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In an April 2020 press release, the McIntosh Group announced that its subsidiary brand Sumiko, which was cofounded by the late Dave Fletcher and distributes Sonus Faber and Pro-Ject among other high-performance brands, had secured distribution rights for Rotel Electronics in the US and Latin America. That press release prompted memories of a Rotel RP-3000 direct drive turntable I once owned, fitted with a Lustre GST arm. On that 'table, Rotel put a massive AC direct-drive motor—not quartz-locked—fitted with a lightweight, not-particularly-well-damped platter mounted to a rudimentary wood…
The Michi amps cost about 1/10th what the darTZeels cost. How can that be a fair comparison? I was determined not to make one. I was hoping to avoid a "for the price" review where you write about the degradation followed by the "but for the price" fluff up. It was easy to avoid writing that review, because that's not what happened.
The M8 sounds like it looks inside and out: It is so sonically together that I feel certain that it was tuned at least as much by ear as it was measured by test gear. Yet, I expect it to measure well, at least into a 4 ohm minimum load, the specified minimum…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid state, mono power amplifier. Inputs: 1 balanced (XLR), 1 single-ended (RCA). Outputs: 2 pair custom binding posts. Input impedance, balanced (XLR): 100k ohms; single-ended (RCA): 12.5k ohms. Output impedance: not specified. Voltage gain, balanced (XLR): 30dB; unbalanced (RCA): 34dB. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, –0.15dB; 10Hz–100kHz, –0.5dB. Input sensitivity, balanced (XLR): 3V; unbalanced (RCA): 1.85V. THD: <0.018%. Damping factor: 200. Speaker impedance: 4 ohms, minimum. S/N ratio (A-weighted): 120dB. Continuous output power: 1080W…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: OMA K3, SAT XD-1, and TechDAS Air Force Zero turntables; SAT CF1-09, CF1Ti-09, Schröder OMA, Kuzma 4Point, and Graham Elite tonearms; HiFiction X-quisite ST, TechDAS TDC01Ti, Lyra Atlas Lambda SL, Ortofon MC Century, Anna Diamond, A95, A90, Grado Epoch3, Miyajima Labs Infinity (mono), Grado Epoch (mono), Sculpture A.3 phono cartridges.
Digital sources: dCS Vivaldi One SACD player DAC; Lynx Hilo A/D-D/A converter; Roon Nucleus server; Pure Vinyl and Vinyl Studio software.
Preamplification: darTZeel NHB-18S, Ypsilon MC-10L, MC-16L,…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I performed a full suite of measurements on one of the Rotel Michi M8s (serial no 256-9511006) using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). Because I don't have a test load with sufficient thermal capacity to handle the Michi amplifier's very high power, I wasn't able to perform my usual preconditioning of operating it at 1/8 power for 30 minutes, let alone the more demanding 1/3 power for 60 minutes. But with its fans and massive heatsinks, the M8 remained cool throughout the testing. The heatsink temperature was 80.0°F/26.7°C…
Sound Quality
In general, the LCD2 Classic is neutral with a slightly warming roll-off above 1kHz. My experience of the Audeze LCD line when they went to Fazors is that they lost a bit of bass heft and dynamics, but made gains in finesse and resolve. Listening to the LCD2C definitely harkens back to that earlier sound signature.
Bass response is dead flat and very well extended. I'd like a little more bass level below 120Hz, but I couldn't ask for better bass response quality. The low notes are wonderfully tight and well textured, and extend effortlessly into lowest, Adam's…
Measurements
Click on graphs image to download .pdf for closer inspection.
Click on graphs image to download .pdf for closer inspection.
Raw frequency response plots show the LCD2C is effected very little by changes in position on the head at frequencies below 1kHz, but some modest changes can be seen 1-3kHz.
Bass is ruler flat to 10Hz; a look at the 30Hz square wave and virtually non-existan bass distortion validate my experience that the LCD2C has fantastic bass response.
Midrange response is likewise flat to 600Hz and then starts a gradual and ever increasing rise to the 3.3kHz peak. This rise matches the Harman target…
When Pat Metheny was growing up in the small Missouri town of Lee's Summit, his family's home stood within can't-even-hear-yourself-shouting distance of the Missouri Pacific railroad. trains, tornadoes, freezing winters, hot summers, small-town isolation—all fed an imagination that (combined with plenty of practice) fed a legendary music career.
Metheny is one of the best-selling jazz artists ever. He has three gold albums, several Downbeat awards (including in 2020 as best guitarist and for the best jazz album, for From This Place), and 20 Grammy Awards: He's the only person ever to win…
Micallef: Instruments always sound great on your records; the music has a consistently deep and wide soundstage. You must be demanding as to final product.
Metheny: My main role is as a bandleader. To the degree that the result is what it is, whatever it takes, however that shows up, that is the one consistent thing across everything. The bandleader thing includes who's going to master the record, where it's going to get pressed. I'm extremely hands-on with every single thing, to the point where there's that fine line between whatever that is and flat-out mental illness! I'm somewhere…
Sidebar: Select recordings by Pat Metheny
Bright Size Life (ECM, 1976)
With bassist Jaco Pastorius and drummer Bob Moses on his ECM debut, 21-year-old Metheny blasts off with an original sound and compositional style, performing original compositions plus Ornette Coleman's "Round Trip/Broadway Blues." The freshness, hardcore swing, and clear-headed inventiveness of Bright Size Life landed it at the National Recording Registry—a literal treasure.
80/81 (ECM, 1980)
If there was any doubt as to Metheny's status as a brilliant jazz guitarist and composer, 80…