It's customary to think of "the tube sound" as being warm, rich, weak through the deep bass, fat through the midbass, forward through the midrange, bright through the middle highs, and soft at the extreme top, with superb rendition of…
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Manley is not a new company; it's the last name of the president and chief designer of VTL, David Manley, whose Model 300 has been my reference standard power amp for the past two years. In fact, Manley is not even a new brand name; it's the name of VTL's "deluxe" line of electronics, built (ostensibly) to industrial standards of ruggedness and reliability.
Usually, the designer must play it conservative when it comes to feedback equalization, erring toward softness at the top with most loudspeakers in order to avoid instability, or outright oscillation with a relatively few "difficult" loads. Providing adjustable compensation (called "Slope" on the 350) makes much more sense, because it allows you to get the most open, unrestrained HF quality that your loudspeakers will allow.
Sound Quality
So, how does the 350 sound? A good question. I mentioned that I had been using VTL 300s as my reference amps for the last year or so. During that…
Sidebar 1: Associated Equipment
The equipment used for my tests consisted of Sound-Lab A-3 loudspeakers, the Threshold FET-10L (and, at times, no line controller at all), a Revox A-77 open-reel tape deck playing original 2-track 15ips tapes, original Sony PCM-F1 tapes, CDs on an early Mod Squad Prism CD player, and laser video discs from a Pioneer LD-700 player. Cables were Monster M1000 interconnects and AudioQuest Greens.—J. Gordon Holt
Sidebar 2: Specifications
Description: All-tube monoblock power amplifier. Non-inverting circuitry. Power output: 350W into 3 to 16 ohms (25.4dBW). THD: not specified, but claimed to be around 0.25% at full output. Power response: 10Hz–25kHz at 350W. Frequency range: 5Hz–50kHz. Input impedance: 130k ohms. Sensitivity: 750mV at minimum feedback. Power consumption: 500W.
Dimensions: 19" W by 13" D by 9" H, overall. Weight: 80 lbs.
Price: $6600/pair (1991); no longer available (2017). Approximate number of dealers: 25.
Manufacturer: VTL Amplifiers Inc., 4774 Murrieta Street,…
Lincoln Hayorga and Amanda McBroom: Growing Up In Hollywood Town
Lincoln Hayorga and Amanda McBroom
Sheffield LAB-13 (LP).
Lincoln Hayorga and Amanda McBroom
Sheffield LAB-13 (LP).
This is a gorgeous recording. And would you believe, it's multi-miked? Sheffield's first since 1975, according to the notes. Ms. McBroom has that purity of intonation that once distinguished Julie Andrews' voice. This, plus a predominantly-string backup orchestra delivers a rich, warm sound. Each of the songs here is a gem in its own right, and the collaboration of McBroom and Mayorga creates moments here that are magical. My favorite is the song entitled "…
With so many great studio and live recordings of Mahler's three song cycles for solo voice readily available, any new contender has to offer something very special. On their new Pentatone hybrid SACD, Mahler Song Cycles, which is also available as a hi-rez PCM or DSD download in both stereo and surround here and here, mezzo-soprano Alice Coote and the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra under Marc Albrecht present interpretations of Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer), the five Rückert-Lieder (settings of poems by Friedrich Rückert), and Kindertotenlieder (Songs to Dead…
There seems to be an inexhaustible supply of amplifiers; it's hard to choose which ones to review. Big-name operators are difficult to ignore, while smaller outfits often complain of neglect. In the case of a new and moderately priced introduction from Krell there's no need to find excuses: it's available, it's likely to be important judging from this company's track record, and we'd all like to see just how well it performs.
This review features the KST-100 stereo power amplifier. Initially this product was differentiated from the more expensive Krell components by having an all-black…
Martin Colloms returned to the KST-100 in October 1992 (Vol.15 No.10):
My plea to the industry to adopt a more conservative approach to product launches and upgrades leads into a "Follow-Up" on the sound of the current KST-100 power amplifier, a model on which I first reported in Stereophile Vol.14 No.7 (July 1991), together with the Krell KSL line controller. Since that review the $2950 KST has evolved; what has been at the dealers for the past nine months is in fact a significantly improved model.
One danger for this amplifier is its relationship to the rest of the Krell range…
Sidebar 1: System Context
A well-judged assessment of equipment of this quality requires several conditions to be satisfied. First, the equipment must be conditioned, run-in for several days, and well warmed up. Second, its mode of use and the chosen interfaces should be carefully selected, with allowance made for some experimentation to determine the optimum arrangement. This area includes balanced and unbalanced operation, and the choice of cables. Third, it's valuable to have a handful of comparable and reference components with which to compare. Units available included the Krell KSA…
I'll give the Giant Japanese Conglomerates one thing: they build their CD players like Humvees. The Sony CDP-X555ES ($900) exudes pride in ownership; from the simulated-wood side panels to the copper-shielded chassis, the Sony is a very impressive-looking player. Typically, however, Sony chose to marry a very sophisticated digital section with what appears to be a standard mid-fi analog section featuring Texas Instruments 5532 dual op-amps, carbon composition resistors, and inexpensive electrolytic coupling caps. The 555ES has both fixed and variable outputs, and a Toslink optical output.…