I tested the Audio Research D-160B using top-quality turntables like the Goldmund and SOTA-Sumiko arm combination, top quality cartridges, and speakers like the modified Quad ESL-63s, Thiel CS3s, Spica TC-50s, and Fuselier 3.3s. Preamplifier was the Audio Research SP-10. I have used them with Compact Discs and a wide range of FM Tuners. I have mixed and matched cables, including the Straightwire, Petersen, Discrete Technology, Audiosource, and Monster Cable Interlink Reference.—Anthony H. Cordesman
search
Sidebar 2: Specifications
Description: Tubed stereo power amplifier. Maximum power: 160Wpc. Frequency response: 10Hz–50kHz, +0, –3dB, full power.
Weight: 115 lbs.
Serial number: of review sample: 32024017.
Price $6000 (1984); no longer available (2011).
Manufacturer: Audio Research Corporation, Minneapolis, MN 55430 (1984); Audio Research Corporation, 3900 Annapolis Lane N., Plymouth, MN 55447-5447 (2011). Tel: (763) 577-9700. Fax: (763) 577-0323. Web: www.audioresearch.com.
While August 29 was officially the day the State of Connecticut honored Sennheiser Electronic Corporation, the celebrations the US subsidiary of the German headphone and microphone manufacturer had planned were postponed, thanks to Hurricane Irene. But Tuesday, September 20 saw journalists converging on the company's headquarters in shoreline town of Old Lyme—"conveniently located midway between New York and Boston," according to company president John Falcone, pictured above—to take part in the delayed event. "This recognition celebrates Sennheiser's vital role in the business community, as…
Stereophile editor John Atkinson has been honored by being invited to give the Richard C. Heyser Memorial Lecture at the 131st Audio Engineering Society Convention, held at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan. The Memorial Lecture was established in May 1999 to honor the memory of the famed audio theorist, engineer, reviewer, scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, inventor of Time Delay Spectrometry, and AES Silver Medal recipient. The Memorial Lecture has previously honored Ray Dolby, recording engineer Phil Ramone, futurist Ray Kurzweil, mathematicians Manfred Schroeder and Stanley…
The Dragon Pro is, I believe, the most eagerly awaited of the Camelot products. Since the disappearance of Audio Alchemy's DTIPro 32, no comparable anti-jitter and resolution-enhancement product has come along to replace it. (Yes, there are simpler anti-jitter boxes, and there is the Genesis Digital Lens, but these are not truly comparable in approach.) Well, the Dragon is everything that the DTIPro 32 was, and more!
The Dragon Pro anti-jitter box offers both jitter reduction and resolution enhancement, along with I2S in/out. Considering the number of Web newsgroup ads from folks…
Sidebar 1: A Note About I2S Cables
For the past couple of years I've been using I2S as my preferred means of interconnecting CD transports, jitter boxes, and DACs, and I want to emphasize that the standard OEM black I2S cables are perfectly capable of demonstrating the superiority of I2S over single-line interconnections. Nonetheless, as a reasonably compulsive audiophile, it has become necessary for me to try out a variety of I2S cables in the hope/fear that they might affect the reproduction.
Of the I2S cables I've auditioned, all improve on the OEM standard cable in at least…
Sidebar 2: Specifications
Description: Jitter-Reduction & Resolution Enhancer with dual phase-locked loops. Selectable resolution enhancement: 16, 18, or 20 bits. Subcode stripping. Digital-domain phase inversion. Inputs: I2S, AES/EBU, S/PDIF coax, TosLink, AT&T. Outputs: I2S, AES/EBU, S/PDIF coax. Battery supply optional.
Dimensions: 16" W by 2" H by 8" D. Weight: 7 lbs.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 088455.
Price: $1495 (1998); no longer availabe (2011). Approximate number of dealers: 50.
Manufacturer: Camelot Technology, 30 Snowflake Road, Huntingdon Valley,…
The apparent demise of Audio Alchemy left a niche in the marketplace for a supplier of innovative, high-value digital components to provide the less-than-wealthy audiophile with state-of-the-art technology. Although Camelot Technology existed before Audio Alchemy went away, they have quickly taken over this niche with some interesting components. And I understand that some of the former AA technical personnel consulted for Camelot in the development of these products. (A recent press release indicates that Genesis Technology also played a major role in their design.)
While one cannot…
Sidebar 1: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: Sonic Frontiers SFCD-1 CD player, Audio Alchemy DDSPro/DTIPro 32/DDE v.3.
Preamplifiers: Klyne 6L3P, Sonic Frontiers Line-2 (via Cardas Golden Cross interconnects).
Power amplifiers: Simaudio Moon W-5, McCormack DNA-1 (one or two), Sonic Frontiers Power-2 (via Cardas Cross or Straight Wire Virtuoso interconnects).
Loudspeakers: EOS Signature+Base Module, Apogee Duetta II, PMC IB-1S (via Straight Wire Maestro speaker cables).—Kalman Rubinson
Sidebar 2: Measurements
All measurements were performed with the Uther powered by AC rather than by batteries. The balanced analog outputs measured as having a very low source impedance—just 3 ohms—except in the low bass, where this rose to a still low 27 ohms. By contrast, the single-ended outputs featured a slightly higher 13 ohms at mid and high frequencies, 20 ohms at 20Hz. The polarity was noninverting from both sets of outputs with the phase control set to normal. (The XLRs appeared to be wired with pin 2 "hot.") The output level with the volume control set to "100" or "Out" was a…