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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…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Direct-drive turntable with three-layer, 8lb platter; four-layer plinth for vibration damping; coreless motor running at 33 1/3, 45, 78rpm; and tonearm. Speed adjustment range: ±8%, ±16%; starting torque: 3.3kg-cm (2.8 lb-in), adjustable; build-up characteristics: 0.7s from standstill to 33 1/3 rpm; wow and flutter: 0.025%; rumble: –78dB (IEC 98A weighted). Platter: Brass and aluminum, diecast. Diameter: 13 5/64" (332mm). Weight: 7.9lb (3.6kg). Power supply: 120V, 60Hz; power consumption: 14W in use, approx. 0.2W standby. Included in the box:…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Garrard 301 turntable in a Box Furniture Co. plinth; Thomas Schick 12" tonearm and headshell. Dynavector Te Kaitora Rua cartridge; Hana Umami Red cartridge; Ortofon Cadenza Bronze cartridge; Ortofon SPU Classic G cartridge; Zu/Denon 103 cartridge.
Preamplification: Shindo Aurieges preamplifier; Sutherland Little Loco phono preamplifier; Lejonklou Entity phono preamplifier; Parasound Halo JC 3+ phono preamplifier.
Amplification: Line Magnetic LM-845IA (used as a power amplifier); Pass Labs INT-60; Ayre AX-5 Twenty; SET amplifier with…
When I put together my first hi-fi system in the late 1960s, the amplifier was a Kenwood integrated. Soon I replaced the Kenwood with a Sony integrated, and then, a few years later, I bought a Lecson preamplifier and power amplifier pairing. It's been separates for me ever since.
However, a reader wrote this comment on Stereophile's website a while back: "It will be interesting to see if Stereophile catches up to the focus on active, integrated designs. The relevance of separates seems to be waning in comparison to these sexy and modern designs." The commenter was referring to fully…
The presentation had less of a sense of scale than it did with the massively powerful Parasounds, but the Attessa kept tight control over the Mission's reflex-loaded woofers. I had concluded my review of the Mission 770 by writing, "I kept returning to that warm, detailed, and musically involving midrange." From the first movement's opening motif on the French horn onward, the Roksan-driven Missions did indeed sound warm, detailed, and musically involving.
The Mission speakers had to be returned a few days after I played the Brahms concerto, so I replaced them with my KEF LS50s. The…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid state, streaming integrated amplifier. Analog inputs: 2 single-ended line-level (RCA), 1 single-ended MM phono (RCA). Digital inputs: 2 optical S/PDIF (TosLink; up to 24/96), 2 coaxial S/PDIF (RCA; up to 24/192), Bluetooth (A2DP Audio profile with SBC, aptX & AAC codecs), Ethernet/ BluOS. Supported audio formats: MP3, AAC, WMA, OGG, WMA-L, ALAC, OPUS, MQA, FLAC, WAV, AIFF (supports converted DSD playback via the BluOS desktop app only). Supported operating systems (minimum spec): Windows 7 SP1, macOS 10.9 Mavericks, iOS 9.3, Android 5.0…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: Roon Nucleus+ file server with HDPlex linear power supply; Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP universal player; NetGear Nighthawk router.
Integrated amplifier: NAD M10.
Power amplifiers: Parasound Halo JC 1+.
Loudspeakers: GoldenEar BRX, KEF LS50, Mission 770.
Headphones: Audeze LCD-X, Sennheiser HD 650.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Vodka (Ethernet), AudioQuest Coffee (USB), DH Labs (1m, AES3). Interconnect: AudioQuest Wild Blue (balanced), Canare (unbalanced). Speaker: AudioQuest Robin Hood. AC: AudioQuest Dragon Source & High…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I performed measurements on the Roksan Attessa with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system. I preconditioned the amplifier by operating it at 1/8 power into 8 ohms for 30 minutes. At the end of that time, the top panel's temperature was 108.4°F/42.4°C and that of the grille over the heatsinks almost too hot to touch, at 134.4°F/55.9°C. The Attessa needs sufficient ventilation.
Looking first at the line-level analog "Variable Input" and with the sensitivity set to "Low" with the MaestroUnite app, the Roksan Attessa's maximum voltage gain at 1kHz was 34.9dB from…
Three decades ago, I had a boss who insisted I drive a Mercedes-Benz as a company car. Tough gig, you might be thinking, but there was solid reasoning behind this extravagance: He wanted the people representing his company to look successful, so it was three-pointed star cars for all, at a time when a Mercedes was more exclusive than it is today.
I only worked at that company for a couple of years, but my passion for Mercedes never faded. In the decades since, I have owned more Swabian cars than I can count using fingers and toes. So, when a box shows up on my doorstep and the packing…
As with the Giro, the 9W2 tonearm comes with the basic hand tools needed to change the various settings but with none of the calibration tools needed to measure and optimize the setup. I used a Dr. Feickert NG protractor to set overhang and zenith, positioning it using the nice little hole AMG has provided in the top of the 9W2's bearing structure to indicate the pivot point. Tracking force is adjusted by sliding an uncalibrated counterweight, so I used a Riverstone Audio tracking force gauge to precisely measure the downforce at the record surface. Stylus rake angle is adjusted by sliding…