Pro-Jecting
The Pro-Ject Play app's home screen offers buttons for selecting Music Library, Web Radio, Bluetooth, USB/PC (echoing the function of the Stream Box's front-panel button), and Shairport-Sync. Selecting Bluetooth and pairing with my iPhone 6S let me stream music without any problem. Selecting Music Library brings up the usual menu of Favorites, Playlists, Artists, Albums, and Genres, as well as buttons for Media Servers and Internal. Selecting a track to play and then pressing Playback at the bottom of the screen displays the total playing time and elapsed time, as well as…
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Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: High-resolution, multi-room (up to 6 devices) network bridge controllable via Pro-Ject Play iOS app, Web browser, Roon. Input ports: 2 USB A, Micro USB B (PC-Detox), Network (Ethernet, WiFi), Bluetooth. Outputs: Audio-optimized USB A, HDMI (video). Audio formats supported: PCM up to 32-bit/352.8kHz, DSD256. Internet Radio: Shoutcast. Streaming Services: Spotify, Tidal. Supported data protocols: DLNA, RAAT, Shairport. Outboard power supply (included): 18V/1A DC.
Dimensions: 4.1" (103mm) W by 1.4" (36mm) H by 4.1" (103mm) D. Weight: 0.83 lb (375gm…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Roon Nucleus+ media server, iPhone 6S, iPad mini running Roon 1.6 & Pro-Ject Play apps; dCS Rossini, PS Audio DirectStream, Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital D/A processors.
Power Amplifiers: Lamm M1.2 Reference monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Joseph Audio Perspective2, KEF LS50.
Headphones: Audeze LCD-X.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Vodka (Ethernet); AudioQuest Diamond (USB). Interconnect: AudioQuest Wild Blue (balanced). Speaker: AudioQuest K2, Cardas. AC: AudioQuest Dragon Source & High Current, manufacturers' own.
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For those who listen with their ears and not their brain, perfectionist hi-fi offers many surprises.
A friend called me up a few weeks ago and asked if the DAC we both own had received an automatic firmware update he hadn't heard about; something had changed, it wasn't good, and he couldn't figure out what it was. His system's sound was suddenly pale and unfocused.
There had been no firmware update.
The next morning, he called me again. He'd remembered that, earlier the day before, he'd swapped out a meter or so of the standard Ethernet cable connecting his network switch…
For those who don't explode their preamplifiers with audiophile aftermarket fuses, the XP-22 is warranted for is three years, assuming you buy from an authorized dealer, though Pass Labs has a reputation for aggressively supporting its products well past the warranty period. "[W]e service everything we have ever built, usually for free," Colburn told me. "Some of the work on old stuff costs some money, but it's pretty cheap—and a smile is usually good for a discount."
Listening: the ghost in the machine
First, some quasi-objective observations. The XP-22, I noticed, has rather low…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state stereo preamplifier with remote control and separate power supply. Inputs: 3 single-ended (RCA), 2 balanced (XLR), 1 single-ended tape (RCA). Outputs: 1 single-ended line-level (RCA), 1 line-level balanced (XLR), 1 tape (RCA). Input impedance: 22k ohms, all inputs. Output impedance: balanced, 50 ohms; single-ended, 25 ohms. Maximum output: 33V RMS. Frequency response: 10Hz–20kHz, ±0.05dB; –2dB at 159kHz. Crosstalk: >100dB. Total harmonic distortion: <0.001 at 1V, 1kHz. Residual noise: 2uV RMS for signal/noise of 125dB ref. max out…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Thorens TD 124 turntable (reconditioned by Schopper AG); Ortofon RMG-212 (rebuilt), Thomas Schick 12" tonearms; Ortofon 90th Anniversary SPU & Xpression cartridges.
Digital Sources: Intel NUC computer with SSD drive running Roon Optimized Core Kit; PS Audio DirectStream DAC.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Standard step-up transformer, EAR 834P phono stage, PS Audio BHK Signature preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: PS Audio BHK Signature 300 Mono, Pass Laboratories XA60.8 (all monoblocks).
Integrated Amplifier: Leben Hi-Fi…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Pass Laboratories XP-22's performance with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). The maximum gain was the specified 9.5dB for the balanced inputs to the balanced outputs, but 6.07dB from the unbalanced input to the unbalanced output, the latter result 3dB higher than the specified gain. The preamplifier preserved absolute polarity (ie, was non-inverting) with both balanced and unbalanced inputs and outputs. (Its XLR jacks are wired with pin 2 hot, the AES convention.)
The XP-22's unbalanced input impedance…
Larry Greenhill reviewed the BP-173's phono & DAC modules in June 2019 (Vol.42 No.6):
After reviewing Bryston's BP-173 line preamplifier ($3995) in June 2018, I returned the review sample to Bryston to have its optional DAC and moving-magnet phono modules installed ($750 each). I was curious to hear if these options would maintain the high standard set by this component, which is included in Stereophile's "Recommended Components."
When the BP-173 returned, it looked unchanged. But when I removed its top plate, I saw that two new daughterboards had been installed above the…
I quit smoking before cigarettes hit $5/pack. I sold my last car, a nickel green 1977 Mercedes 300D, for $500. But I have sold a lot of six-figure audio amplifiers, and clearly, the juicy audio good stuff—the super-exotic—blows everybody’s mind. 1893 Chateau Lafite Rothschild gear is out of the reach of the lumpen proletariat. But so what? It is still cool and spectacularly wild and a blast to listen to, which anyone can do at an audio show. Take the all-out Aries Cerat system Joshua Masongsong of Believe High Fidelity was showing at Munich 2019. Have you ever heard anything like this?
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