Digital Sources: Apple MacBook Pro computer (2.5GHz Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) running OS 10.12.1, Roon v1.2 Build 165, JRiver Media Center 19, iTunes 12, Amarra Computer Music Player, VLC, Reaper 5.20.100, XLD; Western Digital NAS (2TB); Toshiba, Western Digital portable USB drives; Oppo Digital BDP-103 universal BD player; Meridian Sooloos Digital Media System (Control 15, QNAP TS-669 Pro NAS); Apple iPad Air 2 & iPhone 6; Ayre Acoustics Codex, Benchmark DAC1 USB & DAC2 HGC, Luxman DA-250, T+A Elektroakustik DAC 8 DSD DACs.
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Auralic Altair with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). As well as the Audio Precision's optical and electrical digital outputs, I used Pure Music 3.0 to play WAV and AIFF test-tone files sourced via USB from my MacBook Pro running on battery power. To test the Altair's performance via its streaming connection, I loaded Auralic's Lightning DS app onto an iPad Mini and sourced the same WAV and AIFF files from an i7 Mac mini running Twonky server and with my NetGear router connected to the Altair by 30' of CAT-6…
I have had a long relationship with Bowers & Wilkins. The first B&W speaker I spent serious time with was the DM-6, the infamous "pregnant kangaroo," which was reviewed by Allen Edelstein in December 1977 and which I borrowed for a while after interviewing the company's founder, John Bowers. Ten years later, when I met the woman who was to become my third wife, she already owned a pair of B&W Matrix 801s, a speaker reviewed by Lewis Lipnick in December 1987.
Both of these models were floorstanders, but the B&W speaker that spent the longest time in my listening room was…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, stand-mounted, port-loaded loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25.4mm) diamond-dome tweeter, 6.5" (165mm) Continuum-cone woofer. Frequency range: 34Hz–35kHz. Frequency response: 42Hz–28kHz, ±3dB. Sensitivity: 88dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Minimum impedance: 4.6 ohms. Harmonic distortion (second and third harmonic at 90dB at 1m on tweeter axis): <1%, 70Hz–20kHz; <0.6%, 120Hz–20kHz. Recommended amplification: 50–120W on unclipped program.
Dimensions: 16.7" (424mm) H by 8.4" (238mm) W by 13.6" (345mm) D. Weight: 28 lbs (12.6kg…
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; dCS Rossini CD player & Rossini Clock; PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream D/A converter with Bridge II network adaptor; Meridian UltraDAC; AudioQuest JitterBug, UpTone Audio ReGen USB cleaner-uppers; Mac mini running Pure Music 3, Audirvana, Twonky server; iPad Mini running PlugPlay, Aurender apps; Ayre Acoustics QA-9 USB A/D converter.
Phono…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Bowers & Wilkins 805 D3's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield and in-room responses. The B&W's voltage sensitivity is specified as 88dB/2.83V/m; my estimate was slightly higher than this, at 88.4dB(B). The nominal impedance is 8 ohms; the solid trace in fig.1 reveals that the magnitude drops below 8 ohms between 100 and 750Hz and above 8kHz, with minima of 4.6 ohms at 180Hz and 22kHz. The electrical phase angle (fig.1, dotted trace)…
Does having commercial leanings make you a traitor to the purity of your art? Can you make money in music and still have integrity? These eternal questions came to mind upon the death of singer Al Jarreau. Often savaged by critics and fans for his success, Jarreau cut his own path and by the time he died, at the age of 76, of respiratory failure on Sunday, February 12, he'd had more than a few last laughs on his detractors. One thing not up for debate is that speaking from experience; the man was sweetheart in person, a mensch, a giver of legendary proportion. His smile was unforgettable.…
This past weekend, John Atkinson and I attended the debut of Vivid Audio's new flagship speaker, the G1 Spirit, at a private home in Itasca, IL (to the west of Chicago.) The event was hosted by concert pianist and audio retailer George Vatchnadze of Kyomi Audio. Prior to the event's start, JA and Vivid speaker designer Laurence Dickie had a stimulating conversation about speaker design, focusing on the G1 Spirit loudspeaker.
As well as the Giya G1 Spirit loudspeakers ($93,000/pair including external crossovers), the entire setup included a TechDAS Airforce 3 turntable ($29,750) with a…
There was a time when throwing "everything but the kitchen sink" into a record was considered a warning sign. Something was amiss. The act was desperately searching for an identity or a sound. They were floundering. But today, as songwriting continues to recede as the basis for most popular music and beats take over as the key ingredient, records are built rather than written. And so adding ideas, often many ideas, to a recording is now a very common occurrence. The best part of this process is that if it works, music like this confounds all attempts to genre-ize it.
On Moon Saloon, Rhode…
For the first time in a decade, Grammy Award-winning audiophile label Reference Recordings (RR) has updated its website. Filled with new features, including new blog posts and an "Audiophile Corner," the website offers physical media and hi-rez downloads of a host of Reference Recordings made by legendary, Grammy-feted recording engineer/digital pioneer Keith O. Johnson, along with Sean Royce Martin, and other recordings on the RR Fresh! label recorded by the SoundMirror team. Booklets for all digital recordings may be downloaded gratis.
RR has come a long way in the downloads department…