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Our latest issue features a spicy interview with recording musician and Blue Note Records head Don Was; reviews of several speakers including KEF's affordable, wireless LSX, Wilson's Yvette, and the ultra-affordable Emotiva Airmotiv T2; and McIntosh's superb-measuring, powerful MC462 power amplifier. Columns from Mikey, Art, and Kal cover the latest analog and multichannel products, and in As We See It, John Atkinson asks, Who Watches the Watchers?. Some of these articles are already appearing online—just click the links above for access. Better still, go find your own print issue at a…
I first encountered Verity Audio's Monsalvat Amp-60 stereo power amplifier ($58,000) in October 2017, in one of the largest single-system rooms at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. After hearing the Amp-60 and Verity's Monsalvat Pre-2 preamplifier drive Verity's Lohengrin IIS loudspeakers ($133,000/pair), I enthused about the "most impressive range of colors and supreme sense of spaciousness" that contributed to the system's "absolutely beguiling" sound. A year later, after John Atkinson and I had visited the same exhibit space and been deeply impressed by the sound of a much larger system—in…
With Paris-Madrid, from Franco-Israeli classical guitarist Liat Cohen with soprano Sandrine Piau and tenors Charles Castronovo and Rolando Villaz¢n (24/96 WAV, Erato 584341), I noted how right the guitar sounded and how easy it was to hear the shifting timbres of its different strings as melodies moved up and down the scales. Although voices sounded as if recorded in a different acoustic, they resounded naturally, the darkness of the tenors depicted in sonorous contrast to Piau's wonderful soprano. When I turned to mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli's new disc of Vivaldi arias (24/96 WAV, Decca…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state stereo power amplifier with custom isolation platform with adjustable feet. Inputs: 1 pair unbalanced (RCA), 1 pair balanced (XLR). Outputs: 2 pairs speaker binding posts. Power output: 60Wpc into 8 ohms (17.8dBW), 120Wpc into 4 ohms (17.8dBW), 180Wpc into 2 ohms (16.5dBW). Frequency response: 4Hz–140kHz, –3dB. Voltage gain: 32dB. THD: <0.04%. Signal/noise: >100dB. Damping factor: >200. Input impedance: 12k ohms unbalanced, 18k ohms balanced. Output impedance: <0.04 ohm. Maximum power consumption: 1500W, 2W maximum in standby…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: dCS Vivaldi DAC & Scarlatti clock & Paganini transport & Network Bridge & dCS Rossini SACD/CD transport; Intel NUC7i7BNH computer with 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, running Roon; Linksys routers with two sets of TP-Link Gigabit Ethernet media converters; multimode duplex fiber-optic cables, Small Green Computer linear power supply; external hard drives, SS USB sticks, iPad Pro.
Power Amplifiers: Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems Progression monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia 2.
Cables: Digital:…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Verity Monsalvat Amp-60 using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). The Amp-60 has no heatsinks per se; instead, its massive aluminum chassis dissipates heat. Before I test an amplifier, I precondition it with both channels driving a 1kHz tone for an hour at one-third power into 8 ohms, which is the most thermally stressful condition for an amplifier with a class-AB output stage. At the end of that time, the Verity's top panel was relatively cool at 79.3°F (26.3°C); its side panels were only a little warmer, at 92.…
Wilson Audio Specialties considers the Yvette ($25,500/pair) to be the replacement model for the Sophia Series 3. I would argue that the Yvette is an entirely different animal. There are obvious similarities between the Yvette and Sophia. Each is a floorstanding, three-driver, three-way design. Each comprises a single box with a separate internal chamber for each driver. The Sophia's woofer and midrange chambers are ported; the Yvette's are respectively ported and vented. The two models are about the same size and, from the back, look a lot alike.
There are equally obvious differences.…
Instead of re-creating a performance in my listening room, the Yvettes were transporting me to the performance. This is something that's easy to say but hard to imagine until you've heard it—and when you have, it's impossible to forget. Every pair of speakers I've spent time with has re-created a model of the performance in my listening room. With good speakers, by definition, those models were detailed and accurate. Great speakers seemed to dissolve my room's walls. The very best speakers have replaced my entire room with the model. These last few were the speakers I've most praised, and I…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25mm) silk-dome tweeter (sealed), 7" (178mm) midrange unit with cellulose/paper-pulp composite cone (rear-vented), 10" (254mm) woofer with paper-pulp cone (rear-ported). Crossover frequencies: not specified. Frequency response: 20Hz–25kHz, ±3dB, Room Average Response (RAR). Sensitivity: 86dB/W/m at 1kHz. Impedance: 4 ohms nominal, 2.94 ohms minimum at 90Hz. Minimum amplification: 50Wpc.
Dimensions: 41" (1041mm) H (without spikes) by 13.25" (336.7mm) W by 20.1" (509.2mm) D. Weight: 175 lb (79…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Primare CD35 CD player, Mytek Brooklyn DAC+.
Analog Sources: Spiral Groove SG-2 turntable & Centroid tonearm, VPI HR-X turntable & tonearm; Grado Labs Epoch & Signature Reference cartridges.
Preamplification: Sutherland Engineering Phono Blocks & Phono Blocks Refined phono stages & Line Blocks line stage.
Power Amplifiers: VTL Ichiban monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Sophia Series 2.
Cables: Nordost Valhalla 2 and Odin 2.
Accessories: Finite Nordost Powerblock AC grounding…