If record manufacturers had endeavored to install the best available playback…
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When the Record Industry Association of America adopted its standard disc playback equalization curve in 1954, hi-fi enthusiasts heaved a sigh of relief and bade fond farewell to years of confusion, doubt and virtual pandemonium. Before the RIAA curve there were six "standard" curves in use, and since nobody seemed to know who was using what, getting flat response from a disc was often more a matter of luck than anything else. The adoption of the RIAA standard playback curve heralded an end to all this.
Sidebar 2: Measurements
Fig.1 indicates a virtually ruler-flat frequency response, while in fig.2 the de-emphasis response indicates that no response-caused aberrations will be experienced with pre-emphasized discs. The fine squarewave response (fig.3) again is typical of a player with a linear-phase digital filter, but with a slight overshoot on the leading edge. And in fig.4, only the measured crosstalk from left to right is shown; the right-to-left curve practically overlays it.
Fig.1 JVC XL-Z1050TN, frequency response at 0dBFS (right channel dashed, 0.5dB/…
Sidebar 2: Specifications
Description: Bitstream 8x-oversampling CD player. Frequency range: 2Hz–20kHz. S/N ratio: 114dB. Channel separation: 110dB at 1kHz. Maximum output level: 2V RMS.
Dimensions: 17.8" (452mm) W by 4.5" (113mm) H by 13.4" (341mm) D. Weight: 17 lbs (7.75kg).
Price: $800 (1992); no longer available (2016). Approximate number of dealers: 100.
Manufacturer: JVC, Elmwood Park, NJ 07407. Web: www.jvc.com.
The musical and technical excellence of the 2016 Grammy Award winners makes this a great year for audiophiles. Not only are 28 of the albums / compositions that won awards in multiple categories available for download from HDTracks, virtually all in hi-rez (from 44.1/24 to 192/24), but just as many if not more are available for streaming and download in hi-rez and/or full CD quality from both ClassicsOnlineHD and Tidal.
Accepting the award for the Reference Fresh! Paulus CD were (from right–left): producer Peter Rutenberg, Dorothy Dyer Vanek, who commissioned the work and…
"Wow!" Jerome Harris—jazz guitarist, bassist, and composer—stopped talking and listened intently to the rough-mixdown dub of his latest album, Hidden in Plain View: The Music of Eric Dolphy (New World 80472-2 CD) (footnote 1). He'd brought it by my house in order to hear it on another system before pronouncing judgment. "That sounds like us! And I ought to know because I was there..."
It wasn't the first time the Metaphor 2s had totally transfixed a visitor with their accurate portrayal of a musical event. This time, however, they'd done it to one of the participants of that specific…
Sidebar 1: Ancillary Components
Analog sources were my Linn/Ittok/Sumiko SHO (or the ELAC ESG 896 H) and the Well Tempered Reference Turntable and Arm, with the same cartridges. Digital sources included McCormack's Digital Drive SST/DAC-1, the Assemblage DAC-1, Audio Alchemy DDE v1.1, and Audio Research CD-1.
Preamplifiers employed included Conrad-Johnson's EV20SE, Audio Research's SP-9 Mk.III, Audio Alchemy's DLC, and McCormack's Micro Line Drive, with Creek's OBH-8 or McCormack's Micro Phono Drive phono preamps where needed. Conrad-Johnson Premier Eleven A, VAC PA-80/80, Audio…
WP returned to the Metaphor 2 in April 1996 (Vol.19 No.4):
Around September, I began to hear rumblings out of Chantilly, VA that changes were in the cards for the Metaphor 2 loudspeakers I reviewed last July. Accordingly, I had a new pair shipped to Santa Fe so we could find out what Metaphor had wrought. They'd been busy—totally revamping the design. Bill Peugh regaled me with a list of over ten changes/refinements, encompassing everything from the cabinet to the shipping cartons. Only the price, it seems, is unchanged at $5950/pair.
First off, while the enclosure is still…
Sidebar 2: Measurements
The Metaphor 2 will go loud with only a few watts of input power, my B-weighted measurement confirming the specified 91dB/2.83V/m. It is a moderately demanding load for the partnering amplifier, however, as can be seen from its plot of electrical impedance magnitude and phase against frequency (fig.1). The impedance drops below 6 ohms through the midrange and reaches 3 ohms in the mid-treble. Tube amplifiers are best used from their 4 ohm output transformer taps. The reflex port tuning for the twin woofers is revealed by the impedance saddle at 39Hz. A couple of…
Sidebar 3: Wes Phillips chats with Metaphor's Bill Peugh
Wes Phillips: How did Metaphor come about?
Bill Peugh: I made a conscious decision, while I was in college, that this was the industry I wanted to work in. That's how I made my living for the next 17 years: first selling hi-fi for Peter McGrath, and later as Director of Marketing for IAT, which distributed Goldmund in this country.
Karl Shuster worked with me at IAT. When it ceased to exist, we were practically forced to start our own business. Being pragmatic, I looked at high-end audio and saw that there were three…
Sidebar 4: Specifications
Description: Three-way ported dynamic loudspeaker. Driver complement: one 1" hemispherical-profile, titanium-dioxide–coated titanium-cone tweeter; one 6.5" multilayered composite-cone midrange unit with cast-alloy frame; two 7" semi-exponential profile, multilayered, composite-cone woofers. Crossover: three-way with varying slopes, using low-inductance parallelled metal-film or metal-oxide resistors, polypropylene-film or film-and-foil capacitors, OFC air-core inductors, one Feron;r–core inductor. Cabinet construction: layered MDF of differing shapes and…