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The December 2010 issue of Stereophile is now on newsstands. On the cover you’ll see the Ayre DX-5 “Universal A/V Engine.” This thing slices, it dices, it juliennes, and even Mikey likes it. Really: The DX-5 plays Blu-ray, DVD-V, DVD-A, SACD, CD, CD-R, and every other combination of “C,” “D,” and “V” you can think of, and, with its front-panel USB input, it becomes a music sever, too. While Mikey was frustrated with the DX-5’s lack of S/PDIF input, which prohibited him from partnering the DX-5 with his Sooloos music sever, Ayre contends that S/PDIF is a compromised technology, one that…
In its first three years, UK hi-fi manufacturer Mission Electronics employed a number of engineers to reinforce the creative talents of founder and hi-fi enthusiast Farad Azima. The lineup included John Bicht, now with Versa Dynamics, and Stan Curtis, now heading up Cambridge Audio. But when Farad's brother Henry—"Henry" is actually a nickname and I am sure you can see the derivation—joined the company in 1979, he brought both a much-needed stability, and initiated a considerable degree of commercial success for the company's products. Now resident in Canada, he spends his time commuting…
Henry Azima: Unfortunately so. Yes. But for people who are dedicated to good sound, one has to forego the big sale, and insist on making an amplifier that sounds better. This is the better way to go. I think we have a a mission to promote the right idea, but in North America, unfortunately, it's like pulling teeth; people like big boxes and high powers. I think, though, that there are enough people now who understand these things, and we are making headway.
John Atkinson: You say that choice of components is important in amplifier design. As an ex-military engineer, did it come as a…
Henry Azima: How you use op-amps is extremely important. You have to take care, because to make an amplifier with a certain gain with any op-amp, you can do all sorts of things: you can put in stabilization capacitors, you can roll the response off sooner or later; there are even many ways of actually putting the external capacitors and resistors into the circuit. You must be careful in how you arrange the regulated power supplies, etc. I think the op-amps we use are quite excellent: they lend themselves to the neutrality of the sound. To be able to match them in discrete form, you have to…
Henry Azima: Absolutely. In fact, I was talking to another West German reviewer, Franz Schuller, who has reviewed 5000 CDs and has seen every plant in the world; he is probably the world authority on digitally recorded sound. The stories he was telling me were awful. It appears that while many recordings actually released on CD may have started with 15 to 16-bit resolution, when the data were finally put on the disc, the resolution was probably no better than 10-bit. They use third-generation tapes, they use bad printing, they fool around with the mixing, and they just destroy the sound.…
I remember my first experience with headphones. In 1960, I bought a set of Trimm dual 'phones (less than $5) and rewired them for stereo. The experience was remarkable for several reasons. First, it brought the sounds into my head—I was thrilled with the impact. Second, stereo effects, especially with Enoch Light's ping-pong LPs (eg, Provocative Percussion, Command RS800SD), were striking. Third, I could play them really loud without bothering others. Of course, they had no bass, brittle treble, distorted at high levels, and their wire headband and Bakelite earpieces were uncomfortable. My…
The SVS system analyzes the sound radiating from your speakers using in-ear microphones, and processes the sound so that each headphone provides what that ear would have heard from the speakers. The result should be an accurate re-creation of the sound of your audio system through your ears, with all spatial attributes and personal HTRF intact. Note that one can do this calibration in one room and listen elsewhere, effectively taking with you your listening room—or anyone else's—wherever you go. The A8's Head Tracking component compensates for head movements, to ensure that the Chicago…
Even more remarkable was the Realiser's ability to create a two-channel soundstage from two-channel sources. No longer was the CSO clustered inside my head, but arrayed from left to right and, apparently, some 30' behind my main speakers. Coupled with the head-tracking function, which kept the image stably in place when I moved my head, even the phantom center-fill of instruments or soloists remained centered between the (now silent) B&W 802Ds. My wife, a casual listener, was amazed by the Realiser-Stax. "The sound is not coming from the headphones," she exclaimed. "It's out there."…
Sidebar: Recordings In The Round
MAHLER: Songs with Orchestra
Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Rückert-Lieder, selections from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano; Thomas Hampson, baritone; Michael Tilson Thomas, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
SFSO 821936-0036-2 (SACD/CD)
Will this be the last release in the SFSO's Mahler series? If so, it's a wonderful conclusion, even if it leaves us with less than the full set from Des Knaben Wunderhorn. I ultimately prefer other recordings of each of these works, but I'm happy with Tilson Thomas's all-American team…
The name "Audio Research" will be familiar to many readers of this magazine. It belongs on the list of that select group of manufacturers who continue to offer the audiophile and music lover equipment which enables him or her to truly enjoy the muse. With equipment of this caliber, one is no longer caught up in the anxiety-inducing process of listening to (evaluating) the equipment used in the presentation of the music. Instead, the listener can focus attention on the much more important message uncovered in the music via the performance and conveyed through the network of transducers, cables…