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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-…
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.
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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…
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
What’s the most frequently performed new opera in America at present? It’s Laura Kaminsky’s 2014 chamber opera, As One, whose libretto by Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed explores the coming out process of its protagonist, Hannah, as a transgender woman.
Although an original cast video of As One is not available—the excerpt below is from the 2014 premiere at Brooklyn Academy of Music—an original cast audio recording was released on June 28, 2019. For the project, from the Bright Shiny Things label, the opera’s original cast of two singers, the wife-husband team of mezzo-soprano Sasha…
As I wrote before in these pages, I have long been acquainted with French electronics manufacturer Trinnov. Years ago, at an Audio Engineering Society convention in New York, a Trinnov rep used a mastering console equipped with their processor to move, at will, the sounds of instruments around the 3D soundstage and left me thoroughly impressed. That was before my conversion from stereo to multichannel music listening, and before the blurring of borders between home theater and mainstream audio.
Subsequently, I reported on an AVR with a simplified version of Trinnov processing, and later…