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Luxman L-509X integrated amplifier Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

I measured the Luxman L-509X using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). Before I test an amplifier, I precondition it with both channels driving a 1kHz tone at one-third power into 8 ohms for an hour. At the end of that time, the Luxman's top panel was warm, at 95°F (35°C), and the small metal grilles above the heatsinks were hotter, at 107.7°F (42.1°C).

Looking first at the line inputs: The maximum voltage gain at 1kHz from the speaker terminals into 8 ohms, with the volume control set to the maximum, measured 43.4dB…

HoloAudio Spring "Kitsuné Tuned Edition" Level 3 D/A processor

While covering CanMania at the 2017 Capital Audiofest, I was sitting at the table of HeadAmp Audio Electronics, listening first to John McEuen singing Warren Zevon's "Excitable Boy," from McEuen's Made in Brooklyn (24-bit/192kHz AIFF, Chesky JD388/HDtracks), then to Macy Gray's Stripped (24/96 AIFF, Chesky JD389/HDtracks). I was listening through HeadAmp's extraordinary GS-X Mk.2 headphone amplifier ($2999–$3199), but midway through Gray's "I Try," I stopped, pulled the Audeze LCD-4 headphones off my head, and asked HeadAmp's head of sales and marketing, Peter James, what DAC he was using…

HoloAudio Spring "Kitsuné Tuned Edition" Level 3 D/A processor Page 2

I began with CDs, decoded with the DAC set to NOS. The first to capture my attention was disc 2 of Memphis Jug Band with Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers (4 CDs, JSP 7745). These remasterings by John R.T. Davies of recordings from the early days of electrical recording and RCA ribbon mikes seemed less antique and more just right tonally than I remember ever hearing them. More open. More relaxed. The Spring let me feel rhythm changes with my head and rocking shoulders. The sounds of cheap guitars, clay jugs, washtub bass, and washboards played with spoons weren't just unusually vivid and…

HoloAudio Spring "Kitsuné Tuned Edition" Level 3 D/A processor Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Digital-to-analog converter. Inputs: USB, I2S, AES/EBU, 2 coax S/PDIF (RCA, BNC), TosLink. Outputs: single-ended (RCA), balanced (XLR). Output impedance: 200 ohms.
Dimensions: 16.9" (430mm) W by 2.2" (55mm) H by 11.8" (300mm) D. Weight: 18.75 lbs (8.5kg).
Finish: Black-anodized aluminum with copper buttons, feet, side panels.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 16075965653.
Price: $2499. Approximate number of dealers: Sold direct. Warranty: 3 years, parts & labor.
Manufacturer: HoloAudio, China. US distributor: KitsunéHiFi, 19410…

HoloAudio Spring "Kitsuné Tuned Edition" Level 3 D/A processor Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital Sources: Mytek HiFi Brooklyn & Manhattan II, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil DACs; Kitsuné Tuned Edition Singxer SU-1 USB Audio Bridge; Integra DPS-7.2 DVD-A player (as transport), Mac mini computer running Audirvana + 3.2.
Analog Sources: AMG Giro G9 LP player, Linn Sondek LP12 Valhalla turntable with SME M-2 tonearm; Dynavector DV20X2, EMT TSD 75SFL, Koetsu Rosewood Standard, Miyajima Laboratory Saboten cartridges.
Preamplifiers: Pass Laboratories HPA-1, Rogue Audio RH-5.
Power Amplifiers: Pass Laboratories XA25, PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium…

HoloAudio Spring "Kitsuné Tuned Edition" Level 3 D/A processor Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

I measured the HoloAudio Spring DAC "Kitsuné Tuned Edition" Level 3 with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"), using both the Audio Precision's optical and electrical digital outputs and USB data sourced from my MacBook Pro running on battery power with Pure Music 3.0 playing DSD and AIFF test-tone files. Apple's USB Prober utility identified the Holo Spring as "xCORE USB Audio 2.0" from "XMOS," its serial number as "0 (none)," and confirmed that its USB port operated in the optimal isochronous asynchronous mode. Apple's…

Los Angeles Audio Show Cancelled!!!

The Los Angeles Audio Show (LAAS), scheduled for June 8–10 in Orange County, opposite the John Wayne International Airport at the former sites of T.H.E. Show, seems to have been cancelled. Although the LAAS website briefly contained a note that conversations were in progress about the possibility of the show being saved by the Los Angeles & Orange County Audio Society (LAOCAS), that note has now been removed.

The website's front page contains most of the contents of a mass email that announced the cancellation. The email is from LAAS owner/organizer Marine Presson, 26, who sent it…

Art Dudley's New Listening Room: a Binaural Video

The real star of this video is my dog, Chatter Dudley, an 8-year-old Jack Russell Terrier with a fierce fondness for Herb Reichert (they had met once before), and who had Jana Dagdagan saying, by the end of the day, "I wish I had a dog." Unfortunately, the cameras weren't running when Chatter took a running leap to sit next to Herb while he was on the couch, listening to the blue-vinyl version of Puente Celeste's Nama.

Herb and Jana were visiting me in Albany, NY, at the 1936 semi-mock-Tudor house I now call home. Albany-perhaps the only US state capital whose downtown streets are named…

50 Years an Audiophile: John Atkinson's Life In Audio

Photo: Corrina Jones

When JD Events' Liz MiIler invited me to give the keynote speech at the 2018 AXPONA, in Chicago suburb Schaumburg, I was at first not sure what to talk about. But then I realized that not only was 2018 the 32nd anniversary of my joining Stereophile as editor and the 42nd anniversary of my joining Hi-Fi News & Record Review magazine as a lowly editorial assistant, it also marked 50 years since I bought my first audio system!

So here is Jana Dagdagan's video of that keynote speech, given on Saturday April 14, 2018 at the Schaumburg Renaissance Hotel, where I…

Recording of December 1970: <I>The Pentangle</I>

Pentangle: The Pentangle
Terry Cox (drums), Bert Jansch & John Renbourn (guitars), Jacqui McShee (vocals), Danny Thompson (double bass), Shel Talmy, prod.
Transatlantic TRA162 (English LP), Reprise RSLP63 15 (US LP). TT: 30:52.

The first "pop" recording we've ever reviewed in Stereophile may set a precedent for future reviews if there are others that sound like this. To this untutored ear, the material is rock out of raga, but it is beautifully done and, except for the larger-than-life singer, the sound is almost shockingly good. No filthy fuzzed-up guitars here, and the…