Description: Solid-state stereo power amplifier. Inputs: 1 balanced (XLR), 1 unbalanced (RCA). Power output: 300Wpc into 8 ohms (24.8dBW), 550Wpc into 4 ohms (24.4dBW), 800Wpc into 2 ohms (23dBW). Broadband frequency response: 20Hz–80kHz (+0/–0.15dB). Voltage gain: 29dB. Input impedance: 33k ohms balanced, 23.5k ohms unbalanced. Input sensitivity: 1.5V. Damping factor (8 ohms): >500. THD: <0.005% at 100W, 1kHz, 8 ohms. Signal/noise (A-weighted): >117dB ref. FTC rated power, unbalanced input; >91dB ref. 1W, unbalanced.
Dimensions: 17" (430mm) W by…
search
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Analogueworks Zero, Linn LP12, Palmer 2.5, Roksan Series 7 turntables; Audio Origami PU-7, Roksan Nima, SME M2-9 tonearms; AMG Teatro, Dynavector DV-20X2L, EMT TSD 75, Hana EL, Mighty Cala Sound TNT 15 (silver), Zu Denon DL-103 MC cartridges; Ortofon 2M Black, Roksan Coral Silver MM cartridges.
Preamplification: Parasound Halo JC 3+, Tavish Design Adagio phono preamplifiers; Lounge Audio LCR Mk.III phono preamplifier & Copla JFET-MC step-up stage; Auditorium 23 (for EMT), Bob's Devices CineMag 1131, Dynavector P75 + SUP-200 step-up…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the two-channel version of the Emotiva XPA Gen3 with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). Before performing any tests, I ran it at 100Wpc into 8 ohms for an hour. (With a class-AB or -B amplifier, one-third full power is when the heat dissipation in the output devices is at its maximum.) At the end of that time, the louvers on the top panel above the two circuit boards were hot, at 134.4°F (56.9°C), though the rest of the exterior case was cooler. This may be an inexpensive amplifier, but it has adequate heatsinking…
The English saying "putting the cat among the pigeons" has an obvious meaning in a general sense, but when applied to commerce it conveys something more specific: bringing to market a product that will make mincemeat of the competition, presumed complacent by comparison.
The phrase winked at me from the margins of an e-mail I received last year from Gary Dayton, Bryston Audio's VP of sales and marketing, whom I know from my visits to the Montreal Audio Fest. Referring to my ongoing series of reviews of ca-$10,000 CD players—the best of which one might consider for the title The Last CD…
That good physicality stayed with the Bryston as I moved on to a few of my favorite piano CDs. Ivo Janssen's recording of J.S. Bach's Prelude in e-flat (BWV 853), from his recording of The Well-Tempered Clavier for the Nederlands Bach Collegium (4 CDs, Void 9805 AB/9808 AB), moves along at a more or less steady, gracefully flowing pace—at the other end of the spectrum is Ralph Kirkpatrick's engagingly idiosyncratic phrasing in his 1959 recorded performance on an Arnold Dolmetsch clavichord (2 LPs, Archiv 198 311/12)—and the Bryston found enough nuances in dynamics and touch that Janssen's…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: CD player. Formats: CD, CD-R, CD-RW. Analog outputs: 1 balanced (XLR), 1 single-ended (RCA). Digital outputs: 1 AES/EBU (XLR), 1 S/PDIF (RCA). Output voltage: 4V balanced, 2V single-ended. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, ±0.1dB. Noise: –140dB. Intermodulation distortion: <0.0003%. THD+noise, 20Hz–20kHz: <0.001%.
Dimensions: 19" (483mm) W by 3.325" (85mm) H by 11.53" (293mm) D. Weight: 8.8 lbs (4kg).
Finishes: Black, silver.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 00140.
Price: $3495; BR2 remote control, $375 ($150 when purchased with…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Garrard 301 turntable; EMT 997 tonearm; EMT OFD 15 & TSD 15, Ortofon SPU #1S, Shindo Laboratory SPU pickup heads; Denon DL-103 cartridge, with and without MusiKraft body.
Digital Sources: AudioQuest DragonFly Red, Halide Design DAC HD USB DACs; Apple iMac computer (late 2015) running OS 10.12.1 & Roon v.1.2, Build 165; Sony SCD-777 SACD/CD player.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Hommage T1 & T2 step-up transformers; EMIA Phono transformer (copper); Sentec EQ11 phono preamplifier; Shindo Laboratory Masseto & Monbrison…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
As with the Hegel Music Systems Mohican, which we reviewed in the May issue, the Bryston BCD-3 has no digital inputs of any kind. This limited my measurement of its technical behavior to using 16-bit test files burned to a CD-R. (I sometimes had to eject and reload a CD-R several times before the BCD-3 would play it.) I tested the Bryston with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It").
The Bryston's error correction was excellent—no glitches were apparent in the player's output until the single gaps in the data spiral on the…
Back when electric-guitar rock music was still the biggest game in town, when boys were still gathering in garages and basements to emulate heroes like The Stones, The Beatles, and in some cases, The Faces, hope sprung eternal. The path was clear, get signed, make a record, become rock stars, or so the fairy tale went.
Of course that cycle also produced a lot of heartbreak and shattered dreams. A few bands, mostly those who could produce hit singles in a Beatles-centric subgenre that would soon come to be known as power pop, made it. For a moment or two. Think of the Raspberries: a big…
The latest installment in Ivan Fischer's near-complete Mahler cycle for Channel Classics, the Symphony No.3 (CCS SA 38817), renders the myriad beauties of this most wondrous of symphonies into an unforgettable experience. No matter what layer you audition on the two-disc hybrid SACD set, or whichever resolution DSD files you download—I listened in DSD128—you will discover the Budapest Festival Orchestra, Cantemus Children's Choir, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, and alto Gerhild Romberger portrayed in stunning sound, with pounding percussion, cutting brass, tinkly triangles, and celestial…