"We could measure it, but instead we'll listen and see what we like best,"…
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Inspired by Watch Mr. Wizard, a children's science show that aired on American TV 1951–1965, loudspeaker designer Albert Von Schweikert brought his updated, all-ages loudspeaker installment to Orinda, CA last weekend. Presenting to members of the newly constituted San Francisco Audio Society, who packed SFAS Events Goddess Leslie Lundin's newly renovated listening room, Von Schweikert and his grandson, Devon Von Schweikert, enabled attendees to compare the sound of various midrange drivers and enclosure materials.
It is really funny how a simple thing like what hat I am wearing can affect everything I see and hear. When I used to wear my audio show "visitor" hat—only a few rooms had good sound and the equipment all seemed overpriced. When I wore my "exhibitor" hat my room always had the best music and the best sound. Now, I am wearing my "reporter" hat and a little tag that says Stereophile at the Capital Audio Fest, which runs Friday through Sunday at the Silver Spring, Maryland, Sheraton and the first three rooms I visit have amazing sound. How can this be?
Willow Room: I always wanted to meet…
It seems like the Red Hot discs have been around forever, dutifully, as their longtime motto proclaims, “Fighting AIDS Through Popular Culture.” The shtick has always been simple and appealing: choose a songwriter like Cole Porter, a genre like country music or a personage like Fela, and have performers record their take, no matter how radical, on that music. Twenty-five years ago, the Red Hot Organization released Red, Hot + Blue, a compilation of Cole Porter tunes sung by the likes of Tom Waits and U2. It was a hit and now, thirteen Red Hot albums later, after collections featuring dance…
They spoiled all my fun.
When I receive a product sample for review, I look forward to taking photos while I unpack the thing, as a guide to repacking for later on. This company provided an illustrated packing list—it was the first thing I saw on slitting open the carton. I look forward to crafting amusing remarks about poorly written or whimsically translated owner's manuals; this company provided the clearest, most comprehensive manual I've ever seen. I look forward to having some sort of anomalous event—smoke, noise, or smoke and noise—to write about. This product offered nothing of…
My review sample benefited from generous run-in time; moreover, during every listening session, the V 40 SE sounded notably richer and more natural after 15 minutes or so of playing time. One day, immediately after powering up the Octave, I put on a fine LP reissue of selections from the first two suites from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, performed by Dimitri Mitropoulos and the New York Philharmonic (Columbia Masterworks/Speakers Corner MS 6023); it wasn't until the fourth excerpt, Masks, that strings began to have a really good sense of touch. Consequently, I went back to the first…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-channel, tubed integrated amplifier. Tube complement: four KT88, one 12AX7, one 6922. Line-level inputs: 4, plus 1 home-theater bypass. Rated output power: 40Wpc into 4 ohms (13dBW). Frequency response at 10W: 5Hz–70kHz, –2dB. Line input sensitivity: 180mV. Line input impedance: 50k ohms. Channel separation: 40dB. Signal/noise: 100dB. THD at 10W: 0.1% into 4 ohms.
Dimensions: 15.9" (408mm) W by 6.2" (159mm) H by 16.2" (415mm) D; with Black Box connection, 19.1" (490mm) D. Weight: 40.9 lbs (18.6kg).
Finishes: Silver or Black aluminum.…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Garrard 301 turntable, EMT 997 tonearm, EMT OFD 25 & TSD 15 70th Anniversary pickup heads.
Digital Sources: Halide Designs DAC HD USB D/A converter; Apple iMac G5 computer running Decibel v.1.2.11, Audirvana Plus v.1.5.12 playback software; Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player.
Preamplification: Hommage T2 step-up transformer, Sutherland Engineering Insight phono preamplifier, Shindo Masseto preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: Shindo Corton-Charlemagne monoblocks & Cortese.
Loudspeakers: Altec Valencia, DeVore Fidelity…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It" and www.ap.com) to measure the Octave V 40 SE. After installing the four KT88 output tubes per the setup sheet, and before doing any measurements, I let the amplifier warm up for a morning. I then checked the bias voltage for the KT88s using the front-panel rotary switch and the LED display. All four LEDs illuminated green, which, according to the excellent owner's manual, means "Setting is OK." I took a complete set of measurements with the amplifier used alone, then repeated most of…
A preamplifier is the port of entry through which you gain access to the sources you've so carefully assembled. It's also the gate through which all of your music passes. So while its sonic performance is obviously critical, you'd also better assess how it feels, how it looks, and how it operates—you're going to be in an intimate relationship with it for a long time. Before choosing a preamplifier, therefore, take some time to drive it around the block, or at least shake hands with it. Use your imagination as much as your ears.
Bling that Sings
You may find the looks of the Momentum…
Setup and Connections
While RCA-to-XLR adapters can be used for source components, D'Agostino cautions that the Momentum should be connected only to power amplifiers with XLR balanced cables.
While RCA-to-XLR adapters can be used for source components, D'Agostino cautions that the Momentum should be connected only to power amplifiers with XLR balanced cables.
I ran the my Simaudio Moon Evolution 650D player balanced, and my single-ended Ypsilon VPS-100 phono preamplifier from its "convenience" XLR output. During the review period I also auditioned a variety of balanced and single-ended phono preamplifiers, ranging in price from the balanced LKV Research 2-SB ($2500) to the Phasemation EA-1000, which also has single-ended, "convenience" XLR-outputs…