Audio Art Cable SC-5 Classic: $240/10ft pair (gold spades; add $10/pr for silver spades), $250/10ft pair (gold bananas) ★
The SC-5 has silver-coated OFC conductors (14AWG), a foam polyethylene dielectric, a PVC jacket, and an internal packet of vibration-absorbing fibers. It can be terminated with gold-plated brass banana plugs or, for $10 less, DH Labs' gold-plated copper spade lugs. Compared to AudioQuest's Rocket 33, the SC-5 lacked body, weight, and warmth, but produced a detailed, dramatic overall sound, with clean transients and impressive dynamics, said SM…
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Loudspeaker Cables
Digital Data Interconnects
DH Labs Silver Sonic D-110 AES/EBU: $112.50/1m ★
(NR, but see EL's review of the Bel Canto DAC3.5VB in Vol.34 No.6 WWW)
Kimber Kable Orchid: $849/1m ★
Expensive, but the best AES/EBU link JA has used. J-10 loved the Orchid's midrange liquidity and detail, but preferred Illumination's S/PDIF cable overall. SD (almost) doesn't equivocate: "Probably the best out there for now....A stunner!" RH and RD are also fans. New lower price usefully brings this cable in reach of more music lovers. (Vol.19 No.5)
Kubala-Sosna Expression: $900/m, $240/…
The BBC-designed LS3/5a monitor loudspeaker has been in continuous BBC-licensed production in various forms since 1975. During those 45 years, its popularity has never abated. I bought my first pair of LS3/5a's as a Badger kit from an ad in the back of Speaker Builder magazine. I bought my next pair, used, from a CBS engineer, in 1989; they were rosewood-finished, 15 ohm Rogers that came stock with solid-hardwood rotating wall-mounts (footnote 1). Those now-antique Rogers were my daily-driver loudspeakers from 1989 until I reviewed the 15 ohm Falcon Acoustics version in the July 2015 issue…
I asked Jerry who makes the shiny speaker-wire binding posts. He said they were an exclusive inhouse design, from Falcon.
Okay folks, here is the really good news: Falcon's new, and I think improved sounding, "Gold Badge" edition costs the same $2999.95/pair as the "classic" Falcon LS3/5a I've been using for more than five years. And wait, there's even better news: The price of the classic Falcon 5a is now only $1995/pair, making it the least expensive BBC-licensed LS3/5a available in (and only in) the United States. This reduction in price is possible because the "classic" has become a…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, stand-mounted, infinite-baffle loudspeaker. Drive-units: 0.75" (19mm) Mylar-dome tweeter, 5" (127mm) Bextrene-cone mid/woofer. Frequency range: 70Hz–20kHz. Sensitivity: 83dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: 15 ohms.
Dimensions: 11.9" (304mm) H by 7.4" (190mm) W by 6.4" (165mm) D. Weight: 11.8 lbs (5.35kg).
Finishes: Cherry, Walnut; additional charge for Elm, Rosewood, Yew.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: 01016A & B.
Price: $2999.95/pair. Approximate number of dealers: Not disclosed.
Manufacturer: Falcon Acoustics,…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Dr. Feickert Analogue Blackbird turntable; Thomas Schick 10.5" tonearm; Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum moving-coil cartridge.
Digital sources: MacBook Air laptop, Mac mini running Audirvana Plus, HoloAudio May (Level 3) DAC, Integra DPS-7.2 used as CD transport.
Preamplification: Sunvalley SV-EQ1616D phono preamplifier; EMIA step-up transformer; Rogue Audio RP-7 line preamplifier.
Power amplifiers: Parasound A21+, First Watt F8.
Integrated amplifier: Line Magnetic LM-518 IA.
Loudspeakers: Harbeth P3ESR.
Cables:…
Measurements, from May 2021 (Vol.44 No.5)
In the April 2021 issue of Stereophile, Herb Reichert wrote that he'd spent "almost 40 continuous years using first the kit, then the Rogers, then the Falcon LS3/5a's. Now, a new 5a has entered my world. It is what Falcon calls the 'Gold Badge' version ($2999/pair), and I think it might be the best LS3/5a ever produced for general consumption." The Falcon Acoustics' Gold Badge LS3/5a is a new version of the Falcon LS3/5a Herb reviewed in the July 2015 issue and which he has been using ever since.
Herb tried driving the new Falcons with a…
All my earliest hi-fi memories involve tube amplification: as a young girl, staring at the tubes' glowing filaments and listening to music with my audiophile father. I was mesmerized by the glow of those tubes, too hot to touch, but even more so by the music, which often was classical or opera. How those tubes worked was a mystery to me, but I knew they played a big part in the magic coming from the speakers.
Those early tube amps, however, were unrefined and often a maintenance challenge. Visually, they were more functional than luxurious, and even if you managed to avoid shocking…
Hayes noted a design advantage an integrated amplifier has over separates: an intimate common ground reference for the amplifier, preamplifier, and phono stage. When done correctly, this can give an integrated amp "that relatively nonelectronic, open, organic sound," he said. I experienced no tube troubles during my time with the Sigma 170i iQ.
Listening
I've heard VAC amplification at many audio shows and a few dealer events over the last several years. But with few exceptions—one being at the Florida Audio Expo in early 2020, where I heard this very amplifier driving Acora SRB…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Stereo integrated amplifier. Tube complement: 5 12AU7A; 1 12AX7A, 4 Gold Lion KT88s; 2 12AX7A for phono stage option. Line inputs: 4 RCA (optional XLR/ balanced input on Input 4; optional MM/MC phono on Input 1), Cinema Bypass. Outputs: Speaker connections 2–4, 4–8, 8–16 ohm taps; preamp out. Power output: 85Wpc into 4, 8, or 16 ohms (16.3, 19.3, 22.3dBW). Power bandwidth: 13Hz–70kHz. Phono option: Gain 37dB MM, 57dB MC. Frequency response: RIAA ±0.2dB. Residual noise 3mV at output (S/N ratio approx. 69dB). Overload: 117mV at 1kHz, 8V RMS output;…