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If, under the Audio-Technica's stylus, the Brahms sounded like a different recording, it was surely not a different performance: with its clearer portrayal of playing techniques, of sheer humanness, the A-T assured me that playing encrypted in the groove had evinced no less insight, taste, judgment, and pure physical talent than before. Based on my earlier experience with the Tzar DST, I expected a better sense of touch from the strings, and that I certainly heard. What I hadn't expected was how much better a sense of clarinetist Alfred Boskovsky's breathing and tonguing techniques the A-T…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Smartphone with WiFi, 64GB internal memory (or 128GB in V30+; microSD slot supports cards up to 2TB), 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC, three digital filters, four sound presets, HD Audio Recorder. Compatible file and bit/depth sample rates: all major file formats, PCM and MQA, up to 24-bit/192kHz, DSD up to 256. OS: Android 7.1.2 (Nougat). Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 up to 2.45GHz x4 + 1.9GHz x4 Octa-Core MSM8998. Firmware: Android v.4.3, AR-M2 Music Player app v.1.2.0. Output: headphone (3.5mm jack). Maximum output power: 2V. THD at 2V: 0.0002%, –…
Sidebar: Contacts
Audio-Technica U.S., Inc., 1221 Commerce Drive, Stow, OH 44224. Tel: (330) 686-2600. Web: www.audio-technica.com.
Acoustical Systems, Alpenstrasse 26, 86935 Rott, Germany. Web: www.arche-headshell.de. US distributor: Rutherford Audio, 12649 E. Caley Avenue #116, Centennial, CO 80111. Tel: (303) 872-6285. Web: www.rutherfordaudio.com.
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: dCS Rossini DAC & Scarlatti clock, Aurender A10 network music player/server, Linksys router with TP-Link gigabit Ethernet media converters & multimode duplex fiber-optic cable, iPad Pro, Apple iPhone 7.
Preamplifier: Lamm Industries L2.1.
Power Amplifiers: Pass Laboratories XA200.8 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia 2.
Headphones: Audeze LCD-X, Thinksound On2.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Diamond, Nordost Odin 1 & Odin 2, Wireworld Platinum Starlight Cat8 (Ethernet). Interconnect,…
Late in the summer of 2015, I was one of the press representatives invited by Bowers & Wilkins to visit their R&D center in Steyning, West Sussex, England, and be given a detailed preview of the upcoming revision of their entire 800 series of loudspeaker models. Both the technical presentation and the tours impressively demonstrated the comprehensive redesign process that resulted in speakers that were superficially similar but entirely different from their predecessors. Of the new series, I reviewed the 802 D3 Diamond, a pair of which now sit in my listening room as my current…
What followed confirmed those impressions. The piano had an appropriate degree of resonance and impact at the low end, with good clarity, and a nice ping on the top notes. The tonal balance from bottom to top of the instrument's range was well-nigh perfect. The reproduction of the sound of the violin, too, was excellent, with nice body resonance, a good sense of bow on strings, and a silky, nonstrident sweetness.
In most recordings of solo voices the singer is centrally placed, but the voice can be poorly defined and/or sound bloated. One might reasonably point the finger at the…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, vented box loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25mm) decoupled carbon-dome tweeter, 6" (150mm) woven Continuum- cone, FST midrange unit, three 6.5" (165mm) Aerofoil Profile woofers. Crossover frequencies: 350Hz (third-order HP/LP), 4kHz (second-order LP, first-order HP). Frequency range: 28Hz–33kHz, –6dB. Frequency response: 45Hz–28kHz, ±3dB on reference axis. Sensitivity: 90dB/2.83V/m. Harmonic distortion (second and third harmonics, 90dB, 1m): <1%, 86Hz–28kHz; <0.5%, 110Hz–20kHz. Impedance: 8 ohms nominal, 3.1 ohms minimum. Recommended…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Oppo Digital BDP-105 universal BD player; Baetis Prodigy X PC-based music server running JRiver Media Center 23; exaSound e38, Mytek HiFi Brooklyn DACs; QNAP TVS-873 NAS.
Preamplifiers: Audio Research MP1, Parasound Halo P 7, SPL SMC 7.1.
Power Amplifiers: Classé Sigma Mono (monoblocks), Parasound Halo A 31 (three-channel).
Loudspeakers: .
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Carbon (USB). Interconnect: AudioQuest Earth/DBS balanced, Kubala-Sosna Fascination balanced (subwoofer) & Anticipation (RCA), VoVox Sonorus Muco (XLR to…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure 7the Bowers & Wilkins 702 S2's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield responses. My estimate of the B&W's sensitivity was a high 90.2dB(B)/2.83V/m, confirming the specified 90dB. The 702 S2's nominal impedance is specified as 8 ohms, with a minimum value of 3.1 ohms. My measurement of the impedance magnitude (fig.1, solid trace) reveals that while the impedance does lie at and above 8 ohms in the low treble and in two regions in the bass,…
When I asked NAD for a sample of their Masters Series M50.2 digital music player, which I reviewed in the December 2017 issue, they also sent me a Masters Series M32 DirectDigital integrated amplifier, which had also been introduced at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show. Costing $3999, the M32 offers a continuous power output of >150W into 8 or 4 ohms. The M32 is the same size as the M50.2, and its smart-looking combination of matte black and gray-anodized aluminum panels make it look identical to the player, except for the black volume-control knob to the right of the front panel's four-…