search
In this issue's "As We See It," Wes Phillips describes his reaction to comparing the same music recorded at the 96kHz and 44.1kHz sample rates using the dCS Elgar D/A for playback. (For playback, two AES/EBU cables connect the Nagra's digital outputs to two of the digital inputs of a dCS Elgar processor; when this detects the two 48kHz two-channel datastreams, it remultiplexes each into a 96kHz single-channel stream.) Having been able to carry out similar comparisons with the two sets of Rhapsody cardioid master tapes, I am astonished at the difference. The response of the B&K…
Sidebar 2: The Musicians
Hyperion Knight, piano and musical direction, was born in California and his debut at age 14, playing the Beethoven G-major Concerto, was lauded in the press for its "remarkable virtuosity." He attended the San Francisco Conservatory where he studied with Nathan Schwartz and graduated at the age of 19. Graduate studies took him to the Cleveland Institute of Music and studies with Eunice Podis and Paul Schenly. Hyperion received the Arthur Loesser award upon graduation, receiving both a master's degree and a doctor of musical arts degree by the age of 22.
…
Sidebar 3: Rhapsody The Music
Rhapsody: Works for Piano & Orchestra by George Gershwin (DDD) STPH010-2
Hyperion Knight, piano
Rhapsody in Blue, arranged by Joe Cea
Hyperion Knight, piano; Krzysztof Zimowski, Anthony Templeton, Carol Swift-Matton, Linda Anderson, violins; Katherine Reynolds, Christine Johnson Rancier, violas; Joan Zucker, cello; Jean-Luc Matton, double bass; Robert Dorer, trumpet; Debra Taylor, trombone; Tia Perdomo, clarinet; Lori Lovato, bass clarinet; Jeff Cornelius, Steven Kimple, percussion.
[1] Rhapsody in Blue 15:59
Three…
Sidebar 4: Rhapsody The Cast of Characters
Project inspiration: Wes Phillips
Production: Hyperion Knight & John Atkinson
Engineering: John Atkinson, Wes Phillips, & Steven K. Lee
Editing/Mixing: John Atkinson
Executive Producer: Gretchen Grogan
Musician Liaison: Christine Johnson Rancier
Road Managers: John Bookwalter & David Hendrick
Steinway D piano: supplied by Washburn Piano Company, Albuquerque, NM.
Piano Technician: Charles Rempel
Booklet notes: Wes Phillips, Hyperion Knight, Gretchen Grogan, John Atkinson
Photography:…
There's something special about big tube amplifiers. No other audio component has such a primal appeal or can so quickly reduce grown (?) audiophiles to Homer Simpsons sighing, "Mmmmm...toooobs." EveAnna Manley, president of Manley Laboratories, understands the effect of high-powered tubes on the audiophile brain and shares the obsession. A Harley rider, mountain climber, and devoted music lover, she is one of the industry's most individualistic characters. You just have to appreciate a gal who ends each CES by blaring Rage Against the Machine at top volume.
Manley also knows…
Like most tube amplifiers, the Neo-Classics didn't need a lengthy break-in period—a couple of weekends' listening and they'd settled down nicely. If there were any significant sonic changes after that point, they were too subtle for me to notice. I make a point of firing up tube amps at least an hour before doing any serious listening, the better to let everything thermally stabilize, and apart from one check of the output tubes' bias (footnote 3), that was all the attention the Manleys required. There was nothing intimidating about living with the 250s; if you can read the manual and use a…
Soundstaging was another of the Neo-Classics' strengths. The vast spaces created by Future Sound of London's Brian Dougans and Garry Cobain on the stunning Papua New Guinea Translations (UK CD, Jumpin' and Pumpin' CD TOT52) were deep, rich, and densely filled with sonic exotica. FSoL creates an alternate sonic universe, and the Manleys threw me straight onto the holodeck. Papua New Guinea's highly complex mixes have layer upon layer arranged in multiplicities of interlocking patterns. The Neo-Classics managed to effortlessly sort it all out, and brought out the organic, holistic nature of…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Tube monoblock power amplifier with solid-state rectification. Tube complement: one 12AT7WA, two 6414s or 12BH7As, ten EL34Gs. Output power: 250W at 1.5% THD into 5 ohm load (tetrode), 100W at 1.5% THD into 5 ohm load (triode). Input sensitivity: 1V. Input impedance: 100k ohms. S/N ratio: 80dB. Dynamic range: 93dB. Frequency response: 10Hz-80kHz, ±0.5dB. Power consumption: 30W in standby, 815W at full power.
Dimensions: 19" W by 9" H by 13" D. Shipping weight: 73 lbs each.
Price: $9000/pair. Approximate number of dealers: 25.
Serial numbers…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: SOTA Cosmos turntable, Graham 2.2 tonearm, Dynavector DRT XV-1 cartridge.
Digital sources: Classé Omega SACD/CD player, Ayre D-1x CD/DVD-Audio player.
Preamplification: Jeff Rowland Design Group Cadence phono stage and Synergy IIi line stage; Manley Labs Steelhead phono stage; Ayre K-1x full-function preamplifier.
Loudspeakers: Apogee Duetta Signature, Silverline Sonata.
Cables: Phono: Hovland Music Groove 2, Graham Engineering. Interconnect: Wireworld Gold Eclipse 3+, Nordost Valhalla, Cardas Golden Reference. Speaker: Nordost…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
With both balanced and unbalanced inputs and an output stage capable of operating in both tetrode and triode modes, the Manley 250 Neo-Classic is four amplifiers in one chassis and thus represents four times as much labor in the measuring lab. I therefore reduced the variables by performing a complete set of tests running the amplifier balanced in tetrode mode, and repeated several of the tests in triode mode and via the unbalanced input, as necessary.
The Manley amplifier is noninverting through both inputs, the XLR wired with pin 2 hot. The input…