Digital Sources: Apple 2.7GHz i7 Mac mini running OS 10.10.3, with iTunes 12, Pure Music 2.0, Audirvana Plus 1.5.10; iPad mini running iPeng 8; PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream D/A processor; AudioQuest JitterBug USB noise filter.
Preamplification: Bel Canto Design Black ASC1.
Power Amplifiers: Bel Canto Design Black MPS1, MBL Corona C15 (both monoblocks).
Loudspeakers: GamuT RS7, KEF LS50.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Coffee (USB) & Vodka (Ethernet). Interconnect (balanced): AudioQuest Wild Blue. Speaker: Kubala-Sosna Elation! AC:…
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn, Cobra, Castellon turntable, tonearm, stand; Kuzma 4Point, Swedish Analog Technologies tonearms; TechDAS Air Force Two turntable with Graham Engineering Elite tonearm; Air Tight PC-1 Magnum Opus, Fuuga, Lyra Atlas & Etna, Miyajima Labs Zero (mono) & Madake, Ortofon Anna cartridges.
Digital Sources: Simaudio Moon Evolution 650D transport-DAC; Lynx Hilo A/D–D/A converter; Meridian Sooloos Digital Media System; Pure Vinyl, VinylStudio LP-ripping software.
Preamplification: Ypsilon Electronics MC-…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I performed a full set of measurements on the Krell Solo 575 (serial no. 30315060125) using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see www.ap.com and the January 2008 "As We See It"). Before measuring it, I preconditioned the amplifier by running it at one-third the specified power, 190W, into 8 ohms for 30 minutes. (I usually run an amplifier for an hour, but my test load was getting uncomfortably hot after half that time.) The amplifier's cooling fans turned on immediately at this power level and were noisier than I was anticipating. At the end of 30 minutes, the…
"The way that young people will get into high-end audio is not through streaming: It's through the LP."
When that observation was offered during a recent phone conversation, I wrote it down word for word—not just because I agree with it, but because it was so remarkable: The audio-industry veteran who offered it owns a digital front end worth tens of thousands of dollars, and hasn't owned a turntable for at least a dozen years. Nevertheless, as became clear during the remainder of our conversation, he understands the dynamic that keeps vinyl at the top: a confluence of marketing…
The orchestra got bigger—crazy bigger—and the swooping of the woodwinds became more physical, as did the accents in the double basses. But the music making, the playing of notes and beats, the conveyance of intellect and emotion, was essentially the same. I heard, in the same, single moment, why someone would pay $5000 for the Hommage and why most anyone else would be happy just paying their $749 for the Leema.
But one little thing from that last listen got stuck in my mind, so I picked up the needle and started the record again. But this time, before I did, I hustled over to the backs of…
To paraphrase the playwright Alan Bennett: When I started Listener magazine, my idea was to create a small, anarchist journal. But people wouldn't obey the rules.
In 2003, when I began writing for Stereophile, I felt very much at home. John Atkinson had one set of rules (footnote 1) to ring us in, us being the codependent communities of audio reviewers and audio manufacturers. Martinet that I am, I layered atop those policies a few rules of my own, to govern interactions with members of the industry. More recently, I began to observe an additional practice—I wouldn't quite call it a…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-channel phono preamplifier. Inputs: 1 phono, switchable between moving-magnet and moving-coil. Phono gain: 36dB (MM), 62dB (MC). Input sensitivity: 4mV RMS for 250mV RMS output at 1kHz (MM), 180µV RMS for 250mV RMS output at 1kHz (MC). Input impedance: 47k ohms (MM), 90 ohms (MC). Headroom: >26dB at 1kHz. Distortion: <0.02% at 1kHz.
Dimensions: 4.3" (110mm) W by 2" (50mm) H by 3.9" (100mm) D. Weight: 2 lbs (0.9kg).
Serial Numbers of Units Reviewed: ES140708B, ES140704B.
Price: $749. Approximate number of dealers: 8. Warranty: 5…
Every square millimeter of the case's interior had the same seamless finish as the exterior. The hand-laced wiring was neatly bundled, and tied to the inside of the case with red-leather straps that looked as if they might have been sliced from the interior of a late-'40s Jaguar. The soldering was the neatest I've seen anywhere—I doubt that even Dick Cheney's pacemaker is built this well—with not one stray speck of flux or solder visible. My favorite touch of all was hidden beneath the Bespoke: four felt feet of generous size and luxuriant thickness. No metal, no polymers—just dense, soft…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Garrard 301, Thorens TD 124 turntables; EMT 997, Abis SA-1.2 tonearms; EMT OFD 25 & OFD 15 & TSD 15 pickup heads; Denon DL-103, Miyajima Premium BE Mono II cartridges.
Digital Sources: Halide Designs DAC HD USB D/A converter; Apple iMac G5 computer running Audirvana Plus 1.5.12; Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player.
Preamplification: Hommage T2 step-up transformer, Shindo Aurieges phono preamplifier, Shindo Masseto preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: Shindo Corton-Charlemagne (monoblocks) & Haut-Brion (stereo).
Loudspeakers…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Leema Acoustics Essentials phono preamplifier (serial number ES140704B) using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see www.ap.com, and the January 2008 "As We See It"). As always with phono stages, I experimented with the grounding between the Essentials and the Audio Precision system to get the lowest level of noise.
The voltage gain at 1kHz was 35.7dB with the Leema set to MM (moving-magnet), and 61.2dB when set to MC (moving-coil). Both values are very close to their specifications, and the preamp preserved absolute polarity (ie, was non-…