"The MD 208 is as musical, sexy, and uncomplicated a performer as I've ever entertained in my listening room," raved Chip Stern in his recent review (January 2001) of Magnum Dynalab's solid-performing two-channel AM/FM receiver. Although CS discerned many subtle audio qualities in the MD 208's audio circuits, his urban location prevented him from evaluating the receiver's RF performance—he lives in the Inwood section of New York City, a thick jungle of row after row of prewar iron-structured buildings that produce horrendous amounts…
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Larry Greenhill's Followup from March 2001, Vol.24 No.3
Larry Greenhill's Followup part 2 The MD 208 was able tune in 48 of the 50 stations picked up by the FM Reference. The weakest signals picked up by the MD 208—those that produced a "0.5" reading on the MD 208's meter—gave a 25dBf reading on the FM Reference's 'scope. A slightly stronger signal (1.0 on the 0-10 meter) was needed to switch the MD 208 into stereo. The FM Reference offers Wide, Medium, and Narrow IF bandwidths, and Narrow was able to grab two more stations.
Both tuners pulled in stations at almost every adjacent FM channel, particularly in the upper section of the FM band.…
John Marks wrote about the MD 208 in October 2005 (Vol.28 No.10):
Until vintage-kit maestro Peter Breuninger can get around to writing up the joys of 1970s Marantz receivers, both quad and stereo, one's old-school hankerings are in good hands with Magnum Dynalab's MD 208 FM-only receiver (100Wpc, $2975). Chip Stern gave the MD 208 receiver a full and enthusiastic review in January 2001. I included it in one of the systems I suggested for Victoria's Secret lingerie model Rebecca Romijn in The Fifth Element" of May 2002 (Vol.25 No.5). It is a good example of what I was talking about a few…
MUSIC OF CUBA: Buena Vista Social Club
World Circuit/Nonesuch 79478-2. Ry Cooder, prod.; Jerry Boys, eng. AAA. TT: 60:09.
Performance ****?
Sonics *****
World Circuit/Nonesuch 79478-2. Ry Cooder, prod.; Jerry Boys, eng. AAA. TT: 60:09.
Performance ****?
Sonics *****
Through the years Ry Cooder has introduced his fans and listeners to an astounding variety of musical forms drawn from the furthest reaches of America and the world. From his first Reprise records, which combined Tin Pan Alley descriptions of the Depression ("One Meat Ball") with obscure agrarian protest songs ("How Can A Poor Man See Such Times And Live" and "The Farmer Is The Man"), through his discovery/explorations of…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, floorstanding, reflex-loaded dynamic loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (26mm) inverted Tioxid dome tweeter with 0.75" (20mm) voice-coil, 2" (51mm) neodymium magnet, and Telar 57 pole-piece; 6..5" (165mm) W-sandwich midrange cone with 1.5" (40mm) voice-coil and 4" (100mm) magnet, phase plug. 11" (270mm) W-sandwich woofer with 1.5" (40mm) voice-coil and 5.25" (135mm) magnet. Frequency response: 30Hz-25kHz, +/-3dB. Sensitivity: 92.5dB/2.83V/1m. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms (EN 60065). Minimum impedance: 3.8 ohms. Crossovers: third-order at 350Hz and…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: Linn LP12/Naim ARO/Linn Arkiv 2 with Naim Armageddon and Norton Air Power power supplies; Linn LP12/Ekos/Lingo.
Digital source: Naim CDS, CDS Mk.II CD players.
Preamplification: Naim NAC52 preamplifier, Naim Prefix phono stage.
Power amplifiers: Naim NAP135 monoblocks, Electrocompaniet AmpliWire 250-R dual-mono amplifier.
Cables: Naim Audio and Chord interconnects, NACA5 and Nordost SPM speaker cables.
Accessories: Mana Acoustics and Townshend Seismic Sink Stand equipment supports, RATA AC mains distribution.—Paul Messenger
Sidebar 3: Measurements
My estimate of the Mezzo Utopia's B-weighted sensitivity was slightly lower than specified, at 90dB(B)/2.83V/m, but this is still high. While the Mezzo's impedance magnitude (fig.1) dropped to 3.4 ohms in the upper bass, combined with a nasty capacitive phase angle in this region, it remained above 4 ohms above 200Hz; the speaker will be relatively easy to drive if you don't play bass-heavy music. Trip-hop fans had better use a good high-current amplifier. The saddle in the impedance magnitude at 29Hz is the tuning frequency of the large-diameter port and suggests…
My life is characterized by periods of relative calm interrupted by huge transitions. This last year has been a doozie, with changes in just about every aspect of my life: new cars, motorcycles, and guitars, new jobs and relationships, and, finally, the contemplation of a cross-country move. With a little bit of luck, all of this upheaval will end in a long period of relative calm.
There have been similar, if not so major, disruptions in my audio world over the years—"audio epiphanies" that have opened my ears and mind to new ways of thinking. One such event was my review of…
Inside, the 861 is clean, orderly, and chock-full of premium components. The transport is Teac's CMK-3.2, which features full disc clamping, heavy cast-aluminum construction, and a self-adjusting digital servo. In the 861, the transport mechanism is fully shielded in copper and modified to use Wadia's patented ClockLink onboard clock signal—which feeds both the DACs and transport—instead of the clock embedded in the datastream.
AC power is heavily filtered as it enters the 861's rear panel, then fed through two large, heavily shielded main power transformers. It's then fed to one of 14…
Similarly, Lewis' piano sounded a bit subdued, with a little less impact and life, with the other players, and Kay's cymbal seemed to be much further down in the mix. With the Wadia, there was a more distinct bell-like component at the cymbal's core, and the shimmering halo seemed larger. The piano and cymbal didn't seem louder with the Wadia than with other players; they were simply more vivid and lifelike.
When I listened closely and dissected this clarity and precision, it seemed to stem from a more precise reproduction of dynamic transients. The details of a note's initiation—a…