Listening
With the system settled and the preamps cooking, I went about the task of selecting LPs and CDs to use in my evaluation. As I was to find out soon enough, this was not going to be an easy task. It's not that I didn't have enough source material at hand—I did. What I found happening was that with electronics of this caliber, I often sat mesmerized by what I was hearing. My yellow pad remained void of listening…
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The rear panel of the SP14 is neatly laid out with solid, gold-plated jacks. In traditional ARC manner, the right-channel sockets are above the left-channel ones.
The Classé did not sound like the solid-state product it is. Quite the contrary, it sounded more "tubey" than the C-J PV9: a dark sound with a light footprint. The PV9 impressed me with its truthfulness. It was not shy in presenting the music (sounding more solid-state than I would have imagined), yet maintained the magic heard through the best tube products. The SP14 transformed my expectations as to what can be achieved in sound reproduction at this price level. It did everything well, combining the positive aspects of the Classé and C-J into one musically involving component. At the same…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Hybrid (tube/FET) stereo preamplifier with one phono input, six line-level inputs, and two tape loops. Specifications: Frequency response: 30Hz–40kHz ±0.3dB (RIAA phono), 5Hz–50kHz ±0.5dB (line). Distortion: less than 0.01% at 2V output. Input impedance: 47k ohms standard, with user-adjustable resistance and capacitance (600pF as supplied) (phono); 50k ohms (line). Output impedance: 250 ohms (main), 1000 ohms (tape-out). Recommended load: 60k–100k ohms in parallel with 100pF (20k ohms minimum and 1000pF maximum). Phono stage gain: 66dB (to main out…
Sidebar 2: System
My front end consists of the VPI HW19 Mk.III turntable with the Eminent Technology Model 2 tonearm and an AudioQuest 404i-L cartridge. Pandora interconnect from TARA Labs carries LP information to the preamp. I've been using the Conrad-Johnson PV9 as my reference, and was also fortunate to be able to borrow a Classé Audio DR-6. With the SP14, the PV9, and the DR-6 on hand, I felt I would get a good handle on what the sound of these $3000 preamps would be in my system. My CD source is the CAL Tempest II SE, again connected with Pandora interconnect. The Quicksilver KT88…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
As there was only a short time available to do some measurements before this review had to be set in type, I therefore concentrated on a small number of parameters that Guy's auditioning suggested might be important. Guy had found the C-J PV9 to present a rather wider soundstage than the SP14. Accordingly, I looked at channel separation of the ARC unit.
Fig.1 shows the crosstalk from the left into the right channel, measured at the main right output with a 1V input signal applied to the left CD input. (The right input was loaded with 25 ohms, the…
So many things in this world are designed for convenience, not for excellence. That's all right if you have a choice, but it becomes a problem when products designed for convenience become universal standards and are thus foisted on everyone—including enthusiasts, who must then live with a product aimed at the lowest common denominator.
The digital interface between CD transports and digital processors is a perfect example of this dilemma. The Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format (S/PDIF) standard was designed so that connecting two digital products required only one cable. This…
The DT-10 is both gorgeous to look at and built like a tank. Internal layout and build quality are first-rate. The only problem I had was an occasional failure to play a track when it was selected from the direct-access number panel.
Music
The DT-10 quickly established itself as a topflight transport, particularly when driving the Krell Reference 64 processor. Its sonic characteristics were well suited to the Krell processor, forming a synergistic match. The Reference 64's strengths—pace and rhythm in particular—were enhanced when mated with the DT-10.
The DT-10's bottom end…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: CD transport with remote control. Digital outputs: coaxial on RCA jack, AES/EBU on XLR jack, TosLink optical, ST-type optical. Additional output: custom "Time Sync" output transmits clock to Krell transport separately from audio. Transport mechanism: modified Philips CDM-4 Pro controlled by Krell software.
Dimensions: 19" W by 3.5" H by 14" D. Weight: 21 lbs net, 35 lbs shipping.
Price: $7900 (1994); no longer available (2010). Approximate number of dealers: 55. Warranty: 5 years parts and labor on electronics, 3 years parts and labor on…
Sidebar 2: Ancillary equipment
While in my listening room, the DT-10 drove the Krell Reference 64, Sonic Frontiers SFD-2, and Mark Levinson No.30 digital processors. The Reference 64 was an ideal match for the DT-10; this combination, connected with the separate Time Sync clock, allowed both products to achieve their optimum levels of performance. Other transports on hand for comparison were the similarly priced Mark Levinson No.31 ($8500) and the much less expensive PS Audio Lambda ($1695).
Loudspeakers were Thiel CS3.6es, driven by a Krell KSA-300S power amplifier via 8' runs…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
This is the first CD-transport review to include a measurements section: We can now measure how much jitter appears in a transport's digital output using the UltraAnalog jitter analyzer described in the October and November 1993 issues of Stereophile. For comparison measurements on other products, see the November '93 feature story.
Fig.1 shows the DT-10's jitter (from the AES/EBU output) with three test signals: digital silence (solid trace), a –90dB, 1kHz sinewave (heavy dashed trace), and a full-scale, 1kHz sinewave (lightly dotted trace). The RMS…