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After a weekend of online reading about the inestimable Rudy Van Gelder and listening to many of his great studio engineering jobs for Prestige and Blue Note, I came to the conclusion that perhaps my favorite example of Rudy’s engineering, as well as classic bebop on Blue Note, is also one of the very first live records, one that showed the advantages of the 12 inch long player and also the great improvements in recording technology that had become widely available after WWII. To my ears and intermittently functioning brain, Art Blakey’s A Night At Birdland, Vol. 1 remains a landmark of both…
To those who were into audio in the late 1980s and early '90s, the name Audio Alchemy is a familiar one. I've owned DACs and jitter-reducing devices made by Audio Alchemy and Perpetual Technologies (the first successor to the original AA) and found them to provide excellent performance at modest prices. Indeed, at the time, many in the industry felt that the Audio Alchemy products were underpriced, leaving too little room for profit, and that this led to the company's demise. The new Audio Alchemy—led by its original designer, Peter Madnick, and having on staff other employees from the old…
Listening to the DPA-1Ms through the Wilson Sabrinas, without directly comparing them with any other amplifier(s), I was impressed with their clear, open sound, resolution of fine detail, dynamics, and freedom from coloration. All of these characteristics were evident in the playback of my usual test CDs, which included the Chesky Records Jazz Sampler & Audiophile Test Compact Disc, Vol.1 (CD, Chesky JD37), Reference Recordings' orchestral sampler Tutti! (RR-906CD), Harold Farberman's The All Star Percussion Ensemble (CD, Golden Strings GS CD005), Sylvia McNair's Sure Thing (CD, Philips…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state, class-D, monoblock power amplifier. Inputs: 1 pair balanced (XLR), 1 pair single-ended (RCA), 3.5mm trigger. Outputs: 2 pairs five-way binding posts. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, ±0.25dB. Output power (0.1% THD+N, 1kHz): 325W into 8 ohms, 400W into 4 ohms. Nominal THD+N (1W into 8 ohms): 0.05%. Signal/noise (1kHz): 100dB, unweighted. Input impedance: 100k ohms. Output impedance: 0.06 ohm. Channel separation (1kHz): 80dB. Gain: 20 or 26dB, switchable.
Dimensions: 10.4" (267mm) W by 3" (76mm) H by 11.5" (295mm) D. Weight: 16.1 lbs…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Source: Acoustic Signature WOW XXL turntable & TA-1000 tonearm, Soundsmith MIMC cartridge.
Digital Source: PS Audio PerfectWave Memory CD player & DirectStream DAC.
Preamplifier: Convergent Audio Technology SL-1 Renaissance Black Path Edition.
Power Amplifiers: Theta Digital Prometheus monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Sabrina
Cables: Interconnect, Speaker, AC: Nordost Valhalla 2 Reference.
Accessories: PS Audio PerfectWave PowerPlant 5 power conditioner, Synergistic Research PHT Phono Transducer,…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Logistical issues meant that I measured a different sample of the Audio Alchemy DPA-1M (serial no. 10016050098) from those auditioned by Robert Deutsch. I performed a full set of measurements, using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). As the DPA-1M has a class-D output stage, for almost all measurements I used, ahead of the analyzer, an Audio Precision AUX-0025 passive low-pass filter, which eliminates noise above 200kHz that would otherwise contaminate the measurements; for the 1kHz output power tests, I also used a 20kHz…
I am a lucky person. Who gets to be an artist, an aspiring griot, and a Stereophile reporter? Who gets to stay at home in paint-smeared pajamas, draw pictures of teapots and barn owls . . . and then, on top of everything, gets paid to listen to music made by Henryk Szeryng, Eugene Hütz, and Winston Reedy? C'est moi!
I have groovy friends, too: other eccentric artists, scruffy musicians, recording and mastering engineers, beekeepers, authors and editors, art and junk collectors, tube wizards, turntable savants, DJs, Mensa-type amp designers, bat-shit-crazy poet-philosophers, and…
The Moon Neo 230HAD, driving the always-lucid Audeze LCD-X headphones ($1699), tracked the complexity and feeling of Szeryng's playing. It made his tempos into conscious artistic decisions I was keenly aware of. Flourishes at the end of fast-moving passages could be almost explosive! There were fits of Bach fury, human remorse, and divine grace. Contrasts were rendered with a wide spectrum of subtleties. Bass was neither too lean nor too plum. The LCD-Xes' fine detail and excellent tone were framed in an easygoing, musically coherent manner. Listening fatigue was nearly nonexistent.
If…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state D/A headphone amplifier and line preamplifier. Inputs: two pairs analog (one pair RCA, one pair 3.5mm stereo jack), four digital (TosLink and two coaxial S/PDIF, USB). Outputs: two pairs RCA (one pair fixed, one pair variable), ¼" headphone jack. Sample rate compatibility: PCM from 32kHz to 384kHz, DSD64, 128, 256. Bit depths supported: 16–24, S/PDIF, 16–32, USB. Power output: 1W into 50 ohms, 200mW into 300 ohms, 100mW into 600 ohms. Input impedance: 22k ohms. Output impedance: 1.25 ohms. Recommended headphone impedance: 20–600 ohms.…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Technics SL-1200GAE and Roksan Radius 7 turntables, Hana EL MC and Roksan Corus Silver MM cartridges.
Digital Sources: Apple Mac mini computer (Intel Core i5) running OS X El Capitan; Halide DAC HD, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil DACs; Integra DPPS-7.2 DVD-A player.
Preamplification: Lounge Audio Copla MC step-up amplifier; Lounge Audio LCR Mk.III, Parasound Halo JC3+ phono preamplifiers; Rogue Audio RP1, Simaudio Moon Neo 350P preamplifiers.
Power Amplifier: First Watt J2.
Integrated Amplifiers: Line Magnetic LM-518 IA, Schiit…