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In June, I visited headphone manufacturer Audeze's factory in Southern California (they've since moved) and capture an abridged version of the making of a pair of Audeze LCDi4 in-ear planar magnetic headphones ($2495). In the first part of this video, which is narrated by first Sankar Thiagasamudram, Audeze's founder and CEO, we begin with the making of the LCDi4, followed by the testing, burn-in, and packaging. This is followed by the unboxing and very first listening session, with John Atkinson, Stereophile's editor in chief. JA is in the process of reviewing the LCDi4s for Stereophile's…
"Looking back, my life's passions have mostly been sensual: food, females, fast cars, music, wine, sailing and skiing. My motivations, activities and work have stemmed from the need to fuel these passions rather than enjoyment of the process."
Who said this? John Atkinson? Art Dudley? Dr. Dre? These are the thoughts of Roy Gandy, innovator, venerable designer, and founder of Rega Research, quoted from his company's recent biography, A Vibration Measuring Machine, a hefty, 311-page, large-format hardcover co-written by Gandy, Bill Philpot, and Stereophile's Paul Messenger.
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Kudos must be paid to Gandy, Bateman, and the Rega Research team. When almost every contemporary hi-fi manufacturer outfits its integrated amplifiers with DACs, VU meters, Wi-Fi, video processing, Bluetooth capability, and myriad digital inputs—to some, the equivalent of sonic whammy bars—the Brio's skill set is simple and minimalist.
"lt's kind of Roy's philosophy," Bateman explained. "The Brio is the amplifier equivalent of a Planar 3 turntable, which is no-frills. Digital would get in the way. It's like the old amplifiers of 40 years ago: the Creek CAS4040, Arcam A60, or the Sugden…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state, class-AB integrated amplifier. Analog inputs (RCA): 4 unbalanced line, 1 unbalanced MM phono. Outputs: 1 pair speaker terminals, 1 pair unbalanced (RCA) "Record," 1 headphone ¼" jack. Output power (both channels driven): 50Wpc into 8 ohms (17dBW), 73Wpc into 4 ohms (15.9dBW). Headphone output: 32 ohms = 1.8V, 54 ohms = 2.6V, 300 ohms = 5.9V. Source impedance: 109 ohms. Frequency response: 12Hz–43kHz (line); 15Hz–40kHz, –3dB (phono); 27Hz–20.5kHz, –1dB (phono). Distortion: typically 0.03%, 1dB below clip, 22Hz–22kHz. Signal/noise ratio (…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Kuzma Stabi S turntable & Stogi S tonearm; Music Hall MMF-7.3 turntable; Denon DL-103, Goldring Elite MC, Ortofon 2M Bronze cartridges.
Digital Sources: Apple MacBook computer running Audirvana Plus; Ayre Acoustics QB-9DSD DAC; LG BD-550 BD player; Western Digital T2 Mirror Drives (2).
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 A23 moving-coil step-up transformer, Heed Audio Quasar phono stage, Shindo Laboratory Allegro preamplifier.
Power Amplifier: Shindo Laboratory Haut-Brion.
Integrated Amplifier: Heed Audio Elixir.
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Of all the speakers I have most enjoyed in recent years, two were from British manufacturer KEF: the LS50 Anniversary Model ($1500/pair), which I reviewed in December 2012; and the Blade Two ($25,000/pair), which I reviewed in June 2015. Though these two speakers lie at opposite ends of the price scale, they have in common KEF's unique Uni-Q drive-unit, in which the tweeter is mounted on the front of the midrange unit's pole piece, so that the lower-frequency cone acts as a waveguide for the higher-frequency output. Not all Uni-Q drivers are identical, of course—the one in the LS50 must…
Sidebar Measurements
I performed a full set of measurements on the Rega Brio, using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). Via its line inputs, the Brio's maximum voltage gain into 8 ohms was typical for an integrated amplifier, at 39.55dB. The amplifier inverted absolute polarity for line input signals at both the speaker terminals and headphone jack, and its input impedance at 20Hz and 1kHz was, at 41k ohms, fairly close to the specified 47k ohms. Though the line input impedance dropped to 36k ohms at 20kHz, this will be inconsequential.
The…
The Reference 5's massive cabinet is heavily braced, and the aluminum baffle is connected to it with a lossy damping material. Outriggers fitted with spiked feet provide stability for the tall, narrow enclosure, and heavy-duty chromed terminals provide for single and biwiring. My review samples came in the visually stunning, white "Kent Engineering and Foundry Edition" finish.
Sound Quality
After experimenting with positioning the Reference 5s in my room, Jack Oclee-Brown eventually decided on using the long port for the two top woofers and the short port for the two bottom…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, reflex-loaded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: Uni-Q driver array with 1" (25mm) vented aluminum-dome tweeter, 5" (125mm) aluminum-cone midrange unit, four 6.5" (165mm) aluminum-cone woofers. Crossover frequencies: 350Hz, 2.8kHz. Frequency response: 40Hz–35kHz, ±3dB. Frequency range: typical in-room bass response, 25Hz, –6dB; free field, short port, 35Hz–45kHz, –6dB; free field, long port, 32Hz–45kHz, –6dB. Sensitivity: 90dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Minimum impedance: 3.2 ohms. Harmonic distortion (2nd & 3rd…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Source: Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Lingo power supply, Linn Ekos tonearm, Linn Arkiv B cartridge.
Digital Sources: Aurender N10 music server; Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP universal player; Ayre Acoustics QX-5 Twenty & QB-9DSD, PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream D/A converters; AudioQuest JitterBug, UpTone Audio ReGen USB cleaner-uppers; Mac mini running Vinyl Studio, Pure Music 3, Audirvana 1.5, Roon 1.3; Ayre Acoustics QA-9 USB A/D converter.
Phono Preamplifier: Channel D Seta L.
Preamplifier: Ayre Acoustics KX-5 Twenty.
Power…