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Whenever I install a new, in-for-review DAC, after some amount of spaced-out not-listening listening I find myself just sitting there, being happy I got the damn thing working. Once I recover from the stress of installation, my brain begins, without prompting, to examine the character of sound coming out of my speakers. Half-consciously I wonder: How does this sound sound? Has changing DACs altered the contrast, viscosity, or timbre? Does the energy of recordings feel more or less intense with the new DAC? I make these observations lazily but empirically, with a fair amount of detachment.…
The R7HE MK2's chassis is big and heavy, measuring 17" × 5" on its front elevation and 19" deep; this depth could present a problem in some equipment racks. It comes triple-boxed and weighs 37.8lb—1lb more than the dCS Bartók and about 1lb less than the HoloAudio May (both chassis together).
Audio-GD's R7HE MK2 is made in China and sold and supported with a two-year parts and labor warranty by 50-year industry veteran Walter Liederman at Underwood HiFi.
Setup and use
The Audio-GD R7HE is a standalone DAC with no volume control, so I connected its output to HoloAudio's Serene…
Like at the last Toronto Audiofest, I listened to two of EQ Audio's main systems that were setup at both ends mirror-image-like along the length of the back wall of their huge, subdivided exhibit space. One system included another North American premiere!—the Monitor Audio 3-way PL200 3G speakers ($17,500/pair), which have a specified frequency range of 25Hz–60kHz, and were connected to a 500Wpc, dual-monoblock Rotel Michi S5 power amp ($10,000), and a Michi 3-2bit streaming DAC-equipped P5 preamp ($5900). Associated equipment included Kimber Kables throughout, an Audience Adept Response AR6…
The Toronto Audiofest 2022 may not have been the busiest audio show I've attended, but it was still a success. It had plenty of new product launches, great-sounding rooms, and a good amount of traffic, especially on Saturday, when seats became a hot commodity in many exhibit rooms.
A few other observations: the sound of digital keeps getting better. Thanks in part to the advent of network switches and better Ethernet cables, digital has reached a new tier of performance. It has never before sounded this overall smooth, sweet, and analog-like organic—there, I said it! It's amazing how much…
Some audio experiences stick in your memory. For me, one such was in 1978, which I reminisced about in a 1987 review for Stereophile of the Mission PCM 7000 CD player, Mission 780 Argonaut loudspeaker, and Cyrus Two integrated amplifier. Mission founder Farad Azima (footnote 1) was a driving force in the UK audio scene in the late 1970s, when I was deputy editor of the English magazine Hi-Fi News & Record Review.
"I used to regularly visit [Farad] at his London apartment and witness stages in the design of a loudspeaker that, in retrospect, would put Mission Electronics on the high-…
I assumed that he modeled the crossover with a simulation program for a lot of that time rather than making hundreds of different physical versions. "No, I made 174 physical versions! Every one measured superbly, but they all sounded different."
Setting up
The main source of music was my Roon Nucleus+ server feeding audio data over my network either to an MBL N31, a Bel Canto e1X DAC, or a dCS Rossini Apex, all of which were connected directly to a pair of Parasound Halo JC 1+ monoblocks. I didn't use the Mission 770s' magnetically attached grilles, and the speakers were single-wired…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, reflex-loaded, standmounted loudspeaker. Drive units: 8" (200mm) mineral-loaded polypropylene-cone woofer, 1.1" (28mm) microfiber-dome tweeter. Crossover frequency: 2.9kHz. Frequency response: 42Hz–20kHz ±3dB. Low-frequency extension: 30Hz, –6dB. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Sensitivity: 88dB/2.83V/m. Recommended power: 25– 200W. Supplied accessories: stands with damped, open-frame, carbon-steel frame and stainless-steel spikes, white gloves.
Dimensions: 23.2" (590mm) H × 11.8" (300mm) W × 12.67" (322mm) D (incl. terminals). Cabinet…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
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…
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,…