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<I>Stereophile</I>'s Writers on an Audio Quest Page 6

Mitchell: But if it's getting consistently better than it was and getting good at lower price levels, then by definition we're making progress.

Holt: It's called advancing the state of the art.

Mitchell: And that happens only by establishing certain knowledge, not by just exchanging opinions. Especially when those opinions are contradictory. If Stereophile says a product is great and The Abso!ute Sound says that the same product is trash, or vice versa, then we've really not gotten anywhere at all. But if we can establish why products interact the way they do, then we can make…

The Fifth Element #9

I don't know who originated the idea of "desert island" recordings. I do know that for many years there was a BBC radio program in the UK that asked celebrities to list their choices. While reading quite a few of those lists, I had the sneaking suspicion that the respondents either hadn't entered fully into the spirit of the task, or were tailoring their choices with a view to what the radio or reading audience would think. (Interior monologue: "I am an anorak-wearing viola da gamba player. Hmmm. Birth of the Cool had better be on my list. London Calling, too, just to be safe.")

If you…

The Fifth Element #9 Page 2

I would not want to be without Morten Lauridsen's heartfelt Lux Aeterna or its template, Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem. There is only one recording of Mortenson's masterwork; of the many great Brahms Requiem recordings I'd want Robert Shaw's and Sergiu Celibidache's. Richard Strauss's Four Last Songs in the incomparable Lucia Popp/Klaus Tennstedt version offer a ray of hope. The otherworldly confidence of Dante's sacred cosmology pervades Elgar's Dream of Gerontius; I'd want every available recording and several that are not available, the better to make an in-depth study.

For Beethoven'…

The Fifth Element #9 Page 3

Although I hesitate to recommend a book that is out of print, John Culshaw's Ring Resounding is worth tracking down or borrowing from the library. Culshaw produced the first complete studio recording of Wagner's Ring cycle, originally released on LPs. His unique memoir is a fascinating behind-the-scenes view of the early days of the synergy between LP recording and classical-music performance as international big business. [The Golden Ring, the Humphrey Burton-directed TV documentary on the making of the Culshaw-produced Ring, was released on DVD in mid-2002.—Ed.] Culshaw's life was…

NAD 118 digital preamplifier

Tone controls? I ripped them out of my Dyna PAS-3! And that was the last time I had tone controls. As a card-carrying audiophile, I wanted just what the engineer had inscribed on the recording, with as little change as possible (read: high fidelity).

But such purism has left me unarmed against boomy or screechy recordings of wonderful music. The only choices have been to endure or abjure such recordings because analog frequency shapers (tone controls, equalizers, filters, etc.) add phase-shifts, noise, and distortion. At the same time, mid-fi and home-theater systems (and recording…

NAD 118 digital preamplifier Page 2

In addition to its operation as a complete line-level preamp/control center, the NAD 118 has the following unusual features:

1) Digital signal inputs in addition to analog signal inputs. With digital sources, there's no need to use DACs. Analog and digital sources are handled identically.

2) Digital tape input/output in addition to analog tape loop. Analog tape output is available, unprocessed, from the analog inputs; or, via the DSP, from both analog and digital sources. Digital tape input and output are also available, but monitoring is possible only if the recorder has a DAC;…

NAD 118 digital preamplifier Page 3

How to Evaluate the Sound?
The 118's versatility can be employed in several ways. First, as a complete analog in/out preamp, it works as a line-level preamp controller in a standard audio system. Second, as a digital-in/analog-out preamp, it functions as a system controller and DAC for an all-digital system. In addition, an external DAC can replace the 118's built-in DAC. Note that the DSP engine is always in the listening circuit because the gain and balance controls are always operable. This also means that the DSP In/Out button is merely changing the processing algorithm to one that…

NAD 118 digital preamplifier Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

NAD 118 digital preamplifier: Line-level preamplifier/control unit with remote control. Inputs: 4 analog (100k ohms + 450pF input impedance, 80mV sensitivity, 86dB S/N Ratio), 4 digital (S/PDIF RCA). Analog and digital tape loops, 1 digital output (S/PDIF RCA). 18-bit A/D converter (106dB S/N), 20-bit D/A converter (108dB S/N). Frequency response: 10Hz-20kHz, ±0.3dB. Voltage gain: 16.5dB max. THD+SMPTE+IHF IM distortion: 0.03%. All processing in digital domain using 24-bit DSP. Analog outputs: Main (220 ohms, 3V), Tape (100 ohms, 1V), Headphones (120 ohms).
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NAD 118 digital preamplifier Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog source: Heybrook TT2 turntable, Rega RB300 tonearm, Koetsu Black/Gold phono cartridge.
Digital sources: Audio Alchemy DDS•Pro, DTI•Pro32, and DDE v3, with Audio Magic I2S cables and Cardas GoldenCross interconnects; Camelot Dragon Pro-2, Uther DAC with Camelot I2S cables; and Straight Wire Maestro II interconnects; Pioneer CD transport, DMX receiver, The Parts Connection Assemblage DAC-2.
Preamplifiers: Klyne 6L3.3P, Sonic Frontiers Line-2.
Power amplifiers: McCormack DNA-1, Sonic Frontiers Power-2 (via Cardas Cross or Straight Wire…

Chips for Chumps

In his "From the Editor's Desk" in the March issue of Stereophile's e-newsletter, John Atkinson recounts how, years ago, "erstwhile audio scribe Enid Lumley" demonstrated her pizza-box-tripod tweak at a hi-fi show. Lumley, JA writes, "placed the tripod atop a CD player and convinced her audience—including me—that the sound was better."

The subject of JA's newsletter column was audio tweaks in general, and specifically the recent debate over Golden Sound's so-called Intelligent Chip. This small, plastic-encased device is claimed to permanently improve the sound of CDs. Just place the chip…