The output impedance of the battery-powered PAC CPR IIIB/TIPS (hereafter referred to as the CPR) at its main outputs measured under 201 ohms at 1kHz. The input impedance at the same frequency was just under 49k ohms at its lowest (right channel, full volume). The tape output appeared to be unbuffered. Unity gain was at 12:30 on the volume control; the maximum line-level gain of the preamp was 39.7dB in the left channel, 38.9dB in the right (with the balance control centered). DC offset measured 1.6mV in both channels. The CPR was noninverting, both line and phono.…
search
Sidebar 4: Specifications
Frequency response: 0–100kHz, +0, $*–0.01dB; RIAA equalization: ±0.1dB. THD: <0.01%. Gain: phono stage, 56 to 66dB (adjustable); line stage, 21dB. S/N ratio: >110dB. AC line noise rejection: infinite. Power-supply regulation: line, infinite; load, >110dB. Input impedance: line stage, 75k ohms; phono stage, selectable 7.5 ohms to 47k ohms. Output impedance: 200 ohms. Maximum input: overload-proof. Maximum output: 10V RMS. Absolute polarity: correct for all inputs.
Dimensions: 19" W by 1.75" H by 10.5" D, each unit. Weights: 7 lbs (CPR), 8 lbs (TIPS…
Sidebar 1: Review System
The Thiel speakers were substituted for the Celestion SL600s in my usual system of Krell KSA-50 power amplifier, Audio Research SP-10 II preamp, CAL Tempest II and Meridian MCD Pro CD players, and Koetsu Red/SME V/Linn Sondek LP player mounted on a Torlyte stand. (At the end of the listening period, I substituted a 1987 Linn/Ittok combination fitted with the new composite armboard and the new Linn Troika cartridge, the whole sitting on a Sound Organization table.)
Interconnect was Monster Interlink Reference A, and Monster M1 speaker cable was used for…
Sidebar 2: Measurements
I measured the frequency response of the speaker in the listening window—spatially averaged to minimize room standing-wave problems—using third-octave pink noise, and measured the near-field low-frequency response with a sinewave sweep to get an idea of the true bass extension. The nearfield –6dB point was a respectable 37.5Hz, which agreed closely with the measured amount of low bass in the room. This response showed only mild exaggeration in the upper bass, and the response was pretty flat through the midrange, ±2dB limits holding up to 3.15kHz. Above that…
Sidebar 3: Specifications
Description: two-way, reflex-loaded loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" plastic-dome tweeter, 6.5" plastic-cone woofer. Crossover frequency 3kHz. Frequency response: 52Hz–18kHz ±2dB. Sensitivity: 87dB/W/m. Nominal impedance: 6 ohms. Minimum amplifier power: 40W.
Dimensions: 36.5" H by 10.5" W by 10.5" D (base), 3" D (top). Weight: 41 lbs each.
Price: $950/pair (1987); no longer available (2017). Approximate number of dealers: 45.
Manufacturer: Thiel Audio Products Co., Lexington, KY 40511 (1987); 566 Mainstream Drive, Suite 500, Nashville, TN 37228. Tel: (…
Other than an occasional widening of his pop lens—from simple four-piece, hollow-bodied, guitar-driven power pop to something grander, closer to the orchestral pop ambitions of Brian Wilson and The Beatles,—Matthew Sweet, ever the pop auteur, has stayed true to the vision of his 1991 breakthrough, Girlfriend.
In most cases this kind of repetition would be a detriment, a sign he'd run out of ideas, had a one-track mind, was trapped in a milieu of his own making. But in Sweet's case, his love affair with guitar pop music, one that carried through a pair of solid and fun all-star cover…
Semyon Bychkov and the Vienna Philharmonic's splendid recording of Franz Schmidt's Symphony No.2, recently released by Sony in CD and hi-rez formats, is dazzling in its pastoral splendor. The music is lush and liquid, with one gorgeous orchestral effusion after the other. Which is not to say that Schmidt's ideas, as verdant as they be, flow organically in a manner that creates a coherent whole.
Truth be told, the Second Symphony tends to careen from idea to idea, and from one key change to another, sometimes without apparent regard for the big picture. It opens with music so densely…
Weird as it sounds, I was the kid who liked going to the pediatrician, not only because I got to see my sister literally climb the walls of his office trying to escape a flu shot, but because there was a stack of Jack and Jill magazines there. While the other kids were playing with wooden toys covered with generations of dried slobber, I was laughing at corny jokes, doing puzzles and reading all the short stories that other kids sent in. It's no wonder I ended up in this profession.
As an adult magazine editor, going to the doctor's office is now like going to the airport, a voyage of…
Hitting mailboxes, newsstands, and tablets today, the 204-page October Stereophile, offers 36 pages of audio equipment reports and the revised and updated "Recommended Components" listing. Featured on the cover is VPI's Prime Scout record player, reviewed by Art Dudley, who also offers auditions of speakers from Burwell and Wharfedale. Herb Reichert reviews the AMG Giro turntable, John Atkinson report on his time with KEF's Reference 5 loudspeaker, Robert Deutsch lives with PS Audio's Memory Player, and there are reviews of amplifiers from Dan D'Agostino, Rega, and Linear Tube Audio.
With…
Doc and Merle Watson: Bear's Sonic Journals, Never the Same Way Once: Live at the Boarding House May 1974
Owsley Stanley Foundation (7 CDs). 2017. Hawk, exec prod.; Starfinder Stanley, Jeffrey Norman, Pete Bell, project coordinators; Owsley Stanley, orig. eng.; Jeffrey Norman, CD mastering, tape archivist; John Chester, Jaime Howarth, digital transfers. ADD? TT: 5:33:17
Performance *****
Sonics *****
Owsley Stanley Foundation (7 CDs). 2017. Hawk, exec prod.; Starfinder Stanley, Jeffrey Norman, Pete Bell, project coordinators; Owsley Stanley, orig. eng.; Jeffrey Norman, CD mastering, tape archivist; John Chester, Jaime Howarth, digital transfers. ADD? TT: 5:33:17
Performance *****
Sonics *****
The late Owsley "Bear" Stanley spent his life raising consciousness. Whether it was mixing up jars of LSD, building his famous Wall of Sound PA system for the Grateful Dead, or…