search

AudioQuest DragonFly Red & Black USB D/A headphone amplifiers Manufacturer's Comment

Manufacturer's Comment

Editor: We greatly appreciate the time and effort that John Atkinson and Art Dudley have put into becoming intimately familiar with our latest DragonFlys. Our goal was to surpass versions 1.0 and 1.2 in every meaningful way, reaching new levels of performance and value through the successful implementation of sophisticated technology, enabling compatibility with mobile devices, and providing software upgradability.

In direct comparisons against the original DragonFly, Art preferred the Black for its "superior musical incisiveness: clearer pitch…

Music Hall Audio MMF-7.3 turntable Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog Sources: Kuzma Stabi S turntable & Stogi tonearm; Goldring Elite MC, Denon DL-103 cartridges.
Digital Sources: Apple MacBook computer, Halide DAC HD, PS Audio NuWave DAC, Western Digital T2 Mirror Drive (2).
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 A23 moving-coil step-up transformer, Shindo Laboratory Allegro preamplifier.
Power Amplifier: Shindo Laboratory Haut-Brion.
Integrated Amplifier: Unison Research Unico Primo.
Loudspeakers: DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/93, Elac B6, Snell Type J/II.
Cables: Interconnect: Shindo Laboratory…

Music Hall Audio MMF-7.3 turntable The Maple Platform

Sidebar 3: The Maple Platform

While preparing this review, I felt that the sound of the Music Hall-Goldring combination, while meticulous and superbly illuminated, could be improved, especially in the all-important (for me) area of weight. My Kuzma player is as powerful as George Patton, a mighty warrior of solid-rocket–ready, testosterone-fueled muscle. Surely there was a way to amp up the Music Hall to more closely resemble "Old Blood and Guts" rather than Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake (Peter Sellers), from Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove. . . ? I removed the IKEA Aptitlig bamboo board…

Music Hall Audio MMF-7.3 turntable Manufacturer's Comment

Manufacturer's Comment

Editor: Ken [Micallef]'s introduction to the MMF-7.3 review seems to be a setup for a snarky response. Let's go through his review and see if he merits one.

Of course, he is wrong about the differences between the MMF-7.1 and -7.3. There are three major—and I mean major—differences:

1) The [MMF-7.3's] tonearm is made from a one-piece carbon-fiber tube. This controls resonances, and improves rhythm and timing.

2) The [MMF-7.3's] motor has electronic speed control, which makes a huge difference to everything.

3) The cartridge, the…

Spiky, Lyrical, and Transcendently Beautiful Prokofiev

Almost 20 years separate the First and Second Violin Concertos of Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953), but they share a language of such ravishing beauty and unexpected transitions that they seem like first cousins. Among their many recordings, violinist Vadim Gluzman reading with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra (ENSO) under Neeme Järvi's on a BIS hybrid SACD, entitled Prokofiev Violin Concertos, Etc, easily holds its own against classic recordings by Heifetz, Milstein, and, more recently, Vengerov with Rostropovich.

Gluzman's meaty and substantial tone is gorgeous throughout. He may…

Rudy Van Gelder (1925-2016)

Rudy Van Gelder, pioneer recording engineer, creator of "the Blue Note sound" (and the many sounds that imitated it through the years), died at the age of 91 this week. Every true jazz fan and true audiophile has grown to venerate Van Gelder—at least the work he did in the 1950s and '60s for the innovative labels of the day: not just Blue Note but also Prestige, Impulse!, Riverside, New Jazz, and scattered others.

Van Gelder frequented the jazz clubs of New Jersey in his youth, and his goal, once he started recording musicians, was to capture the dynamics, warmth, and spaciousness of live…

Hi-Res Listening Stations Expand. . .

The news is not simply that Best Buy/Magnolia stores' 82 Hi-Resolution Listening Stations which they developed in the US in conjunction with Sony, have proven so successful, and generated so much interest in hi-res, that the company has added 250 more listening locations around the country. It's also that we now have data that shows a major reason for the expansion: Far more people care about sound quality than many would have you believe. In fact, we audiophiles represent far more than a thin slice of the listening public pie chart. Audiophiles comprise a 15% market segment that exercises a…

Wes Phillips RIP

Sad news: We heard this morning that Wes Phillips, who was Stereophile's deputy editor 1995–1999 and a valued contributor 2000 to 2011, passed away yesterday morning after several years of chronic ill health. Wes (right) is shown here at his leaving lunch, 1/1/99 with (L–R) music editor Robert Baird, then-publisher Larry Archibald, and editor John Atkinson. Wes is survived by his wife Joan. We will post more information as it becomes available.

All of Wes's writings for Stereophile can be found here. His first equipment review, in October 1994, was of the Conrad-Johnson Premier Eleven…

NAD, Bluesound, MQA Demonstration in Florida Wednesday

Wednesday August 31, 6:30–8:30pm, Encore Home Entertainment Systems (2115 Siesta Drive, Sarasota, FL 34239) is hosting a special NAD/PSB/Bluesound event. Travis Huff, the Central Regional Sales Manager for Lenbrook America, parent company of NAD, PSB, and Bluesound products, will be discussing and demonstrating the introduction of the Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) audio codec into NAD and Bluesound components for 2016. Featured models include the NAD MDC module and all six Bluesound network-streaming player, speakers, and electronics products.

Here will be refreshments, hors d'…

Cans, You Dig It?

The graphic above was created with data provided to me by the CTA (Consumer Technology Association). I understand that this data cannot possibly account for every single pair of headphones sold in any given year, but I believe that this is the most accurate account of data currently available to us.

As we can see from these graphics, compared to turntables, headphones account for a much larger part of the consumer tech industry.

This is to be expected for a number of reasons. Here are the obvious ones:

Size. They're small and portable, making them less of a…