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The real problem is when the listener is required to make a value judgment about correct frequency distribution in a situation where the original source is an unknown. How am I going to know when the tonal balance is correct unless I was present at the original recording session? Of course, it's an impossible task in the absolute. But I've found that, with a little practice, one can reduce the level of the deleterious colorations present in some recordings, resulting in more honest musical recreations. It is helpful, however, to have some experience with live music. It's analogous to asking…
How can a component with such clarity and transparency avoid sounding sterile and analytical? I don't know. When I reviewed the Krell KBL preamplifier last year in Stereophile, I came to the conclusion that it was "ruthlessly revealing" of all source components. In one sense this was a compliment, since it retrieved so much more information. However, it also raised questions about the KBL owner's ability to enjoy the music emotionally. As I've mentioned before, live music isn't always pleasant. Massed brass and string instruments can sound downright nasty when pushed too far, and the human…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Line-level preamplifier/equalizer and separate power supply. Manufacturer's specifications: Frequency response: 20Hz-20kHz, +0.2 -0.6dB (EQ out); +0.3 -0.8dB (EQ in). THD (ref. 6V): 0.084%. Maximum output: 8V RMS (single-ended), 16V RMS (balanced). Input impedance: 1 megohm (single-ended only). Output impedance: 150 ohms.
Dimensions: 7.3" H by 19" W by 13" D. Weight: 21 lbs.
Price: $6500 (1992); no longer available (2004). Optional phono preamplifier: RMC (moving-coil) or RMM (moving-magnet): $2000 (1992). Approximate number of dealers: 12 (…
Sidebar 2: Measurements
Fig.1 shows the Palette Preamp's frequency response with the equalization bypassed, both at the 9:00 setting of the level control (top curves above 20kHz, left channel solid, right channel dotted) and at unity gain (bottom curves), the latter at a level-control setting of 2:30. In fig.2, the distortion resulting from a 500mV input is shown, at three settings of the level control (only the left channel is shown for the full-volume position).
Fig.1 Cello Palette Preamplifier, frequency response in bypass mode with the level control set to 9:00 (top…
Having the Philips SACD1000 in my system promoted me to spill some ink about the Sony SCD-777ES. In the months I've had this SACD player in my system, my experience of music has been enhanced to the point where I feel more and more confident about the aural judgments I'm called on to make—because I'm convinced that I'm listening to a digital source on which I can bet the ranch.
The SCD-777ES was introduced at a list price of $3500, but Sony recently reduced the price to $2500—probably their way of lowering the boom on competitors and buying additional market share for the SACD…
Steve McCormack has carved out an unusual niche for himself in high-end audio. While working as a hi-fi salesman, Steve successfully modified an amplifier for a customer and promptly decided that there was a market for improving the sonic performance of other companies' products. Thus The Mod Squad was born, a company Steve and long-time partner Joyce Dudney Fleming established to offer high-end modification services.
Then came Tiptoes, the now-ubiquitous aluminum cones that made The Mod Squad a familiar name to audiophiles. Other products followed—including the highly regarded Line…
McCormack: That was 1982 when Joyce and I moved back to California from Canada where we had been working with Oracle. We had known for some time that we wanted to start a business of our own. It seemed reasonable that it would be related to audio, but we didn't have a clear idea of what we wanted to do. We didn't have a lot of resources, but we had ourselves and the house. There was a small detached garage that I converted into a workplace and we decided to make the modification service become a business. It somehow all worked out.
Harley: Tell me about Tiptoes.
McCormack:…
Harley: One person's vision...
McCormack: Exactly. And the word "vision" is literally true; when I set out to do a product, I have an internal model that I'm measuring against. I'm not just doing something in an ambiguous way, just stabbing here and there. I have an idea of what I'm trying to achieve. As I'm trying these different designs and different boards and parts and layouts and that kind of thing, I'm measuring them against this internal yardstick and determining if they're doing what I want them to do or not. That not only makes it more personal, it also makes the process more…
McCormack: That's right. Within a logic type, there is not a great deal of variation, but sometimes it's a meaningful difference. Between different logic families are enormous variations in what they will do to the sound of a digital system. If fact, I was flabbergasted when I first discovered this. I was making a phase-inverter circuit in an early Prism model with an exclusive-OR gate. I just grabbed a part and put it in. Hey, this is digital; it's all ones and zeros, so it doesn't matter, right?
Harley: Either it works perfectly or it doesn't work at all...[laughs]
McCormack:…
Harley: Do specific presentation aspects described in reviews contribute to musicality, or are they unrelated? Can you have involvement without having some of the specific attributes?
McCormack: Absolutely. Many people have said that the state of the art in music reproduction hasn't really advanced since—name a date. In this context, they're absolutely right. I've heard old systems that were highly colored, with nowhere near the resolving capability of the systems we listen to today, that were nevertheless wonderful to listen to—they were musically engaging.
This notion of…