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Recordings of July 1971: Gordon's Top of the Pile

Early pre-recorded cassettes were so shockingly variable that reviews of their sound would have served no purpose. Some later ones are remarkably good, though. Following are some recordings that we have found to combine excellent performance and superb recordings, some on cassette as well as LP:

Bartok: Piano Concerto No.3; Ravel: Piano Concerto in g
Katchen (piano), Kertesz (cond.), LSO
London CS-6487 (LP)

Elgar: Pomp & Circumstance 1–5; Bliss: Things to Come, Welcome the Queen
Bliss (cond.), LSO
London STS-15112 (LP)

Gottschalk. Night in the Tropics;…

Counterpoint SA-7 preamplifier

In appearance the Counterpoint SA-7 tube preamplifier is quite attractive, possessing the thin, low-profile look currently in vogue. There is a mute switch which (if you remember to use it) protects your amplifier from the preamp's turn-on and turn-off thumps. Unfortunately, the volume control on my unit didn't track accurately, and it was necessary to adjust balance with each change in volume. One unusual feature: the balance control allows very fine gradations in balance adjustment (a large movement of the control results in a small change in balance).

Interconnects
Since this…

Counterpoint SA-7 preamplifier Specifications

Sidebar: Specifications

Description: Stereo vacuum tube preamplifier. Inputs for Magnetic phono (both MM and MC), Aux, and Tape. Mute switch. Separate volume and balance control.
Price: $595 (1984); no longer available (2018).
Manufacturer: Counterpoint Electronic Systems, Inc., La Jolla, CA 92037 (1984); company no longer in existence (2018),

Hitting Newsstands & Mailboxes This Week: Our May Issue

Spring may be a little late arriving this year, to judge from the weather in New York, but the May issue is on its way to subscribers, newsstands, and tablets. Featuring Bowers & Wilkins' impressive 702 S2 speaker on the cover, which is reviewed inside by Kal Rubinson, this issue features reviews of amplifiers from Luxman, Mark Levinson, NAD, and Parasound; phono cartridges from Soundsmith and Audio-Technica; an intriguing NOS DAC from HoloAudio; Art Dudley on a DeVore Fidelity speaker; and, believe it or not, a smartphone that offers both hi-rez and MQA playback.

Speaking of MQA, Jim…

Dealer Events in British Columbia Friday & Saturday

Friday April 13 and Saturday April 14, Canadian dealer The HiFi Attic is holding events at its Vernon location (Friday, 3–9pm, 3108 30th Avenue, Vernon, BC V1T 2C2), and Kelowna location (Saturday, 10am–5pm, 1292 Ellis Street, Kelowna, BC V1Y 1Z4). Featured will be Bowers and Wilkins 700 series speakers—Kal Rubinson reviews the 702 S2 in the May Stereophile—AudioQuest, and BlueSound/MQA.

Appies and refreshments will be served, industry reps will be in attendance, and attendees who fill in a ballot will be eligible to win prizes.

Meridian 263 D/A processor & 200 CD transport

Whoever invented the adage "Good things come in small packages" wasn't into high-end audio. Most high-end products are huge and heavy, with massive power supplies, thick front panels, and battleship build quality. This dreadnought approach is justified if it directly affects the unit's sonic performance (as in the Mark Levinson No.31 transport, for example). In some products, however, the massive build can reflect a shotgun, overkill approach by the designer, or a mere fashion statement.

But can flyweight products hold their own musically with the behemoths of the High End? This question…

Meridian 263 D/A processor & 200 CD transport Page 2

The 200 is also unusual in that Meridian makes all the pcbs and wrote the control software. Most manufacturers buy ready-built servo boards (and sometimes even the entire decoder board) and use the standard control software. Meridian has optimized servo performance with its own four-layer pcb (four-layer boards are expensive) and its own laser pickup control software. This is said to result in better sonic performance. Moreover, the 200 uses sophisticated tracking strategies to keep the laser on track, reportedly resulting in less error correction having to be performed on the recovered…

Meridian 263 D/A processor & 200 CD transport Review System

Sidebar 1: Review System

I auditioned the 263 and 200 on their own and together. Each was also compared separately to converters and transports I consider to be the best in their price ranges. The $799 Sumo Theorem has proven to be the converter to beat under $1000, and the PS Audio UltraLink and Proceed PDP 3 set the standard a few notches up at the $2000–$2500 price range. For an absolute reference, I compared the 263 to the Mark Levinson No.30 processor. The $2500 Proceed PDT 3 transport, which I raved about in the last issue, was on hand, as was the $8500 Mark Levinson No.31…

Meridian 263 D/A processor & 200 CD transport Measurements

Sidebar 2: Measurements

The 263's output when driven by a full-scale (0dBFS) 1kHz digital input signal was 2.2V. Channel balance was excellent, with channel matching of 0.07dB. Output impedance measured a low 46 ohms across the band. DC offset levels were minimal, measuring 1.3mV (left channel) and 0.7mV (right channel). The 263 had no problem locking to 32kHz and 48kHz sampling rates, although as noted in the technical description, the double lock feature didn't engage at those input frequencies. Bob Stuart made clock-jitter measurements (using an FM demodulator, similar to the Meitner…

Meridian 263 D/A processor & 200 CD transport Specifications

Sidebar 3: Specifications

Meridian 263: Digital to analog converter with Delta-Sigma conversion. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz ±0.2dB. Distortion: !x0.004%. Conversion: 8x-interpolation filter, 64x Delta-Sigma DAC. Input sampling frequency: 32kHz–48kHz. Inputs: One coaxial on RCA jack. Outputs: One single-ended stereo pair on RCA jacks.
Dimensions: 6.25" W by 3.9" H by 12.9" D. Weight: 8 lbs (shipping).
Price: $895 (1993); no longer available (2018).

Meridian 200: CD transport with remote control. Outputs: One coaxial (RCA jack), one optical (Toslink jack).…