Price, who was born in Little Rock, AR, first encountered prejudice at a young age, when her city's most highly regarded white music teachers refused to welcome her…
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To celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the recent Women's March, we turn the spotlight on Symphonies Nos.1 & 4 of Florence Beatrice Price (1887–1953), the first African American woman to have her music performed by a major American orchestra. In doing so, I extend a big thank you to Naxos, whose invaluable American Classics series continues to record works by American composers both famous and relatively unknown.
I am obliged to begin this review of First Watt's new stereo power amplifier, the SIT-3, with an explanation of how I believe a power amplifier should be reviewed. Why? Because the 18Wpc SIT-3 is a unique and historically important design that can't be wired up to just any loudspeaker and then critiqued on the basis of its bass power, treble brightness, or midrange acuity.
Years ago, a reviewer friend said, "Herb, I don't review loudspeakers."
I was shocked. "Why?"
"Because my speakers are too heavy to move."
"So then? You don't review amplifiers, either?"
…
The illusion of an accordion suspended between my speakers seemed whole and believable. By that I mean that I believe the chief difference between live and reproduced music lies chiefly in the continuity of timing and phase relationships between music's fundamental tones and their expanding harmonic series. My personal observations suggest that negative feedback mutates these prime relationships while adding its own higher-order harmonic content. The First Watt SIT-3 seemed to preserve the geometry of the original harmonic relationships better than any amp I can remember, and thus made…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state, class-A, stereo power amplifier with no feedback, using custom-made static induction transistors (SITs). Inputs: 1 pair single-ended (RCA). Outputs: five-way binding posts. Power output: 18Wpc into 8 ohms (12.55dBW), 30Wpc into 4 ohms (11.75dBW). Frequency response: –0.5dB at 10Hz, –3dB at 50kHz. Voltage gain: 11.5dB. Output impedance: 0.26 ohm. Input impedance: 200k ohms. Distortion: 0.2% at 1W at 8 ohms, 1kHz. Power consumption: 150W.
Dimensions: 17" (430mm) W by 6.75" (170mm) H by 16" (405mm) D. Weight: 32 lb (14.5kg).
…
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 SL, Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum, My Sonic Lab Ultra Eminent Ex MC cartridges.
Digital Sources: Mac mini computer running Audirvana Plus 3.2; HoloAudio Spring "Kitsuné Tuned Edition" Level 3, iFi Audio Pro iDSD, Mytek Brooklyn, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil Analog 2 DACs; JVC X-Z1010 CD player (as transport).
Preamplification: Auditorium 23, Bob's Devices CineMag…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I performed a full set of measurements on the First Watt SIT-3, using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). Before doing any testing, I preconditioned the SIT-3 by running it at one-third power into 8 ohms for an hour. At the end of that time the top panel was warm, at 106.3°F (41.3°C), and the heatsinks were hot, at 123.8°F (51°C).
The First Watt's voltage gain into 8 ohms was a very low 11.3dB and the amplifier preserved absolute polarity (ie, was non-inverting). The input impedance measured close to the specified 200k…
Revel began demonstrating prototypes of the Performa F228Be, reviewed elsewhere in this issue, at the Consumer Electronics Show and other audio events in 2015, though they had yet to settle on the model name. The most salient feature that distinguished the F228Be-to-be from the established Performa3 F208 was the new beryllium tweeter, and while it sounded more than okay under show conditions, I always heard a bit of brightness and harshness. I knew it was still a work in progress, but I wasn't very eager to want to take it home.
My thoughts began to change after an old friend consulted me…
I had a moment of revelation in 2000, when I first set up a pair of Revel's original Ultima Studio loudspeakers in my living room. It wasn't just my awareness that Revel's next-to-top-of-the-line loudspeaker was outstandingly good—it seemed to perfectly match my space and my ears. From the first day, I knew these would be keepers and I purchased the review samples.
Revel's Ultima Studio2 arrived in 2008, and though it performed even better than the original, the impression it made on me wasn't quite revelatory, and my praise was somewhat restrained—something for which Fred Kaplan justly…
In addition, I found it much easier to distinguish the direct sounds of the instruments from the ambience of the venue. That's not to say that the F228Be's dissociated the two, but one's perception of their relationship is subject to several variables: the characteristics of the ambience, the tonal quality of the direct sounds, and, significantly, the apparent distance between the voice or instrument and the microphone/listener within the ambient space. My favorite analogy of this is of being hailed and approached by a friend in the reverberant space of Manhattan's Grand Central Station. At…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Floorstanding, three-way, bass-reflex loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25mm) beryllium-dome tweeter with acoustic lens, 5.25" (130mm) DCC aluminum-cone midrange with cast frame, two 8" (200mm) DCC aluminum-cone woofers with cast frames. Crossover frequencies: 260Hz, 2.1kHz. Frequency response: 27Hz–44kHz, –6dB. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Sensitivity: 90dB/2.83V/m. Recommended amplification: 50–350W.
Dimensions: 46.5" (1181mm) H by 11.8" (302mm) W by 13.2" (335mm) D. Weight: 82 lb (37.2kg).
Finishes: High Gloss White or Black, Walnut, Metallic…