Analog source: Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Lingo power supply, Linn Ekos tonearm, Linn Arkiv B cartridge, Channel D Seta L phono preamplifier.
Digital sources: Roon Nucleus+ file server; Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP universal player; MBL N31 CD player/DAC; dCS Rossini Apex, Bel Canto e1X DAC D/A processors; Ayre Acoustics QA-9 A/D converter; NetGear Nighthawk router.
Power amplifiers: Parasound Halo JC 1+.
Loudspeakers: Audiovector QR 7, Q Acoustics Concept 50.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Vodka (Ethernet), AudioQuest Coffee (USB), DH Labs (1m…
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone with an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the Mission 770's farfield frequency behavior and dispersion. I used an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield and in-room responses and Dayton Audio's DATS V2 system to measure the impedance magnitude and electrical phase angle.
Mission specifies the 770's anechoic sensitivity as 88dB/2.83V/m. My B-weighted estimate was lower, at 85.5dB/2.83V/m, which is the same as that measured by Paul Miller for our sister magazine, Hi-Fi News.…
The Warsaw Audio Show, officially titled “Audio Video Show 2022"—the second largest audio in Europe—is set to begin today, October 28. Up at 6:20AM yesterday in Paris; flight to Poland with us the only masked passengers; Uber through traffic traffic traffic to the Radisson Sobieski Blu hotel boom boom; and off to a tour of the Ferrum Audio Factory.
Not that there was much to see. Besides a reception room with lots of wine, water, tea, and pastries, our pre-dinner tour consisted of a small listening room with Ferrum gear feeding Wilson Sabrina loudspeakers and a large testing room. There,…
We've all been in similar situations. We approach an undertaking with the highest of expectations. Then reality intervenes, expectations change radically, and we have another story to tell, post on social media, or use to begin a review.
This tale of altered expectations began a few years after my birth, at AXPONA 2022, where I covered several stellar-sounding rooms that included Simaudio Moon electronics. By the third such room, I'd resolved to contact Simaudio, check in with Jim Austin, and see if there was a product that made sense to review in my system.
Simaudio co-owner…
I'd barely had time to breathe it all in before the Moon 860A v2s began to sing. Once they did, I felt a bit as I did in the summer of '67 when I discovered inhaling deeply and ingesting Owsley.
The two amps were shipped on separate pallets, in not very sturdy mediumweight cardboard boxes strapped down and covered in layers of plastic film. I placed the 860A v2s on the same Grand Prix Audio Monza amp stands and Wilson Audio Pedestals I use for the reference D'Agostino Progression M550 monoblocks. Cables were my usual Nordost Odin 2s.
Because Costa stressed the balanced nature of…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid state, class-AB power amplifier, bridgeable as monoblock. Inputs: 1 balanced (XLR), 1 single-ended (RCA). Outputs: 2 pair binding posts. Output power: In monophonic mode (as auditioned), 750W into 8 ohms (28.75dBW), 1500W into 4 ohms (28.75dBW). In stereo mode, 225Wpc into 8 ohms (23.5dBW), 450Wpc into 4 ohms (23.5dBW); Input impedance: 47.5k ohms. Voltage gain: 31dB. Frequency response (full range): 10Hz–55kHz (+0/–3dB). Crosstalk @ 1kHz: –110dB. THD (20Hz–20kHz @ 1W): 0.005%. THD (20Hz– 20kHz at 200W): 0.03%. Intermodulation distortion: <…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: dCS Rossini Apex DAC, Clock; Synology 5-bay 1019+ NAS; Uptone Audio EtherRegen with AfterDark Giesemann Emperor Double Crown Master Clock, Roon Nucleus+ music server, and Nordost QNET Ethernet Switch, all powered by Nordost QSource linear power supplies (2); Small Green Computer Sonore Deluxe opticalModule, Linksys mesh router and Arris modem, all powered by HDPlex 300 linear power supply; Apple 2017 iPad Pro and 2017 MacBook Pro laptop with 2.8GHz Intel i7, SSD, 16GB RAM.
Preamplifier: Dan D'Agostino Momentum HD.
Power amplifiers…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I performed the measurements of the Simaudio Moon 860A v2 with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system. I initially preconditioned the amplifier by operating it at 1/8 power into 8 ohms for 30 minutes. At the end of that time, the top panel's temperature was 106.4°F/41.4°C and that of the heatsinks 132.3°F/55.8°C. I ran the amplifier for another 30 minutes at 1/3 power into 8 ohms, a level that results in the maximum heat dissipation in the output devices. The top panel's temperature had risen to 113.4°F/45.3°C and the heatsinks were now too hot to touch, at 144.0°F/62.…
My trip to the Audio Video Show 2022 in Warsaw, Poland seems to have devolved into an unanticipated journey of protests. First, we almost delayed our pre-show mini-vacation in Paris—bless you, frequent flyer miles and friends—when, in the middle of a Workers' Strike, protestors were tear-gassed one block from the apartment of our hosts in the Montparnasse District. Then, on Day One of the show, I spent 45 minutes in the cold courting pneumonia as the shuttle bus between the Stadium and the Radisson Blu Sobieski Hotel was delayed due to a non-violent protest in the street near the start of the…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
As Brian Damkroger is based on the West Coast, it made sense logistically for BD to measure the bulky, heavy Avantgarde Duo SD iTRON G3 loudspeaker and send me his test results to analyze. He used the Room EQ Wizard (REW) system (footnote 1), operating at 44.1kHz with a calibrated UMIK-1 microphone and the soundcard in his computer. A Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ processor output the REW signal via a balanced XLR cable to the Avantgarde's input, with the level set with pink noise so that the response measurements were taken at an SPL of 80dB. As it wasn't practical to raise…