Analog Sources: Garrard 301, Thorens TD 124 turntables; EMT 997, Artemis Lab TA-1 tonearms; Ortofon SPU, EMT TSD 15 70th Anniversary pickup heads; Miyabi 47 cartridge.
Digital Sources: AudioQuest DragonFly USB DAC; Apple iMac G5 computer running Apple iTunes v.11.0, Decibel v.1.0.2 playback softwares; Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Standard (SPU version), Silvercore One-to-Ten, Hommage T2 step-up transformers; Shindo Masseto preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: Shindo Corton-Charlemagne, Shindo Haut-Brion, Fi 421A.…
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Sidebar 3: Measurements
To measure one of the Lamm ML2.2 amplifiers (serial no.B10254), I used 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"). Before performing any measurements, I ran the amplifier with a 1kHz tone at 1W into 8 ohms for an hour, then turned off the signal generator and adjusted the output-stage plate voltage and current, following the detailed instructions in the manual and using the recommended Fluke 87 meter. Lamm recommends that the wall voltage be 120V for this procedure;…
Branding can be powerful—a well-developed brand connotes strong images in the consumer's mind. Apple means ergonomics, elegance, ego. Fremer means analog, exuberance, fastidiousness. Rolex means Swiss-made, precision, expensive. Nagra means Swiss-made, precision, expensive.
I've heard the occasional Nagra product at audio shows, but infrequently. When I have, I've been in awe of the gorgeous but understated quality of their handmade construction. And the rooms containing Nagra gear always produced superb sound.
My fondest memory of Nagra gear dates back almost a decade. I'd booked…
Not so with Karin Winther conducting the Taby Church Chamber Choir on Hush! The Angels Are Singing (CD, First Impressions Music CD 001). The choir had a seductively angelic quality, and it was easy to delineate the individual layers of voices within the ensemble. The integration of the choir with the room acoustic was also extremely natural. But my single favorite vocal recording is of men's choir Cantus's performance of Eric Whitacre's Lux Aurumque, from While You Are Alive (CD, Cantus CTS-1208). The Jazz captured the perfect integration of the voices with an extraordinarily linear…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Tubed line preamplifier. Tube complement: two 12AX7, one 12AT7. Frequency response: 10Hz–50kHz, +0/–0.5dB. Input impedance: >75k ohms. Output impedance: 50 ohms. Signal/noise ratio (ref. 1V): 105dB (ASA-A weighting). Dynamic range: >112dB, gain at +12dB. Total harmonic distortion: <0.02% 1V RMS, gain at 0dB. Channel separation: >78dB.
Dimensions: 12" (310mm) W by 3" (75mm) H by 10" (255mm) D. Weight 7 lbs (3.2kg).
Serial number of unit reviewed: 55025166156025.
Price: $12,250. Approximate number of dealers: 10.
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: VPI TNT IV, Rega Planar 3 turntables; Immedia, Syrinx PU-3 tonearms; Koetsu Urushi, Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood cartridges.
Digital Sources: Lector CDP-7T, Creek Destiny CD players.
Preamplification: Audio Valve Eclipse, Audio Research Reference 5SE line stages; Vendetta Research SCP-2D phono stage.
Power Amplifiers: Audio Research Reference 110 & Reference 75.
Loudspeakers: Epos M16i, Monitor Audio Silver RX6, Nola Viper Reference III.
Cables: Interconnect (all MIT): Magnum M3, MI-350 CVTwin Terminator, MI-330SG…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Nagra Jazz preamplifier 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 review sample had only unbalanced inputs but was fitted with the optional balanced output transformers. I therefore performed a complete suite of measurements from both the unbalanced and balanced outputs, though in the following text I have concentrated on the balanced outputs, as that is how Bob Reina used the Jazz for his auditioning.
The voltage gain at 1kHz was 11.65dB…
Follow-Up, April 2013, the “Reis Test” (Vol.36 No.4):
In 1972, the late biologist Stephen Jay Gould made a convincing case for what he called "punctuated equilibrium": long periods of evolutionary stasis interrupted by brief periods of rapid evolutionary change in response to major environmental changes. (If you don't believe in evolution, you can jump to the next paragraph.) The same is true of this magazine's measurement regime, which we began in 1989. Every component is subjected to a standardized set of tests that remains the same for years. But occasionally, a new test device or my…
What, another audio show? Yes, barely three weeks after the close of Salon Son et Image in Montreal, and five weeks after AXPONA Chicago, the UK-based Chester Group's New York Audio Show gets underway. Running April 12–14 in the New York Palace Hotel (455 Madison Avenue at 50th Street), the show promises perhaps the largest numbers of seminars and live music events of any current audio show in the US.
The NYAS promises 40 display rooms from 13 dealers and 27 manufacturers/distributors, a Headzone filled with gear from nine companies, one marketplace room with lots of goodies, and two…
I scuttled furiously from bedroom to living room. DVDs without cases, puzzles with missing pieces, and random pairs long Ragnell scissors (why do we even have these???) strewed across a cascade of coffee tinted MDF shelves. This hand-me-down Brobdingnagian entertainment center would be the new home for my hi-fi, chipped away but yearning for gear. Like any man on a mission, I needed my soundtrack, my “Eye of the Tiger”, my “Don’t Stop Believing”, my “Bootylicious”, but what would be my source?
My laptop’s internal speakers lacked the oomph(!) I needed to propel my body into motion.…