Description: Two-way, stand-mounted loudspeaker. Drive-units: 0.75" (19mm) tweeter, 5.5" (140mm) doped–paper-cone midrange/woofer. Frequency range: 45Hz–40kHz. Sensitivity: 90dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms.
Dimensions: 15.25" (387mm) H by 7.3" (186mm) W by 10.88" (276mm) D. Weight: 18 lbs (8.2kg).
Price: $3700/pair; matching 26"-high stands cost $695/pair.
Manufacturer: DeVore Fidelity, Brooklyn Navy Yard, 63 Flushing Ave., Unit 259, Building 280, Suite 510, Brooklyn, NY 11205. Tel: (718) 855-9999. Fax: (718) 855-9998. Web: www.devorefidelity.…
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Sidebar: Specifications
Before I revert to form and leave the subject for another nine or ten months, I'll pick up where I left off in last month's column to focus once again on step-up transformers (SUTs) for moving-coil cartridges. There's yet another choice you should know about—in this case, a thoroughly brilliant, handmade SUT that sells for well under $1000.
Music First Audio MC Step Up 632
Introduced in 2015, the MC Step Up 632 ($715, sold direct) is the most affordable phono transformer offered by Music First Audio, of Hastings, UK (footnote 1). Music First is run by Jonathan Billington, a member of…
My system just wasn't having it—which was made particularly clear during those moments in "ME 262" when, following two bars in which the rhythm section stops playing, Joe Bouchard comes back in with a particularly mighty chord on his electric bass. Through the MFA trannie, it wasn't anywhere near as mighty as through the megabuck Hommage T2 transformer ($4995). That said, the MFA pulled the voices farther forward from the mix, and made them more intelligible—a mixed blessing in a song that name-checks Goering and Hitler, but there it is. Similarly, in "Well Well Well," the MFA 632 didn't…
Saturday April 1, 2–5pm, Take 5 Audio (105 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT 06510) is hosting an event featuring products from Bryston and Zanden Audio.
Gary Dayton from Bryston Ltd. will be demonstrating a full Bryston system, including the BDA-3 DAC that impressed Larry Greenhill when he reviewed it for Stereophile and the BCD-3 CD player. Zanden Audio's North American distributor, Eric Pheils, will be demonstrating the Modern Series of electronics, including the model 8120 stereo amplifier (below), the 3100 preamplifier, and the 120 phonostage.
Guests are encouraged to bring their…
I've known Peder Bäckman, international sales director for the German firm Audio Video Manufaktur GmbH (AVM), for many years, ever since he worked with Electrocompaniet. When I told him that I was looking for products to review in the reference system in my new 20' by 16' by 9' music room, he invited me to browse AVM's large catalog and see what tickled my fancy. In consultation with John Atkinson, it became clear that AVM's largest, most powerful monoblock amplifier, the Ovation MA8.2 ($29,990/pair), seemed a good fit.
I admit, I felt uneasy about my impending audio blind date: Not only…
Because taking action based on both men's observations could only improve the system's sound, I phoned our audiophile-friendly electrician, Hans Frederickson, as well as Kevin Street, the maximally responsive field supervisor of our Public Utility District No.1 here in Jefferson County. Switching around the breaker-panel wiring happened within the week, but it took three days for my audio-system components to completely settle back in.
If I then didn't hear much of a difference, that was because the main source of noise turned out to be the rusted-out mess of a 35-kilovolt-amp…
Some of our readers seem to believe that the essence of high-quality audio is disclosed primarily by science, and not by dreamy, bodice-ripping adventures that take place on plush carpets behind closed doors. Perhaps they're right. Unfortunately, I have had no personal experiences that confirm that hypothesis.
It also appears that some hard-core audiophiles think that recordings of music are simply tools for playing their gear. I believe that the gear and the recordings are both tools that reveal how I—and people in China, Africa, Alabama, and Detroit—feel about being stuck here…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state (MOSFET) monoblock power amplifier. Inputs: 1 balanced (XLR), 1 unbalanced (RCA). Power output: 600W into 8 ohms (27.8dBW), 1100W into 4 ohms (27.4dBW), 1750W into 2 ohms (26.4dBW). Frequency range: 0.3Hz–400kHz. Voltage gain: 30dB. Input impedance: 20k ohms balanced, 10k ohms unbalanced. Damping factor (8 ohms): >1000. THD (1kHz at 25W into 4 ohms): <0.005%. Signal/noise (ref. 25W into 4 ohms): >100dB, A-weighted.
Dimensions: 17.1" (435mm) W by 9.8" (250mm) H by 16.5" (420mm) D. Weight: 92.6 lbs (42kg) net, 107 lbs (48.5kg…
The first sound I heard, from Masked and Anonymous, was the explosive voice of John Goodman, saying, "Man has the mind of God but a body of dust . . . God does not suffer!" Next came Bob Dylan's "My Back Pages," performed (and sung in Japanese) by the Magokoro Brothers. One line into the next track—Shirley Caesar singing Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody"—and I was laughing at the amount of change I heard. I was also worried about how to tell you about it. Sure, there was less noise, more dark and empty space, less hashy veiling, etc. What's most difficult to describe was how the music seemed…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: dCS Paganini SACD/CD transport & Rossini DAC & Scarlatti clock; Oppo Digital BDP-93 NuForce Edition universal BD player; Apple MacBook Pro with Intel i7, SSD, 8GB RAM; external hard drives, USB sticks.
Power Amplifiers: Pass Labs XA200.8 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Diamond (FireWire, Ethernet), Nordost Odin 1, Odin 2, & Valhalla 2 (USB). Interconnect: Nordost Odin 2. Speaker: Nordost Odin 2. AC: Nordost Odin 2.
Accessories: Grand Prix Monaco rack &…