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I don't know about you, but I have a hard time wrapping my head around the computational power required to accurately and consistently upsample to DSDx16 (DSD1024). That, however, is what Ed Meitner automatically does to material played through his new EMM Labs DA2 Stereo D/A Converter ($25,000 base price). Able to receive via USB data up to DSDx2 and DXD (352.8 and 384kHz PCM), the DA2 does real-time transient detection, processing, and upconversion of all incoming audio before sending it to EMM's new DSDx16 DACs. Upconversion is done automatically in real time, and does not require users to…
"Are you an audiophile?" I find myself yelling into my semi-functional smart phone, sitting in my dimly lit cubicle in Stereophile's New York office.
On the other end of the line is my close friend and long-time mentor, David Binney. We're FaceTiming in slow, fragmented motions as he eats his dinner in a lively restaurant before a gig in central Belgrade.
"No, definitely not." He says quite matter-of-factly. "I subscribe to Stereophile but I don't consider myself an audiophile. I wish I was, but it's too expensive. I obviously love great sound, but as a musician, if I just hear…
Thursday May 12, The Audio Salon (The Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave (Gallery F1), Santa Monica, CA 90404), 4:45pm–8:00pm, is hosting an evening with David and Daryl Wilson, to celebrate Wilson Audio Specialties' first 42 years. Dave and Daryl, beginning at 5:00pm, 6:00pm, and 7:00pm, will give three 50-minute presentations in the art gallery area. As well as discussing the culture and history of Wilson, what has changed since those nascent days when Daryl sat on his father's lap and listened to the first prototype WAMM, they will demonstrate Wilson's new Alexx loudspeaker.
The…
From time to time, I was joined at Munich High End by David James Bellecci, aka the SSAF (Serinus Spouse Acceptance Factor). Here he appears (on the left in the photo above) with Alissa and Alfred Vassilkova of Estelon. A classically trained tenor with a BA in music and a multi-decade career as a sought-after hairstylist, Bellecci brings to the world of high-end audio a rather different aesthetic appreciation than that of many committed audiophiles of both sexes. If you think only wives care about aesthetics, think again.
Awarded an SAF of 8—trust me, that's a very high score—the new…
Positioned at a height reachable only by the towering Gary Yacoubian, the CEO/President/Managing Partner/Chief Window Washer of SVS, the aptly named Prime Elevation (approx. $399/pair) is part of the company's year-old Prime Series. Designed for wall mounting, with the ability to be aimed as needed to transcend potentially compromising placement issues, the "exceptionally versatile" speaker is designed "to deliver a very convincing surround experience, including correct height cues."
Audionet exhibited three prototype units, all of which are expected later in the year. The Watt…
Saturday May 14, from noon–6 pm, Crescendo Fine Audio (6760 W 38th Avenue, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033) is holding a special Technics Open House. The featured guest will be Matt Frazer Manager of Retail Services for Technics.
Matt will be demonstrating and discussing Technics' latest introductions for 2016 including the return of the iconic, limited edition, SL-1200GAE turntable, the new SU-G30 networking amplifier, the new ST-G30 music server, rated, the EAH-T700 high-resolution headphones, the OTTAVA All-In-One Music System, and the SB-C700 loudspeakers that are listed in Class A (Restricted…
While Bowers & Wilkins' new 802 D3 Diamond loudspeaker, reviewed by Kalman Rubinson, takes pride of place on the cover of the June Stereophile, to judge from the many comments posted to our recent story on MQA, it will be Jim Austin's review of the MQA-capable Meridian Explorer2 on page 102 and John Atkinson's technical evaluation of MQA on page 108 that readers will turn to first.
And when they've read those, there are in-depth reviews of Ayre's Codex D/A headphone amplifier, Linear Tube Audio's MicroZOTL2.0 line stage/headphone amplifier, Marten's cost-no-object Coltrane 3…
The SAF (see here) gave this room an 8.5. Such a high rating wasn't just because he felt the equipment, including the sound treatment and the low racks, was attractive: He also felt the setup could comfortably fit into a living room without competing for living space, and that its sound was very easy to listen to. Note that the exhibitors in the room turned around the system by 180 degrees and built a dividing wall behind the speakers that incorporated sound-enhancing materials.
At the head of the system was the brand new Bergmann Galder air-bearing turntable (15,000): the only table in…
Jon Reichbach of Sonic Studio/Amarra displayed the latest Amarra sQ+ 2.3 inline DSP processor. The software can equalize music's entire range, if desired, before sending it along for playback. The new version includes multiple EQs (filter topologies) that, in Reichbach's words, "let you build some very complex EQ curves." There is also optional Dirac Live room-correction software and broadband noise reduction.
"In 1989, when we started Sonic Studio, Warner used this noise reduction software and it cost $125,000," he said. "It produced a disc that won an Academy Award for Technical…
I never cover shows with the intention of citing "Best Of." In fact, at Munich High End, any such designation needs qualification, because I missed far more rooms than I visited. But when any system inspires as much joy as this one—a Nagra/Kronos/Wilson combo that benefited from a helluva lot of strategically stacked RPG room treatment—I have no choice but to cheer: "My Best of Show."
First up on the platter: Dead Can Dance's "Yulunga," from 1993. The bass was solid, the top alive. The music sounded as spacious and as right as can be. Next, my CD transfer of soprano Beverly Sills singing…