Description: Solid-state, class-D, monoblock power amplifier. Inputs: 1 pair balanced (XLR), 1 pair single-ended (RCA), DC trigger. Outputs: 2 pairs five-way binding posts. Output power (120VAC mains, 1kHz, 1% THD): 350W minimum into 8 ohms (25.4dBW), 700W minimum into 4 ohms (25.4dBW), stable for musical transients into 2 ohms. Frequency response (2V RMS into 4 ohms): 10Hz–20kHz, ±0.5dB; 10Hz–50kHz, ±3.0dB. Voltage gain: 30.5dB, ±0.5dB. Sensitivity: 1.6V. Input impedance: single-ended, 50k ohms; balanced, 100k ohms. Output impedance: <0.007 ohm, 50Hz, 2.8V…
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For all its faults—complex grammar, inconsistent rules of pronunciation, burdensomely endless vocabulary—English has proven itself a commendably plastic language. This is good for audio enthusiasts, in the US and elsewhere, whose choices in playback gear continue to evolve not only in substance and function but in name: Unlike many of the people who speak it, English can keep pace with the changes.
Consider: Less than three years ago, when I began working full-time as one of Stereophile's editors, product descriptions were still simple things, even in the world of digital audio. Seldom…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Source: PS Audio DirectStream Memory Player & DirectStream DAC.
Analog Source: Acoustic Signature WOW XXL turntable & TA-2000 tonearm, Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC cartridge.
Preamplifier: Convergent Audio Technology SL-1 Renaissance Black Path Edition.
Power Amplifiers: McIntosh Laboratory MC275LE, Theta Digital Prometheus monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Monitor Audio Platinum PL300 II.
Cables: Interconnect, speaker, AC: Nordost Valhalla 2.
Accessories: PS Audio PerfectWave Power Plant 5 power conditioner, Nordost QB8 AC power…
Streaming music from Tidal—or Qobuz, or Internet Radio, or suchlike—required me to use the RC S app, which was reasonably clear and straightforward if graphically unsophisticated: All I had to do was select, from the bottom of the RC S screen, the Sources icon, then select Tidal—and off I went. My only frustration—and, again, I'm new to this, so perhaps the wrinkle I'm about to describe is common to all such things—was that, every time I recalled my phone from sleep mode, I had to wait several seconds while the app reloaded. Several seconds: who has that kind of time?
How good was Tidal…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the PS Audio Stellar M700 with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). Before performing any tests of an amplifier, I usually precondition it by running it at one-third the clipping power into 8 ohms for an hour. As the Stellar M700 has a class-D output stage, this was not necessary. But I did take the temperature of its case: the top panel was slightly warm, at 80°F (30°C). The voltage gain into 8 ohms was 30.5dB for both the balanced and unbalanced inputs, and the M700 preserved absolute polarity (ie, was non-inverting…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: "Red Book" CD player with DAC and network streamer/file player. Tube complement: one AVM803. Formats supported: AAC, AIFF, ALAC, CD, CD-R, CD-RW, FLAC, MP3, OGG Vorbis, WAV, WMA. Digital inputs: 1 Ethernet, 1 USB Type B, 2 USB Type A (1 for music files, 1 for firmware updates), 4 S/PDIF (2 RCA, 2 TosLink), 1 AES/EBU (XLR). Digital outputs: 2 S/PDIF (1 RCA, 1 TosLink). Analog outputs: 1 balanced (XLR), 1 single-ended (RCA). Frequency response (CD): 20Hz–20kHz. Output voltage: 2.5V. Signal/noise: >110dB. Crosstalk attenuation: >120dB. THD: <0…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Garrard 301, Thorens TD 124 turntables; Audio-Creative GrooveMaster II, EMT 997, Swissonor TA10 tonearms; EMT TSD 15, Ortofon SPU #1S pickup heads; Denon DL-103 cartridge, with/without MusiKraft body.
Digital Sources: AudioQuest DragonFly, Halide Design DAC HD USB DACs; Apple iMac computer (late 2015) running OS 10.12.1 & Roon v.1.3, build 269; Sony SCD-777 SACD/CD player.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Hommage T1 & T2 step-up transformers; EMIA Phono transformer (copper); Shindo Laboratory Monbrison (2017) preamplifier.…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the AVM Ovation MP 8.2 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 WAV and AIFF test-tone files. I measured the behavior with both the MP 8.2's Steep and Smooth reconstruction filters in "native" mode, the output level set to "fixed," and the USB port set to Type 2. Apple's USB Prober utility identified the AVM as "AVM Class 2 Audio" from "XMOS," and the…
While it's the insistent cowbell and the pounded piano chords that catch your attention first, eventually it's the horns followed by just Hugh Masekela's flugelhorn that makes his most famous jam, "Grazing in the Grass," such an infectious single, one that hit #1 in the US in the tumultuous year of 1968. After a long career in music and political activism that made him the "Father of South African Jazz," Masekela died from prostate cancer on Tuesday, January 23 at the age of 78.
> Born in Kwa-Guqa Township, Witbank South Africa, Masekela was, in the late 1950s, an original member of the…
Notwithstanding the twists and turns of Japanese corporate culture, the status of Technical Audio Devices Laboratories, Inc. remains unchanged. Founded in 1975 as a subsidiary of Pioneer to build loudspeakers for the professional market, TAD remains part of that corporation, even after the recent sale of Pioneer's home-audio division to Onkyo.
TAD has long been a highly respected name in pro audio, and for decades sold exclusively to that market. But 16 years ago, when they introduced a speaker designed for the home market—the Reference One—its five-figure price raised eyebrows in a…