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Listening #195: Ortofon SPU Century & Grandinote Celio

Easy pickup: Art’s Dog, Chatter, cozies up to Leif Johannsen of Ortofon A/S and Dee Hustinova of Ortofon USA. (Photo: Art Dudley)

According to the 2018 edition of the UN's World Happiness Report, Denmark is the third-happiest nation on Earth, trailing only its neighbors Finland and Norway.

I heard that yesterday afternoon, on NPR. The reporter even spelled out the word used by Danes to describe their feelings of happiness: hygge. Apparently, at present, Denmark is positively rotten with hygge.

But I was uncertain that I'd heard correctly. And I was dubious that the UN…

Listening #195: Ortofon SPU Century & Grandinote Celio Page 2

As Johannsen sees it, "the SPU sound comes from a different combination of components—the housing is one of them. It depends on what you want from the housing: Do you want it to contribute to the sound, to resonate? Or do you want to control [the housing]? I have made the decision that I want to control it—I do not want it to have its own life."

Johannsen went on to explain how Selective Laser Melting—which, in some previous Ortofon models, was used to manufacture small frame-style cartridge bodies—can be used to make a better SPU shell: "The lasers melt very fine powder. In some areas…

Dealer Event in San Diego Friday

Friday, February 22, from 5pm, Alma Music and Audio (7847 Convoy Ct. #101, San Diego, CA 92111) will host Wilson Audio's Peter McGrath for the introduction of the new Sasha DAW loudspeaker. We're told it will be a fun night of music, celebrating Wilson's ambitious recreation of the seminal WATT/Puppy loudspeaker, as well as the man who started it all, the late David A. Wilson. The system will also showcase Audio Research's Reference 160M and MSB's Reference DAC.

To RSVP, email contact@almaaudio.com.

Rogue Audio RP-7 line preamplifier

You know I'm a lucky guy. I maintain two separate audio reviewing systems.

The core component of my beloved, daily-driver desktop system is a Mytek Brooklyn DAC-preamp-headphone amp. Through this system I play high-resolution files and Internet sources (Tidal, Qobuz, Netflix, and YouTube). One of the Brooklyn's two line-level inputs delivers NPR news and baseball from my Kenwood KT-990D FM/AM tuner. I mostly use this system with headphones, but currently, the Brooklyn's line-out feeds a pair of Bel Canto Design's compact e.One REF600M monoblocks driving the shelf-mounted Dynaudio Excite…

Rogue Audio RP-7 line preamplifier Page 2

At the left of its rear panel, the RH-5 had an optional RCA phono input. In contrast, the RP-7 has line-level inputs only. At the left of its rear panel are eight black XLR jacks: two pairs of balanced (MOSFET-buffered) outputs and two pairs of balanced inputs. These dark XLRs are followed by a regiment of bright gold RCA jacks: two unbalanced outputs, a unity gain input, a processor loop, a fixed output, and three line-level inputs. Happily, this arrangement gives me up to five line-level sources. Very nice. Stacked at far right are the main power rocker, a fuse bay, and a three-pronged…

Rogue Audio RP-7 line preamplifier Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Line-level hybrid (tubed/MOSFET) preamplifier and headphone amplifier. Tube complement: four 12AU7/ECC82. Frequency response: 1Hz–100kHz, ±1dB. Line-level inputs: 3 unbalanced (RCA), 2 balanced (XLR). Variable outputs: 2 unbalanced (RCA), 2 balanced (XLR). Maximum gain, line stage: 14dB unbalanced, 20dB balanced. Output impedance: 50 ohms (1kHz).
Dimensions: 18.5" (470mm) W by 4.5" (115mm) H by 17" (430mm) D. Weight: 30 lb (13.6kg) net, 45 lb (20.4kg) shipping.
Serial number of unit reviewed: RP7-0559.
Price: $4995. Approximate number of…

Rogue Audio RP-7 line preamplifier Associated Equipment

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 moving-coil cartridges; Kenwood KT-990D FM/AM tuner.
Digital Sources: Mac mini computer running Audirvana Plus 3.2; HoloAudio Spring "Kitsuné Tuned Edition" Level 3, Mytek Brooklyn DACs; JVC X-Z1010 CD player (used as transport).
Preamplification: Tavish Design Adagio phono preamplifier; Pass…

Rogue Audio RP-7 line preamplifier Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

I measured the Rogue RP-7 using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). The RP-7's volume control operates in 0.5dB steps, with the maximum level indicated as "192" on the front-panel display. All of its outputs—balanced, single-ended, and headphone—preserved absolute polarity (ie, were non-inverting). The balanced input impedance measured a very high 174k ohms at 20Hz and 1kHz, dropping very slightly to 162k ohms at 20kHz; the unbalanced input impedance was lower, at 24.5k ohms at 20Hz and 1kHz, and 21k ohms at 20kHz. The RP-7's…

Spendor A7 loudspeaker

As Stereophile's lone New York City bachelor, I sometimes search for amore on Internet dating sites. One such encounter led me to Park Slope, Brooklyn, where I met a woman who, I soon learned, was at the top of the food chain of Manhattan's gold-encrusted arts community.

The single child of an upper-Westchester family, Jane So (not her real name) assists her employer in curating fine art for the city's premier galleries and museums. Her job also includes gifting her employer's millions to charitable organizations and the like. But in her off hours, when the boss isn't watching, Jane…

Spendor A7 loudspeaker Page 2

Case in point: Whether playing, via the Parasound Halo HINT 6 ($2495) the Police's Ghost in the Machine (LP, A&M SP 3730), or Karl Berger and Dave Holland and Ed Blackwell's Transit (LP, Black Saint BSR 0092), or Willie Hutch's funk classic Fully Exposed (LP, Motown M 784V1), the A7s delivered the low-down, throbbing, subterranean heart of every recording exceptionally well and without exception. Sting's rich e-bass had never resounded so weighty and whole. The clarity of Dave Holland's double bass on Transit was a veritable master class in walking bass. And the titanic tonnage of…