A functional layout is used on the front panel. From left to right are the power switch, band selectors, combined mute-mono/stereo switch, four-…
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The Marantz ST-74 tuner, reviewed in Vol.8 No.7, was described as having "butter-and-marmalade appearance and AM performance, but dry-toast FM." The latest offering from Marantz, the ST551 (footnote 1), has not quite as sweet AM or appearance, but its more palatable FM makes it one of the best-sounding tuners encountered. It doesn't lack features either—remote control of manual tuning, scan, band selection, and presets—all at a fairly low price.
Marantz ST-54 AM/FM tuner, from October 1989 (Vol.12 No.10):
The Marantz CD-94 CD player has become fairly popular in the best systems. For those interested in FM, there is a stunning, matching ST-54 tuner. Actually, the same basic tuner was reviewed four years ago in Vol.8 No.7 as the ST-74. The surface differences between the two tuners are that the latter has no remote control or timer-event recording provisions. Cosmetics have been enhanced by availability in black or gold at $319, with hand-rubbed rosewood end panels an additional $80. The gold/end-panel combination, in my opinion…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: FM stereo/AM tuner with digitally synthesized tuning. Usable sensitivity: 1.9µV/10.8dBf mono, 5.5µV/20dBf stereo. 50dB stereo quieting sensitivity: 35µV/36dBf. Capture ratio: 0.9dB. Selectivity: 60dB alternate channel, 4dB adjacent channel. S/N ratio at 65dBf: 82dB mono, 80dB stereo. Stereo THD: 0.1%. Separation: 53dB. SCA rejection: 40dB. AM suppression ratio: 60dB. 19 and 38kHz products: –40dB. Power consumption: 12W.
Dimensions: 16.5" W by 10.25" D by 2.375" H. Weight: 5 lbs.
Serial Number: 66U010199.
Price: $299.95 (1987); no longer…
Most audiophiles know Mobile Fidelity as the record company with the philosophy of resurrecting old, important, recorded performances and re-releasing them with (hopefully) the kind of sound they should have had in the first place. Few audiophiles are aware that Mobile Fidelity is also the name of a (different) recording company which collects sound effects in four channels for motion picture and television post-production (footnote 1).
"Post-production" is that phase of filmmaking which takes place after all the actors and cameramen have gone home. Most of it consists of the addition of…
Mobile Fidelity's president and founder, Brad Miller, got hooked on trains as a kid, and when his father bought one of the first home tape recorders, Brad started borrowing it. He soon became hooked on recording too, switching first to stereo, then to 4-channel sound as each offered an improvement in his ability to record trains the way they actually sound. Offering some of his recordings for public sale just seemed the next logical thing to do, and it subsidized his hobby. (He also organized a Muzak-style orchestra called "Mystic Moods," and issued some recordings in which he mixed music…
I had mentally marked three locations from where I could get great shots when the train hove into sight. But I was requested not to move when recording began, because "the mike is so sensitive, it will pick up rustling-grass sounds when you move." I selected what I felt to be the best spot, and vowed that I would stay put. (I lied.)
Finally, barely perceptibly, we heard the train whistle as it left the Chama station, almost 5 miles away. Many minutes later we heard it again, still a long way off. Joe didn't move. Again the whistle, a little closer still, this time followed by the…
Sidebar: About the Equipment
The heart of MFPN's mobile recording system is Colossus, a 4-channel digital processor designed for Brad by Lou Dorren (who developed a 4-channel broadcast system called Quadracast and the phase-locked loop circuit used by JVC for their CD-4 decoder), and manufactured by a firm called By The Numbers. It's a 16-bit linear-encoding system, but uses a proprietary code which is claimed to provide wider dynamic range with much lower distortion than any other digital audio system. Remarkably small in size (similar to that of an expensive tubed preamp), Colossus's…
Lenny Abramov thought he found immortality in Eunice Park, the woman who gave him the will to live. He thought he found it in his job, where he sweat endlessly soaking through his acrylic shirts while mindlessly serving Joshie, a back-stabbing “friend”. Eunice would leave him too. In fact, the only true happiness Abramov ever found and returned to were the sounds of his mother and father’s native Russian tongue, their coddling words and thick, laborious accents. In their speech, he could reconnect to the compassion they shared, the basketball they played, and his basement bedroom. Abramov’s…
I approached The xx’s self-titled debut with caution. The hype surrounding it was enough to turn me away. I remember talking about the record with Karen at Other Music. “It’s definitely one of those albums that polarizes people,” she said.
Soon, though, it became unavoidable. I might be able to hide from it at home, but I couldn’t escape it at work. By the middle of 2010, a hi-fi show wasn’t complete without The xx. Some audiophiles couldn’t stand the wispy vocals, others couldn’t handle the deep kick-drum blasts, but even those who hated the record had to admit that it sounded great on…
Owning a powerful tube amplifier is like owning a classic automobile. Great pleasure may be had, but ownership involves a little more care and maintenance than usual.
Jadis, an audiophile company specializing in all-tube amplifiers and operating out of a small French town, has enjoyed a good reputation for some years, even if some of its models have suffered from the reliability problems that occasionally afflict the largest tube amps. Another problem area is that of power consumption and heat output. In common with class-A amplifiers and high-bias A/B types, including solid-state models…