Bits and Bolts
In addition to connecting to a USB DAC, the three rear-panel USB…
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To clarify: In Player mode, the N1A assigns an IP address to your network player—you can think of that relationship as a closed mini-network. It's also worth noting that, when the N1A is in Player mode, you can't connect to it from your computer to copy files to the Melco's internal storage because it resides on its own closed mini-network. Melco recommends using the N1A's USB input for that purpose. As I understand it, the benefit of Player mode is to isolate the N1A from network traffic and noise.
Yazaki, Banno, and Spec mechanical engineer Yasuhiro Yamakawa seem to have chosen the RPA-W7EX's parts wisely and well. The amplifier had sonic qualities I usually associate with tube amplification: sweet 'n' saturated tonal colors and palpable instrumental textures, coupled to startling microdynamics that left me slack-jawed in wonder, enjoying LPs anew for hours on end. Disc after disc, I felt I was experiencing fresh musical truths. Sometimes, as with ca-1962-'66 Blue Note "New York USA" LPs such as Wayne Shorter's Night Dreamer (LP, Blue Note 84173) or Andrew Hill's Compulsion!!!!! (LP…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Class-D stereo power amplifier. Inputs: 1 pair unbalanced (RCA), 1 pair balanced (XLR). Speaker connections: 2 pairs 4mm banana-plug binding posts. Modes: Stereo/Mono/BTL. Maximum output: 100Wpc into 4 ohms, stereo mode( 17dBW). Frequency response (6 ohms, 1W): 10Hz–30kHz, ±1dB. Total harmonic distortion: 0.02% at 1kHz, 80% output. Input sensitivity, gain: 300mV RMS, 37.3dB at max volume into 6 ohms, 1kHz, unbalanced input. Electrical consumption: 9Wpc (idle), 150Wpc (maximum output).
Dimensions: 13.7" (350mm) W by 3.7" (95mm) H by 14.6" (375mm…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Stabi S turntable & Stogi tonearm; Denon DL-103, Ortofon 2M Red cartridges.
Digital Sources: Apple MacBook computer, Halide DAC HD, Western Digital T2 Mirror Drive (2).
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 A23 moving-coil step-up transformer, Shindo Laboratory Allegro preamplifier.
Power Amplifier: Shindo Laboratory Haut-Brion.
Loudspeakers: DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/93, Snell Type J/II.
Cables: Interconnect: Analysis Plus, Shindo Laboratory. Speaker: Auditorium 23.
Accessories: Music Hall Aztec Blue & Mooo…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
When I unpacked the Spec amplifier for testing, I was at first confused: Although Ken Micallef was supposed to have reviewed Spec's RPA-W7EX, a label on the amplifier's rear panel identified it as an "RPA-W5ST." It turned out that this very early export sample of the 'W7EX had been assembled before the correct labels were ready. Jonathan Halpern, of US distributor Tone Imports, assured me that the review sample was representative of current production.
Reassured, I performed a full set of measurements on the RPA-W7EX using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system…
How do you know that the vinyl revival is universal? When Port Townsend, WA, a little arts community with under 9500 inhabitants that is situated NW of Seattle, on the Quimper Peninsula at the gateway to the larger, breathtakingly beautiful Olympic Peninsula, is having a record show of its own.
You heard right. The Port Townsend Record Show is taking place Saturday, March 5, 11:00am–5:00pm (vendor set-up 8:00 am) in the ever-jumpin' American Legion Hall at 209 Monroe Street facing Port Townsend Bay. The show promises, as of press time, at least 28 vendor booths filled with vinyl and…
In the January 2015 edition of "Music in the Round," I reviewed NAD's latest Masters Series preamplifier-processor and multichannel power amplifier, respectively the M17 ($5499) and M27 ($3999). I was taken with both, but the M27 made a special impression. In many ways, it personified what a modern power amp should be: quiet, transparent, cool running, and compact. Its neat package of seven 180W channels inspired me to consider that stereo or mono versions of such a thing could supplant the ungainly monster amps I was using in my main system. So I asked NAD to send me not just one but two…
I then turned to 2L's high-resolution recording of "Come Away, Death," from Gerald Finzi's song cycle on Shakespearian texts, Let Us Garlands Bring, to hear the voice of mezzo-soprano Marianne Beate Kielland, the piano of Sergei Osadchuk, and their acoustic and musical relationships (free 24-bit/192kHz PCM download from SACD/CD, 2L 2L-064-SACD). Through the NAD M22, Kielland's voice was pure and cleanly delineated, with a notable presence in the room. Osadchuk's piano stood apart from Kielland, a bit farther from me, but with requisite body and detail. Together, they sounded as if recorded…
August 26, 1944: The liberation of Paris. Imagine ranks of tattered Canadian soldiers marching past the Moulin Rouge à Paris. The voice of Édith Piaf singing "Ou sont-ils, mes petits copains?" (Where are my boyfriends?). Maurice Chevalier crooning "Ça sent si bon la France" (It smells so good in France). A Canadian army tank with the words Kaput and Finito painted in white above the word Montréal, motoring past the Eiffel Tower. Remember the fresh, celebratory taste of fine Champagne.
This was the place, the mood, the reverie with which I began my examination of Simaudio's Moon Neo 340i…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-channel, solid-state, class-D power amplifier. Inputs: 1 pair balanced (XLR), 1 pair single-ended (RCA). Outputs: 2 pairs multiway binding posts. Frequency response: 3Hz–30kHz, –3dB. Continuous output power at rated THD, 20Hz–20kHz, both channels driven: >250W (>24dBW, no load specified). IHF dynamic power: 355W into 8 ohms, 640W into 4 ohms, 620W into 2 ohms. Clipping power at 1kHz, 0.1% THD: >300W into 8 ohms (24.77dBW). Peak output current, 1 ohm, 1ms: >50 amps. Input sensitivity: 1.6V. Input impedance: 17k ohms + 200pF (RCA),…