Description: Stereo integrated amplifier with dual-mono, DC-coupled input and class-AB, high-current MOSFET output stage. Analog inputs: 5 pair RCA, 2 XLR. Analog outputs: 2 pair RCA variable, 1 pair RCA fixed. Loudspeaker outputs: stereo pair of 3-way binding posts. Input sensitivity: adjustable (12.5–125mV). Power output: 180Wpc into 8 ohms (22.6dBW), 300Wpc into 4 ohms (21.75dBW). Damping factor: >200. Class-A headphone amplifier with 6.3mm jack. Tone controls: Balance, Bass, Treble, Contour (Loudness). Volume control with 256 0.5dB steps. Power…
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Dr. Feickert Analogue Blackbird turntable with Schick 10.5" tonearm, Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum, My Sonic Lab Ultra Eminent Ex, Hana Umami moving coil cartridges; Lundahl LL1931Ag SUT, Kitsuné KTE LCR-1 MK4 phono stage.
Digital sources: Roon Nucleus+ music server; HoloAudio May (Level 3) D/A processor; dCS Bartók DAC/Streamer/headphone amp with Mosaic control app.
Preamplifier: Rogue Audio RP-7.
Integrated amplifiers: Pass Labs INT-25, Rogue Audio Sphinx V3.
Power amplifier: Parasound Halo A 21+.
Loudspeakers:…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I tested the AVM Ovation A6.2 ME with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). I preconditioned the amplifier by following the CEA's recommendation of operating it at one-eighth the specified power into 8 ohms for 30 minutes. The manual states that the A 6.2 ME can get warm. At the end of the preconditioning, its heatsinks were very hot, at 132.3°F (55.8°C), and the top panel's temperature was 110.4°F (43.6°C). Operating the amplifier at the older IHF recommendation for preconditioning—both channels driven at one-third power for 60…
Last May I got a text message from my vinyl-loving electrician: "Hey Michael, I'm listening to WFMU and a young 12 year old analog genius is guest DJ-ing, Malachi Lui. He mentioned you, and talks about mastering and pressings—he's incredible. I imagine he's been in touch with you. Hope all is well, Craig."
Malachi hadn't been in touch, but his comments were all over AnalogPlanet's YouTube channel, and you'd never know they were from a 12-year-old. I responded to one, and shortly thereafter I heard from his mother, who said he really wanted to meet me, and that they'd drive over when it…
OMA's Jonathan Weiss hoisted the plinth, fitted with an armboard for a Schröder CB tonearm, atop my Harmonic Resolution Systems M3 isolation base. I set up the CB (the initials stand for captive bearing) arm, with which I'm well familiar—it's the same Thrax-built arm supplied with the Döhmann Helix 1 turntable—and installed an Ortofon MC Century cartridge. This particular Schröder CB was 11" long, with an armtube of carbon fiber instead of the more typical ebony, grenadilla, or cocobolo wood.
The Schröder CB arm costs $4500. Add the costs of the SP-10R and OMA plinth and you're…
My friend Courtney Grant Winston has led a storied life. A photographer by trade, Courtney has a gift for revealing his subjects' spirited personalities. He has photographed actor Morgan Freeman, Le Bernardin co-owner Maguy Le Coze, and celebrity chefs Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Alain Ducasse, and Anthony Bourdain. Courtney took the iconic cover photo for Bourdain's 2000 breakout biography, Kitchen Confidential. Courtney's father was a Tuskegee Airman during World War II and a childhood friend of Billie Holiday. The voice of Courtney's mother, Dorothy, can be heard in Billie the recent…
"Clearaudio turntables, arms and cartridges are made in Erlangen, Germany," Leerer informed me. "Known as a high-tech city in Northern Bavaria near Nuremberg, it's also home to Siemens Resonance Imaging Division and [the] Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light." Old-school tech meets new-school tech here.
Setup
The Active Wood and Satisfy CF tonearm arrived with all the key adjustments preset at the factory, so setup was a breeze. Upon unpacking the various components of the Active Wood turntable, the user will find a small level gauge, two Allen keys, power supply including…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Non-suspended, belt-drive turntable. Available with Concept MM V2 or Concept MC cartridges, Satisfy Black (aluminum armwand) or Satisfy CF (carbon fiber armwand) tonearms. Highly compressed chassis of Baltic Birch ply with finished edge, with an upper layer of Makrolon polycarbonate. Speeds: 33.3, 45, 78rpm. Motor: Decoupled, resonance-damped DC, plug-in power supply unit designed for worldwide use with all networks and power frequencies.
Tonearms: Satisfy Black (aluminum) or Satisfy Carbon (carbon fiber) with three-point mechanical bearing with…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: Thorens TD-124 turntable, Kuzma 4Point 11" tonearm, Denon DL-103 phono cartridge.
Preamplifier: Tavish Audio Design Adagio phono preamp.
Integrated amplifier: Parasound Halo Hint 6.
Loudspeakers: Klipsch Forte III.
Cables: Interconnect: Shindo Laboratory. Speaker: 6' pair AudioQuest Castle Rock. AC: Triode Wire Labs Obsession NCF power cord, manufacturers' own.
Accessories: Pro-Ject VC-S2 ALU Record Cleaning Machine; Audiodesksysteme Vinyl Cleaner Pro LP Cleaning System; Hunt Mark 6 Carbon Fiber Record Cleaning Brush;…
A review of the Archie Shepp/Jason Moran duet album Let My People Go, in the April issue, may have startled some readers. Shepp is a tenor saxophonist known for tearing across the fiercest climes of the avant-garde (his seminal album is called Fire Music); yet at 83, he's playing standards, spirituals, and slow blues. In fact, Shepp has been exploring such traditional terrain for several decades. So—for the debut of an occasional column on underappreciated albums, artists, genres, and labels—let's shine some light on Archie Shepp's ballads.
The shift began in 1970, when, after his mother'…