Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Kii Three's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield responses. I fed MLSSA's single-ended analog output to the Three's balanced XLR jack using an adapter, and used the Kii Control to set the speaker's operating conditions, including setting the polarity to Pos, and disabling the contour and boundary equalization so that I'd be examining the Three's fundamental behavior.
Had I read Kal Rubinson's review text when I began taking the…
Much as the idea of them is usually enticing, cross-cultural musical mashups often fall short in execution. Chinese hip hop,, Jazz ragas, even Renee Fleming singing rock tunes. Something is usually missing because, despite music being a universal language, translating for each other or even better, creating a new musical expression that blends elements of two traditions is much harder than it sounds. To actually dig in and collaborate takes an open mind and peerless musicianship, two things that both the Trio Da Kali and the Kronos Quartet have in rich supply.
Formed specifically to…
Judging from Seattle Symphony and Ludovic Morlot's latest recording of the orchestral works of Charles Ives (1874–1954), much of his totally iconoclastic oeuvre sounds as if it could have been inspired by present day events. Ninety-one years since Ives ceased composing, his anything but conventional music continues to cast light on the contrasting and conflicting elements that make America the current meltdown melting pot that it is.
Take, for example, the four pieces of A Symphony: New England Holidays (1904–13), which is also known as the Holidays Symphony. An American Four Seasons of…
"Saying that Sutherland Engineering builds a nice line of phono stages is like saying that the Porsche 911 Carrera is a nice line of sports cars." So began my review of Sutherland's PhonoBlock in the January 2012 issue. I went on to note that similar philosophies underpin both product lines, and to link the cost-no-object PhonoBlock ($10,000/pair) with the GT2 RS ($245,000), then the pinnacle of Porsche's 911 family. It's now 2017, and though Sutherland and Porsche have both gone through a complete development cycle and replaced their flagship models, the analogy still holds true.
What…
The Duos' definition of edges, on the other hand, was noticeably different from that of other Sutherland preamps, which I've felt emphasized coherence over sharpness. The Duos' images were instead bounded with what seemed like a perfect combination of coherence and definition. Those images sounded three-dimensional, solid, tangible—I had the strong feeling that I could walk between, around, and behind the musicians. Compared to most other preamps I've heard, it was the Duos' coherence that was most striking. Compared with other Sutherlands, I was most struck by their openness and…
Throughout the summer and fall of 2016, I worked on a project with Stereophile contributor Sasha Matson, recording, editing, mixing, and mastering—for release on 180gm LP, CD, and high-resolution download—an album of works that Sasha had composed for various chamber ensembles: Tight Lines. As you can read in the article we published about this project, for the vinyl release we decided not to master the discs directly from the hi-rez files, but to create an intermediate analog tape master. Feeling that audiophiles would want an LP that at some stage was "analog," we therefore needed to choose…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-box phono preamplifier. Inputs: one pair (RCA). Outputs: one pair (RCA). Gain (user-selectable): 40, 46, 52, 58, 64dB. Cartridge loading (user-selectable): 100, 200, 475, 1k, and 47k ohms. Power consumption: 15Wpc.
Dimensions: Each case: 17" (430mm) W by 2.5" (65mm) H by 12" (305mm) D. Weight, each case: 11 lbs (5kg) net, 19 lbs (8.6kg) shipping.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: 1060, 1061.
Price: $4000. Approximate number of dealers: 7.
Manufacturer: Sutherland Engineering, 455 E. 79th Terrace, Kansas City, MO 64131. Tel: (816…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Source: Primare CD 31 CD player.
Analog Sources: Spiral Groove SG-2 turntable & Centroid tonearm, VPI HR-X turntable & tonearm; Grado Signature Reference phono cartridge.
Preamplification: Placette Active, Simaudio Moon Evolution 850P, Sutherland Line Blocks & Direct line stages; Sutherland PhonoBlock phono preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: Mark Levinson No.20.6, Simaudio Moon Evolution 880M, VTL Ichiban monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Sophia II.
Cables: Nordost Valhalla & Valhalla 2, Audience Au…
I stayed with Music for almost all my listening. But without a preamp in the system, and using instead the QX-5's volume control, the balance was definitely on the forward side even after two weeks of continuous use. If not quite "ruthlessly revealing," as the cliché has it, the Ayre taken directly into the MBL Corona C15 monoblocks driving the Rockport Avior II speakers resulted in a slightly relentless quality. In part this was due to the MBLs, but with Giuliano Carmignola and Mayumi Hirasaki's brisk performance of J.S. Bach's Double Violin Concerto, BWV 1043, accompanied by Concerto Köln…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Sutherland Duo phono preamplifier using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see www.ap.com, and the January 2008 "As We See It"). As always with phono stages, I experimented with the grounding between the Sutherland and the Audio Precision system to get the lowest level of noise, though the Duo's twin enclosures made this more complicated than usual. I ended up floating the Audio Precision's outputs from ground and connecting both Duos' grounding posts to the analyzer ground.
The Duo preserved absolute polarity, and the output impedance was a…
