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These discs revealed something I have been musing about for a while: that the DSD encoding used on SACD gets instrumental tonal colors right in a way that, while not unknown with CD, seems fragile, with more of a chance of becoming diluted. The odd thing is that this benefit was apparent even with an SACD mastered from a recording that was originally PCM: Andrew Litton's 1999 SACD of Mahler's Symphony 2, with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (Delos DE 3237). Though scored for vast orchestral forces, Mahler's music depends much of the time on the tonal contrast and interplay between smaller-scale…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Multichannel-capable Super Audio CD/CD player with dual-laser pickup, remote control, channel-level and time-delay adjust, and bass management. Analog outputs: Two-channel, 1 pair L/R unbalanced, switchable between Direct (full-range) and Direct+Subwoofer; Multichannel, L/R/C/LS/RS/Sub unbalanced, switchable between Direct and DSP-controlled. Digital outputs: CD, S/PDIF (RCA and TosLink); SACD, DTCP-encrypted i.Link (IEEE1394, 4-pin variant). Maximum output level: 2V RMS at 1kHz into 50k ohms. Frequency response: SACD, 2Hz-50kHz, +0dB/-3dB; CD, 2Hz-…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: Mark Levinson No.31.5 CD transport & No.30.6 D/A processor; Classé CDP-10 CD player; Krell SACD Standard, Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista SACD players; Linn Unidisk 1.1 universal disc player; Technics DVD-A10 DVD-Audio player.
Preamplifier: Mark Levinson No.380S.
Power amplifiers: Mark Levinson No.33H, Musical Fidelity kW monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Dynaudio Confidence C4, PSB Platinum T8, Revel Ultima Studio.
Cables: Datalinks: Kimber Illuminations Orchid AES/EBU, AudioQuest SVD-4 S/PDIF. Interconnect: Madrigal CZ Gel-1 (Levinson…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The Sony SCD-XA9000ES's maximum output level is specified as 2V, conforming to the CD standard, but it met this only from the multichannel outputs playing SACD. From the two-channel outputs playing CD, the output was an audible 0.57dB lower, at 1.875V; playing SACD, the output was 0.31dB lower, at 1.93V. These differences will be just audible, in favor of SACD in direct comparisons.
The output impedance from all outputs was a low 109 ohms across most of the band, this rising inconsequentially to 132 ohms at 20Hz. The Sony preserved absolute polarity, and…
Kalman Rubinson wrote about the XA9000ES in May 2004 (Vol.27 No.5)
True to his word, after he reviewed the Sony SCD-XA9000ES multichannel SACD player last December, John Atkinson sent it to me for a head-to-head comparison with its predecessor, the SCD-XA777ES. Their control layouts are almost identical, but the XA777ES had a flat black front panel while the XA9000ES has a beveled silver faceplate, which makes the latter seem much bulkier than it is. Still, the actual control differences are few. The new unit replaces the Stereo/MCH switch with switches for iLink and SACD/CD, and the…
Compuserve's CEAUDIO forum has been buzzing in recent weeks about audio cables. The subject even spilled over into an April meeting of the New York chapter of the Audio Engineering Society (see Wes Phillips's report in this month's "Industry Update"). Nearly two decades after Polk, Fulton, and Monster Cable raised our collective consciousness about the differences cable choice can make in an audio system, the debate still rages between audiophiles and some members of the engineering community. "High-priced tone controls" is how some engineers dismiss the subject of cables, while admitting…
• The electrical signal is maintained by the flow of electrons in the conductor (the velocity of those electrons is surprisingly low). Does the mechanical structure of the conductor affect the behavior of the electrons? I remember the English audio engineer Stanley Kelly telling me how, as a junior member of the British team developing radar in the '40s, it was his job to pound pure-copper busbars with a rubber mallet until their resistance dropped to the specified level.
• With unbalanced interconnects and components, grounding problems are inherent. (When we measure the performance of…
Monoblock power amplifiers seem to be moving in and out of my listening room faster than green-onion salsa from Chi-Chi's. Over the past six months I've had the Parasound Halo JC-1, the Halcro dm68, the Pass XA-160, the Musical Fidelity kW, and now these 300W (into 8 ohms), $4500-each beauties from Theta Digital. All of these amps sounded as different as they looked, which was no surprise; too bad the "measures the same, sounds the same" dogmatists remain open for business.
Once upon a time, more than 15 years ago, Theta Digital was exclusively a "digital done right" company, as their…
The upper mids were a bit prominent for what I consider to be tonal neutrality, but not to the point of being hard, harsh, or glaring. Instead, the slight prominence helped impart a snap and excitement to high-frequency transients that only enhanced the overall clarity and subjective purity of the attack. The Enterprise's high-frequency performance walked the fine line between analytically pure and slightly hot, but never became hard, harsh, brittle, or mechanical—a charge leveled against the big Krell amps, though I can't speak from firsthand experience.
I was using the Musical Fidelity…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state monoblock power amplifier. Power output: 300Wpc into 8 ohms (24.8dBW), 350Wpc typical, 500Wpc into 4 ohms (24dBW), 425Wpc typical. THD+noise: <1.75% (output level not specified). Frequency response: 0.5Hz-400kHz, -3dB at full power. Input impedance: 50k ohms. Sensitivity: 2.8V RMS input for 300W into 8 ohms (single-ended), 1.4V RMS input for 300W into 8 ohms (balanced). Voltage Gain: 25dB single-ended (18x), 31dB balanced (36x). Signal/noise ratio: >105dB unweighted.
Dimensions: 13 7/8" H by 9 1/16" W by 23 5/8" D. Weight: 51 lbs…