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Sumo Axiom CD transport & Theorem II D/A processor Specifications

Sidebar 3: Specifications

Theorem II D/A converter: Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz ±0.5dB. THD: <0.004% at 2V output. Signal/noise ratio: !w100dB. Channel separation: >80dB. Induced jitter: <80ps. Conversion system: 18-bit hybrid DAC. Digital filter: 8x-oversampling. Analog section: discrete, DC-coupled. Inputs: TosLink optical, RCA coaxial, clock (RCA).
Dimensions: 19" W by 2.75" H by 11" D. Weight: 20 lb.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 1000956.
Price: $899 (a version with true balanced outputs costs $1099) (1995); no longer available (2019).

Axiom CD…

Hi-Rez Audio Distinguished in Blind Testing

Spectral analysis of a live blues band recording made by John Atkinson, showing content up to 40kHz, from "What's Going On Up There?"

With a few exceptions, audiophiles have long advocated high-rez music formats, believing that music should be recorded and presented in the highest fidelity possible, for our pleasure and posterity.

And yet a few people in our community, and many more outside it, have long maintained that CD is good enough—that, indeed, as a general principle, music at CD resolution is indistinguishable from high-rez music. And until recently, scientific evidence…

Revinylization #1: The Burrito Brothers Fly Again

Think of the greatest commercial LPs made during the past 72 years: the Solti-Culshaw recording of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, Magda Tagliaferro's D'ombre et de lumiere, Ornette Coleman's The Shape of Jazz to Come, John Lennon's John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, and a thousand or so others.

Music lovers were able to buy those records because somebody believed that selling them could be profitable. If that's capitalism at its best, then capitalism at its second-best is surely those somebodies who rescue long-unavailable LPs from commercial and/or sonic oblivion by investing time and…

A Polk/Classé/Marantz Event in Montreal

Until about a week ago, I thought Classé Audio was out of business. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Classé was not just alive but also kicking, with a new line of high-end electronics, which were being showcased, along with flagship products from Marantz and Polk Audio, at Montreal audio-video importer Sherpa Group's offices. What's more, it was happening tomorrow–that is, the day after I found out about Classé's resurgence.

Turns out that US-based Sound United, which also owns Marantz and Polk, among other well-known audio brands, acquired Classé in 2018, a transaction that…

Christmas in New Orleans Via Cologne

Yup, it sounds weirder than hell, even if talk of hell is best tabled at Christmastime. But never mind: The New Orleans Jazz Band of Cologne’s Santa Claus is Coming to Town is the real swinging thing. Masterfully recorded live in 24/96 “direct 2-Track Stereo digital” by Andreas Otto Grimminger during a concert at Bad Homburg Castle on December 9, 2018, mastered by Grimminger and Josef-Stefan Kindler, and released on what I believe to be the KuK label, the recording finds the seven members of the band in prime form. Swinging in a venue that’s far from a joint in the French Quarter of N’Orleans…

Slow Listening

Subjectivist audiophiles have long maintained that long-term listening is necessary to assess the quality and character of an audio component. Scientific testing methodologies such as ABX, which require quick and conscious evaluation of a change in the sound, have long struck many of us as insufficient, seeming to miss much that affects our enjoyment of music. A pair of Genelec researchers—Thomas Lund, an audio professional with a medical background, and Aki Mäkivirta, a research and development manager and a Fellow of the Audio Engineering Society—have published two articles (footnote 1) on…

Gryphon Ethos CD player-D/A processor

What kind of creature is this? Gryphon Audio Designs' new Ethos ($39,000)—pronounced EE-toss by its Danish manufacturers—is marketed as a CD player and digital-to-analog converter. It's decidedly au courant in that it includes two 32-bit/768kHz ES9038PRO Sabre DAC chips—one for each channel—with each holding eight individual DAC chips; offers optional upsampling to either 24/384 PCM or DSD128; and decodes up to 32/384 PCM and quadruple DSD (DSD512) via its USB input, or up to 24/192 (and no DSD) via AES/EBU or S/PDIF. It does not decode MQA or the high-resolution layer of an SACD disc, and…

Gryphon Ethos CD player-D/A processor Page 2

Many audiophiles use computers for file playback and streaming, but I have yet to encounter a non-dedicated computer with a noise floor as low as a good quality music server/streamer. This was certainly the case with my Macbook Pro, which I also use for show coverage, email, etc. While I easily affirmed that, using Roon, I could play DXD and DSD128 files via USB—Roon's playback limit is DSD128—the same pervasive grayness I experience when I run signal via USB from my computer to my reference dCS Rossini setup impacted my enjoyment.

Because I wanted to hear the Ethos at its best, I opted…

Gryphon Ethos CD player-D/A processor Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Single-box CD player and D/A processor with user-selectable filters and upsampling. Digital inputs: 1 USB B, 1 AES/EBU (XLR), 1 S/PDIF (BNC). Analog outputs: 1 pair single- ended (RCA), 1 pair balanced (XLR). Digital output: 1 AES/EBU (XLR). Formats/sample rates supported: PCM to 32- bit/44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192, 352.8, and 384 kHz. DSD via USB: DSD64, 128, 256, and 512. BNC and XLR inputs limited to 24/192). Frequency range: CD mode: 10Hz–20kHz; DAC mode: 10–96kHz, depending upon sample rate. Output voltage: 1V or 2V single-ended, 2V or 4V…

Gryphon Ethos CD player-D/A processor Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital sources: dCS Rossini SACD/CD transport & Rossini DAC & Rossini Clock & Network Bridge; Apple 2017 MacBook Pro computer with 2.8 GHz Intel i7, SSD, 16GB RAM; Roon Nucleus+; Linksys routers (2), Small Green Computer Systemoptique optical isolation bundle, TP-Link gigabit Ethernet media converters plus multimode duplex fiber optic cable (2); Small Green Computer linear power supply (2) & Small Green Computer/HDPlex four-component 200W linear power supply (2); external hard drives, SSD USB sticks, iPad Pro.
Preamplifier: Audio…