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Stereophile hasn't reviewed a PS Audio power regenerator since February 2009, when Robert Deutsch tried the company's then-flagship, the Power Plant Premier ($2195). But earlier this year, as I prepared to write my review of PS Audio's NuWave DSD DAC (published in the May 2016 issue), a perfect opportunity to revisit the line came about: I read, in the owner's manual for the PSA DAC, that "power conditioners and the quality of the AC power can make a significant difference in sound quality." Eager to help the NuWave DSD put its best foot forward, I asked PS Audio to assist me in dealing with…
Listening
When the PerfectWave P10 Power Plant was feeding my entire system, based on DeVore Fidelity The Nine loudspeakers and including a Leben CS-600 amplifier and analog and digital sources, I experienced exceptional musical moments more often, finding myself sitting up and taking notice of some musical detail. Streaming the Tidal playlist "Wildwood Flower: Best New Folk and Americana" at CD resolution, I was startled by the creaminess of Dori Freeman's voice in "Where I Stood," from her eponymous first album (CD, Free Dirt DIRTCD 0074). The percussiveness of Kristin Fossheim's…
When the PerfectWave P10 Power Plant was feeding my entire system, based on DeVore Fidelity The Nine loudspeakers and including a Leben CS-600 amplifier and analog and digital sources, I experienced exceptional musical moments more often, finding myself sitting up and taking notice of some musical detail. Streaming the Tidal playlist "Wildwood Flower: Best New Folk and Americana" at CD resolution, I was startled by the creaminess of Dori Freeman's voice in "Where I Stood," from her eponymous first album (CD, Free Dirt DIRTCD 0074). The percussiveness of Kristin Fossheim's…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Regulated AC regenerator with 10 outputs and multiple output waveforms. Load capability: 1500VA peak, 1200VA continuous. Output impedance: <0.015 ohms. Distortion on output wave: <0.5% into resistive and reactive loads.
Dimensions: 17" (430mm) W by 14" (360mm) D by 8.5" (215mm) H. Weight: 73 lbs (33kg). Shipping weight: 82 lbs (38kg).
Finish: Black or silver.
Price: $4999.
Manufacturer: PS Audio, 4826 Sterling Drive, Boulder, CO 80301. Tel: (720) 406-8946. Fax: (720) 406-8967. Web: www.psaudio.com.
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.
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…
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…