Aesthetics? Forget the clunky wooden box speakers that made your father drool (although the Corner Ribbon was and is lovely): The Revela 1 (which for the remainder of this review I'll occasionally call the R1) would not seem out of place in a billionaire bachelor pad. The cabinets are gorgeous, with real walnut veneer finished with several layers of high-gloss lacquer. The baffle is a similarly glossy piano black. (The Revela 1 is also available in Piano Black all over.) Those rounded corners and edges contribute to a striking silhouette. The speaker seems to float above its dedicated…
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Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, bass-reflex, standmount speaker. Drive units: 1.6" × 2.36" (27mm × 60mm) True Ribbon high-frequency driver and 6.5" (165mm) wood pulp/para-aramid cone mid/bass driver. Crossover frequency: 2.9kHz. Nominal impedance: 6 ohms; minimum 4.1 ohms. Peak SPL: 102dB. Frequency response: 54Hz–24kHz, ±3dB; –6dB at 40Hz. Sensitivity: 86dB/2.83V/m. Peak power handling: 120W. Recommended amplifier power: 30–120W.
Dimensions: 15½" (395mm) H × 10" (246mm) W × 12" (312mm) D. Weight: 24lb (10.8kg).
Finishes: Piano Walnut/Piano Black, Piano Black.
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: VPI Avenger Direct turntable with 12" VPI FatBoy tonearm, Hana Umami Blue MC cartridge.
Digital sources: HoloAudio May DAC, Sonore opticalRendu, Roon Nucleus+, Small Green Computer power supply, TRENDnet switch, Apple iPad mini.
Preamplifiers: Tavish Audio Design Adagio (phono), Rogue Audio RP-7.
Power amplifier: Rogue Audio Stereo 100.
Integrated amplifiers: PrimaLuna EVO 300 Hybrid, Riviera Labs Levante.
Loudspeakers: GoldenEar Bookshelf Reference X.
Cables: Interconnects: Agent Pur, AudioQuest Pegasus, Analysis…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system, a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone, and an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the Quad Revela 1's quasi-anechoic frequency response and time-domain behavior in the farfield. I used an Earthworks QTC-40 microphone for the nearfield responses and Dayton Audio's DATS V2 system to measure the impedance magnitude and phase.
Quad specifies the Revela 1's sensitivity as 86dB/2.83V/m; my estimate was higher, at 87.6dB(B)/2…
In my early years in audio, I witnessed the rise and fall of the AM-FM receiver, first in vacuum tube mono and later in solid state stereo. Some of them grew to be behemoths, supporting multiple inputs, equalizers, dual speaker zones, and powerful amplifiers. When radio sources receded in popularity and with the rise of CDs, cable TV, and DVD, radio receivers were replaced by A/V receivers in the mainstream market.
Today, the ascension of streaming as the conduit for both audio and video content has nudged these, too, from the center stage. One can stream content from the bewildering…
NAD's documentation does not tell us what specific solution they implement—normally it's a simple matter of reducing the maximum level by a dB or two—but testing it is easy, since you can switch it on and off in the BluOS app. I pulled up a classic recording of Stravinsky's L'histoire du Soldat recorded in 1956 for Westminster Records, with Robert Mandell conducting Ars Nova (an all-star ensemble) and Stanley Drucker and Herbert Sorkin playing the crucial clarinet and violin parts. It's a transfer from two-channel tape to digital (24/96 FLAC High-Definition Tape Transfers HDTT10464). It…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Remote-controlled, network-connected, D/A-integrated preamplifier with BluOS network streaming, Dirac Live (full range) Room Correction, tone controls, multiroom capability, and front-panel 7" color touchscreen. Analog inputs: one pair RCA (line), one pair XLR (line), two pair RCA (phono MC/MM). Digital inputs: two TosLink, two S/PDIF (RCA), one AES3 (XLR), one HDMI ARC/eARC, 1Gb Ethernet (RJ-45), USB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0 aptX HD. BluOS supported file formats: MP3, AAC, WMA, OGG, WMA-L, ALAC, OPUS, MQA, FLAC, WAV, AIFF. Supported sample rates: up to…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: Custom Intel/Win11 music server running JRiver Media Center v32 and Roon 2, Merging Devices Hapi II multichannel DAC. QNAP TVS-873 NAS. Oppo Digital UDP-103 universal disc player.
Power amplifiers: Benchmark AHB2, NAD M23.
Loudspeakers: KEF Blade Two Meta with IsoAcoustics GAIA II feet, 2 × KEF KC92 subwoofers.
Cables: Digital interconnects: Mogami Gold AES TD DB25-XLR0 snake. Analog interconnects: Mogami Gold AES TD DB25-XLR snake, Benchmark Studio&Stage XLR-XLR. Speaker cables: Blue Jeans Canare 4S11.
Accessories:…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I performed a full set of measurements on the NAD M66 using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system,1 repeating some of the testing with the magazine's higher-performance APx555 analyzer. I used the BluOS app on my iPad mini to control the M66's volume and settings and select the inputs. Looking first at the M66's line inputs (turning off Dirac Live, tone controls, A/V mode, and Compressed Grouped Audio mode), the M66 preserved absolute polarity at the balanced and unbalanced outputs but inverted polarity at the headphone output. The line inputs have an Analog Direct…
To examine the performance of the M66's DAC, I used the coaxial and optical S/PDIF inputs, both of which accepted data sampled at rates up to 192kHz, and network data sourced from Roon.
The NAD's digital inputs preserved absolute polarity at the balanced and unbalanced outputs but inverted polarity at the headphone output. With the volume control set to its maximum, the M66's output level with a full-scale 1kHz tone was 5.28V balanced, 2.64V unbalanced, and 7.93V headphone. The M66's DAC offers a well-managed gain architecture.