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ZMF Eikon Sealed Around-Ear Headphones Measurements

Measurements
Click on graphs image to download .pdf for closer inspection.

Raw frequency response plots show mild changes in level with movement, but very little change in tonality. Raw frequency response is essentially linear with a warm tilt to the notch at 16kHz. The neutral target would have it gently rising from 600Hz to 1.5kHz. The concha peak at 3-4kHz is about the right height and frequency, subsequent response about right on average, but quite rough. In listening, the peak at 6kHz seemed to annoy only occasionally, but the notch from 7-9kHz did seem to reliably remove some…

Altec A-7 & Electro-Voice Patrician 800 loudspeakers

In the introduction to "Recommended Components" in the final issue in Volume One of what was then called The Stereophile, published in May 1966, founder J. Gordon Holt briefly described his Top-Rated Loudspeaker Systems.

Altec A-7
A highly efficient horn-loaded system for use in large to very large listening rooms (at least 15' from the listening area), or for very high-volume "Row-A" listening. Excellent woofer-tweeter blending, moderately deep (useful 45Hz limit in most rooms) and very taut, well-defined low end. Highs smooth and slightly soft, yielding most natural high-end quality…

Analog Corner #285: Top Wing Suzaku, HiFiction Thales, Analysis Plus

For a phono cartridge to generate current and voltage, something must move: a coil of wire (as in a moving-coil cartridge), or a magnet (as in a moving-magnet type), or a tiny piece of iron (a moving-iron type). In those rare cartridges that depart from the electricity-generating principle of the ones described above, it can be a displacement-measuring device in which a moving shutter modulates a light source to vary a supplied voltage (as in an optical cartridge), or one in which voltage is modulated when a tiny chip of silicon crystal is squeezed by a moving element, which varies the chip's…

Analog Corner #285: Top Wing Suzaku, HiFiction Thales, Analysis Plus Page 2

The Red Sparrow's design is apparently unique, and so was its sound, in a very good way: smooth, airy, velvety, and vivid, with a particularly rich midrange that I wanted to sink my ears into. It was only the second cartridge of my experience to produce this much harmonic and textural generosity, in combination with exceptional transparency, quiet groove tracing, and a secure sense that all of this was being produced at the expense of very little or nothing elsewhere in the sound. That other cartridge was Grado Labs' Lineage Epoch, which costs $12,000, and which I wrote about in my December…

Plinius M14 phono preamplifier

You think Watergate was a momentous break-in? You should hear what a good electronic Rolfing does to the sound of this meticulously built, full-sized, full-featured, and full-priced ($3495) phono section imported from New Zealand by Fanfare International. Out of the box, the Plinius M14 sounds like what it looks like: all silvery, hard, and steely. Just leaving it powered up doesn't do the trick, nor does playing music through it—unless you're prepared for endless hours of truly bad sound before the sonic clouds begin to break.

No, getting good sound out of this baby requires a major-…

Plinius M14 phono preamplifier Page 2

I've heard systems whose iciness drove me up the wall, but which pleased their owners no end. Some would find my system too bright and etched, but I'd probably find theirs syrupy and suffocating. That's the way this game is played, and that's part of the fun and fascination of having high-end audio as a hobby—or as a job, for that matter.

But back to the M14's creamy, rich palette: cymbals, bells, celeste, harpsichords, snare drums, and other instruments with sharp percussive edges came through with their initial transients intact, but with a rounded, sculpted aftertaste that extended…

Plinius M14 phono preamplifier Associated Equipment

Sidebar 1: Associated Equipment

Turntables: VPI TNT Mk.3, Rega Planar 9, Clearaudio Reference.
Tonearms: Souther TQ-1, Immedia RPM-2, Graham 2.0.
Phono Cartridges: Transfiguration Temper, Lyra Parnassus D.C., AudioQuest 7000 Fe-5, Clearaudio Accurate (gold coils), Rega Exact, Grado Reference.
Preamplifier: Audible Illusions Modulus 3A.
Power Amplifiers: VTL Signature 175, Muse 160, Adcom 5802.
Loudspeakers: Audio Physic Virgo, Aerial Model 8; Audio Physic Terra subwoofer.
Cables: Yamamura Millennium 6000 and Quantum AC. Discovery Plus Four, Precision Interface…

Plinius M14 phono preamplifier Measurements

Sidebar 2: Measurements

While the Plinius 14 has both low- and high-gain settings, the low-gain setting is really too high for most moving-magnet cartridges, and appears instead designed for medium-gain moving-coils. Unless otherwise noted, the results are for the high-gain setting with unbalanced outputs.

The Plinius 14's output impedance was 170 ohms (right channel; slightly lower, at 163 ohms, in the left). At its balanced outputs, the output impedance measured 354 ohms. Its input impedance measured 47k ohms (L) and 45.6k ohms (R) at the 47k ohm setting of the input impedance…

Plinius M14 phono preamplifier Specifications

Sidebar 3: Specifications

Description: Solid-state phono preamplifier. Gain at 1kHz: 60dB (high), 54dB (low). Input sensitivity at 1kHz: 100µV for 100mV output (high), 200µV for 100mV (low). Frequency range: 20Hz–20kHz. RIAA accuracy: ±0.25dB. Hum and noise input: 70dB; 80dB below 0dB. Distortion at 1V output: <0.1%, second harmonic. Rated output: 10V RMS. Output impedance: 50 ohms.
Dimensions: 18 7/8" (485mm) W by 8¾" (225mm) H by 18¾" (480mm) D. Weight: 12kg.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 7501.
Price: $3495 (1997); no longer available (2021). Approximate number of…

The Reservoir Story

Full Disclosure: All jazz writers fantasize about owning a jazz label. These fantasies persist even in our post-CD, download era, when the record industry as we knew it has been laid to waste. It is reasonable to speculate that, as a reader of this magazine and therefore a music junkie, you may have had an entrepreneurial record label fantasy or two of your own. For us, it should be interesting to hear from Mark Feldman, because he actually did it. In fact, he did it twice.

There is always a story behind the creation of a small indie jazz label. Usually, the story centers on one quixotic…