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Monitor Audio Platinum PL300 II loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Monitor Audio PL300 II's frequency response in the farfield; and, for the nearfield frequency responses, an Earthworks QTC-40, which has a ¼" capsule and thus doesn't present a significant obstacle to the sound. For logistical reasons, I measured a different sample of the PL3000 II (serial no.100047) than those auditioned by Robert Deutsch. I left both rear-panel ports open for the measurements and left the grilles in place.

My estimate of the PL 300 II's voltage sensitivity…

Bowers & Wilkins, Moon by Simaudio, Long Island Saturday

Retailer Audio Den (2845 Middle Country Road, Lake Grove, NY 11755) is holding an evening with Doug Henderson, President of Bowers & Wilkins, and Costa Koulisakis, Vice-President Customer Experience of Moon By Simaudio, on Saturday, October 29. There will be three opportunities to attend this event: 5:00pm, 6:30pm, and 8:00pm.

Doug Henderson will be demonstrating the Bowers & Wilkins 803 D3 loudspeaker, which shares the turbine head and reverse-wrap cabinet featured in the 802 D3 that Kalman Rubinson reviewed in April 2016. The speakers will be driven by electronics from Moon by…

Mytek HiFi Brooklyn D/A processorheadphone amplifier

When I moved to New York City about a year ago, I was prepared to dislike Brooklyn. Judging it by its reputation as the apotheosis of cool, I envisioned the borough full of good-looking people engaged in pointless acts of mindless, stylish conformity, from man-buns to single-origin pour-over coffee. (Anyone up for adult kickball?) As I've written before, about Portland, Maine—a hipster place much indebted to Brooklyn—I greatly prefer deeply committed idiosyncrasy to mindless conformity.

But I misjudged Brooklyn. It turns out to be big, interesting, diverse, and—yes—idiosyncratic. Sure,…

Mytek HiFi Brooklyn D/A processorheadphone amplifier Page 2

So I ordered up some long cables and tried this at home. The Brooklyn sat on the little table by my listening seat, and power, USB, and XLR cables were draped all over the room (footnote 5). From these experiments I learned that MQA files sound much better with MQA turned on, and that the analog volume control sounds better than the digital one. I didn't try toggling the digital filters.

Long-term Listening
For most of my listening tests I ran the Brooklyn's outputs straight into a pair of Lamm Industries M1.2 monoblocks via Mogami Gold microphone cables, using the Brooklyn to…

Listening #167: Auditorium 23 Hommage Cinema loudspeaker

Keith Aschenbrenner, proprietor of Auditorium 23, based in Frankfurt, Germany (footnote 1), has long been associated with the people and products of Shindo Laboratory: From the early 1990s until the EU's 2006 implementation of the RoHS 1 regulation, which banned the sale of various old-style electrolytic materials—and thus most of Shindo's products—Auditorium 23 was the brand's European distributor and, arguably, one of its most empathetic and enthusiastic retailers worldwide. Throughout that time, and continuing through to today, Aschenbrenner has also worked as a designer and manufacturer…

Mytek HiFi Brooklyn D/A processorheadphone amplifier Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Digital-to-analog converter with analog preamplifier, headphone amplifier, and MM/MC phono stage. Digital inputs: AES/EBU (XLR), 2 S/PDIF (RCA), S/PDIF (TosLink), S/PDIF-DSD (2-channel pair), USB2 Type B (high-resolution audio). Analog/phono inputs: 1 pair single-ended (RCA). Analog outputs: 1 pair balanced (XLR), 1 pair single-ended (RCA). Headphone outputs: ¼" stereo (2), convertible to 1 pair balanced. Formats/sample rates supported: PCM to 32-bit/44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.2, 192, 384kHz; DSD; DSD (via USB only) to 2.8224, 5.6448, 11.2896MHz.…

Listening #167: Auditorium 23 Hommage Cinema loudspeaker Page 2

Jäckle also designed the amplifiers for the Cinemas' bass enclosures, which share real estate with the speakers' crossover elements: a 7kHz high-pass filter for the treble horn, and a 300Hz low-pass for the midrange horn—both executed with paper-in-oil capacitors—along with 6dB/octave low-pass filtering in front of the bass amplifiers, behind the secondary windings of each input transformer. No electronic equalization is provided.

Crate to plate
The Hommage Cinemas are shipped from Germany in lightweight padded crates; the AcousticPlan power supply is shipped separately, also from…

Mytek HiFi Brooklyn D/A processorheadphone amplifier Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog Sources: Thorens TD 124 turntable reconditioned by Schopper AG; Oswalds Mill Audio slate plinth; Ortofon RMG-212 (rebuilt), Thomas Schick 12" tonearms; Ortofon 90th Anniversary SPU cartridge; Sony XDR-F1HD AM/FM tuner.
Digital Sources: MacBook Pro computer (early 2015); Intel NUC with SSD drive running RoonServer; Meridian Explorer2 USB DAC; Benchmark DAC 1; Ayre Acoustics CX-7eMP CD player; PS Audio DirectStream DAC.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Standard step-up transformer, EAR 834P phono stage, Parasound Halo JC 2 preamplifier.
…

Mytek HiFi Brooklyn D/A processorheadphone amplifier Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

I measured the Mytek Brooklyn with my newly recalibrated Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 As We See It"). As well as the Audio Precision's analog and digital outputs, I used WAV and AIFF test-tone files sourced via USB from my MacBook Pro running on battery power with Pure Music 3.0. I updated the firmware to v.2.2.1 before the testing, using the Brooklyn Control app running on my laptop. Apple's USB Prober utility identified the Brooklyn as "Brooklyn DAC" from "Mytek Digital," its serial number as "03105-1605-101," and confirmed that the USB…

MQA and Warner: the Real Scoop

Photo: Jason Victor Serinus

Exactly what did Bob Stuart (above) say at that press event earlier this month at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest (RMAF)? Stuart—CEO of the company MQA, short for Master Quality Authenticated—made an announcement about the Warner Music Group's (WMG's) transcoding of their catalog into MQA format, a project announced last May.

But what exactly did he say? I didn't attend RMAF and accounts I found in the audiophile press were incomplete and contradictory. Is WMG finished with the project? Has the catalog been converted? All of it or just some? What exactly…