Analog sources: Kuzma Stabi R turntable/4Point tonearm; Clearaudio Jubilee MC v2 phono cartridge. Thorens TD 124 with Jelco 350S tonearm and Ortofon SPU Classic GE MkII cartridge.
Preamplifiers: Shindo Allegro; Tavish Adagio phono preamplifier; Sculpture A Mini Nano SUT.
Power amplifier: Shindo Haut Brion.
Loudspeakers: DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/96, Fleetwood DeVille.
Cables: Interconnect: 2m Triode Wire Labs Spirit II (RCA), 2m Analysis Plus Silver Apex (RCA). Speaker: 10' Analysis Plus Silver Apex Speaker (bananas). AC: Triode Wire Labs…
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I performed the measurements of the Western Electric 91E with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system. I carefully installed the tubes following the instructions in the excellent manual, and after turning on the amplifier, waited for the 91E to optimize the bias for the 300B output tubes. Once that was done, I waited another 30 minutes before starting the testing.
The Western Electric 91E preserved absolute polarity, ie, was noninverting, from its loudspeaker, preamplifier, and headphone outputs. The volume control operated in accurate 0.5dB steps. A level of…
Hi everyone. This is Rob Schryer reporting live from Toronto's Westin Airport Hotel. In case you haven't heard, it's at this venue that the Toronto Audiofest is taking place from October 21 to 23 with 89 exhibit rooms from purveyors of audio all vying to charm our pants off.
Being the intrepid audio reporter that I am, I've come here in search of tantalizing scoops, astonishing product debuts, and sensational sonic pleasures, to share with you for your personal amusement. It's a role I don't take lightly. Despite this being a Canadian show, for the purpose of bringing you the information…
The Tri-Art room, the first I visited, started me off on a good foot. It consisted of a presentation given by owner Steve Ginsberg and his colleague Jim Leveille, and it was fascinating. Tri-Art, if you recall from previous show reports, is the audio company that makes a series of electronics and open-baffle speakers whose enclosures, plus "jelly bean" acoustic treatments, are made out of solid bamboo. Steve loves bamboo as a material for its tonal qualities and also because bamboo is so rigid and impervious to splintering, you can mill it like you would metal, with a CNC machine. I also…
And now for the show's first world premiere—The Baetis Audio Reference 4 music server ($12,000), which is chockfull of features and compatible with every streaming service available, as well as being a Roon endpoint.
I've always liked Baetis Audio's audio products, both for their sound quality and flexibility—owner Joe Makkerh (above) has several models in his line, but he will modify a model to suit your listening needs so that you don't have to pay for a feature you don't want, or, conversely, so you can add a feature you do want. The servers are modular and easily upgradeable.
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The Apple Tree owner and distributor of BSC Research speakers must have done some research on what it would take to put this hard-nosed reporter on his good side because the first he did when I walked into his room was offer me a microbrewery beer. So sneaky.
I took a rain check on the beer, but I wouldn't have needed a beer to enjoy the sound I heard in this room. At the last Montreal show, the company was exhibiting its large-ish, dual-concentric, horn-loaded, full-range Dundee 8 speaker fed by a Transrotor turntable setup that was now on static display. Since owner Isik Kayhan hadn't…
Focal Powered by Naim is a newish initiative taken by French company Focal in conjunction with English company Naim designed to offer consumers all-in-one, high-performance audio systems assembled synergistically by two of the biggest, most enduring manufacturers in the audio biz.
The speakers on display in the Kennedy room included two pairs of Focal 926s, one of which, standing higher than the other, were threaded with IsoAcoustics Gaia ll feet, the other with the stock feet. Electronics included a Naim ND5 SS2 streamer ($5540 US), which comes with four 24/192 digital inputs, and a…
The Anthem/Paradigm system may have been simply assembled, but don't let that fool you into thinking it wasn't sophisticated technologically or sound-wise. The Anthem STR integrated ($6000) outputs 200Wpc, comes with a hi-rez DAC, a USB audio input that supports up to 32/384 PCM, a pair of MM/MC phono inputs, and offers room correction. The speakers being fed by the Anthem were the fancy-looking five-driver, 95dB-sensitive, class-D bass-amplified Paradigm Founder 120H speakers ($11,000/pair; review to appear in the December issue of Stereophile). These speakers employ decoupled drivers and…
Audio Note UK is one of those companies that makes entire systems, including cables, so that you don't need to look elsewhere for compatible products—same-brand audiophile systems have the theoretical advantage of using components that were made to work well together. This can also, theoretically, avoid misfires when trying to match different components, especially those made by people who don't share the same design philosophies, or just don't listen to music the same way.
After saying "Bonjour" to Vincent Bélanger, cellist extraordinaire (above), the first thing I noticed about the all-…
It's the first music I heard in the morning and the last I heard come evening, after doing my last round of the day of room-to-room visits: Pink Floyd, courtesy my neighbor, two doors down from me in the Crown Mountain Imports/Audio by Mark Jones room. I like Pink Floyd, so it was all good. And it's not like my neighbor only played Pink Floyd. Pink Floyd just seemed to bookend the listening days there, probably to provide both a boost of encouragement and a respite for the host. I was also intrigued by the sound in that room, because even though I'd only heard the music it played through my…