I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Callisto 6 C's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield and in-room responses. I fed the test signals to one of the speaker's analog inputs. The volume control is deactivated with the analog input, and the DALI's specified sensitivity with analog signals is 1.85V for maximum output. Pink noise with a level of 100mV RMS gave a sound pressure level of 91dB(B) at 1m on the supertweeter axis. The volume control is active with digital input…
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DALI's loudspeaker factory in Nørager, Denmark. (Photo: DALI.)
Seen from the air, Denmark is a vista of farms and wind turbines. But once your plane touches down, it is a land of loudspeakers. Perhaps this is because audio has a long history in Denmark—it was a Dane, Valdemar Poulsen, who developed a magnetic wire recorder in 1898—but there are more loudspeaker manufacturers per person than any other country. According to Wikipedia, Denmark is home to 5.75 million people, compared with New York's five boroughs, which have a population of 8.67 million However, as well as drive-unit…
Photo: Deborah Anderson
Vocalist Jon Anderson has been at the center of the fabled rock band Yes since its founding in 1968 and has collaborated with other notable artists including Vangelis, Mike Oldfield, Jean-Luc Ponty, and the Contemporary Youth Orchestra. A tireless and prolific musician, composer, and multi-instrumentalist, he has also released more than a dozen solo albums.
Almost exactly 50 years after the July 1969 release of the first Yes album, Anderson visited my house for an afternoon of talk and listening to music. We listened to some old Yes tracks, some favorites…
Then the Who arrived! This incredible band, the Who, and also the Small Faces. The neat thing was that the first tour Yes ever did, at the end of 1968, was with the Who, Rod Stewart and the Small Faces, Joe Cocker and the Grease Band, and the Crazy World of Arthur Brown. The music was pouring out every which way, and the best thing about that tour was Pete Townshend actually speaking to me. Pete Townshend! He said "I really like your band. I'm working on a new idea for an album about a deaf dumb and blind kid." And all I'm thinking is, Pete Townshend is talking to me! And of course, Tommy…
All that spurred us on to produce Fragile, 'cause we were listening to all this music. We decided we needed help on the keyboards, because Tony Kaye was great at rock and roll, blues, and R&B, but we wanted a broader influence. And so we got Rick Wakeman with his classical background, and the chords became more open—we had never even tried these chords before! Rick and Steve Howe could now open it all up, and the album was big in America, with "Roundabout."
Strangest thing happened—we were on a tour of America with Fragile, and we were doing a lot of universities, and they…
A DAC/preamp/headphone amp from Class A of Stereophile's list of Recommended Components, updated with streaming and network-server capabilities—and it still sells for less than $3000? If you believe that, I have a bridge I'd like to sell you. (Har, har!)
Most Americans have heard that line before, but many may not know the story behind it—I didn't. George C. Parker, a real American person born in 1860, is famous for perpetrating audacious frauds, specifically sales of property he did not own and could not possibly have owned. He is reported to have sold the Statue of Liberty, Grant's…
ConversDigital utilizes a set of networking protocols called UPnP, or Universal Plug and Play, and publishes a family of UPnP apps for iPhone and Android—the mConnect apps mentioned above. The apps interact with the hardware to let you stream Tidal, Qobuz, and other services direct from the Internet.
I pulled out my iPad, opened the App Store, searched on mConnect, and got several relevant results. I downloaded a free app, mConnect Control. There are also several versions of mConnect Player: a free, "Lite" version; a portrait-format version intended for iPhones; and a landscape-format "…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Streaming digital-to-analog converter with network-server capabilities, with analog preamplifier, headphone amplifier, and MM/MC phono stage. Digital inputs: Wireless, Ethernet, 2 S/PDIF (RCA), S/PDIF (TosLink), S/PDIF- DSD (2-channel pair), USB2 Type B (high-resolution audio), USB-A (for attaching storage). Analog/phono inputs: 1 pair single-ended (RCA). Analog outputs: 1 pair balanced (XLR), 1 pair single-ended (RCA). Headphone outputs: 1 ¼" stereo (2), 6W, convertible to 1 pair balanced. Formats/ sample rates supported: PCM to 32-bit/44.1, 48, 88…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Thorens TD 124 turntable (reconditioned by Schopper AG), Thomas Schick 12" tonearm; Ortofon Xpression cartridge.
Digital sources: Intel NUC computer with SSD drive running Roon Optimized Core Kit; Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T CD Transport; PS Audio DirectStream DAC.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Standard step-up transformer, EAR 834P phono stage, Pass Labs XP-22 preamplifier.
Power amplifiers: Pass Labs XA60.8, PS Audio BHK Signature 300 (all monoblocks).
Loudspeakers: Revel Ultima2 Salon2.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Carbon…
Saturday September 14th from 6 pm–10 pm, Excel Audio in Newport Beach, California, will be hosting its second annual Customer Appreciation night. In attendance will be representatives from Wilson Audio, D’Agostino, Luxman, Clearaudio, and Impex Records. The featured system will be the Wilson Audio Alexxes with Master Subsonic Subs driven by D’Agostino electronics with vinyl played on a Clearaudio Master innovation turntable. Food, Raffle, Vinyl specials. All are welcome. For info, contact Mike Rose (949)933–1599, mrose@excelaudio.us.