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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…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, reflex-loaded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: ¾" (22mm) wide-surround dome tweeter with fluid cooling, 7.1" (180mm) polymer-cone midrange-woofer. Crossover frequency: 3.7kHz. Frequency range: 32Hz–25kHz. Sensitivity: 88dB. Impedance: 8 ohms nominal. Power handling: 25–200W. Terminals: four-way binding posts (single-wired).
Dimensions: 36.8" (934mm) H by 7.1" (180mm) W by 12" (305mm) D. Weight: 39.7 lb (18kg).
Finishes: Black Ash, Cherry, Natural Oak, Dark Walnut, Satin White.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: 334A00011/…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Kuzma Stabi S turntable & Stogi S tonearm; Thorens TD 124 turntable & Jelco TS-350S tonearm; Denon DL-103, Hana EL, Ortofon Quintet Bronze cartridges.
Digital Sources: Apple MacBook computer running Audirvana Plus; Mytek Brooklyn DAC+, BorderPatrol DAC, DACs; LG BD550 BD player; Western Digital T2 Mirror Drives (2).
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 A23 moving-coil step-up transformer, Luxman EQ-500 phono stage, Shindo Laboratory Allegro preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: Mytek Brooklyn.
Integrated Amplifiers: Heed Audio…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Spendor A7's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield responses. The Spendor's specified sensitivity is 88dB/2.83V/m; my estimate was close, at 87.1dB(B)/2.83V/m. The specified impedance is 8 ohms. Fig.1 shows that the A7's impedance magnitude (solid trace) remains above 8 ohms for the entire treble and most of the low bass. The minimum magnitude was a still-high 6.1 ohms at 228Hz, and while the electrical phase angle is sometimes high,…
I'm not sure what possessed me to listen to young Edgar Moreau's Erato recording, Offenbach & Gulda: Cello Concertos, with Les Forces Majeures conducted by young Raphaël Merlin. Was the moon in that phase when it appears to be laughing at we earthlings? All that is certain is by the time I had heard but a minute of the first movement of cellist/composer Offenbach's concerto, it was clear that I'd be laughing through at least half of the notes that lay ahead.
Mind you, there are a lot of notes, in both concertos. If you want to hear the cellist's equivalent of guitar shredding, if only…
The news broke on Facebook yesterday that Mark Hollis had died, aged just 64. I was late to appreciate Hollis's work, including his extraordinary solo album from 1998 (above). But since Stephen Mejias turned me on to him, Mark Hollis's music, both solo and with the band Talk Talk, has been in heavy rotation. (You can find my review of Talk Talk's final album, Laughing Stock, here—scroll down the page.) Fellow fan, Michael Vamos of distributor Audio Skies, asked if he could share some thoughts.—John Atkinson
It's a day of mourning for music lovers everywhere—ingenious lead singer,…
In November 2016, I reviewed Shure's KSE1500 electrostatic in-ear headphone system, which featured a D/A amplifier with both analog and USB inputs that drove in-ear headphones with unique electrostatic diaphragms. At $2999, the KSE1500 was and is pricey, and recently Shure introduced a less-expensive electrostatic headphone system, the KSE1200SYS ($1999), with the same amplifier and earpieces but just an analog input.
Technology
Like the KSE1500s', the KS1200SYSes' drive-units feature a virtually massless diaphragm suspended between two back plates, with a 200V polarizing voltage…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: In-ear headphones with electrostatic drive-units and dedicated headphone amplifier and power supply. Drive-unit polarizing voltage: 200V DC. Maximum output voltage: ±200V. Output current: <1mA. Noise attenuation: #60;37dB. Frequency range: 10Hz–50kHz. Maximum SPL: 113dB (1kHz at 3% THD). Amplifier input: analog line-in (3.5mm). Amplifier output: Lemo connector. Signal/noise: <107dB, A-weighted. Adjustable gain range: –40 to +60dB. Amplifier functions: line input pad (–10dB). Amplifier power supply: rechargeable 3.6V Li-ion battery. Battery life…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Sources: Roon Nucleus+ server; PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream DAC; PonoPlayer, iPhone 6S, iPad mini.
Headphone amplifier: Ayre Acoustics EX-8 integrated amplifier.
Headphones: Audeze LCD-X, Ultimate Ears 18 Pro.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Coffee, USB. Analog: AudioQuest Forest, manufacturers' own. AC & analog: manufacturers' own.
Accessories: AudioQuest Niagara 1000 Low-Z Power/Noise-Dissipation System.—John Atkinson
One of the recurring themes of this column has been my search for servers that will support the playback of high-resolution multichannel files with DSP for speaker/room equalization (EQ), as well as the format conversion and downsampling that are often part of those processes. Because most EQ software is PCM-based, format comversion is needed to convert DSD files to PCM. In addition, because most EQ products work within a limited range of sampling rates, PCM files sampled at high rates may have to be downsampled before being subjected to EQ. Those of us who use home-theater preamplifier-…