Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the CDX with the XPS, as that was how Michael preferred to use it. The maximum output level at 1kHz was 2.11V, just under 0.5dB above the CD standard of 2V. The analog output polarity was absolute-phase correct; ie, noninverting. The source impedance was extremely low: 3 ohms at 1kHz, 2 ohms at 20kHz. At 20Hz, however, it had risen to 680 ohms. The matching preamplifier input impedance had best have an input impedance of 10k ohms if the player's low bass is not to sound a little leaned-out.
The Naim's frequency response into 100k ohms (fig.1,…
So where did we leave off? I think you were wandering around the listening room clapping your hands. You were, I hope, listening to the slap echo and noting how it changed as you meandered about. That's probably just when someone near and dear bumped suddenly into the room and gave you that peculiar look we audiophiles know so well. Try to explain what you're doing. When that fails and you're once again alone, play some strong, bass-heavy material and get thee hence deep into the corners behind the speakers. That's right, stick that head of yours right into the corner. Notice how…
Let's say you're not lucky/rich/silly enough to have your own perfectly rectangular listening room. But let's further conjecture that you do have a well-defined listening area. Try to work with the room's strengths while minimizing its weaknesses. Short-wall placement—aiming the speakers down the long wall—is commonly accepted as best. But if you've got the room, pulling the speakers well out from the long wall and listening in the nearfield might work for you. In all cases, no matter the shape of the room, try to get the speakers away from the back wall and rear corners. Bringing them well…
Letters in response appeared in November 1999: Doctor's orders
Editor: Jonathan Scull's new "Fine Tunes" column is just what the doctor ordered.—David Eide, Lockport, IL, deide@ngelaw.com
Stuffing boxes
Editor: In regards to "Fine Tunes" in the September '98 issue, Jonathan Scull comment on building a quasi-Tube Trap out of newspaper-filled boxes caught my attention. Would this be an alternate route to building bass traps?
As my listening room has a standing-wave problem at about 50Hz, would J-10 recommend balling up the newspaper and lightly stuffing the…
VERDI: La Traviata
Anna Netrebko, Violetta; Rolando Villazón, Alfredo; Thomas Hampson, Germont; others; Vienna Philharmonic, Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor, Carlo Rizzi
Deutsche Grammophon B0005529-02 (2 CDs). 2005. Rainard Maillard, prod.; Jurgen Bulgrin, eng. DDD. TT: 2:04:13
Performance ****
Sonics ****
This stunning new Traviata, fresh from last summer's Salzburg Festival, is a performance to live with. There's a big hole in the middle of it, but believe it or not, one can live with that hole, given how fine the positives are.
Anna Netrebko's Violetta is…
Make the wussy-wussy sound: Merely because of the way it looks, I didn't think I'd like the Simaudio Moon i-3 integrated amplifier ($1750). But the Moon prevailed (I resisted writing rose) over whatever prejudice I had against it, and so far it's been the biggest and best surprise in my ongoing and casual survey of affordable integrateds.
The Moon 1-3 is a true integrated amplifier, meaning it isn't just a power amp with passive gain control and selector switch in front of it: The Moon has a full-function class-A line-stage preamp, and although it lacks a phono preamp, it has…
The Moon i-3 wasn't perfect—although I see no reason why a $1750 one-box amp couldn't some day be considered "the best," whatever that means to me or you—and its combination of strengths and weaknesses differed from those of other integrateds I've enjoyed lately. For instance, as much as I enjoyed the Moon with piano music, I liked the Naim Nait 5 that I wrote about in August a little more: The English amp had an even more organic sense of flow, and while the Moon sounded more extended in the upper range, I wonder if the Naim's more limited frequency range didn't work to its benefit in that…
In his bimonthly column, "The Fifth Element," John Marks has tried to identify pro-audio components that would be of interest to audiophiles. In his June 2005 episode, John wrote about Grace Design's m902 D/A headphone amplifier ($1695), the Colorado company's replacement for the 901, which had long been a favorite of his. Changes include: the handling of single-wire sample rates of up to 192kHz; unbalanced analog outputs, controlled by the front volume control, to allow the unit to be used as a preamplifier; a cross-feed processing circuit licensed from www.meier-audio.de; power-supply…
Wes Phillips on the Grace m902
My friend Jeff Wong lent me his Grace Design m902 Reference headphone amplifier for a week's audition, so I connected it to my G5 Macintosh computer and hit Radio DavidByrne.com. I fell in love with that month's playlist, which featured a slab of throbbing funk. I immediately sent John Atkinson and Jon Iverson there, mentioning that I was digging the m902 as well. Back came JA's response: "Write about what you're hearing."
Yikes! But John, I'm not convinced I love the DAC, despite John Marks' rave last June.
"Ditch the USB connection," he…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Headphone amplifier with digital and analog inputs. Input sample rates: 32–192kHz. Maximum voltage gain: 0dB (Normal), 10dB (Boost). Frequency response at 0dBu output: 4Hz–600kHz, ±3dB. Maximum output level: 21.4dBu (9.11V RMS). Input impedance: 106k ohms balanced, 53k ohms, unbalanced. Output impedance: 1 ohm. THD+N: <0.08% at 10dBu into 50 ohms, headphone output; <0.002%, at 10dBu into 50 ohms, line output. IMD (SMPTE 4:1): <0.08% at 10dBu into 50 ohms.
Dimensions: 8.5" W by 8.25" D by 1.75" H. Weight: 5 lbs (2.2kg).
Serial number…
