Without asynchronous streaming, USB audio functions in adaptive mode: the computer establishes the data-transfer clock, forcing any outboard digital-to-analog converter…
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I don't remember where I was when the Berlin Wall came down, and I already don't remember what I was doing when Liz Taylor died. (I suppose I was busy not thinking about Liz Taylor.) But I do remember when USB-based computer audio became a serious medium: That was when Gordon Rankin, of Wavelength Audio, introduced asynchronous data streaming, with his proprietary Streamlength software. After that, things picked up speed.
I set the review sample on a light, sturdy pinewood table of my own construction, never more than 1.5m from my computer, never with interconnects shorter than 5m. Although its front panel looked nice enough, I tended to orient the Proton in such a way that its rear panel—and the LEDs thereon—were in easy view. Playback software was Stephen Booth's Decibel (v1.0.2) on an Apple iMac G5 (OS 10.6.7), playing a selection of AIFF and WAV files of resolutions up to 24-bit/176.4kHz.
During use, the Proton's sample-rate indicators were consistent in correctly signaling the sample-rate families…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Single-box digital/analog converter. Digital input jack: USB (type B plug) only. Analog output jacks: RCA. Formats supported: all PCM-output audio codecs (AIFF, FLAC, WAV, MP3, etc.). Sampling rates supported: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96kHz. Word lengths supported: 16, 24 bits. Maximum line-level output: 1.8V. Output impedances: 100 ohms (line), 1 ohm (headphones). Frequency response: 5Hz–20kHz, –1.0dB.
Dimensions: 4" (100mm) W by 2.5" (60mm) H by 5.75" (150mm) D. Weight: 3 lbs (1.4kg).
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed: 29-0086.
Price: $900.…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Garrard 301, Thorens TD 124 turntables; EMT 997, Schick tonearms; Ortofon SPU, EMT OFD 25 & OFD 65 pickup heads.
Digital Sources: Furutech GT40, Ayre Acoustics QB-9 USB D/A converters; Apple iMac G5 computer running Apple iTunes v10.2.2, Decibel v1.0.2 playback software; Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Standard (SPU version), Silvercore One-to-Ten step-up transformers; Shindo Masseto preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: Shindo Corton-Charlemagne, Fi 421A.
Loudspeakers: Audio Note AN-E/SPe HE.…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used Stereophile's loan sample of the top-of-the-line Audio Precision SYS2722 system to perform the measurements on the Wavelength Proton (see www.ap.com and the January 2008 "As We See It"); for some tests, I also used my vintage Audio Precision System One Dual Domain and the Miller Audio Research Jitter Analyzer. Source for the test files was my MacBook, fitted with 4GB of RAM and running Mac OS10.6.8 and Pure Music V1.8.
Wavelength warns that the Proton's line-level output will clip with full-scale signals, and advises owners to set the Proton's…
When John Marks wrote about the Vivid B1 in his column, "The Fifth Element," in February 2011, he was so excited about the sound he was getting that he asked me to drive up to Rhode Island to give a listen for myself. Not only was I impressed by what I heard at John's, I decided to do a full review of the speaker.
I first heard the B1 ($14,990/pair), Vivid's first product, when it was demmed at the 2004 London Heathrow show, but it didn't reach the US until the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show. The B1 is made in South Africa and engineered by ex-B&W designer Laurence "Dic" Dickie, who…
It seems odd to use the word "generous" to describe the B1's low frequencies, given its fairly small footprint and small-diameter woofers. But generous those lows were indeed. The bass guitar on the "Channel Identification" and "Channel Phasing" tracks on my Editor's Choice CD (Stereophile STPH016-2) had excellent weight, and the speakers had superb articulation with this signal, which can often sound soggy with reflex designs. Jerome Harris's solo bass-guitar introduction to Duke Ellington's "The Mooche," from the Jerome Harris Quintet's Rendezvous (CD, Stereophile STPH013-2), sounded even,…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-and-a-half-way, reflex-loaded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units (all aluminum): D26 1" (26mm) dome tweeter, D50 2" (50mm) dome midrange driver, two C125 6.25" (158mm) cone woofers. Crossover frequencies: 100Hz, 900Hz, 4kHz. Frequency response: 39Hz–41kHz, ±2dB, 35Hz–44kHz, ±6dB. Sensitivity: 89dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Distortion: second- and third-order harmonics <0.5% over the operating range. Maximum input power: 300W.
Dimensions: 43" (1095mm) H by 10.4" (265mm) W by 14.75" (375mm) D. Internal volume: 44 liters.…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP & DX-5 universal players; Apple G4 Mac mini running OS10.5.8, iTunes 10, Pure Music 1.80; Shuttle PC with Lynx AES16 soundcard & dual-core AMD Athlon processor running Windows 7, Foobar 2000, Adobe Audition 3.0; Logitech Transporter, Metric Halo ULN-2 D/A converters; Halide S/PDIF Bridge, Musical Fidelity V-Link USB-S/PDIF converters.
Preamplifiers: Simaudio Moon Evolution P-8, Ayre Acoustics K-5xeMP.
Power Amplifiers: Classé CT-M600, MBL Reference 9007 monoblocks; Musical Fidelity AMS100, Simaudio…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
My estimate of the Vivid B1's voltage sensitivity was a little lower than specified, at 87dB(B)/2.83V/m, which is about average. The speaker is specified as being a 4 ohm load, presumably because, as can be seen in fig.1, the impedance drops to a minimum of 3 ohms in the low midrange and remains below 6 ohms for most of the region below 700Hz. However, the high impedance in the treble compared with the midrange will shelve the speaker's high frequencies up if it is used with a tube amplifier possessing a high source impedance, as most of them do.
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