Description: Stereo 16×DSD (DSD1024) D/A Converter with next-generation proprietary high-isolation resonant mode power supply and Kimber Kable basic power cable. Roon Ready. Digital inputs: AES3, S/PDIF Coax, TosLink, USB Audio, Network (RJ45), and EMM OptiLink (for CD/ SACD). All inputs support up to 24/192 PCM and DSD; USB-B and network inputs also support up to 2×DSD, DXD (352/384kHz), & MQA. Stereo analog outputs: XLR and RCA. Output impedance: 300 ohms balanced (XLR), 150 ohms single-ended (RCA). Output levels (High/Low): XLR: 7.0/4.0V (+19.1/14.3dBu);…
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: dCS Vivaldi Apex DAC, dCS Rossini Apex; Innuos Statement Music Server/Streamer; Synology 5-bay 1019+ NAS, Uptone Audio EtherRegen with AfterDark Giesemann Emperor Double Crown Master Clock, Small Green Computer Sonore opticalModules (2) and Deluxe opticalModule, Linksys router and Arris modem, all powered by HDPlex 300 (3) and HDPlex 200 linear power supplies (3); Nordost QNet Ethernet Switch; Nordost QSource linear power supplies (2); Apple 2017 iPad Pro and 2017 MacBook Pro laptop with 2.8 GHz Intel i7, SSD, 16GB RAM.
Preamplifier: D'…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Ed Meitner's MDAT code has evolved over the last two decades from a 44.1kHz/SACD-centric platform to one that services both 44.1kHz and 48kHz base sample rates. This latest MDAT algorithm still employs a series of FIR digital filters whose characteristics are adapted by the transient conditions of the signal on a sample-by-sample basis, but this now operates at a much higher rate. MDAT2's upsampling takes all input sample rates (including DSD) to 256×; base 44.1/48kHz inputs begin with a 2× stage, followed by 8× then 16× (totaling 256×) to deliver the final 11.2896…
Stereophile's Julie Mullins walks us through Advance Paris’s high‐performance hybrid amplifiers in a Playback Distribution room. At the Florida International Audio Expo 2025, she spoke with Cédric Léon about the company's offerings, now available in the U.S. market.
The discussion began with the A12 Classic, which supersedes the earlier A10 model. This dual‑mono, fully integrated hybrid amplifier features a tube input stage and preamplification section coupled with solid‑state output delivering nearly 200W into an 8 ohm load. A standout design element is the use of two large toroidal…
Years ago, at one of the milestone NYC anniversary parties for Blue Note Records, a piercing voice burst out above the clinking glasses and chattering tongues, loudly declaiming (quoted here with several profanities omitted), "Blue Note never gave me a dime!"
A lot of people turned to see who dared profane the label within earshot of beloved Blue Note president Bruce Lundvall and his staff, including the late Tom Evered. A gasp of recognition followed when it was discovered that those words had come from Lou Donaldson, one of the few original Blue Note bebop stars still out partying and…
Gary Dews of BorderPatrol Audio Electronics and Pete Grzybowski of Triode Wire Labs presented a system that played with fantastic dynamics and equally impressive resolution.
The system began with Dews’ new DAC, which uses an Analog Devices AD1965 resistor ladder (R-2R) chip, and offers non-oversampling and no digital filtering, 32-bit/384kHz via USB, 24-bit/192kHz via S/PDIF, a tube output stage, a tube-rectified choke input filter digital power supply to the digital electronics, Jupiter coupling caps, and a tube-rectified choke input filter power supply for the tube output stage. No…
The first album I ever bought with my own money—cash earned mowing neighbors' lawns—was a British plum-label pressing of Led Zeppelin II. It was 1971. I rode my prized Raleigh Chopper bike from our home on the coast of Denmark down the road a couple of miles to the local record store in a small town called Hørsholm.
Fifty-four years ago, this kind of unsupervised activity was considered pretty normal for a 9-year-old kid in Denmark, even with no cellphones or other tethers that allowed your parents to keep tabs on you. It was also a time when smaller record stores would let you listen to…
The NOVA takes the three years of experience and feedback from HG01 owners and incorporates several improvements and upgrades. The basics remain the same. The NOVA is a single-disk cavitation cleaner with both automatic and manual cleaning cycles. NOVA upgrades include more powerful ultrasonic transducers with a revised power supply circuit, more automatic and manual cleaning-cycle options, a more powerful fan for shorter drying times, and built-in adjustments for 7" and 10" records, eliminating the need to attach adapter rings to smaller records. They have also redesigned the cover, so…
Lucca Chesky and Cambridge Audio’s Steve Novakoski presented the Chesky Audio LC1 Bookshelf Monitor ($498 each), which made a big splash at last year's Capital Audiofest.
A Cambridge Audio CXC Compact Disc Transport ($599), Cambridge Audio EXN100 Network Player ($1799) and Cambridge Audio EXA100 Integrated Stereo Amplifier ($2199) drove the speakers.
Just as at CAF, the small bookshelf speakers, which utilize a high resolution 6.5” midrange/bass driver and a 1” dome tweeter, sounded terrific: warm, detailed, room-filling. The speakers are made in the USA using 3D printing.…
I am a lucky person. I've been writing monthly audio columns since 1992, and the chief benefit of that privilege has been that each month my mind is free to visit distant shores searching for exotic artifacts that readers might never encounter at their local audio emporium. This month, my raft drifted again onto Japan's metaphorical shores.
I was cordially greeted by an international cohort: Victor Kung (VK Music in Canada), Yoshi Segoshi (the American distributor for 47 Labs), Junji Kimura (47 Labs' founder and chief engineer), and Kazutoshi Tsukahara, formerly associated with 47 Labs (…