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On the first page of the owner's manual for iFi Audio's Pro iDSD tubed/solid-state multibit DAC and headphone amplifier, the British company unabashedly describes it as "a 'state of the art' reference digital to analog converter" and "a wireless hi-res network player or the central DAC in an expensive high-end home system." As if in an afterthought, it continues: "The on-board balanced headphone section means high-end headphones can also be directly connected to it." The manual doesn't describe the headphone "section" as "state of the art," so I'm deducing that the Pro iDSD is really more a…
Bruckner: String Quintet (arr. for Large Orchestra), Overture in g
Gerd Schaller, arr., cond.; Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra
Profil PH16036 (CD). 2018. Milan Puklický, prod.; Jan Lzicar, eng. DDD. TT: 57:12
Performance ***
Sonics ****
Gerd Schaller, arr., cond.; Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra
Profil PH16036 (CD). 2018. Milan Puklický, prod.; Jan Lzicar, eng. DDD. TT: 57:12
Performance ***
Sonics ****
Bruckner & Mahler: String Quintet (arr. for Chamber Orchestra) & Symphony 10: Adagio
Peter Stangel, arr., cond.; Pocket Philharmonic Orchestra
Edition Taschenphilharmonie/Sony ETP008 (CD). 2017. Sebastian Riederer von Paar, prod., eng., ed. DDD. TT: 59:12
Performance ****
Sonics ****
Bruckner's only mature…
Also, except when otherwise noted, I did most of my listening to the Pro iDSD in Bit-Perfect mode, with no filtering or oversampling—because it seemed the most natural, and I liked it that way.
Bit Packets in Space
In my realm, Sun Ra (1914–1993) is forever the boss of all hip cats. He is my art mentor from another planet. I think a lot of audiophile jazz fans overlook Sun Ra because he was a messy mash-up-making postmodernist. (Ra was doing postmodernism before it had a name.) Many jazz lovers dismiss Sun Ra because he chants and sings artful nonsense like, "They plan to put the…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Tubed/solid-state DAC/headphone amplifier. Tube complement: two GE5670. Inputs: USB, AES3 (XLR, single link), S/PDIF (coaxial/optical combo), BNC multifunction (S/PDIF in or sync input). Outputs (line-level): balanced (XLR), single-ended (RCA). Outputs (headphone): single-ended (3.5mm, 6.3mm), balanced (2.5mm). Output into 600 ohms, balanced/single-ended: >11.2V/>5.6V.
Dimensions: 8.7" (220mm) W by 2.5" (63mm) H by 8.4" (213mm) D. Weight: 4.4 lb (2kg).
Finish: Silver.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 3002000475 (listening),…
Sidebar 2: Associated Components
Analog Sources: Dr. Feickert Analogue Blackbird turntable with Jelco KT-850L tonearm, AMG Giro G9 turntable & 9W Turbo tonearm, Linn Sondek LP12 Hercules turntable with SME M2-9 tonearm; AMG Teatro, EMT TSD 75, Etsuro Urushi Cobalt Blue, Hana SL, Koetsu Rosewood Standard & Signature Platinum, My Sonic Lab Ultra Eminent Ex cartridges.
Digital Sources: Mac mini computer running Audirvana+ 3.2; HoloAudio Spring "Kitsuné Tuned Edition" Level 3, Mytek Brooklyn, Mytek Manhattan II, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil with Analog 2 & Gen 5 USB upgrades, Aqua…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured iFi Audio's Pro iDSD (serial no. 3002000468, a different sample from the one auditioned by HR) with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 As We See It"). I used both the Audio Precision's S/PDIF outputs and USB data sourced from my MacBook Pro running on battery power and playing WAV and AIFF test-tone files. Apple's USB Prober utility identified the iDSD as "iFi (by AMR) HD USB Audio" from "iFi (by AMR)," and confirmed that its USB port operated in the optimal isochronous asynchronous mode. Apple's AudioMIDI utility revealed that, via…
From last week's contemporary realities, as viewed through the lens of David Chesky, we move back in time to 1707–1710, when the emotionally overwrought women, mythological subjects, shepherds, shepherdesses, and nymphs of Handel Italian Cantatas were in vogue. If those subjects strike your fancy, and/or you love baroque artistry and great singing, this new Erato recording from Emmanuelle Haïm's Le Concert d'Astrée, French lyric coloratura soprano Sabine Devielhe, and Franco-Italian mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre belongs on your must-hear list.
The recording captures both women in…
"They expect 180,000 people this year," the Lyft driver told me as we headed to the Strip shortly after sunset. "That's 10,000 more than last year!"
Does that mean there will be 10,000 more gadgets on display?
One thing's for certain: there will be far less to see on the floors of the Venetian Hotel, which "high performance audio" once called home. The last time I glanced at a site map, there were only 25–27 high performance exhibit rooms scattered over three floors. In addition, I know of only two companies that are exhibiting off-site, and no High Resolution Pavilion where…
Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Charles Munch, conductor
RCA Victor LSC-2608 (LP). TT: 48:40
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Charles Munch, conductor
RCA Victor LSC-2608 (LP). TT: 48:40
It is easy to forget that the hi-fi movements—the "March to the Scaffold" and the "Dream of a Witches' Sabbath"—comprise barely a third of the music in the Symphonie fantastique, yet when we listen to most of the available versions of this, we can understand why the first three movements are usually passed up by the record listener. Two are slow and brooding, one is a wispy sort of waltz, and all three require a certain combination of flowing gentleness and…
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975) was hardly the first composer to run headfirst into opposition from political authorities. In his case, however, the pushback was so extreme that it affected everything he wrote thereafter.
In early 1936, after the style and subject matter of his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk clashed with the so-called proletarian aesthetic of Russian dictator Joseph Stalin (1878–1953), Shostakovich was denounced by the official state newspaper, Pravda. From then on, his symphonies reflected either his defiance of decades of Socialist realism, or attempts to appease the…