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Designer Bill Hutchins, of LKV Research, builds the 2-SB moving-magnet/moving-coil phono preamplifier in North Conway, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire; he uses as many US-sourced parts as possible, and sells his products factory direct. I reviewed the 2-SB in March 2014, on AnalogPlanet.com: the 2-SB's sound was exceptionally fine—especially if you like refined, solid-state quiet and detail, and especially considering its then-price of $2500. Since that review's publication, the 2-SB has been upgraded with a version of the third gain stage from LKV's JFET-based Veros One phono preamp…
LKV Veros One Sound: Depending on your system, you can run the Veros One all balanced, all single-ended, single-ended in and balanced out, or balanced in and single-ended out. Would balanced in and out have produced an audible difference in the level of noise? I don't know—I ran the Veros One single-ended in and out, and with the volume way up and nothing playing, it was essentially dead quiet. With music playing, backgrounds were inky-black.
One of the first records I played was the Syd Lawrence Orchestra's Big Band Spectacular!, a recent direct-to-disc recording by producer…
Dear audio show exhibitors: This one's for you. As members of the press who have spent decades covering audio shows, we've developed a clear sense of what works for us and—we think—for other show attendees. We ask your indulgence as we share our observations about how to mount a successful exhibit and get the best coverage possible from Stereophile and, presumably, other publications.
Over and over, we see mismatches between the size of the speakers and the size of the room. Consider the exhibit space before deciding which equipment to demo, especially speakers. You may have a big new…
Van Halen: Van Halen
Warner Bros./Mobile Fidelity UD1S 2-032 (2 45rpm LPs). 1978/2023. Ted Templeton, prod.; Donn Landee, Krieg Wunderlich, engs.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½
Warner Bros./Mobile Fidelity UD1S 2-032 (2 45rpm LPs). 1978/2023. Ted Templeton, prod.; Donn Landee, Krieg Wunderlich, engs.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½
Never Mind the Bollocks was out, on a major label. A few months before, the Ramones had released their third album, Rocket to Russia. Elvis Costello's My Aim Is True had been out for a while, but it was still a game changer. Soon, Darkness on the Edge of Town and Some Girls would all be vying for attention. That was college radio circa 1978. And amongst all this progressive talent was even a flash of…
When Editor Jim Austin asked me to review the new Rogue Audio DragoN monoblock amplifier, my first thought was, "Isn't that Herb's beat?"
A quick scan shows that Rogue Audio has been prominent in Stereophile. The magazine has reviewed quite a few Rogue Audio products, including the RP1 preamplifier, the several versions of the Sphinx integrated, the Pharaoh II integrated, and the Stereo 100 power amplifier. Indeed, Rogue has had a near-continuous presence over the past decade on Stereophile's coveted "Recommended Components" list. That's an impressive track record, and accessibly priced…
Standby
Following the user manual's order of power-on operations, I turned on my sources, my preamp, and then both DragoNs. Following a warm-up period, I heard two loud "pops" from the loudspeakers. It was not subtle. Since there didn't seem to be any other issue while streaming the local classical station during the roof work, I left them alone. After the first night, I powered down like normal. The next morning, I followed the same startup procedure and heard two more pops, one from each speaker. It happened again on the third morning. I did what people do these days: I made a video. I…
Following the user manual's order of power-on operations, I turned on my sources, my preamp, and then both DragoNs. Following a warm-up period, I heard two loud "pops" from the loudspeakers. It was not subtle. Since there didn't seem to be any other issue while streaming the local classical station during the roof work, I left them alone. After the first night, I powered down like normal. The next morning, I followed the same startup procedure and heard two more pops, one from each speaker. It happened again on the third morning. I did what people do these days: I made a video. I…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Hybrid tube/class-D (Hypex NCore) monoblock power amplifier. Tube complement: 1 ECC802. Output power: 325W into 8 ohms (25.1dBW), 525W into 4 ohms (24.2dBW). Frequency response: 20Hz– 20kHz, ±1dB. THD: <0.1% typ., <1% at rated power. Input sensitivity: 0.75V RMS. Input impedance: 30k ohms.
Dimensions: 12.5" (317.5mm) W × 5.5" (140mm) H × 19" (483mm) D. Weight: 33lb (17.7kg).
Finish: Black steel chassis with black or silver faceplate.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: 0550, 0551. Designed and built in Pennsylvania.
Price: $5995/…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Thorens TD 125 MKII turntable; Jelco TS-550S tonearm; Zu/Denon DL-103 and stock Denon DL-103 MC cartridges; Auditorium 23 step-up transformer.
Digital sources: Oppo BDP-83 universal player; Denafrips Ares II DAC, iFi Zen Stream.
Preamplifiers: Linear Tube Audio microZOTL, Parasound Zphono MM/MC phono preamplifier.
Power amplifiers: Linear Tube Audio ZOTL40 Reference+.
Loudspeakers: ESS Transtatic I.
Cables: Interconnects: Auditorium 23, AudioQuest Black Mamba II, Kimber Kable Hero (XLR). Speaker: AudioQuest Rocket 44.…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I performed a complete set of measurements on one of the Rogue DragoNs (serial number DRAM-0551) with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system.
As the DragoN has a class-D output stage, I inserted an Audio Precision AUX-0025 passive low-pass filter between the test load and the analyzer. This filter mitigates noise above 80kHz and eliminates noise above 200kHz that would otherwise drive the SYS2722's input circuitry into slew-rate limiting. Without the filter, there was 408mV of ultrasonic noise with a center frequency of 416kHz at the amplifier's output terminals…
A different kind of stream: Route 140 Wrentham at Pendleton Road Eagle Brook; image by Ernst Halberstadt, 29 March 1973, Wikimedia Commons
I recently received a letter (not yet published) suggesting a need for a glossary of newer hi-fi terms (footnote 1). Some audiophiles raised on physical media, it seems, are perplexed by descriptions of the new streaming landscape. Just yesterday, all we had to worry about was DACs and transports. Today we have servers, streamers, players, streaming DACs, and all that. That immediately struck me as a good idea, allied with a second reason: To avoid…