Most of my personal listening these days is through Audeze's large, open-back, circumaural LCD-X headphones, which I bought following my review of them in the March 2014 issue. (On the subway I use the Ultimate Ear 18 Pro in-ear monitors, which provide much better isolation and are not as…
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Life is too short to put up with poor-sounding headphones, I mused the other morning, during my 60-minute commute on the NYC subway. All around me, straphangers gripped smartphones and listened to multicolored Beats, noise-canceling Boses, white Apple earbuds, and, only rarely, Sennheisers and Grados.
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Open-back, circumaural (over-ear) headphones with planar-magnetic drive-units using neodymium magnets, and earpads of premium lambskin or leather-free, microfiber supersuede. Transducer: 106mm. Maximum power handling: 15W (for 200ms). Maximum sound-pressure level: >130dB at 15W. Frequency range: 5Hz–20kHz ("extended out to 50kHz").Total harmonic distortion: <1% through entire frequency range. Nominal impedance: 200 ohms. Sensitivity: 97dB/1mW. Optimal power requirement: 1–4W. Supplied accessories: single-ended ¼" TRS to 2x4-pin mini XLR cable…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Antipodes DX Reference music server; Logitech Transporter, PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream D/A processors.
Headphone Amplifiers: Ayre Acoustics Codex, Pass Labs HPA-1, Audeze The King.
Headphones: Audeze LCD-X, AudioQuest NightHawk, Master & Dynamic MH40.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Coffee, USB. Interconnect (unbalanced): AudioQuest Fire. Headphone: Cardas Clear, Nordost Heimdall, manufacturers' own. AC: manufacturers' own.—John Atkinson
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I don't measure headphones' acoustic responses, as this requires a system of dummy head and microphone. (See Keith Howard's article on this subject in the August 2008 issue, footnote 1) In addition, deciding what, precisely, is the optimal frequency response for a pair of headphones is neither obvious nor trivial (footnote 2).
I did use my Audio Precision System One to measure the Audeze LCD-4s' impedance and electrical phase. The solid trace in fig.1 shows the impedance magnitude with the headphones mounted on my head and facing my ears. The impedance is…
Today, Wednesday, June 22, 11am–7:30pm: Stereo Exchange (627 Broadway, Manhattan) will host an open house and personal-audio listening event featuring special guests, giveaways, and more, and tomorrow, Thursday, June 23, 5–8pm: HiFi Sales (1732 Route 70 East, Cherry Hill) will host a personal-audio listening party, featuring products from Amarra, Amps and Sound, AudioQuest, and more.
The Stereo Exchange event will feature manufacturer representatives from AudioQuest, Astell&Kern, Audeze, Bowers & Wilkins, Etymotic, HiFiMan, McIntosh Laboratories, NAD, Stax, Woo Audio, and more who…
It would be an understatement to say that in 2001, when Nordost introduced their original Valhalla cables, they were a revelation for me. Their focus and resolution of detail were like nothing I'd ever heard, and revealed in recorded performances a startling energy and realism. Throw in their seemingly absolute transparency, and similarly unique levels of spatial and temporal precision, and the Valhallas established a new standard of sound quality in audio cables. Although their tonal balance was cool, as I reported in my first review of them in the November 2001 issue, they were the only…
One Nibble at a Time: Valhalla 2 Reference analog interconnect
I listened extensively to both unbalanced (RCA) and balanced (XLR) Valhalla 2 Reference analog interconnects, but decided to focus most of my listening on a pair of 1m-long interconnects with unbalanced terminations. In part, I did so to establish consistency, to make all of the cable-swapping I'd be doing as easy as possible. A second reason for the choice was my hope that it would make my observations relevant and easily understood to the greatest number of readers: 1m RCA interconnects are the most commonly used in…
I listened extensively to both unbalanced (RCA) and balanced (XLR) Valhalla 2 Reference analog interconnects, but decided to focus most of my listening on a pair of 1m-long interconnects with unbalanced terminations. In part, I did so to establish consistency, to make all of the cable-swapping I'd be doing as easy as possible. A second reason for the choice was my hope that it would make my observations relevant and easily understood to the greatest number of readers: 1m RCA interconnects are the most commonly used in…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Valhalla 2 Reference analog interconnect: Holo:Plug RCA or XLR.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: V0021 (RCA); V1251, V1262 (XLR).
Price: $7599.99/1m pair; add $1100/additional 0.5m.
Valhalla 2 Reference speaker cable: Holo:Plug spade or banana.
Serial number of unit reviewed: V0148.
Price: $14,849.99/3m pair; $1500/additional 0.5m.
Valhalla 2 Reference Tonearm (phono) cable: Holo:Plug RCA, XLR, straight or 90° DIN.
Serial number of unit reviewed: V0021.
Price: $4799.99/1.25m, $600/additional 0.5m.
Valhalla 2 Reference power…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Spiral Groove SG-2 turntable & Centroid tonearm, VPI HR-X turntable & tonearm, Grado Master Reference & Statement Reference cartridges.
Digital Sources: Primare CD32 CD player, Simaudio Moon Evolution 750D CD transport–DAC.
Preamplification: Sutherland Engineering Duo & Phono Block phono preamplifiers; Placette Audio Active, Sutherland Engineering Line Block line stages; Simaudio Moon Evolution 850P preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: Simaudio Moon Evolution 880M, VTL Ichiban monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson…
In 1999, I visited a friend, professor of Italian history Bill Adams, at his castle lair in the mountain village of Panzano, in Chianti, Italy. The 10th-century Castello di Panzano towers over the lush Tuscan hills, offering stupendous views. Each morning we'd walk down the mountain to the town below, where squat old men drank espresso and watched soccer at the all-in-one café/general store/post office. We toured the Roman ruins at Volterra and San Gimignano, gorged ourselves on pasta, and admired the fashionable young women.
In Italy, my pulse seemed to slow. I fell into the rhythm of…