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On Friday, September 4, from 6 to 10pm, Sonor Filtronique (9343 Rue Lajeunesse, Montreal) will host a special event with Peter McGrath of Wilson Audio Specialties, John Quick of dCS, Dave Gordon of Audio Research, and Garth Powell of AudioQuest. Featured gear will include Wilson's Sabrina loudspeakers, dCS's Vivaldi DAC, ARC's GSi75 integrated amplifier, and AudioQuest's new Niagara 7000 AC power management system, pictured above. There will be 45-minute seminars held throughout the evening.
It was quiet when I entered the Resolution Acoustics room and sat down restfully in the chair between the giant Sonus Faber Stradivari speakers. I sat admiring the Meitner MA-2 and the Pass Labs XA100.5s; both of which are some mighty good audio hardware. But suddenly, without any warning: I was being soundboarded by the opening guitar work of the Eagles' "Hotel California." I cringed the first time I heard that song and I screamed silently every one of the 1000 times I heard it at Sound by Singer. And now—just because I am an audiophile—everybody in stereoland thinks I want to hear it.…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Benchmark DAC 1, PS Audio DirectStream DAC; Apogee Groove, Meridian Explorer & Explorer2 USB DACs; Ayre Acoustics CX-7eMP CD player.
Analog Sources: Thorens TD-124 turntable reconditioned by Schopper AG; Oswalds Mill Audio slate plinth; Ortofon RMG-212 tonearm (rebuilt); Thomas Schick 12" tonearm; Ortofon 90th Anniversary SPU cartridge; Sony XDR-F1HD AM/FM/HD tuner.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 step-up transformer.
Integrated Amplifier: Leben CS-600.
Loudspeakers: DeVore Fidelity The Nine.
Cables: USB: AudioQuest…
This is a story about vulgar words and what is likely one of the most innovative and exciting, yet self-consciously idiosyncratic, audio components of the 21st century: Schiit Audio's Ragnarok integrated amplifier ($1699).
I never use vulgar words—at least not in public. I rarely use the word shit as an adjective, a verb, or a noun. Therefore, when I first heard of an audio company founded by legendary audio engineer Mike Moffat (formally of Theta) and award-winning science-fiction author and audio polymath Jason Stoddard—a company named Schiit—I could permit myself to pronounce its name…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the PS Audio NuWave DSD with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see www.ap.com and the January 2008 "As We See It"), feeding its S/PDIF input data from the SYS2722 and its USB input data sourced from a battery-powered MacBook Pro running Pure Music 2.0. The S/PDIF input accepted data sampled at all rates from 44.1 to 192kHz. Apple's USB Prober utility identified the NuWave as "PS Audio USB Audio 2.0" and confirmed that it operates in the optimal isochronous asynchronous mode. Mac's AudioMIDI utility stated that the NuWave's USB input would accept 24-bit…
With the KEF LS50 speakers: Listening to Red Norvo's beautifully recorded Just Friends, with the Bucky Pizzarelli Trio (LP, Stash DST230), not only put me in a carefree mood, it showed me how much I'd underestimated the virtues of the KEF LS50s ($1499.99/pair). Folks, I know I sound like a skipping LP, but you can't hear a speaker without an amp, and a good speaker will sound unsubtly different with every amp you connect it to. The pairing of Ragnarok and LS50s played Norvo & Co.'s light jazz with cheerful, articulate, supersweet abandon. Norvo's vibraphone emitted pulsing spheres of…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Line-level, solid-state integrated amplifier. Inputs: 2 balanced (XLR), 3 unbalanced (RCA). Output power: 100Wpc into 4 ohms (17dBW), 60Wpc into 8 ohms (17.8dBW), 15Wpc into 32 ohms, 10Wpc into 50 ohms, 1.7Wpc into 300 ohms, 850mW into 600 ohms. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, –0.25dB; 2Hz–110kHz, –3dB. Voltage gain: 20 (26dB), 5 (14dB), 1 (0dB) via front-panel switch. Output impedances: loudspeakers, 0.03 ohm; balanced headphones, 0.1 ohm; single-ended headphones, 3.3 ohms. THD: <0.006%, 20Hz–20kHz, at 1V RMS. IMD: <0.008%, CCIF at 1V RMS,…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Technics SL1200Mk.2 turntable; Abis SA-1.2 tonearm; Dynavector 20X2L, Jasmine Turtle cartridges.
Digital Sources: Integra DPPS-7.2 DVD-A player; Halide DAC HD, Schiit Audio Bifrost DACs.
Phono Stages: Dynavector P75, Parasound Halo JC 3+, Schiit Audio Mani.
Headphone Amplifiers: Audeze Deckard, Schiit Audio Asgard, Simaudio Moon Neo 230HAD.
Integrated Amplifiers: Line Magnetic LM-518 IA, Rogue Audio Sphinx, Simaudio Moon Neo 340i.
Loudspeakers: Falcon Acoustics LS3/5a, KEF LS50, Magnepan .7, Technics SB-C700.
…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I performed a full set of measurements on Schiit Audio's Ragnarok using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). Looking first at the small-signal measurements taken from the loudspeaker outputs (see later), the amplifier's maximum voltage gain into 8 ohms was 26.17dB with the gain set to "26," 15.1dB with it set to "14," and 3.7dB with it set to "0." These gains were identical for both balanced and single-ended input signals, and the amplifier preserved absolute polarity (ie, was non-inverting) for all inputs and outputs. The…
Manufacturers' Comment
Editor: Thank you, Mr. Reichert and Mr. Atkinson, for taking the time to review the Ragnarok. This is a true milestone for me, as I never anticipated the reception to our initial products, or the growth of the company, that would allow us to do "moonshot" products like the Ragnarok that would attract the attention of Stereophile. I won't bore you with a recap of all the crazy design decisions that went into the Ragnarok (and delayed its introduction by a good 18 months), but an entire chapter of the Schiit Happened book is dedicated to the odyssey. With respect to…