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It was the strangest thing. In the fall of 2008 I was comparing Ayre Acoustics' then-new KX-R line preamplifier with no preamplifier at all—I was feeding the power amplifier directly with the output of the Logitech Transporter D/A processor. (Levels were matched for the comparisons, of course, made possible by the fact that the Transporter has a digital-domain volume control.) Being a rational being, I knew that the active circuitry of a preamplifier, as well as the extra socketry and cables, would be less transparent to the audio signal than a single piece of wire. I wanted to determine by…
The volume control, also carried on a small daughterboard, is based on a Muses NJU72320 integrated circuit. Although I am an unrecovered collector of datasheets, this chip was new to me; I asked Wayne Colburn about it. "It is part of the NJR Muses line from an in-house audiophile in Japan. They use copper lead frames and laser-trim the part. The designer of these parts came from Japan and gave samples to Nelson and myself to try and they ended up in the XP-30. I run the NJU72320 on ±15 volts so it has a large overload margin. I really like this part as it has no op-amps in it—I only used the…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Remote-controlled, three-chassis line preamplifier. Analog inputs: 6 balanced, 6 unbalanced, plus Tape Input. Analog outputs: 2 pairs (1 variable-level, Master; 1 fixed-level, Slave) balanced on XLRs; 2 pairs (Maater, Slave) unbalanced on RCAs. Gain range: –90dB to +10dB in 99 steps of 1dB. Frequency response: 2Hz–60kHz, –3dB. Signal/noise: >110dB ref. 5V. Channel separation: 100dB at 1kHz, ref. 1V. CMRR: 60dB at 1kHz. Input impedance: 42k ohms, balanced. Output impedance: 120 ohms, single-ended; 120 ohms, balanced. Power consumption: 45W.
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Lingo power supply, Linn Ekos tonearm, Linn Arkiv B phono cartridge.
Digital Sources: Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP universal player; Apple 2.7GHz i7 Mac mini laptop running OS10.7.5, iTunes 10, Pure Music 1.86; Shuttle PC with Lynx AES16 soundcard & dual-core AMD Athlon processor running Windows 7, Foobar 2000, Adobe Audition 3.0; dCS Debussy, Mark Levinson No.30.6, Arcam FMJ D33, Logitech Transporter D/A converters; Ayre Acoustics QA-9 USB A/D converter; Halide USB-S/PDIF converter; Mirage MMS-5A media…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Pass Laboratories XP-30's electrical performance with Stereophile's loan sample of the top-of-the-line Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see www.ap.com and the January 2008 "As We See It"). The maximum gain for both balanced input/balanced output and single-ended input/single-ended output, with the volume control set to "99," was slightly less than the specified 10dB, at 9.45dB. The volume control operated in accurate 1dB steps, meaning that the unity-gain setting was "89." The balanced input impedance was slightly but inconsequentially lower than…
It was announced Friday March 29 that guitar manufacturer Gibson was to buy a majority stake in Japanese company TEAC, which manufactures audio components sold under the TEAC, Tascam, and Esoteric brandnames. From the press release: "Gibson has entered into an agreement, signed today, with Phoenix Capital in which two investment funds operated by Phoenix Capital have agreed to sell to Gibson all the shares they own in TEAC Corporation, or 157,447,000 shares, (54.4% of the issued and outstanding shares), at a price agreed between the parties of 31 JPY per share. . ."
This is equivalent to…
Register to win a Schiit BiFrost USB and Modi DAC (MSRP $449 Bifrost; $99 Modi) we are giving away.
Bifrost is the world's most affordable fully upgradable DAC, featuring 32-bit D/A conversion, a fully discrete analog section, and a sophisticated bit-perfect clock management system, together with one of the most advanced asynchronous USB 2.0 input sections available, as well as SPDIF coaxial and optical inputs, all with 24/192 capability.
According to the company:
Bifrost:
Bifrost is the world's most affordable fully upgradable DAC, featuring 32-bit D/A conversion, a fully discrete analog section, and a sophisticated bit-perfect clock management system, together with one of the most advanced asynchronous USB 2.0 input sections available, as well as SPDIF coaxial and optical inputs, all with 24/192 capability.
Fully Upgradable: The Future-Proof DAC Worried about rapidly-changing USB input…
Photo of Franco Serblin courtesy of José Victor Henriques of HiFi Club Portugal
We are saddened to learn that Franco Serblin, founder of Italian loudspeaker manufacturer Sonus Faber, passed away on Easter Sunday, March 31, at 73. Larry Greenhill interviewed Franco Serblin in June 1992 for Stereophile. We will add more details as they become available.
We are saddened to learn that Franco Serblin, founder of Italian loudspeaker manufacturer Sonus Faber, passed away on Easter Sunday, March 31, at 73. Larry Greenhill interviewed Franco Serblin in June 1992 for Stereophile. We will add more details as they become available.
In a recent Stereophile.com news item, John Marks informed readers about free online music production classes now offered from the esteemed Berklee College of Music. Seems like JM himself is taking up this opportunity. In this video assigment, JM shares his explanation of the ORTF microphone placement technique for stereo recording.
Don't be deceived by this simple mic set-up! You don't need six plus microphones in order to record a full band or orchestra with realism and space. Rather, the ORTF method, devised at the Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française at Radio France…
The day-of-release listening party, a lost tradition? The clever folks at Noisey, Vice’s music subdivision seem to think so. In response, they’re bringing it back on a global spectrum. Today, Wednesday, April 03, 2013 at 3pm EST, Noisey will be streaming the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s new record Mosquito in its entirety while party-goers interact with each other and watch video explanations about the songs from members of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. This is just the first in a series of Noisey’s new Listening Party initiative. For an invite to the party, follow the tweets from @NoiseyMusic.