (also under software control). Dynamic range: 96dB (RMS…
Sidebar 2: RME DIGICheck Software
Included free with the RME Digi96/8 Pro soundcard is DIGICheck, a useful utility program. This will run only with an RME Digi96-series card installed in the computer (PCs only, apparently). When you feed a datastream into the soundcard's digital input, running DIGICheck allows you to look at level (two-channel or multichannel), channel correlation, the bit depth and bit usage within the datastream's subframes, and what information is carried by the datastream's subcode. DIGICheck also tests the performance of the Digi96/8 and the host computer by logging…
I was surprised because my first impression of the speaker had been one of delicacy and elegance. I knew the Peak Consult could reproduce timbre and soundstaging from the first time I heard a pair of them, but it took me quite a while to pick up on how ungimmicked the speaker's bass and dynamic response were. Alternesia was a wake-up call.
So it was time to pull out the big guns, such as the recently remastered—sonically transformed and re-edited by engineer Paul Blakemore, really—Mahler Symphony 2 by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin (SACD, Telarc SACD-60081). I'…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way ported floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1", non–ferrofluid-cooled Scan-Speak soft-dome tweeter; 4" midrange cone; 8" woofer cone. Crossover frequencies: 200Hz, 3800Hz. Frequency range: 29Hz–30kHz, –3dB. Sensitivity: 90dB/W/m. Impedance: 7 ohms.
Dimensions: 42.5" (1090mm) H by 11.5" (295mm) W by 15" (385mm) D. Weight: 146 lbs (66kg).
Finishes: Standard: rosewood, oak, beech. Special solid wood types:
walnut, high-gloss piano black, silver metallic.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: 3112 A/B.
Price: $25,000/pair.…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
DigitaL Source: Ayre C5-xe universal disc player.
Preamplifiers: Ayre K-5xe, Conrad-Johnson ACT2, Viola Labs Cadenza.
Power amplifiers: Ayre V-5xe, Coda S5, Moscode 401HR, Viola Labs Symphony.
Loudspeakers: Aerial 20T, Canton Vento 809 DC, Dynaudio Evidence Temptation, Dynaudio Special 25.
Cables: Interconnect: Cardas Audio Golden Reference, Shunyata Research Aries & Antares, Viola Labs Silver Balanced. Speaker: Cardas Audio Golden Reference, Shunyata Research Lyra. AC: Cardas Audio Golden Reference, Shunyata Research Anaconda & Orion.…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The Peak Consult Empress was too heavy for me to lift it on to a high stand for the farfield acoustic measurements. I therefore had to window out the reflection of its sound from the floor in front of it, which will limit the midrange resolution of the response measurements.
With that caveat in mind, the Empress's sensitivity was slightly higher than average, at an estimated 88.5dB(B)/2.83V/m, though this is less than the specified 90dB. Its impedance remains between unusually narrow limits (fig.1), only rising above 6 ohms above the audioband and never…
Art and commerce are butting heads once again, now that England's popular Brit Awards include a category for classical music. Last month's inaugural nominees included some highbrow names (Rachmaninoff, Bryn Terfel), but leaned heavily on such "crossover" artists as Paul McCartney for his orchestral forays, and classical violinist Kennedy (formerly known as Nigel Kennedy) for The Kennedy Experience, his CD inspired by Jimi Hendrix. Classical sales are still down, and record companies, one suspects, are latching onto quasi-classical popular works to boost the sector's profile. For…
VARIOUS ARTISTS: Sacred Steel
Arhoolie CD450 (CD). 1997. Robert Stone, prod.; Chris Strachwitz, exec. prod. AAD? TT: 74:29
Performance *****
Sonics ****
Arhoolie CD450 (CD). 1997. Robert Stone, prod.; Chris Strachwitz, exec. prod. AAD? TT: 74:29
Performance *****
Sonics ****
There isn't a whole lot of culture left in America that hasn't been mass-produced, mass-marketed, and just plain massacred. When foreigners say that America has no culture other than CNN, McDonald's, and warm Bud Lite, they're almost right. Musically, this means that, other than dwindling pockets of Mississippi and Texas electric blues, cajun and zydeco in Louisiana and perhaps a touch of Appalachian bluegrass, America's…