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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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
For logistical reasons, I tested a different sample of the Gryphon Ethos (serial number 0110009) from the one that JVS auditioned but was assured that the two samples came from the same production batch. I performed the testing with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It") using its AES/EBU and S/PDIF digital outputs, test tones on CD, and USB data sourced from my MacBook Pro running on battery power, with Pure Music 3.0 playing WAV and AIFF test-tone files. All the testing was performed with the player's upsampling turned off.…
There is change, and also continuity, at Wilson Audio Specialties, the company founded in 1974 by recordist and loudspeaker designer David A. Wilson. David's son Daryl Wilson was appointed president and CEO in 2016. David Wilson passed away in 2018. And in 2019, Wilson Audio Specialties released the Sasha DAW loudspeaker ($37,900/pair), designed by a team led by Daryl Wilson and named in honor of his father.
The Sasha model has a history of its own. Designed as a replacement for the company's successful WATT/Puppy two-box loudspeakers—these combined the Wilson Audio Tiny Tot compact…
I had hooked up the speakers earlier and been running them in. In this old house, built in 1872, my listening room was originally intended as one of two master bedrooms. The room is not huge: 13' wide by 17' long by 10' high. (I like the ceiling height you can get in an old wood Victorian.) In spite of what may well be a minefield of resonant nodes, this is the most satisfying space I have had for listening to music.
Were the imposing Sasha DAWs going to be too much loudspeaker for my room? Only proper setup and listening time would tell.
The afternoon McGrath arrived, we listened…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, four-driver, reflex-loaded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25.4mm) textile-dome tweeter, 7" (178mm) paper and cellulose composite-cone midrange, two 8" (203mm) paper-cone woofers.
Crossover frequencies: not given. Frequency response: 20Hz–30kHz ±3dB, room- averaged response. Sensitivity: 91dB/W/m. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Minimum impedance: 2.48 ohms at 85Hz. Minimum amplifier power: 25Wpc.
Dimensions: 44.75" (1137mm) H × 14.5" (368mm) W × 22.85" (583m) D. Weight: 236lb (107kg).
Finishes: A choice of automotive…