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It may take a few spins for modern listeners to make peace with Darin's unabashedly hep singing style, and some of the arrangements are a little overcooked. But the album avoids sounding dated, partly thanks to the intelligence of the song selections, and partly to the obvious influence of producers Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun and recording engineer Tom Dowd: giants. Beginning with the first notes of "Mack the Knife," leaping from a groove so silent they'll startle you every time, the sound is nothing short of captivating. In fact, I can think of few other modern records I'd use to convert a…
In sixth grade, I was given a Victorinox Swiss Army knife. I loved it. An avid camper and erstwhile Boy Scout, I was amazed at how many things I could do with this well-made, pocket-size wonder. I used its tweezers to remove splinters and ticks, its scissors to cut thread, its can opener to prize open tins of baked beans, and its knife blade to whittle, occasionally cut myself, and generally wreak teenage mayhem.
As I grew older, I discovered that using specialized tools for a given job was generally easier, faster, and more pleasurable than using my Swiss Army knife's utilities…
Before doing any formal or critical listening, I let the Moon i3.3 play for a few hundred hours, using an equal mixture of the USB and coaxial digital inputs, as well as the balanced and single-ended inputs. I noticed no appreciable change in sound during this break-in period, but I wasn't paying all that much attention while it cooked.
That is one hot 2 pin
After the break-in period, I began listening to the Moon i3.3 as a conventional integrated amplifier—that is, through its analog connections. I first wanted to determine if I should primarily listen through the i3.3's single-…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state integrated amplifier with remote control, headphone output, RS-232 port, IR input for external control, 12V trigger output for remote operations, optional phono stage, balanced input stage, and digital input stage. SimLink controller port permits communication with compatible Simaudio Moon components. Inputs: 5 line-level, including front-mounted 1/8" mini-jack for personal media players; 1 input functions as pass-through, bypassing the gain stage. Outputs: one pair of speaker binding posts, headphone on 1/4" jack, one pair variable…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Theta Miles (S/PDIF output), Bel Canto CD2 (with VBS1 power supply) CD players; Benchmark DAC1 & DAC1 HDR, Bel Canto DAC3.5VB, CEntrance DACport D/A converters; Sony Vaio laptop computer.
Power Amplifiers: Pass Labs Aleph 3, XA 30.5, INT150; Rogue Audio M180.
Integrated Amplifiers: Manley Labs Stingray iTube, Mystère ia21.
Loudspeakers: Revel Performa F30, Klipsch Palladium P17B.
Cables: Digital: Kimber Kable BiFocal XL, Stereovox HDXV coaxial. AES/EBU: Wireworld Gold Starlight. Interconnect: Sain Line Systems Pure (…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
To perform the measurements on the Simaudio Moon i3.3, I mostly 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); for some tests, I also used my vintage Audio Precision System One Dual Domain and the Miller Audio Research Jitter Analyzer.
Before I did any testing of the Moon i3.3, I ran it at 33Wpc into 8 ohms for an hour. This power level (one-third the maximum of which the amp is capable) imposes the maximum heat stress on an amplifier with a class-AB output stage,…
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…