Top right, RJ-45 and RS-232 connectors provide communications to the outside world and allow the preamp, for example, to turn on the amp. Protocols are provided for…
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There are balanced (XLR, pin 2 hot) and unbalanced switch-selectable inputs, and a separate IEC mains-in for analog power, with a separate IEC and switch for the DAC upgrade. Three LEDs above the input connectors tell you what's going on with your investment in good sound. One LED pops off when you've pounded the Citadel into thermal overload; two more indicate whether or not the positive and negative rail fuses have blown.
I couldn't leave Paris Lounge before nodding to DJ Stani and DJ Pee's "Le Peuple de l'Herbe." Ostensibly a song about "the people of the herb" (one of the lyrics is "you wanna smoke sometin' "), it's a little tongue-in-cheek but very enjoyable, with wide, deep, dense, articulated bass, a fine midrange, and highs (ahem) that were remarkable in their naturalness. (There's also a Berlin Lounge, Wagram 3069692. These recordings are widely available; I bought both Lounges and Ultra.Chilled 01 at my local Virgin Mega-Mega.)
And now for something completely different: J.S. Bach's Adagio with…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Balanced, differential, solid-state monoblock amplifier. Audio inputs: one single-ended (RCA), one balanced (XLR). Polarity: noninverting, both inputs. Digital input: To Be Announced. Optional control I/O: RS-232, DB9, RJ-45 connectors. Output power: 400W into 8 ohms (26dBW), 425W typical; 600W into 6 ohms, 650W typical. Frequency response: 0.2Hz-400kHz, -3dB, at full power. THD+noise: 2%. S/N Ratio: >103dB. Input impedance: 60k ohms. Input sensitivity: 3.1V RMS (single-ended), 1.55V RMS (balanced), both for 400W into 8 ohms. Voltage gain: 25dB (…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: Forsell Air Force One turntable and tonearm; van den Hul Grasshopper GLA IV, Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum cartridges.
Digital sources: Accuphase DC-101 D/A processor, and DP-100 SACD transport, dCS Purcell D/D converter, dCS Elgar Plus D/A processor, Linn CD12 CD player.
Preamplifiers: Mark Levinson No.32 Reference, Balanced Audio Technology VK-50SE, Lamm L2.
Power amplifiers: Linn Klimax Solo 500 and Krell FPB 350Mc monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: JMlab Utopia.
Cables: Interconnect: TARA Labs The One, ISMs, OnLines;…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Following its 60-minute preconditioning period at one-third full power into 8 ohms, the big Theta Citadel's aluminum casework was warm, though the inset black grilles on the top panel were too hot to keep my hand on. Although the specified voltage gain is the usual 6dB higher from the balanced input, due to the doubled voltage swing, the measured gain at 1kHz was actually the same from both balanced and unbalanced input terminals—you need to flip a switch to select the correct jack—at a fairly low 25.35dB into 8 ohms. The typical 2V maximum output from a CD player…
Several issues back, I mentioned a major "new wave" of power amplifiers coming along: the Adcom 555, the New York Audio Labs transistor-tube hybrids, and the latest Krells, for example. They demonstrate that major audible improvements are still possible in something as well-explored as the power amplifier. Not only that, some of these products demonstrate that superior performance can be combined with relatively low price.
The PS Audio 200C is scarcely cheap at $1649, but I will issue the following challenge: go to your dealer's and listen. Ignore the mystique and hype surrounding more…
• Awesome dynamic power and transient performance. The 200C communicates the true power of full orchestral music, organ, and rock—something that only the most powerful Audio Research, Conrad Johnson, and Krell amplifiers have previously been able to accomplish. At the same time, the lowest levels of musical information are not blurred, hardened, or disguised.
Restoring My Perspective
It should now be clear why I consider the PS Audio 200C as important a breakthrough as the Adcom 555, albeit at a higher price. This may be due to the fact it weighs half a ton, has true direct coupling…
J. Gordon Holt offers a somewhat more moderate appraisal:
PS Audio's most ambitious product to date, this hefty power amplifier combines no-holds-barred construction and an attention to detail which borders on the neurotic/compulsive.
For instance, the interconnections between the output devices and the speaker terminals are machined and formed from a 1/8" sheet of copper, to provide a very low resistance conduction path between the output devices and loudspeaker terminals. This allows the speakers to draw on every joule of energy stored in a pair of 10,000µF storage capacitors…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Solid-state, stereo power amplifier. Inputs: direct-coupled (DC), capacitor-coupled. Output power: >200Wpc into 8 ohms, 400Wpc into 4 ohms, 1000Wpc into 1.5 ohms. Peak current: 64A. Bandwidth: DC to 140kHz, -3dB. Damping factor: >400. S/N Ratio: >100dB. Slew rate: 300V/ms. Rated THD: 0.02%. Rated IMD: 0.01%. Sensitivity: 1.3 volts for rated output.
Dimensions: 19" W by 6½" H by 19" D. Weight: 70 lbs.
Serial number of review sample: 1024.
Price: $1649 (1985).
Manufacturer: (1985) PS Audio, 4145 Santa Fe Road, San Luis Obispo, CA…
Perhaps there is no subject more vigorously debated among audiophiles than the primacy of the loudspeaker. Many 'philes believe there is no more important element in a hi-fi system—after all, they reason, it doesn't matter how good the components ahead of the speakers are; if the transducers can't reproduce the signal, you can't hear it. On the other hand, the source adherents maintain, speakers can't reproduce information that hasn't been retrieved from the recording. Loudspeakers can limit the amount of information you hear, but they can't increase it. This is one of those irresolvable…