Digital Sources: DAC: 8-channel Cranesong Avocet monitor controller for 5.1-channel surround plus stereo bass.
Power Amplifiers: Lipinski Sound Mono Block L-301V.
Loudspeakers: Revel Ultima Gem2.
Subwoofers: JL Audio Fathom f112 (stereo pair), each powered by dedicated 20 amp line, permitting 1500Wpc bass peaks with no power sag.
Cables: Interconnect (analog): Mogami low-capacitance OFC (balanced AES/EBU). loudspeaker: Mogami eight-conductor OFC, doubled 14 AWG, equivalent to 8 gauge.
Accessories: Surge-X series protectors with Surge-X…
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
At a Hi-Res Symposium presented by The Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) on June 1 in Capitol's legendary Studio A in Hollywood, representatives from record labels, Sony, Capitol Studios, and The Recording Academy's Producers and Engineers wing discussed the future of high-resolution digital audio.
DEG Senior Director Marc Finer opened the presentation with a short welcome and an outline of the morning's agenda followed by a short from the heart speech by Blue Note President Don Was titled "The Importance of Hi-Res Music." Was outlined his emotional connection to and the importance in his…
Day One was press day, with only we ink-stained wretches (or at least the carpal-tunnel afflicted) invited to the party. By early evening (the show ran from 2PM to 8PM on press day) just about everyone who was anyone had already passed Go and collected their press badges, leaving the attendants little to do but screw up their courage for tomorrow's crowds of eager audiophiles.
Anyone who has ever stepped onto the convention-center floor at CES the day before opening has seen pre-show chaos. When you're not dodging forklifts you wonder if the show will ever be ready by the next…
There are two ways to make records. The relatively new way, one the Beatles often used, is to let every musician track his parts and then mix the whole thing together after the fact. Then there’s the old school approach of setting up your gear and everyone playing together live. In essence, recording a gig with the slight exception that today clams can be easily fixed later via Pro Tools. Both methods have their fans and detractors. Some genres of music, like the organ-driven, small combo funk of The New Mastersounds, just naturally lend themselves to one way of recording. Formed in 1999 by…
Press Day, Schmess Day. Some people were ready, some were not, and a few who said they were ready most definitely needed more time to work out the kinks.
"Why don't they make press day at the end of the show?" one exhibitor asked with a look of frustration. It's when everything is finally sounding its best."
"Yes," thought I. "But it's also when everyone is most worn out and wanting to go home."
Happily, by the time of the official show opening, everyone was more or less ready to get going. Nor was the Sixth annual The Home Entertainment Show Newport launched with the…
Silverline Audio's tiny SR7 loudspeaker punches above its weight. Rated down to 68Hz at -3dB, it's clearly bass light. But its 2.5" paper cone woofer and soft-dome tweeter work overtime to deliver. It's not without issues and sounded a bit pushy and cutting at times in the low to mid treble. The lack of deep bass to balance the top end certainly contributed to this.
I'm sure you can blow one up if you try. Using it to play Das Boot at reference level with no subwoofer will likely do the trick. But used with intelligence, it can solve more than a few problems—not the least of which is…
While some components in the Triangle Art system were less expensive than the Usher Audio Mini Dancer Two-D speakers being used ($5500/pair), most—including the Triangle Art Apollo phono cartridge ($8000)—cost more. Two turntables were on display from the company: the Reference SE at $27,995 and the Concerto at $4995. The 12" Osiris tonearm is $5800. The gold-finish tube electronics were all from Triangle Art as well; the least expensive of these was their phono stage, at $12,995.
In terms of pricing, the room featuring loudspeakers and other products by Salk Sound—a company less…
Stereophile Editor John Atkinson and I drove down from deepest Hollywood to arrive at T.H.E. Show Newport late on Thursday night, in time for the public opening the following morning. Traffic was okay— the best you can hope for these days in LA! Conferencing commenced over breakfast the next morning at the Hotel Irvine, where T.H.E. Show is now located. I can assure any lingering skeptics: the Star Trek-worthy prime directive remains to try to cover every exhibitor at these shows—no matter who they are or how many people Stereophile.com has on-hand for each day. In his efforts to accomplish…
(Brooklyn, NY). I wake up. It's one of those perfect Sunday mornings—66°, pleasantly cool, with sparse rays of sun peaking through. I have the whole day to devote to eating and writing my Stereophile column—my two favorite pastimes.
The morning begins with me putting a record on: Elton John—Greatest Hits, the soundtrack of my life. I then proceed to hand grind some Counter Culture coffee beans from Kapchorwa, Uganda, and proceed to brew them in my Chemex. Since I am an extremely gluttonous eating machine, and Sunday is boozy brunch day, I attempt to preemptively offset the rest of the day…
Vying with Audio Element's Wilson/VTL/dCS/Grand Prix/Transparent system for my Best Sound of Day One, the Wilson/Einstein/TechDAS/Graham/Nordost system that Positive-Feedback.com and SonicFlare.com reviewer Danny Kaey uses as his reference had the ability to play at high volume without inducing fatigue. Equally important, it sounded fabulous. The midrange was drop-dead gorgeous on Lori Lieberman's LP track, "Take a Little Piece of Me." After the speakers totally disappeared, both on that track and on London Grammar's "Strong," all that remained was truly glorious, open, clear, extremely…