Digital Sources: Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP universal player; Apple 2.7GHz i7 Mac mini running OS10.7, iTunes 10, Pure Music 1.89, Audirvana Plus 1.5.10; NAD M50 media player with NAD M52 and NetGear RAID arrays;Auralic Vega, Benchmark DAC1 D/A converters.
Preamplification: Pass Labs XP-30 line preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: MBL Corona C15 & Reference 9007, Pass Labs XA60.5 (all monoblocks).
Loudspeakers: Joseph Audio Perspective, Rogers BBC LS3/5A, EnigmAcoustics Sopranino supertweeter.
Cables: Digital: Kubala-Sosna Elation! AES/EBU,…
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Sidebar 1: JA's Review System
Sidebar 2: Measurements
I examined the measured behavior of the Musical Fidelity V90-DAC with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see www.ap.com and the January 2008 "As We See It"). For some tests, and to check the results of others with a different measurement system, I used my vintage Audio Precision System One DSP. My sample of the V90-DAC was serial number "RRY0135 (JUNE 2013)."
I used my 2012-vintage Apple MacBook Pro, running on battery power, to examine the V90-DAC's performance via its USB port. Apple's USB Prober utility identified the Musical Fidelity as having the…
Sidebar 3: Specifications
Description: Two-channel, solid-state D/A processor with outboard switch-mode power supply. Inputs: one S/PDIF coaxial on RCA, 32–192kbps, 16–24 bits; two S/PDIF optical on TosLink, 32–96kbps, 16–24 bits; one USB type B, up to 24 bits and 96kbps. Outputs: one pair unbalanced on RCA jacks. Frequency Response: 20Hz–20kHz, +0, –0.1dB. Crosstalk: –104dB, 20Hz–20kHz. Signal/Noise ratio: 117dB, 20Hz–20kHz. Jitter: <12 picoseconds peak–peak. THD+noise: <0.004% 20Hz–20 kHz.
Dimensions: 6.6" (170mm) W by 4" (102mm) D by 1.8" (47mm) H. Weight: 1.3 lbs (0.6kg).…
It’s been an exceedingly tough week for music deaths: Maestro Lorin Maazel, the last survivor of America’s greatest punk band, Tommy Ramone, unforgettable Broadway singer and actress Elaine Stritch and now the great Johnny Winter who died on Wednesday in Zurich, Switzerland at the age of 70.
Nearly cross–eyed and impossibly skinny even as a kid, the man with what he called "albinoism" from Beaumont, Texas, was a guitar virtuoso, particularly on his beloved Gibson Firebird, who loved playing the electric blues. Brought to a national audience via an article in a 1968 issue of Rolling Stone…
Music Matters Jazz is going 33. As all high-end vinylphiles know, MMJ is the LA-based company that's been reissuing classic Blue Note albums cut at 45 rpm, spread out over two slabs of 180 gram virgin vinyl, encased in a gatefold cover that meticulously reproduces the original's artwork on the outside and gorgeously reprints session photos of the musicians on the inside.
But now, after doing this with 112 titles, the company's proprietors, Ron Rambach and Joe Harley, are re-reissuing some of the greatest Blue Note titles on single-disc LPs cut at 331/3rpm. When I first heard the news, I…
The annual Capital Audio Fest (CAF), the Mid-Atlantic States' premier playground for audio, returns to the Sheraton Hotel in Silver Spring, MD on July 25–27. With the addition of its CanMania, whose list of vendors continues to grow; Saturday's Headphone Meet; and a new focus on high-resolution downloads, the annual show expects to draw a younger and bigger crowd of up to 2000 attendees to its eminently accessible location.
"D.C. has fantastic demographics and top universities, but a shortage of audio retailers," show founder Gary Gill told Stereophile. "There are maybe 10 retailers…
We’re big fans here at Stereophile of dealers putting on events for their customers to meet manufacturers and enjoy some high-quality tunes. So we’re letting everyone know that next Friday, July 25, from 5–8pm, San Francisco’s Music Lovers (2295 Bush Street) will host an open house. Guest speakers will be AudioQuest's Bill Low (founder and CEO), Joe Harley (SVP, Marketing and Product Development), and Skylar Gray (Director, Ear Speaker Division), each of whom will be available to share and discuss current and future products and answer any questions. For more info, visit www.musicloversaudio.…
The Black Keys: Turn Blue
Nonesuch 7559795555 (LP/CD/HDtracks download). 2014. Black Keys, Danger Mouse, prods.; Kennie Takahashi, eng.; Collin Dupuis, Geoff Neal, Bill Skibbe, asst. engs.; Tchad Blake, mix. TT: 45:09
Performance ****
Sonics ****
Nonesuch 7559795555 (LP/CD/HDtracks download). 2014. Black Keys, Danger Mouse, prods.; Kennie Takahashi, eng.; Collin Dupuis, Geoff Neal, Bill Skibbe, asst. engs.; Tchad Blake, mix. TT: 45:09
Performance ****
Sonics ****
There was a time when calling the Black Keys "sexy" would have been thought perversely stunted, given that they were a two-man, raw-as-hell, blow-me-down, frat-rock grinder that jammed and pounded and convinced everyone that their version of Tony Joe White's groove was something new and revolutionary.
Yet their eighth studio…
Playing recorded music in the home is a complex, coded, cultural experience: We sit, we listen, we think and dream—and, when it feels just right, we admire. We admire who we are and how we arrived at this beautiful moment. This simple act of admiration is usually a happy sort of self-congratulatory expression of our basic desire to have meaningful as well as enjoyable experiences. We are proud of our good taste and love of music. But this type of listening can also provoke anxiety and self-recrimination. We ask ourselves why we like this music and not some other kind. What would my friends…
On July 17, industry veterans Richard Schram, founder of Parasound, and John Curl, the company's legendary circuit designer (above), made a rare joint appearance at Century Stereo in San Jose, CA. Surviving unexpectedly horrendous freeway traffic, which made for a late start—perfect for this writer, who made the same commute—the two men's great spirits contributed to an evening as entertaining as it was informative.
Schram noted that when Parasound began in 1981, his strategy was informed by the very direct, unfiltered feedback he had received about the products he had developed for…