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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…

Prizes include: 10 select vinyl LPs from Disney Music Emporium's collection (including the Star Wars: A New Hope Box Set!), The VPI Player Turntable, SVS Ultra Bookshelf speakers and Prime Wireless Soundbase, and a complete set of Nordost cables to tie everything together!

Prizes from Disney Music Emporium:

Star Wars: A New Hope 40th Anniversary Box Set ($150)
Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of one of the most significant soundtracks…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Analog source: Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Lingo power supply, Linn Ekos tonearm, Linn Arkiv B cartridge, Channel D Seta L phono preamplifier.
Digital sources: Roon Nucleus+ file server; Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP universal player; PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream, Weiss DAC502, and HoloAudio May D/A processors, Ayre Acoustics QA-9 A/D converter.
Power amplifiers: Parasound Halo JC 1+ monoblocks.
Integrated amplifier: NAD M10.
Loudspeakers: KEF LS50, Vimberg Mino.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Vodka (Ethernet), AudioQuest Coffee (USB),…

I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the GoldenEar BRX's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield and in-room responses.

GoldenEar specifies the BRX's sensitivity as 90dB/W/m; my estimate was somewhat lower, at 87.5dB(B)/2.83V/m. The BRX's impedance is specified as "compatible with 8 ohms." However, the impedance magnitude (fig.1, solid trace) drops well below 8 ohms in the midrange and mid-treble region, with a minimum value of 3.24 ohms at 194Hz. There is also a…

If you want an early pressing, though, your opportunities are limited. If you want an early pressing in collectable condition, expect to pay real money. And if you want that early pressing in pristine condition, good luck with that.

This is the niche the…