Compared to Bel Canto
Switching from the Maggies to the Harbeth M30.2 monitors and using the Denafrips Terminator DAC, I began my comparisons of the LKV Veros PWR+ to the Bel Canto REF600M mono amplifiers—also class-D—using Saudades's first…
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In jazz, the chief protagonist of the berimbau is, or was, Brazilian avant-garde composer Naná Vasconcelos, an especially inventive virtuoso who played with Gato Barbieri, Don Cherry, and the Pat Metheny Group. His 1979 album Saudades (16/44.1 FLAC ECM/ Qobuz) is a tsunami of percussive reverb and a good reviewing tool. Vasconcelos died in 2016.
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state stereo power amplifier with Purifi Audio's 1ET400A class-D power amplifier modules. Inputs: 1 pair single-ended (RCA), 1 pair balanced (XLR). Outputs: 2 pair three-way binding posts. Power output: 200Wpc into 8 ohms (23dBW), 400Wpc into 4 ohms (23dBW), 220Wpc into 2 ohms (17.4dBW). Input sensitivity: 2V for 200W into 8 ohms. Maximum output current: 10.5A RMS. Voltage gain: 27dB. Input impedance: 200k ohms (single-ended), 400k ohms (balanced). Standby power consumption: 12W.
Dimensions: 8" (203mm) H × 17" (430mm) W × 17" (430mm) D.…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Dr. Feickert Analogue Blackbird turntable with Jelco TK-850L tonearm, Grado Aeon3 moving-iron cartridge, and Parasound JC3+ phono stage; J.Sikora Initial turntable with Jelco TK-850M tonearm and My Sonic Lab Ultra Eminent Ex moving-coil cartridge driving an EMIA SUT into a Kitsuné HiFi KTE LCR-1 MK4 RIAA stage.
Digital sources: Apple Mac mini computer running Audirvana+; HoloAudio May KTE (Level 3); Denafrips Terminator and Ares II D/A processors, Integra DPS 7.2 CD player (as CD transport).
Preamplification: Rogue Audio RP-7 line…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
A much-touted benefit of an amplifier with a class-D output stage is that it can be smaller and much lighter than a conventional amplifier for a given power. I was surprised, therefore, when I unpacked LKV's Veros PWR+ to find that it was both large and heavy. This is because the amplifier uses a linear power supply with three hefty transformers rather than a switch-mode supply (footnote 1).
I measured the Veros PWR+ using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). As the LKV has a class-D output stage, it wasn't necessary to…
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Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of one of the most significant soundtracks…
How goes your quarantining? Honestly, my life hasn't changed much here. I'm locked in the basement as usual, happy to have a good audio system and overwhelmed by my musical choices. Other than minimizing shopping expeditions and wearing a mask, the biggest change in my life is a spike in requests from readers for upgrade advice. I've never been so busy answering reader emails.
Two months ago, I ran out of space while covering the unsubtle sonic improvements of the passive CAD Ground Control system. Now that I've lived with the CAD for another couple of months, I can render my verdict: I…
"Miyabi" in Japanese means "elegance." Fuuga means "elegance with flair." Nagao-san was friends with Miyabi designer Haruo Takeda; he was also Japan's exclusive Miyabi dealer. Nagao has also worked at Stax, Audio Craft, and other storied companies and was part of the team that created the Infinity Black Widow tonearm all those years ago.
After Takeda retired, taking with him the Miyabi secrets, Nagao decided to reverse-engineer the Miyabi with the help of Tetsuya Sukehiro, a young cartridge designer, but soon he found that in the interim better materials had become available. Also, the…
Loudspeaker manufacturer GoldenEar Technology was founded in 2010 by a team led by Sandy Gross, who over the decades was responsible for a succession of affordable high-performance loudspeakers from Polk and Definitive Technology (footnote 1). Gross continued that tradition with GoldenEar: Even the company's flagship, the Triton Reference, which I favorably reviewed in January 2018, was priced a couple of dollars short of $8500/pair. (GoldenEar was acquired by The Quest Group, the parent company of cable company AudioQuest, in January 2020; Gross continued with the brand as president…
Test tones are useful both for optimizing a pair of speakers' setup and the initial diagnosis of their sonic character. But music is what matters when it comes to judging sound quality.
In his book Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers and Rooms, Floyd Toole discusses what he called "Circles of Confusion." Toole wrote that recording engineers sometimes make arbitrary choices that affect sound quality (footnote 3). When you insert a new component into your system and listen to a specific recording, therefore, you have no way of knowing whether what you hear…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, reflex-loaded, stand-mounted loudspeaker. Drive-units: Reference High-Gauss High-Velocity Folded Ribbon tweeter, 6" (152.4mm) polypropylene-cone woofer, two 6.5" (165mm) planar passive radiators. Frequency range: 40Hz–35kHz. Impedance: "Compatible with 8 ohms." Sensitivity: 90dB/W/m. Power handling: 12–250Wpc.
Dimensions: 12.125" (308mm) H × 8.1" (205mm) W × 12.25" (311mm) D. Weight: 12lb (5.44kg) each.
Finish: Hand-rubbed piano black lacquer.
Serial numbers of review samples: GKWA C1 1219 00006 & '00026, manufactured in…