In audio as elsewhere, there's nothing new under the sun (footnote 1). Thus, in their zeal to give consumers an ever-better facsimile of every note on their records, some audio designers turn their attention to old technologies. The California firm EnigmAcoustics, for example, has found a new use for something as old as the Earth itself: the electret, typified by such abundantly common minerals as quartz. And while EnigmAcoustics make their electrets out of exotic fluoropolymers rather than quartz, they have the same…
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Art Dudley wrote about the Sopranino in November 2016, Vol.39 No.11):
Now in its fifth year, the UK-based Chester Group's New York Audio Show opens to the public this Friday, November 4, at 1pm in the Park Lane Hotel overlooking Central Park. (Friday hours are until 7pm.) The three-day show, a smaller version of what has come before, promises 30 exhibit rooms, half of which are "oversized," two ballroom-sized exhibits, and two more ballrooms filled with exhibits and vendors selling merchandise. All-in-all, the event, whose one-day visitor pass costs $30 ($26 in advance, with significant savings for multi-day passes) promises almost 110 brands.
Christina…
When Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2016 (RMAF)—the hot hi-fi rager of the Wild West—came to its close, I had one more official stop to make: YG Acoustics.
Located just 30 minutes from Denver in the city of Arvada, is the YG Acoustics facility—including the factory, showroom, and offices. Much like most factories, the exterior is an unassuming vanilla casing, with no evidence of the flavorful, no-compromise, high-tech, high-end speakers living (and being brought to life) inside.
The tour was informative. We breezed through the office space, then worked our way through the factory.…
Muraudio, based in Ottawa, Ontario, pioneered the design of the omnidirectional electrostatic loudspeaker in their Domain Omni PX1. The follow-up to that model, the PX2 ($US79,500/pair), was introduced at TAVES 2016, and sounded very impressive indeed in a system including Simaudio Moon digital and analog electronics, with Shunyata cables and power-line conditioning. However, with a total system price of $US196,500, while not nearly the priciest of the systems demoed at TAVES, this is still well out of the reach of most audiophiles. In talking to company founder and chief technology officer,…
Last spring, when I was listening to Bowers & Wilkins's 802 D3 Diamond loudspeakers, Classé Audio offered a pair of their new Sigma Mono amps for the review. They claimed a synergy—B&W's D3 series had been developed using Classé amps. I declined, only because using unfamiliar amplifiers would add to my assessment an uncontrolled variable. Now that the B&Ws have settled in—three 802 D3 Diamonds across the front, two 804 D3s at the back—it seemed time to hear what they could do when driven by the Classés.
Unlike most other recent class-D amplifiers, the Sigma Mono ($8000/pair)…
My biggest remaining concern: With the Classé Sigma Monos driving the B&W 802 D3 Diamonds, I still can find no fault with the amps. They seem to combine the overall clarity of the Benchmark with the vitality of the NAD, the power and richness of the McIntosh and Bel Canto, and the unaffected balance of the Parasound and Theta. Perhaps the synergy with the 802 D3s was designed in, but I doubt it: It would be shortsighted to make an amp that worked best with only one speaker, or a speaker that sounded good with only one amp; what I can't deny is that, with the Sigma Mono amps, my system…
I wrote several issues back that my first high-end headphones were Koss Pro4AAs, which I bought in 1972 following a positive review in the British magazine Hi-Fi News. Although that review didn't mention that the Pro4AAs were relatively fragile (footnote 1), I nonetheless loved their sound. They were the best headphones I'd heard—until, a couple years later, I was playing bass on some sessions for record producer Tony Cox. Tony had a pair of signal-energized electrostatic headphones, Koss ESP-6es, which were heavy and clunky—but they opened my ears to the sound quality that could be obtained…
Sidebar Contacts
Classé, 5070 Franáois Cusson, Lachine, Québec H8T 1B3, Canada. Tel: (514) 636-6384. Fax: (514) 636-1428. Web: www.classeaudio.com.
Sony Electronics, Inc., 16530 Via Esprillo, San Diego, CA 92127-1708.Tel: (858)942-2400. Web: www.sony.com.
JRiver, Inc., 125 N. First Street, Minneapolis, MN 55401. Tel: (612) 677-8200. Web: www.jriver.com.
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: In-ear headphones with electrostatic drive-units and dedicated D/A headphone amplifier and power supply. Headphone polarizing voltage: 200V DC. Maximum output voltage: ±200V. Output current: <1mA. Noise attenuation: <37dB. Frequency range: 10Hz–50kHz. Maximum SPL: 113dB (1kHz at 3% THD). Amplifier inputs: USB (Micro-B receptacle), analog line-in (3.5mm/1?8"). Amplifier output: Lemo connector. DAC bit depths accepted: 16, 24, 32. Sample rates accepted: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96kHz. Signal/noise: <107dB, A-weighted. Adjustable gain range: –40 to +…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Sources: Antipodes DX Reference v2.2 music server; PonoPlayer; Apple MacBook Pro running OS 10.11.4, Pure Music 3.0.6, iPhone 6S.
Headphone Amplifiers: Metric Halo ULN-2, Mytek Brooklyn.
Headphones: Audeze LCD-X, Ultimate Ears 18-Pro.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Coffee, USB, generic, FireWire; AC and analog: manufacturers' own.—John Atkinson