Once a tube purist (the initials VTL…
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When I first met Luke Manley, proprietor of VTL, he and his father, David, with whom he ran the company at the time, had recently emigrated from the UK to California. I asked Luke how he liked the West Coast. "Great," he replied. "Much better parts availability." This was about 30 years ago, when I was just immersing myself in high-end audio at a high-toned level. Our exchange gave me a taste of the obsessions ahead, though Luke Manley's single-mindedness through the decades since has been more dogged than many—and, at the same time, less dogmatic.
On "Amelia," from Joni Mitchell's Hejira (LP, Asylum/Rhino R1 01087), the ringing from Victor Feldman's vibes billowed forth in waves as I'd never heard before (if I had synesthesia, I'm sure I'd have seen bright balls of color), while never obscuring the surrounding guitar strums or Mitchell's voice, which all seemed distinct but enveloped in the same, cohesive space. In "Walking by Flashlight," the first track of Maria Schneider's The Thompson Fields (CD, ArtistShare AS-0137), the accordion, even when submerged in the background, never lost its squeeze-box airiness; ditto the flute's…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Hybrid tube (gain stage) and FET (output stage, power supply), dual-mono, fully balanced differential design, zero-feedback line-level preamplifier. Inputs: 3 pairs balanced (XLR or RCA), 5 additional pairs single-ended (RCA only). Outputs: 1 pair balanced (XLR), 2 pairs single-ended (RCA), 2 pairs single-ended buffered Tape outputs. Gain: 19.2dB balanced, 13.2dB single-ended. Volume knob: 95 increments of 0.7dB. Frequency response: 1Hz–200kHz (20Hz–200kHz, +0/–1dB, into 600 ohms with 900pF 20' interconnect). Signal/noise: 88dB. Channel separation…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Source: VPI Classic turntable with JMW tonearm, Ortofon Cadenza Blue cartridge.
Digital Source: dCS Puccini SACD/CD player.
Preamplification: Nagra BPS battery-powered phono preamp, Simaudio Moon Evolution 740P line-stage preamplifier.
Power Amplifier: Simaudio Moon Evolution 860A.
Loudspeakers: Revel Ultima Studio 2.
Cables: Interconnect: AudioQuest Wild Blue, Kubala-Sosna Elation!, Nirvana S-L. Speaker: Nirvana S-X. AC: manufacturers' stock.
Accessories: Black Diamond Racing Mk.4 Cones (under VTL), Audiodesksysteme Gläss…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the VTL TL6.5 Series II Signature's electrical performance with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). Most of the measurements were taken with balanced input and output signals; I repeated some tests with unbalanced signals. The volume control's unity-gain setting was "78" on the front-panel display and the control appears to operate in accurate 0.75dB steps. At the control's maximum setting of "95," the voltage gain at 1kHz, measured at the balanced output jacks, was 13.2dB for both balanced and unbalanced input…
Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Mary Oliver famously remarked, "attention without feeling . . . is only a report."
After nearly two years of prattling for Stereophile, I am finally grasping the full veracity of that statement. When I read reviews that jabber on about highs, mediums, and lows, and that rely exclusively on nonmusical vocabulary, I come away with feelings of acute cognitive dissonance. Not to mention: if a review has a lot of initialisms—ADD, S/PDIF, DXD, HDMI, etc.—my ADHD kicks in and I stop reading by the third paragraph.
I prefer equipment reports in which the…
This unusual concerto, one of only two composed by Ravel, premiered in 1932 and is distinctive in many aspects (ie, it has only a single movement, and the piano is played with only the left hand). The concerto begins with what some at its premiere must have thought was the orchestra tuning up. By the time Franáois hammers down his first notes, the audience's collective mind was probably confused and delirious. The piano sound on this recording is dark, heavy, and extraordinarily dense, but the RP-1's MC stage and the Hana EL helped a lot by digging down to the composition's core intentions…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Vacuum-tube preamplifier. Tube complement: two 12AU7/ECC82. Frequency response: 5Hz–75kHz, ±1dB. THD: <0.1%. Gain: 9.5dB (line stage); 45dB, 60dB (phono stage). Rated output: 1V. Output impedance: 750 ohms. RIAA accuracy: ±0.1dB. Phono overload: 40mV. Headphone amp: 1W (32 ohms). Power consumption: <1W (off), 23W (on). Power requirements: 115V (50/60Hz), 220/230/240V (50/60Hz).
Dimensions: 15.25" (390mm) W by 3.2" (80mm) H by 14.5" (370mm) D. Weight 16 lbs (7.3kg) net, 20 lbs (9.1kg) shipping.
Finishes: Silver, Black.
Serial number…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Linn Sondek LP12, Technics SL1200GAE turntables; SME M2-9 tonearm; Dynavector 20X2L, Hana EL, Ortofon M2 Black cartridges.
Digital Sources: Schiit Audio Bifrost Multibit DAC, Integra DPPS-7.2 DVD-A player.
Preamplification: Dynavector SUP-200 step-up transformer; Dynavector P75 Mk.3, Parasound Halo JC 3+, Schiit Audio Mani phono stages; PrimaLuna Prologue Premium, Simaudio Moon 350P preamplifiers.
Power Amplifiers: First Watt J2, PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium, Simaudio Moon 330A.
Integrated Amplifiers: Line Magnetic LM-518 IA,…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Rogue Audio RP-1's electrical performance with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It").
The RP-1's phono input appears to use ultra-low-noise LT1115 op-amp chips. I left the internal settings as used by Herb Reichert for his auditioning— high gain and a 300 ohm load —which resulted in a voltage gain of 65.1dB at the main outputs with the volume control set to its maximum, and 55.2dB at the fixed output jacks. This is a little lower than the specified 60dB for moving-coil cartridges, but the shortfall will be…