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Revel Ultima Salon2 loudspeaker Larry Greenhill July 2019

Larry Greenhill wrote about the Revel Salon2 in July 2019 (Vol.42 No.7):

Ever since Revel's Kevin Voecks lent me a second pair of Ultima2 Salon2 loudspeakers (now $21,998/pair) for my review of Revel's Rhythm2 subwoofer (since discontinued), I've put them to good use. I used the Salon2s in my evaluations of Constellation Audio's Inspiration Stereo 1.0 amplifier, the Mark Levinson No.534 stereo power amplifier, and Bryston's BP-173 line preamplifier.

When I'd reviewed my first pair of Salon2s, for the June 2008 Stereophile, I'd described it as "a new reference standard in…

PrimaLuna EVO 400 preamplifier

I am an artist-painter and an audiophile. When I listen to recorded music, I sit in the sweet spot and stare at the empty space between the speakers. And while I listen, I survey and critique the soundfield, as if it were an unfinished landscape painting in my studio.

As I observe the soundstage and the apparitions of musicians within, I notice the dimensions of the recording venue (and/or microphone placement), as well as the physical energy of the entire vibrating illusion. While my mind appraises the tonal character of each recorded instrument, it simultaneously registers the tonality…

PrimaLuna EVO 400 preamplifier Page 2

We all know our father's jazz records were about the sounds of acoustic bass, saxophone, and piano. In response to all that unamplified acousticness, Ventures' records—especially those on the Dolton label—were all about the new, powerful, driving sound of electric guitars. (The Ventures, along with Chet Atkins and Link Wray, played a significant role in making electric guitars the most important instruments in 1960s popular music.) Therefore, any playback of their recordings that doesn't convey the expressive reality of those guitars and their associated tubed amplifiers is a fail. The all-…

PrimaLuna EVO 400 preamplifier Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Tubed, dual-mono, line-level preamplifier. Tube complement: six 12AU7, two 5AR4. Inputs: 3 pairs line-level single-ended (RCA), 2 pairs balanced (XLR), 1 pair home-theater bypass (RCA), phono optional. Outputs: 2 pairs variable (1x stereo RCA, 1x stereo XLR), 1 pair fixed RCA). Gain: 10dB. Input impedance: 220k ohms. Output impedance: 256 ohms. Input sensitivity: 650mV. Power consumption: 61W.
Dimensions: 15.2"(386mm) W by 8.1"(206mm) H by 15.9"(404mm) D. Weight 52.8lb (23.9kg).
Finish: Blue-gray lacquer, brushed-aluminum faceplate.
…

PrimaLuna EVO 400 preamplifier Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog Sources: Dr. Feickert Analogue Blackbird turntable, Jelco 850L tonearm; AMG Giro G9 turntable & 9W Turbo tonearm; AMG Teatro, EMT TSD 75, Etsuro Urushi Cobalt Blue, Hana ML, Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum, My Sonic Lab Ultra Eminent Ex moving-coil cartridges; Auditorium 23, Dynavector SUT-200. Bob's Devices CineMag1131 SUTs.
Digital Sources: Mac mini computer running Audirvana Plus 3.2; HoloAudio Spring "Kitsuné Tuned Edition" Level 3, Chord Qutest, Schiit Yggdrasil, Mytek Hifi Brooklyn+ and Manhattan II DACs; Integra DPS-7.2 CD player…

PrimaLuna EVO 400 preamplifier Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

When I unpacked the PrimaLuna EVO 400 preamplifier, it looked very familiar. It appears identical to PrimaLuna's ProLogue Premium line preamplifier that Herb Reichert reviewed in our June 2017 issue (footnote 1). But on closer inspection, while the earlier preamp had single-ended inputs and outputs, the EVO 400 adds two pairs of balanced input jacks and a pair of balanced output jacks. And while the EVO 400 still uses two 5AR4 rectifier tubes, there are now six 12AU7 twin triodes compared with the ProLogue Premium's four 12AU7s.

I measured the PrimaLuna…

Listening #199: Falcon & Graham LS3/5A

It all started when I moved my playback system from my 11' by 16' living room to my 12' by 17' family room: The latter has proven the better-sounding setting, and it's also sunnier and more accessible—and the floor is more level and stable. (The family room is a circa-2005 addition on a 1936 house.) And now that my speakers and my racks of gear have been removed from the living room, there's room for bookcases, books, and people who aren't me. On the down side, when my system was in my living room, guests in the dining room—the next room over—could enjoy music more easily than they can in my…

Listening #199: Falcon & Graham LS3/5A Page 2

A few more details: The tweeter domes of my samples of the Graham LS3/5a's, each protected by a removable metal grille in the shape of a cappello saturno, appeared to be fabric rather than Mylar—a substitution Paul Graham later confirmed with the explanation that the original Mylar domes were "very inconsistent in response and sensitivity."

For their part, the Falcon LS3/5a's also have black-painted front baffles with full felt and Velcro; the enclosure's remaining surfaces, including the glued-in rear panels, are veneered. (As nicely finished as the two Graham speakers were, the yew…

Listening #199: Falcon & Graham LS3/5A Contacts

Sidebar: Contacts

Graham Audio, Ringslade House, Ringslade Road, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12 6PT, UK. Tel: (44) 1626 361168. Web: www.grahamaudio.co.uk. US Distributor: On a Higher Note. Tel: 949 544-1990 Web: www.onahighernote.com.

Falcon Acoustics, Mallories, Pond Lane, Stanton St. John, Oxfordshire OX33 1HF, UK. Tel: (44) 1865 358001. Web: www.falconacoustics.co.uk. US Distributor: MoFi Distribution, West Bryn Mawr Avenue, Chicago, IL 60660. Tel: (312) 738 5025. Web: www.mofidistribution.com.

AV Options LLC, 25 NW 23rd Place, Suite 6, No. 411, Portland, OR 97210. Tel: (…

Bryston BP-173 line preamplifier More Measurements July 2019

Bryston BP-173 preamplifier: phono & DAC module measurements, July 2019 (Vol.42 No.7):

After Larry Greenhill had finished auditioning the updated sample of Bryston's BP-173 preamplifier—see his Follow-Up review in the June issue—he shipped it to me so I could measure its new phono and D/A stages with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It").

Looking first at the phono stage: I floated the preamp's outputs and ran a separate ground connection to the analyzer, which gave the lowest level of noise. With the volume control at its maximum setting, the…