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Even when I began playing music, the KX-5 Twenty's user interface hindered rather than helped: With a CD playing in my Sony disc player, and with the appropriate input selected and the preamp's volume turned up to "20" (of a range of "0" to "46"), the signal still wasn't making its way through my amplifier and speakers. I'd assumed the Ayre wasn't muted because, according to the manual, when Mute is activated, whether via the remote or the front panel, this "temporarily [turns] the volume of the KX-5 to 'zero'"—and the front-panel display still read "20." It turns out that when Mute is…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state line-level preamplifier. Inputs: 4 balanced (XLR), 2 single-ended (RCA). Outputs: 2 balanced (XLR), 1 single-ended (RCA), 1 tape out (XLR, line-level). Frequency range: DC–250kHz. Maximum input level: 8V RMS (single-ended inputs), 16V RMS (balanced inputs). Input impedance: 1M ohm (single-ended inputs), 2M ohm (balanced inputs).
Dimensions: 17.25" (440mm) W by 13.25" (340mm) H by 3.75" (100mm) D. Weight: 23 lbs (10.5kg).
Finishes: Silver, Black.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 24B0113C.
Price: $9950. Approximate number of…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Thorens TD 124, Garrard 301 turntables; content/listening-182-audio-creative-groovemaster-ii-tonearm">Audio-Creative GrooveMaster II, EMT 997 tonearms; EMT TSD 15, Ortofon SPU #1S pickup heads.
Digital Sources: AudioQuest DragonFly Red, Halide Design DAC HD USB DACs; Apple iMac computer (late 2015) running OS 10.12.1 & Roon v.1.2, Build 165; Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Hommage T1 & T2 step-up transformers; EMIA Phono transformer (copper); Sentec EQ11 phono preamplifier; Shindo Laboratory…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Ayre Acoustics KX-5 Twenty's electrical performance with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). The volume control operated in 1.5dB steps, the maximum gain obtained when it was set to "46." The maximum gain for both balanced and unbalanced inputs to balanced outputs was just 0.2dB. This is lower than the norm, but it's something I welcome because preamplifiers in general are used to attenuate, not amplify, the levels of source signals. The maximum gain from unbalanced input to unbalanced input was –5.8dB; ie, an…
It seems to me that my review of Monitor Audio's Silver 8 loudspeaker was published only a few months ago. Actually, it's been three years. The Silver 8 so impressed me that I bought three of them, along with two Silver 2 bookshelf speakers, for my multichannel system in Connecticut—and still greet them as the newcomers to my system. So installing and reviewing their successors, the 300, from the sixth generation of Monitor's Silver line, seemed very familiar.
Description
The Silver 8 and Silver 300 are quite similar three-way speakers. Their external dimensions differ by only…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, bass-reflex tower loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25mm) C-CAM gold-dome tweeter, 4" RST midrange driver, two 6" RST woofers. Crossover frequencies: 570Hz, 3.5kHz. Frequency response: 32Hz–35kHz, –6dB. Impedance: 8 ohms nominal, 3.5 ohms minimum at 146Hz. Sensitivity: 90dB/W/m. Maximum SPL/pair: 116.0dBA. Power handling: 200W. Recommended amplification: 80–200W RMS.
Dimensions: (including outrigger plates, feet, spikes) 40.7" (1034mm) H by 9.9" (252mm) W by 14.5" (367mm) D. Weight: 44.1 lbs (20kg).
Finishes: Black Oak, Rosenut,…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Oppo BDP-103 universal BD player, Mac mini server running Windows 7, JRiver Media Center Version 23, build 84, Roon 1.3.
Preamplifier: Marantz AV8802A.
Power Amplifier: Bryston 9BST.
Loudspeakers: Monitor Audio Silver 8 & Silver 2.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Vodka (HDMI). Interconnect: Kubala-Sosna Anticipation (RCA) & Fascination (XLR). Speaker: Kubala-Sosna Anticipation & Fascination. AC: Kubala-Sosna Emotion.
Accessories: Environmental Potentials EP2450 power conditioner, Emotiva CMX-2, Precision AC Line…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Monitor Audio Silver 300's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield responses. My estimate of the Silver 300's sensitivity was 88.8dB(B)/2.83V/m, which is close to the specified 90dB. The Silver 300's nominal impedance is specified as 8 ohms, and its impedance magnitude (fig.1, solid trace) remains between 5 and 9 ohms through almost the entire audioband. Although the minimum magnitude is 3.6 ohms between 150 and 170Hz and there is a combination…
Not so long ago, you could not wander the halls of any High End Audio show and not hear The Eagles' Hotel California. To say it was an audiophile favorite is to grossly understate the obvious.
Produced by Bill Szymczyk and tracked between March and October 1976 at Criteria Studios in Miami and the California branch of the Record Plant, it was the group's fifth and ultimately one of the album-sales blockbusters of all time. Its current sales number is somewhere near 35 million copies sold. Late last year Rhino Records released a Hotel California 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition CD boxed set…
New, well-recorded albums of Verdi arias from two of the Metropolitan Opera's biggest and most heralded stars - Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva, 36, and Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja, 40, give as much cause for excitement as they do for pause. As fine as the singing may be on Sonya Yoncheva: The Verdi Album (Sony) and Calleja: Verdi (Decca), the ways in which these artists push their voices to encompass heavier repertoire raises questions as to how long they can sustain such pressure on their instruments without serious sacrifice.
Yoncheva
Of most concern is Yoncheva. Heard thrice…