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Recommended Components 2021 Edition Digital Data Interconnects

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/…

Falcon "Gold Badge" LS3/5a loudspeaker

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…

Falcon "Gold Badge" LS3/5a loudspeaker Page 2

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…

Falcon "Gold Badge" LS3/5a loudspeaker Specifications

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,…

Falcon "Gold Badge" LS3/5a loudspeaker Associated Equipment

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:…

Falcon "Gold Badge" LS3/5a loudspeaker Measurements

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…

VAC Sigma 170i IQ integrated amplifier

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…

VAC Sigma 170i IQ integrated amplifier Page 2

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…

VAC Sigma 170i IQ integrated amplifier Specifications

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;…

VAC Sigma 170i IQ integrated amplifier Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog source: Clearaudio Performance DC Wood turntable with Tracer tonearm and Talisman v2 MC cartridge.
Digital sources: MBL N31 CD player/DAC; Mytek Brooklyn Bridge streamer/DAC/preamplifier.
Preamplification: Mytek Brooklyn Bridge streamer/DAC/ preamplifier.
Loudspeakers: Acora Acoustics SRB, MBL 126.
Cables: Ansuz Acoustics D2, AudioQuest NRG, and Morrow Audio (some interconnects).
Accessories: AudioQuest Niagara 1000 Low-Z Power Noise-Dissipation System with NRG 10 power cord, and Vodka Ethernet cable, Critical Mass Systems Maxxum…