Digital sources: dCS Vivaldi Apex DAC, Vivaldi Upsampler Plus, and Vivaldi Master Clock; Innuos Statement Next-Gen Music Server and PhoenixNET network switch; Ideon Absolute Stream Meta Edition (2024) music server and Alpha Wave; Small Green Computer Sonore opticalModule Deluxe (2); Broadcom/Avago AFBR-5718PZ 1GB SX-SFP, Gen 5 Fiber Optic modules; Nordost QSource linear power supply (2); Sonore Audiophile Linear Power Supply; Synology 5-bay 1019+ NAS with Ferrum Hypsos linear/switching hybrid power supply; Linksys MR9000 mesh router and Arris modem; Apple…
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Sidebar 3: Measurements
Simaudio's Moon 861 can be operated as a conventional two-channel amplifier or, by bridging the two output stages, as a monoblock. I performed a complete set of measurements in both modes on a different sample from those auditioned by Jason Victor Serinus. Mine had the serial number 311A22426220. I mainly used my Audio Precision SYS2722 system for the testing, repeating some of the measurements with the magazine's higher-performance APx555 system. I preconditioned the Moon 861 by following the FTC's recommendation of running it in stereo mode at one-eighth the…
I ain't no digital techie. Big headphones and me? Never gonna happen. But these guys from Warwick Acoustics, Martin Roberts and Orazio Pollaci, they've got a certain je ne sais quoi. We were knocking back drinks in the packed Hilton bar, and they were so damn charming, I ended up in their room. What a night. What a blast.
Warwick Acoustics had two setups on active display. One, the flagship Aperio system featuring their headphones’ Balanced Drive HPEL Transducer, a symmetrically driven variant of the company’s High Precision Electrostatic Laminate transducer. Each one of these…
West Seneca, New York’s Vinyl Sound Hi-Fi Audio Systems assembled an unusual rig of German analog gear, Japanese electronics, and classic Scottish loudspeakers. Is this the United Nations of hi-fi?
The system comprises a German Transrotor Dark Star turntable ($5490), running a Japanese Shelter Harmony cartridge ($4900), expressing its analog feelings into a Japanese Accuphase E-800 integrated amplifier ($19,975), and/or an Accuphase E-5000 integrated amplifier ($18,975). Digital entered this global conversation with the Las Vegas, Nevada-made HiFiRose RS-150B Reference HiFi network…
Gestalt Audio held two rooms at CAF, each holding the kind of esoteric equipment I would love to get my grimy, ink-stained hands on.
In Room 325, Gestalt presented a TW Acustic Raven GT2 turntable ($12,500) running a PrimaryControl FCL tonearm ($29,995), mounted with a Fuuga MC cartridge ($9995), into the debut Portugal-made Cinnamon Galle phono amplifier ($29,995).
Further amplification included the TW Acustic RLS-100 linestage ($25,000), feeding a SW1X Amp V Titan integrated ($22,500). Another debut product, the open-baffle, 97dB/1W/1m at 10 ohms Cinnamon Ellipticum…
I think of Audio-Technica as the maker of some of the best high-value cartridges out there. From the ubiquitous AT3600L, which can be had for a little more than a Big Mac meal at McDonald's, to the popular OC9 moving coil series, A-T's cartridges have long been easy-to-recommend options that deliver great sound mounted on just about any turntable.
But occasionally, Audio-Technica likes to show off its technological chops by launching a cartridge that breaks new ground. Last year, they celebrated their 60th anniversary by stunning everyone with the AT-MC2022, which uses an outrageous…
A Few Thoughts On Stylus Cleaning
All the rules for keeping the ART1000x's stylus clean got me thinking about the methods for cleaning that tiny chip of diamond. Before you even attempt to clean your stylus, you need to be able to see what you're doing. We are fortunate to live in an era when inexpensive digital microscopes are widely available; they are a welcome aid for inspecting a cartridge's tiny parts. For cartridges that are mounted on a removable headshell, I use a small, standmounted scope with a built-in screen, by Annlov. For fixed-shell 'arms, I use a handheld version…
A chance after-dinner encounter with Jacek Grodecki, owner of Warsaw-based Closer Acoustics, impelled me to visit their room. So did my memories of the positive listening experience I had with Closer Acoustics in 2023.
This time, highs sounded a bit too tinkly, but the system's midrange was positively seductive. Because the quality of musical selections was a major cut above much of what played on repeat in many rooms at the show, I stayed for some time.
Spinning on a Polish J. Sikora Reference turntable with 9" KV9 entry-level tonearm and an Aidas Durawood Bee CU series cartridge…
Hailing from Lithuania, which lies right across the Northeast border of Poland, one-year-old audacious speaker company Silent Pound made its second consecutive appearance at the Warsaw Show. The company returned to the same large, irregularly shaped room that allowed them to place four listening chairs, one behind the other, in a straight line, midway between the standmount speakers on active display.
Silent Pound speakers are designed to control all lateral reflections. "Silent Pound wants to maximize direct signal and minimize reflections," said Chris Dahl of amplifier company Perreaux…
Sisound of Poland's Product Manager Rafal Wofczyński presented the world premiere of his 3-way Sisound Solidus S loudspeaker (15,000€/pair). The speaker, which is currently available only in Poland, claims a frequency response of 26Hz-20kHz, a 4-ohm nominal impedance that dips to 2.5 ohms or lower in the extended LF setting, and 90dB sensitivity.
Its key design elements include a twin paper cone Scan-speak Revelator 13" twin paper cone woofer in a sealed box, a planar ribbon 21cm x 7.5cm dipolar midrange whose enclosure's back panel can be opened or closed, and a planar ribbon tweeter.…