"Once I thought I had the best hi-fi system that I could get. But then I would listen to a new product andbe shocked to hear something that I hadn't heard before. It always gave me a thrill, and I was always sorry that my old system didn't sound as good." Lest anyone think Rondi D'Agostino is even a little bit new to hi-fi, she clarified in our chat how long she'd been pursuing audiophile bliss. "I got into audio through my love of music," she told me. "I grew up in the '50s and '60s just outside of San Francisco in Sausalito,…
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Sidebar 1: Rondi D'Agostino Talks With Jason Victor Serinus
Sidebar 2: Specifications
Description: Solid state iBias class-A mono power amplifier. Inputs: one each balanced (XLR) and single-ended (RCA). Output: 2 pairs gold-plated loudspeaker binding posts. Rated output power: 800W into 8 ohms (29dBW), 1600W into 4 ohms (29dBW), 3200W into 2 ohms (29dBW). Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz +0, –0.13dB. Bandwidth, –3dB: 147kHz (measured at 50W into 8 ohms). Input impedance: 28k ohms, balanced; 14k ohms single-ended. Gain: 26.5dB. Input sensitivity: 3.8V RMS. THD: <0.010%, at 1kHz, 800W with an 8 ohm load; <0.035% at 20kHz, 800W, with an 8 ohm…
Sidebar 3: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: dCS Vivaldi Apex DAC, Vivaldi Upsampler Plus, and Vivaldi Master Clock; Innuos Statement Next-Gen Music Server; Small Green Computer Sonore Deluxe opticalModule; Uptone Audio EtherRegen with SOtM sCLK-OCX10 Master Clock and sPS-500 power supply; Nordost QNet switch and QSource linear power supplies (2); Sonore Audiophile Linear Power Supply; Synology 5-bay 1019+ NAS with Ferrum Hypsos linear/ switching hybrid power supply; Linksys MR9000 mesh router and Arris modem; Apple 2023 iPad Pro and 2017 MacBook Pro laptop with 2.8GHz Intel i7, SSD,…
Sidebar 4: Measurements
I performed a complete set of measurements on one of the Krell KMAi800s (serial number 32623090006) with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system. I preconditioned the amplifier by following the CEA's recommendation, running it at one-eighth the specified power into 8 ohms for 30 minutes. At the end of that time, the temperature of the top panel was 110.9°F (43.9°C) and that of the heatsinks on the side panels was 137.3°F (58.5°C). This amplifier needs plenty of room around it.
The KMA-i800's single-ended and balanced inputs preserved absolute polarity, ie, the…
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There's a famous quote by Lenin, that revolutions cannot stand still; they have to move forward. I'm guessing he wasn't talking about the British punk explosion, but it's applicable. There was a period of time around 1978—when that initial Sex Pistols thrill had subsided—when I thought it was stalling. The new bands started sounding dull, derivative. In all probability, I just had unreasonable demands: that a band should produce iconic albums weekly. I was 17, had just started work, and pretty much thought the world was there for my personal amusement.
Then from the pages of my holy book—…
"HOW MEASUREMENT FAILS DOCTORS AND TEACHERS" was the headline of a story in a recent issue of the New York Times's "Sunday Review" section (formerly called "News of the Week in Review," now rendered obsolete by the 24/7 news cycle created by and for the terminally self-absorbed). The writer, Robert M. Wachter, a professor and interim chairman of UC San Francisco's department of medicine and author of the book The Digital Doctor: Hope, Hype, and Harm at the Dawn of Medicine's Computer Age, said that healthcare and education "have become increasingly subjected to metrics and measurements," and…
The 3P's overall tonal balance was neutral to a bit sweet, particularly in the midrange, without the sound growing a midband bubble or transients losing their natural edge. Was that sweet midrange the result of the Brazilwood? Maybe: I didn't measure. Bass was nimble, clean, and well extended, though it didn't quite match the Kuzma 4Point's iron-fisted authority in the lows. (I'm not comparing anything to the Swedish Analog Technologies arm.) On the other hand, the 3P's midrange will surely appeal to those who, unlike me, find the 4Point somewhat austere in that region.
Advocates of…
Photo By Adam Taylor
Steven Wilson loves changing the minds of spatial audio skeptics. He's the go-to Dolby Atmos and 5.1 mixmaster for many heritage artists, new-wave bands, and alternative acts. Best known for leading the post-prog collective Porcupine Tree, releasing a score of genre-stretching solo albums, and serving as a key creative contributor to such experimental groups as No-Man and Blackfield, Wilson's approach is simple: bring them into his studio and let the music do the talking.
"My biggest thrill is sitting the artist down in the magic chair that's in the sweet spot…
Photo by Hajo Mueller
Mettler: What's the best kind of music to play on vinyl?
Wilson: There's something about jazz that's just perfect for vinyl. Sixties, '70s jazz—it just seems like it should be listened to on vinyl.
Mettler: Right—you've got to play Thelonious Monk on vinyl.
Wilson: Yeah, exactly. Or Miles, or Coltrane, or anything like that. I've got a lot of obscure free jazz on vinyl, like Anthony Braxton and Derek Bailey. I feel like that music just belongs on vinyl. There's something so organic and so spiritual about it in the first place, and vinyl…