Digital sources: dCS Bartók streaming DAC, Oppo DV-981HD universal disc player.
Power amplifier: Benchmark AHB2.
Loudspeakers: B&W 808, Amphion One18, Marantz Imperial 5G.—Tom Fine
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I performed a full set of measurements on the T+A R 2500 R using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system. Although the R 2500 R's Menu can be accessed with the front-panel and the remote control buttons, I found it easier to use the T+A MusicNavigator G3 app, which I installed on my iPad mini after connecting the amplifier's Ethernet port to my network. (Not all the settings are available with the app.) The amplifier is specified as having a maximum output power of 140Wpc into 8 ohms; I preconditioned the R 2500 R before the measurements by following the CEA's…
To examine the performance of the R 2500 R's DAC, I used the coaxial and optical S/PDIF inputs, both of which accepted data sampled at rates up to 192kHz, and USB data sourced from my MacBook Pro. The USB Prober utility identified the R 2500 R as "R 2500 R" from "T+A elektroakustik," with the serial number string "3932343130335107001D0027," and indicated that the USB port operated in the optimal isochronous asynchronous mode. Apple's AudioMIDI utility showed that the T+A accepted 24-bit integer data via USB sampled at all rates from 44.1kHz to 768kHz.
The T+A's digital inputs preserved…
Thomas Neuroth, a cofounder of the Vinyl Alliance, shows an eco LP at High End Munich.
Some 30 years ago, vinyl records seemed to be heading in the direction of the 8-track tape, toward becoming an obsolete format. As everyone knows, vinyl rebounded and has so far avoided that fate (but see this month's As We See It about the status of the Compact Disc). An international association aims to keep it that way.
The Vinyl Alliance was formed in 2019 "to strengthen awareness and the image of vinyl records worldwide," according to the organization's website. The VA is a membership…
Steve Albini; photo by Edd Westmacott/Alamy Stock.
Recording music is complicated, and without the crucial assistance of producers and engineers, a lot of great records—not to mention successful musical careers—would not happen. Producers Steve Albini and Michael Cuscuna, two key figures from the music world who departed in recent months, richly deserve to be celebrated.
Though they worked in widely disparate genres—Cuscuna primarily in jazz, Albini in punk and noise rock—they are connected by their extraordinary efforts and unfailing taste. Both were exacting, dedicated, and…
Loudspeaker company GoldenEar Technology was founded in 2010 by audio industry veteran Sandy Gross after he left Definitive Technology. With a design team based in Canada that included Martyn Miller, who is still GoldenEar's senior acoustic engineer, GoldenEar produced a series of relatively affordable speakers that garnered favorable reviews in Stereophile. The most recent of these was the BRX (Bookshelf Reference X) standmount, which I reviewed in September 2020 and have been using as one of my reference loudspeakers since.
The BRX was the last GoldenEar speaker to be produced under…
I did some further experimentation with the speaker positions and subwoofer levels, but Chris's and Stephen's choices gave the optimal balance from the low bass through to the lower midrange. I then installed the spikes to the aluminum bases and started my auditioning. Amplification was provided by the Parasound JCA100 Tribute monoblocks I reviewed in June 2024; the source was, first, a PS Audio DirectStream MK2 D/A processor fed USB data from my Roon Nucleus+ server, then, when that was returned to the manufacturer, an MBL N31 CD player/DAC converting Ethernet data from the Nucleus+.…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, reflex-loaded, floorstanding loudspeaker with powered sub-bass section. Drive units: High-Gauss Reference High-Velocity Folded Ribbon (HVFR) AMT tweeter, two 4.5" High-Definition Die-Cast Basket mid/ bass drivers, two 5" × 9" Long-Throw Quadratic subwoofers, two 8" × 12" Quadratic Planar Back-Wave-Driven radiators. Frequency range: 29Hz–25kHz typical on-axis. Low-frequency extension –6dB at 29Hz. Sensitivity: 91dB/2.83V/m (4 ohms). Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Recommended amplification: 20–500W. Subwoofer power amplifier: 1000W peak, 500W (…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: Roon Nucleus+ file server; Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP universal player; PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream MK2 D/A processor; MBL N31 CD player/DAC; Ayre Acoustics QA-9 A/D converter.
Power amplifiers: Parasound JCA100 Tribute monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: GoldenEar BRX.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Vodka (Ethernet), AudioQuest Coffee (USB), DH Labs (1m, AES3). Interconnect: Ayre/Cardas (balanced). Speaker: AudioQuest Robin Hood Combo. AC: AudioQuest Monsoon, Dragon Source and Dragon High Current, manufacturers' own.
Accessories: 24"-…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system, a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone, and an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the GoldenEar T66's quasi-anechoic frequency- and time-domain behavior in the farfield. I raised the speaker on a dolly and a stack of 2 × 4s so that the tweeter was midway between the floor and ceiling. Because of the geometry of my listening room, where I performed the measurements, the microphone distance was 1m rather than my usual 50". I used an Earthworks QTC-40 microphone for the nearfield responses and Dayton Audio's DATS V2 system to…