Description: Single box, balanced, tubed phono preamplifier. Inputs: one pair (RCA). Outputs: one pair balanced XLR. Gain: 64dB/70dB. Loading fixed via transformer input for cartridges with 12–30 ohms internal impedance. EQ: RIAA/DIN 78. MC sensitivity: 1mV nominal. Output: 1.55V. S/N ratio: >80dB. THD+N –40dB @ 1kHz and nominal level. Power consumption 25W.
Dimensions: 19" (480mm) × 12.5" (315mm) × 2.3" (60mm). Weight: 26.5lb (12kg).
Serial number of unit reviewed: 128U-102. Designed and manufactured in Switzerland.
Price: $12,830. Approximate…
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Sidebar 1: Specifications
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: OMA K3 and Acoustic Signature Montana NEO turntables, Schröder K3, Acoustic Signature TA-7000 tonearms; EMT JSD Novel Titan, Miyajima Labs Madake Snakewood cartridges.
Digital sources: dCS Vivaldi One SACD player DAC; Lynx Hilo A/D-D/A converter; Mac mini running Roon, Audirvana Digital Audio Player; Pure Vinyl and Vinyl Studio software.
Preamplification: darTZeel NHB-18S, Ypsilon MC-10L, MC-16L, and MC-20L and X-quisite SUT X-20 step-up transformers; Ypsilon VPS-100, CH Precision P1 with X1 PSU.
Power amplifiers: darTZeel NHB…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the EMT 128 phono preamplifier (serial number U-102) with my Audio Precision SYS2722, repeating some of the testing with the magazine's higher-performance Audio Precision APx500. The results were consistent with both systems.
The output impedance, specified as <500 ohms, was a relatively low 320 ohms at 20Hz, 312 ohms at 1kHz, and 246 ohms at 20kHz. The 128 inverted absolute polarity; either the XLR output jacks are connected with pin 3 "hot" or there is an odd number of anode-coupled amplification stages. (Each channel uses three subminiature…
John Mellencamp: Strictly a One-Eyed Jack
Republic (16/44.1 stream, EMI/Qobuz). 2022. John Mellencamp, prod.; David Leonard, eng.
Performance ****
Sonics ****
Republic (16/44.1 stream, EMI/Qobuz). 2022. John Mellencamp, prod.; David Leonard, eng.
Performance ****
Sonics ****
You might think an artist with 22 Top-40 hits would identify his winning formula and stick with it. Instead, John Mellencamp's long career has been a tale of determined development and often improvement. On his latest album, the 70-year-old Indiana native has nestled deeper into his rural Midwestern roots, eschewing rock defiance for folk philosophy. The result is a powerful baring of the soul, which, to many…
Oswalds Mill Audio's products espouse a sort of steam-punk-meets-modern visual style, but the company's philosophies are straight from hi-fi's '50s and '60s glory days, an era when idler-drive turntables, low-power tube amps, and horn-loaded loudspeakers were the norm. That history and hi-fi's future fascinate and inspire Jonathan Weiss, OMA's proprietor.
"The DNA of OMA is in fact 'Old School,'" Weiss wrote in a post on the OMA blog called "Audio Heirloom?" "There is no reason our loudspeakers, amplifiers, or even turntables won't be running and playing music in a hundred years, just…
Another unusual design choice is the use of phenolic for the cabinet's back panel. What's behind that decision?
Phenolic, "a very old technology that predates modern plastics, was a very expensive decision," Weiss said. "The paper phenolic we use is a laminate structure, both extremely hard, dense, and very well damped. The rear wave of the woofer interacts with this surface; its materiality is very important sonically."
The Fleetwood DeVille SQ looks like no speaker I've had in-house or, for that matter, seen in anyone's house. It's a lovely design—not the typical slim-profile…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Downward dual-ported bass-reflex, conical two-way standmount loudspeaker with horn-loaded tweeter. Driver complement: 1" neodymium compression tweeter driver with 6"-thick, solid wood conical horn and phase plug cast from a "3D printed sand mold in solid bronze"; 8" paper-cone woofer with neodymium magnet. Internal wiring is silver. Sensitivity: 94dB/W/m. Impedance: 8 ohms, nominal. Recommended amplifier power: 10W or more.
Dimensions: 24" (610mm) H × 18" (460mm) W × 10" (254mm) D; with stands, 48" H. Weight: 36lb without stand.
Finishes:…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Kuzma Stabi R turntable with 4Point tonearm and EMT TDS 15N moving coil cartridge.
Preamplification: JE Sugden Masterclass LA-4, Shindo Allegro.
Power amplifiers: LKV Research Veros PWR+, Shindo Haut Brion.
Loudspeakers: DeVore Fidelity O/96, Klipsch Forte IV.
Cables: Interconnect: Analysis Plus Silver Apex, Shindo (RCA). Speaker: Analysis Plus Silver Apex.
Accessories: IsoTek EVO3 Aquarius line conditioner, Pro-Ject VC-S2 ALU Record Cleaning Machine, Audiodesksysteme Gläss Vinyl Cleaner Pro, Salamander five-tier rack;…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the OMA Fleetwood DeVille SQ's farfield and nearfield behavior with the DRA Labs MLSSA system, using calibrated DPA 4006 and Earthworks QTC-40 microphones and an Earthworks microphone preamplifier. I used Dayton Audio's DATS V2 system to examine the loudspeaker's impedance magnitude and electrical phase.
OMA specifies the Fleetwood DeVille's sensitivity as 94dB/W/m. My B-weighted estimate was lower, at 89dB(B)/2.83V/m, However, the DeVille's impedance, specified as a nominal 8 ohms, averages closer to 15 ohms (fig.1, solid trace). A voltage of 2…
As I started to write this review, the news broke that Sound United, the owner of Boston Acoustics, Bowers & Wilkins, Classé, Definitive Technology, Denon, Marantz, and Polk, was going to be purchased by a corporation that makes medical instruments. Such consolidation is not new. China- and UK-based International Audio Group (IAG) was one of the first organizations to acquire iconic audio brands. IAG owns Audiolab, Castle, Quad, Leak, Mission, and Wharfedale. In 2009, they purchased Luxman.
My most recent listening session with a Luxman amplifier was at the end of 2010. I had been…