Dynavector XX-2A Low-Output Moving Coil
Almost every Friday, I meet with a tightknit group of friends for a casual lunch where we yak away a couple of hours about anything and everything to do with hi-fi. Last Friday, my friend Bill chimed in with, "Why do so many of you reviewer guys have Dynavector cartridges?" It's true, and it's a good question. Dynavector cartridges are not the most talked-about or the most glitzy, glamorous cartridges, but people who own them sure seem to like them. I have owned a Dynavector DRT XV-1s cartridge for many years, and coming back to it after a…
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After a wild decade in the biggest pop music group ever, John Lennon's post-Beatles years were spent in protest, in various kinds of therapy, in immigration court, and in search of a new musical identity. He had been a musician since age 16 and a superstar since his early 20s. He was only in his 30s.
By summer 1973, when Lennon's fourth album, Mind Games, was recorded at New York's Record Plant Studios, the turbulence of Lennon's life seas was at gale force. He was separating from Yoko Ono and starting a 16-month relationship (consummated at Ono's suggestion) with their shared…
On August 29, 2024, Wm. R. Kennedy Buhler, aka Wil Buhler, informed Krell dealers, distributors, and customers that Krell is well on the path to reopening.
"We have made significant progress over the past weeks in our efforts to resume operations," Buhler wrote in a letter. "Following the recent passing of our beloved leader, Rondi D’Agostino, ... we are still in the midst of the ongoing probate process, which is taking slightly longer than initially anticipated. Please be assured that we are doing everything within our power to expedite this process. We are confident that we will…
It's funny how we discover some music in unexpected, twisting ways. A friend recently sent me the real estate listing for a beautiful home in Deer Isle, Maine, about an hour from where I live. I gawked at the pictures and calculated I'd need to work for Stereophile for another 127 years before I'd have enough dough to buy it. Then I noticed something unusual on one of the walls of the place: lots of gold records. Google helped me figure out that the house had belonged to the late singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg. I knew the name but was unfamiliar with his music. Minutes later, I was playing…
Regions of Light and Sound of God (16/44.1 FLAC, ATO Records/Qobuz), by My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James, was also exceptionally enjoyable. The soundstage on James's album is expansive, and a lot of the music is bathed in reverb. There may be some phase frippery going on, given how far certain sounds reached into the room. In other words, there's huge depth too.
Next, I played Bob Dylan's "Man in the Long Black Coat" from Oh Mercy (24/96 FLAC, Columbia/Qobuz). The solidity of the first bass note, 15 seconds in, was delightful, as was the sweetness and delicacy of the decay. I…
Sidebar 1: A Visit to Switzerland
Piega is headquartered in Horgen, Switzerland—a fortuitous fact, because in mid-May, two days after the High End Munich audio show ended, I was scheduled to interview Yello's Boris Blank in his Swiss hometown of Zurich for an upcoming music feature. Horgen is just 20 minutes from Zurich by train. So, not a bad schedule: High End Munich on the weekend, a factory visit to Piega on Monday (footnote 1), and a Tuesday spent with the creative wizard behind Yello. That's four days' worth of catnip for audiophiles. It's a tough job, but someone's gotta…
Sidebar 2: Specifications
Description: Three-way floorstanding speaker with two 8.7" woofers, two 8.7" passive radiators, and one C212+ coaxial ribbon midrange/high-frequency driver. Frequency range: 22Hz–50kHz. Sensitivity: 92dB/W/m. Impedance: 4 ohms. Recommended amplifier power: 20–250W. Extruded aluminum enclosure with Tension Improve Module.
Dimensions: 49" (1240mm) W × 11.4" (290mm) × 16.5" (420mm) D. Weight 139lb (63kg).
Finishes: Silver, black, or white aluminum. Eight additional colors available for an extra $1000 per speaker.
Price: $30,000/pair. Number of US dealers…
Sidebar 3: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: 16" MacBook Pro M1 Max running Roon 2.0. Roon ROCK (Lenovo ThinkCentre). Aurender A20. HiFi Rose RS520, Eversolo DMP-A8.
Preamplifiers: Balanced Audio Technology VK-90, Benchmark HPA4 line stage.
Integrated amplifier: Anthem STR.
Power amplifiers: Krell FPB 200c, Margules U280sc (used as monoblocks).
Loudspeakers: Focal Utopia Scala EVO.
Cables: Clarus Crimson pure copper OCC power cables. AudioQuest Thunderbird Zero speaker cables. Interconnects by AudioQuest and RSX.
Accessories: Puritan PSM156 mains purifier. Two…
Sidebar 4: Measurements
I measured one of the Piega Coax Gen2 811 loudspeakers auditioned by RvB. It had the serial number 8057. I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system, a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone, and an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the quasi-anechoic frequency- and time-domain behavior in the farfield. I used an Earthworks QTC-40 microphone for the nearfield responses. Before I started the testing, I made sure the short wire jumpers that connect the two pairs of binding posts were securely fastened.
The Coax 811's voltage…
Photo: Echopark
With its swept-wing shape and platter-forward design, Sperling-Audio's L-1 turntable ($35,950, without tonearm; footnote 1) stands out in a crowd. This high-mass design from Germany is the result of a collaboration between Ansgar Sperling and Michael Bönninghoff, two fiftysomething engineers who began working together in recording studio construction.
Both also bring to the L-1's design and construction years of experience in signal processing. For years, Bönninghoff was the chief developer at Brauner microphones, and today is the technical director of the German…