Before Rega, the Linn Sondk LP12 was conspicuously rhythmic and musical in a way no other record…
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UK, 1976: Upon its release, Rega Research's original Planar 3 turntable became the poor man's Linn Sondek LP12. It opened a gateway of affordability to the exotic world of high-quality British record players. Forty years later, the new Planar 3 turntable and its "light and rigid" engineering aesthetic, as conceived by Rega founder Roy Gandy, still occupy an admirably working-class, pro-music position in an audio world increasingly populated by gold-plated tonearms and quarter-ton turntables.
I know that Rega turntables have been positively reviewed around the globe. I've enjoyed every system I've heard that has included one, and I've recommended Regas to countless music-loving, non-audiophile friends. But I've always wondered—what is the source of that "pacey," boogie-down Rega sound? Is it the AC motor? Is it simply that Rega platters tend to rotate a bit too fast, as some have found? Is it the player's lightness and rigidity, as Rega claims? Or something else? Curious, I decided that my review of the Planar 3 would be an investigation into what makes a Rega sound like a Rega…
Some 100 engineers and scientists from around the globe assembled for the Audio Engineering Society's 2016 International Conference on Headphone Technology, in Aalborg, Denmark.
I figured it was coming, but it wasn't until just after I'd returned from the Audio Engineering Society's 2016 International Conference on Headphone Technology—held last August in Aalborg, Denmark—and was writing up my report and summary on the event for InnerFidelity.com (footnote 1) that I knew for sure: Headphones are about to change . . . a lot.
I'd like to take you on a little ride into the future of…
The problem is that virtual audio via headphones remains very difficult to achieve. The things that make today different from the past are the facts that researchers now understand the challenges fairly well, and that current DSP technologies have the computing power to do the job. The remaining task is to dig into all the bits and pieces of the problem, efficiently come up with practical solutions, then figure out how to get it all to work together. That last bit may be the hardest, because there are a lot of variables in this equation:
Individual HRTFs must be generated for each…
In Stereophile's January 2016 issue, I began a series of reviews of $10,000 CD players and transport-DAC combinations: an informal and serial survey, the goal of which was to gather, over time, the likeliest candidates for one's Last CD Player Ever. My choice of $10,000 as the target price was more or less arbitrary, although, in retrospect, that's about what I've invested in my go-to combination of turntable, tonearm, and pickup head—so, who knows? Maybe my subconscious was acting out.
Although the review that follows won't be the last of the survey, this seemed a good time for a recap…
My only gripe regarding ergonomics is that, with the EAR's disc drawer open, its Open/Close button is difficult to see and to access. Thankfully, as with every other CD player of my experience, applying pressure to the drawer's front edge had the same result as pressing Close. So I did that.
Listening, CD player
One of the first discs I played through the EAR was a recording of Mahler's Symphony 1 that I've raved about more than once in these pages: the one by Dimitri Mitropoulos and the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, recorded in 1940 (Sony Classical Masterworks Heritage MHK 62342…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Tubed CD player with digital inputs. Tube complement: two PCC88 (6DJ8) or ECC88 (7DJ8). Digital inputs: 2 S/PDIF (RCA, TosLink), 1 USB. Analog outputs: 1 single-ended (RCA), 1 balanced (XLR), 1 headphone. Maximum output: 5V. Signal/noise: 95dB. Total harmonic distortion: 0.5%.
Dimensions: 17.1" (435mm) W by 2.6" (65mm) H by 11.2" (285mm) D. Weight: 17.6 lbs (8kg).
Finish: Black with polished chrome faceplate.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 615-002-A550.
Price: $6795. Approximate number of dealers: Not disclosed. Warranty: 1 year.…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Garrard 301, Linn LP12, Thorens TD 124 turntables; Audio Origami UniArm, EMT 997, Rega Research RB 300, Thomas Schick tonearms; EMT OFD 15 & TSD 15, Shindo Laboratory SPU pickup heads; Denon DL-103 cartridge.
Digital Sources: AudioQuest DragonFly Black & DragonFly Red, Halide Design DAC HD USB DACs; Apple iMac G5 computer running Audirvana Plus v.1.5.12; Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Hommage T1 & T2 step-up transformers, Shindo Laboratory Masseto preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: Shindo…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the EAR Acute Classic with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). As well as the Audio Precision's optical and coaxial S/PDIF outputs, I used WAV and AIFF test-tone files sourced via USB from my MacBook Pro running on battery power with Pure Music 3.0. Apple's USB Prober utility identified the EAR DAC as "xCORE USB Audio 2.0" from "XMOS" and confirmed that its USB port operated in the optimal isochronous asynchronous mode. Apple's AudioMIDI utility revealed that, via USB, the Acute Classic accepted 16- and 24-bit…
Manufacturers' Comment
Editor: I was completely baffled by Art [Dudley]'s assessment of the Acute Classic CD player. "[G]rainy" in no way describes what I have heard from any of EAR's digital products—quite the opposite. I don't mean to say that Art didn't hear what he heard. Again, quite the opposite—I have the utmost respect for his hearing and his writing.
The fact that John Atkinson's measurements corroborated what Art was hearing was the first clue that something was wrong with this particular player. When I ran the measurements past Tim de Paravicini, he responded that the…