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Recording of January 1998: <I>Buena Vista Social Club</I>

MUSIC OF CUBA: Buena Vista Social Club
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…

JMlab Mezzo Utopia loudspeaker Specifications

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…

JMlab Mezzo Utopia loudspeaker Associated Equipment

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

JMlab Mezzo Utopia loudspeaker Measurements

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…

Wadia 861 CD player

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…

Wadia 861 CD player Page 2

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…

Wadia 861 CD player Page 3

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…

Wadia 861 CD player Page 4

The Wadia also had a slightly warm, dark tonal balance that contributed to the menace and power of "Yulunga" and probably also to the "wall of sound" effect I heard on the L.A. Guitar Quintet disc. In the case of the former, the deep bass tollings at the piece's opening were definitely deeper and more powerful with the 861 than with my other players. The L.A. Guitar Quartet's instruments had a warmer, more resonant character, more inner detail and a longer decay, all combining to project their soundfields farther outward into the surrounding space, which seemed to also increase their size.…

Wadia 861 CD player Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Remote-controlled integrated CD player with multiple, user-selectable digital inputs and volume control. Inputs: 4 digital, S/PDIF (BNC), TosLink, ST-glass and AES/EBU (XLR). Outputs: 2 analog, single-ended (RCA) and balanced (XLR); 4 digital, S/PDIF (BNC), TosLink, ST-glass, and AES/EBU (XLR). Output impedance: 51 ohms. D/A conversion: 32x upsampling, using 4 Burr-Brown PCM-1704 24-bit DACs (2 per channel) and 3 user-selectable interpolation algorithms. Digital resolution: 21 bits. Power consumption: 25W.
Dimensions: 17" (430mm) W by 7" (180mm)…

Wadia 861 CD player Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog source: VPI TNT V-HR turntable/tonearm, Grado Statement Reference and Benz-Micro LO4 cartridges.
Digital sources: Wadia 861, Simaudio Moon Eclipse, Parasound CDP-1000, Marantz CD-63SE CD players.
Preamplifier: VAC CPA1 Mk.III.
Power amplifiers: Classé CAM-350, Mark Levinson No.20.6, VTL Ichiban monoblocks; VAC Renaissance 70/70.
Loudspeakers: Magnepan MG3.6/R, Impact Technologies Airfoil 5.2.
Cables: Nirvana S-X Ltd., Nordost Valhalla.
Accessories: Duo-Tech Cable Burn-In device, Bright Star isolation systems, MIT Z Systems and…