Other amplifiers reviewed in this issue come from Anthem, Border Patrol, and Bricasti, Mikey Fremer lives with the Bergmann Galder turntable and Odin tonearm, while our review team offers second…
search
But maybe not so hot in the listening room, where you can get absorbed reading the latest issue of Stereophile. The expensive but superb-sounding Wilson Alexia 2 speaker is featured on the cover and reviewed inside, but also inside this issue is a review of the least expensive amplifier we have reviewed in decades, AkitikA's GT-102, which costs just $314 as a kit and $488 assembled and tested.
Why should you or anyone care about a 24/192 download reissue of recordings of two Mahler song cycles that were made in Vienna and New York in 1968 by conductor Leonard Bernstein and three of his favorite singers, mezzo Christa Ludwig, her bass-baritone husband Walter Berry, and baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau? After all, the recordings are "old" and the music much older, all but one of the artists is dead, the language is German, and the reissue lacks lyrics and translations.
Because anyone who cares about the terrible costs of war, and the suffering it engenders, must hear the pain,…
Sidebar 3: Measurements, from July 2018 (Vol.41 No.7)
When Jason Victor Serinus reviewed LG's MQA-capable V30 smartphone in our May issue, he was mightily impressed. "LG's implementation of its Hi-Fi Quad DAC is a work of genius," he wrote, concluding that "If ever there were a device that could bring the experience of high-end sound to millions of music lovers, the hi-rez V30 with MQA is it. It's more than a game-changer." JVS added that the V30's combination of audiophile sound quality and smartphone portability "may prove unbeatable." However, our publishing schedule didn't include…
Steve Tibbetts: Life Of
Steve Tibbetts, 12-string guitar, piano; Michelle Kinney, cello, drones; Marc Anderson, percussion, handpan
ECM 2599 (CD). 2018. An ECM production; Steve Tibbetts, eng.; Greg Reierson, eng., mastering. DDD. TT: 50:40
Performance *****
Sonics *****
Steve Tibbetts, 12-string guitar, piano; Michelle Kinney, cello, drones; Marc Anderson, percussion, handpan
ECM 2599 (CD). 2018. An ECM production; Steve Tibbetts, eng.; Greg Reierson, eng., mastering. DDD. TT: 50:40
Performance *****
Sonics *****
The sound of Steve Tibbetts's guitar music is unique—one need hear only a measure or two of his new album to identify the distinct tang of his playing. Common wisdom is that a guitarist's sound is in the hands and fingers, but Tibbetts has another trick: his weathered, 50-year-old Martin D12-20 12-string…
Photo by Jim Austin, Nikon D810, Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 VR
It's not surprising that many people, like me, love nice cameras and good stereo gear. In my worse moments, I attribute this to mere consumerism: We love expensive stuff and the thrill of buying something new, whether for reproducing music or creating visual images. In my better moments, it's clear to me that there's more than that to this common taste for audio and photography, and more to the hobby of so-called perfectionist audio.
One commonality: we like well-made machines. There's beauty in finely wrought devices,…
An e-mail from an old audiophile pal: "Herb, my buddy owns a recording studio, and he told me one of his $10k reference amplifiers stopped working and the manufacturer said it would take months to be repaired. So he went online and bought this 60W AkitikA solid-state amplifier to use while his big amp was being repaired. The trouble is, the kit cost only $314. (The studio guy bought his assembled and tested for $488.) Now, he likes the AkitikA more than his broke-down reference amp."
My friend wondered if I wanted to review the AkitikA amp (the name is a palindrome, based on a kit).…
I played this setup every day and never once questioned its verity, charm, or competence. It sounded so detailed and lively that I had zero motivation to swap out the XA25 for the GT-102. I mean, jeez Louise—should I even bother to drive a $7700 pair of speakers with a $488 amp? How could a lowly kit possibly compare to the most dynamic-, true-, transparent-sounding amp I'd ever used?
I wrote the above paragraph only minutes after making the swap. Now, as I type this paragraph, I'm listening to "The Transritualistic Object Reveals Itself," from percussionists David Philipson and Mark…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Class-AB stereo power amplifier with LM3886 power-amplifier integrated circuit, regulated power supply with 10,000µF capacitance. Inputs: 1 pair single-ended (RCA). Outputs: 2 five-way speaker binding posts. Power output: 50Wpc into 8 ohms, nearly 100Wpc into 4 ohms. Frequency response: 5Hz–100kHz, –3dB. Input impedance: 51k ohms. Sensitivity: 1V RMS produces 20.59V RMS output. Slew rate (typical): 14V/µs. Damping factor at 1kHz ref. 8 ohms: >80. Signal/noise: typically 136dB below 50W into 8 ohms, A-weighted.
Dimensions: 15" (380mm) W by 4.5…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: AMG Giro G9, Linn Sondek LP12 Valhalla turntables; SME M2-9 tonearm; AMG Teatro, EMT TSD 75, Koetsu Rosewood Standard cartridges.
Digital Sources: Mac mini computer running Audirvana 3.2; Border Patrol, Mytek HiFi Manhattan II, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil Analogue 2 DACs; Integra DPS-7.2 DVD player used as CD transport.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23, Bob's Devices CineMag 1131, Dynavector SUP-200, My Sonic Lab Stage 1030 MC step-up transformers; Lounge Audio LCR Mk.III RIAA, Tavish Design Adagio phono preamplifiers; Linear Tube Audio…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the AkitikA GT-102 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. However, I ended the preconditioning of the AkitikA after 20 minutes, as the left side of its top panel, above the internal heatsinks, was hot, at 130.2°F (54.6°C), and the bottom panel was too hot to touch, at 169°F (76.6°C). The AkitikA doesn't have sufficient heatsinking for sustained operation at this worst-case power level…