In October 1989, Technics flew a dozen North American hi-fi writers, including myself, to Japan for a busy week including seminars about MASH 1-bit digital decoding. The "1-bit" digital decoder, is suddenly appearing everywhere. In recent years, competition among makers of CD players has taken the form of "bit wars," the use of ever-higher numbers of bits to decode the CD. Linear 16-bit decoders led to pseudo–18-bit decoding, then to real 18-bit decoders, and now several companies claim to be providing 20-bit…
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Peter W. Mitchell wrote about MASH DACs in January 1990 (Vol.13 No.1):
One
Everything makes a difference. Everything. File that away.
Everything makes a difference. Everything. File that away.
Two
There are two kinds of good sound: good sound sound and good music sound. While I could describe the distinction in few words or many, it's easier to point to two recordings of Elgar's oratorio The Dream of Gerontius: by Sir Adrian Boult and the New Philharmonia Orchestra, with tenor Nicolai Gedda singing the title role (2 LPs, EMI SLS 987); and by Malcolm Sargent and the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, with Heddle Nash in the lead (2 LPs, EMI RLS 709).
I imagine the Boult version, recorded in stereo in…
Finally, in order to keep the Garrard's power cord from fouling against the plinth—possibly transmitting vibrations or, at worst, restricting the movement of the 301's spring-suspended motor—Woodsong supplies a relatively light-gauge, three-conductor wiring harness to go from the turntable's AC terminal block to an IEC socket on the rear edge of the plinth. The installation procedure: Attach harness to turntable; insert turntable in plinth while carefully feeding wires toward an opening on the plinth's rear edge; fish wires through opening and fasten wire lugs to socket contacts; fasten…
The SOtM sMS-1000SQ Windows Edition with AudiophileOptimizer and Roon: Not only does that very long name require finger-twisting shifts between upper and lower case, it really doesn't tell you what the sMS-1000SQ WE is.
Korean manufacturer SOtM, Inc. describes it on their website as a "music server based on Windows Server OS besides the original Linux [Vortexbox] OS based sMS-1000SQ." I'd describe it as a Windows-based PC that's designed and optimized to manage a database of music files and stream the music to local or networked DACs, and that supports multiple options for file…
Sidebar 2: Recordings in the Round
It's been five years since I've had the time and space for this feature. I can't hope to catch up with all that's happened since, but in reviewing surround gear for "Music in the Round" I've used and mentioned the most notable surround recordings as references, and reviewed the recordings themselves in "Records to Die For." When the last installment of "Recordings in the Round" was published, we were still dealing mostly with SACDs and the very first Blu-ray Audio discs. I now prefer to download files, but most surround downloads are also available as…
Sidebar 2: Contact Info
SOtM, 202 (Ssangyong-Dong), 84-9, Wolbong 4-ro, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, 31171 Korea. Tel: (82) 41-576-7663. Fax: (82) 41-576-7664. Web: www.sotm-audio.com. US distributor: Simple Design LLC (Sonore). Web: www.sotm.sonore.us.
Highend-AudioPC, Switzerland. Web: www.highend-audiopc.com
Primephonic, a Netherlands-based site that prides itself on its superior classical music metadata, has launched in the United States. Currently devoted to hi-rez classical downloads in WAV (stereo), FLAC (stereo/surround), and DSD (stereo/surround), Primephonic (which attempts to stand out from the crowd by not capitalizing the "p" in "primephonic") also intends to launch the beta version of its high-quality streaming service later this year.
Primephonic.com has positioned itself to compete with the independent HDTracks.com, which offers Red-Book and hi-rez downloads, as well as physical…
Apple is reportedly in exploratory talks to acquire Tidal. Though it's possible that nothing could come of this, and much of the online chatter surrounding this news is processed, regurgitated press release—I'd like to contribute to the speculation by sharing my thoughts.
I think it's exactly what the world needs. It would be an intelligent move on Apple's part that would simultaneously benefit listeners, musicians—and of course, boost the high-end audio industry.
Here's how it happens: Apple acquires Tidal. As in, either 1) Apple Music swallows Tidal, adds a high-resolution, top…
The three-day Capital Audiofest runs July 8–10 at the Hilton Hotel at Twinbrook Metro in Rockville, MD. With new, noon–8 pm opening-day hours designed to accommodate 9-5ers eager to top off their Friday with great sound, and completely renovated rooms that should offer even better acoustics than before, the at-capacity show promises 38 exhibit rooms (including 14 large rooms and one two-room suite), and a combined Marketplace/CanMania with 20 exhibitors total. Put that all together, and you end up with 103 exhibitors and brands combined.
Capital Audiofest has certainly evolved with the…
There's a race on between Sony and Matsushita, to determine who can build the smallest battery-operated CD player with the most features. Sony currently holds the lead with its second-generation D-7 ($300), about 30% smaller than the first "pocket" CD, the D-5. Most of the reduction is in height; both players have a horizontal cross-section only slightly larger than the CD itself. The illusion of smallness is further enhanced by an angled front panel with beveled edges.
Several features have been added, most notably the ability to program up to 16 tracks, in any sequence. Despite AHC's…