When a reader is unfamiliar with the other components I mention, my exposition…
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In last month's Gramophone Dreams, I explained why doing any sort of empirical study of high-quality digital sources was extremely difficult. That any success I might achieve as a reporter would boil down to my ability to employ metaphors to describe a DAC's clarity and dynamic personality. Concocting metaphors for DAC reviews is risky because it assumes readers will be familiar with the sound of my amplifier and speakers and, ideally, with one of the DACs I'm using in the comparison. That's a lot to assume.
What the Platinum3 does best is rich and articulate. It played Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) & Guests' Third Stream Music (LP, Atlantic SD 1345) with uncanny true tone, high-tactility instrumental textures, and move-my-mind momentum. Its presentation was the kind that sucks you in. It made MJQ flow and glow like a Koetsu, generating a full, resonant field of sound that made my solid state electronics sound like tubes.
What the Platinum3 does well that the Denon DL-103 and Ortofon's 2M Blue do not do is reproduce opera and early classical music with ease, elegance, and dramatic subtlety…
As a native European, I don't particularly love bubbly people: Too much sugar makes my teeth hurt. I'm sympathetic to my friend Nick, a Brit who reliably bristles when he hears Americans use the word "awesome" for the most mundane things. A slight drop in gas prices? Awesome! How was the meatloaf? Awesome!
It irks him that the words awe and awesome are now nearly divorced. But I like to remind Nick that this hyperpleasant, optimistic American attitude is surely preferable to the alternative.
In fact, over time, I've warmed to Yankee sunniness. "Great meeting you!" "Have a…
As for the woofers, the H in 120H stands for hybrid. Sure enough, the six CarbonX bass drivers—three per tower—are driven by built-in ICEpower class-D amps that put out 1000W continuous and up to 2000W on dynamic peaks. (Of course, that means you must plug the speakers into a nearby electrical receptacle. And you'll still need a standard stereo amplifier to power the midrange drivers and tweeters.) The midrange and bass drivers are decoupled from the cabinet by the aforementioned "Advanced Shock-Mount Isolation Mounting System." Similar technology is employed in the speaker's spikes.
Fi(r…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way hybrid floorstanding speakers with active bass, port-loaded bass enclosure. 1" (25mm) aluminum-magnesium-ceramic-dome tweeter; one 6" (152mm) midrange driver with aluminum-magnesium cone; three 8" (215mm) high-excursion carbon-cone woofers. Internal, 1000W amplifier (2000W peak) for powering bass drivers. Crossovers: 2nd order at 2.4kHz and 300Hz (the latter analog/digital). Frequency response: 22Hz–23kHz, ±2dB. Low-frequency extension to 18Hz. Sensitivity: 92dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms.
Dimensions: 45.4" (1153mm) × 13.9" (…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: 16" MacBook Pro M1 Max running Roon 1.8. Lenovo ThinkCentre running Roon on top of Roon Optimized Core Kit (ROCK). Auralic Vega DAC, Bluesound Node 2i streamer, Musical Fidelity V90-DAC, Naim Uniti Atom controlled through iPad Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, PureAudio Lotus DAC5, RME ADI-2 DAC FS.
Preamplifiers: Benchmark HPA4, Holman Apt (overhauled and returned to factory specs), Naim Uniti Atom, Topping Pre90 with Ext90 input extender.
Power amplifiers: Krell FPB 200c (recapped); Margules U-280SC with stock tubes; McIntosh HPA-100;…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system, a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Paradigm Founder 120H's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield responses; both microphones were used with an Earthworks microphone preamplifier.
I usually measure a loudspeaker's farfield behavior level with its tweeter, which the 120H's manual suggests is the optimal axis: "For the most accurate and natural timbre, place front speakers so that their high-frequency drivers are approximately at ear level." However, with the Founder…
On Friday, December 2, Command Performance AV in Falls Church, Virginia, will host a special listening event with Rune Skov, Sales Director of Gryphon Audio Designs.
Listening will be through three systems featuring Gryphon integrated amplifiers, preamplifiers, amplifiers, and speakers. Rune will explain the unique design philosophies and technologies that make their award-winning products so special. Refreshments will be served.
The event runs 5:30pm–8:30pm. Command Performance is located at 115 Park Avenue, Suite #2, in Falls Church. Command Performance can be contacted at…
People tend to believe that things are what they appear to be. This turned out to be the case in 2016, when Panasonic introduced the limited-edition Technics SL-1200GAE turntable. It appeared almost identical to an SL-1200—arguably the best-selling and most loved record player series of all time, discontinued in 2010 after more than 30 years—but it cost a whopping $4000. The similar model designation didn't help stem the griping that Panasonic had made a "fancy" version of their legendary DJ turntable at six times the price of the original.
By the time the regular-production SL-1200G was…
First, I replaced the thick rubber mat. Of the aftermarket mats I had on hand, the most fortuitous pairing turned out to be the admittedly odd-looking Trans-Fi Reso-Mat, which has tiny cones with rounded ends distributed across the record surface (£30 plus shipping). I'm always surprised by the vast sonic difference turntable mats can impart, but since resonance is essentially what a cartridge measures, I suppose I shouldn't be. This swap was particularly eye-opening: With the Reso-Mat in place, the Technics produced a far larger soundfield, with obviously greater resolution and instrument…