search

I measured the Cyrus CDi-XR using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system. This player doesn't have digital inputs, so I used test signals burned on a CD-R. As these signals are restricted to a word length of 16 bits, this affected my measurements of resolution and noisefloor.

I used the Pierre Verany Digital Test CD to check the CDi-XR's error correction. It played the tracks with gaps in the data spiral up to 0.5mm in length without stuttering, but there were audible glitches when the gap was 0.75mm and longer. The Compact Disc standard, the so-called Red Book…

Michael Fremer was impressed by the Paradox Phono 70 Signature phono preamplifier when he reviewed it in his March 2022 Analog Corner column (footnote 1). "If you want a neutral player that's quiet, super–well-organized, and can plumb the depths and scale the peaks without adding colorations, the Phono 70 Signature is well worth considering," he concluded. Mikey suggested it would be worth my taking a look at its measured performance, so I performed a complete set of measurements with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system…

When I reviewed the CH Precision D1.5 player/transport in the March 2022 issue—I reviewed it mostly as a player—I was very much impressed by its performance (footnote 1). It was at its best as a SACD player. It also sounded very good playing MQA CDs. (It was my first experience hearing an MQA CD on a capable player, so I had little to compare it to except the other formats.)

The sound on CD was exemplary—probably the best CD sound I'd heard—but it was not as good as with the other formats. Which was expected (footnote 2).…

Intrigued by his small, full-range drive units, I used to chat with the late Ted Jordan at hi-fi shows when I lived in the UK. So, when Herb Reichert told me that he was reviewing an LS3/5a-sized standmount speaker that used the latest version of the Jordan driver, I volunteered to measure it.

The EJ Jordan Marlow is sold direct from the UK and costs £1960/pair (equivalent to $2650/pair at the time of writing) including free shipping to the US (footnote 1). HR enthused about the sound of the Marlow in his April 2020…

Thanks for the opportunity to reply to John's detailed technical measurements of the Jordan Marlow loudspeakers in the May 2022 issue of Stereophile.

We've aimed for as natural a sound as possible with these loudspeakers so that they will work well with a wide range of music. All loudspeaker design is a balance of compromises, and in our case imaging, speed, and as natural a midrange as possible are high on our list of priorities, reflecting Ted Jordan's own engineering aims with the Eikona driver.

It is possible to add frequency…

After the original review of the CH Precision D1.5 had been prepared for publication, it turned out that the review sample had not had the correct firmware installed. Not only did this mean that it didn't offer the specified optimal time…

This notion persists despite some deep and obvious flaws. For one thing, it doesn't matter what live acoustic music sounds like if that sound isn't captured on the recording we're listening to—it usually isn't—and it's impossible to know whether it has been or not. The very notion that grooves on a record or bits in a file even have a sound independent of the means…

In his introduction to this review, Alex Halberstadt describes the conversations we had that led to the project of which this review is the first result. In those conversations, I suggested he seek out current commercial speakers that share virtues with his beloved vintage Altecs, ideally with fewer sonic compromises.

What compromises? The late Art Dudley, himself an Altec enthusiast (and Valencia owner), wrote about the Altec's shortcomings. When he first set up his Valencias, Art described "an aggressive and, at the worst of times, a…