search
Audio Vision S.F. 1628 California Street, San Francisco, CA 94109—at the end of our historical cable car line) are holding a free event Thursday March 22, from 7:30–10pm. Featured will be the Technics SL-1000R Reference Turntable System, electronics from Bel Canto, loudspeakers from YG Acoustics speakers, and Nordost power/cabling! There will be wine, beer, light nibbles, and some prizes as well! If you plan to attend, please RSVP to info@audiovisionsf.com or call (415) 614-1118.
Radka Toneff & Steve Dobrogosz: Fairytales: Original Master Edition (MQA)
Odin LP03 (original LP, 1982); Odin CD9561 (24-bit/48kHz MQA-encoded FLAC file; Tidal Masters stream; hybrid MQA-CD; original sample rate 192kHz; 2017). Arild Andersen, prod. (1982, 2017); Andreas Risanger Meland, exec. prod. (2017); Tore Skille, Tom Sætre, original engs.; Svein Vatshaug, Rune Sund Nordmark, recorder restoration; Thomas Baårdsen, Geir Iversen, digital transfer of original tapes; Morten Lindberg, Peter Craven, Bob Stuart, digital restoration; Erik Gard Amundsen, technical advisor. DAA (original…
Odin LP03 (original LP, 1982); Odin CD9561 (24-bit/48kHz MQA-encoded FLAC file; Tidal Masters stream; hybrid MQA-CD; original sample rate 192kHz; 2017). Arild Andersen, prod. (1982, 2017); Andreas Risanger Meland, exec. prod. (2017); Tore Skille, Tom Sætre, original engs.; Svein Vatshaug, Rune Sund Nordmark, recorder restoration; Thomas Baårdsen, Geir Iversen, digital transfer of original tapes; Morten Lindberg, Peter Craven, Bob Stuart, digital restoration; Erik Gard Amundsen, technical advisor. DAA (original…
Everything sounds like what it's made of.
I'm known for saying that, and to me, it's obvious: box speakers with dome tweeters sound like box speakers with dome tweeters. I can hear their tweeters calling to me when I'm in the next room, making a phone call. I can hear their boxes hissing and groaning even after I turn off the stereo. Many a day, I think Edgar Villchur, inventor of the acoustic-suspension loudspeaker and the dome tweeter, ruined audio, and that audiophiles will never stop denying how artificially colored the sounds of domes and cones in boxes really are.
One…
A small wooden house in Butcher Hollow, in Van Lear, Kentucky, was the birthplace of country-music megastar Loretta Lynn, in 1932. Artist, musician, and record producer Jack White was born in 1975, in Detroit. Van Lear Rose, the album White produced for Lynn in 2004, was nominated for five Grammys and won two (CD, Interscope 80002513-02).
Van Lear Rose is the most heart-grabbing recording I've heard in the 21st century. One of its songs, "Women's Prison," begins with Loretta shooting her lover, and ends with her in the electric chair—symbolized by White's guitar solo. The Harbeths…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, bass-reflex, stand-mounted, ported loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25mm) soft-dome tweeter, 7.9" (200mm) bass/midrange. Frequency response: 50Hz–20kHz, ±3dB. Sensitivity: 85dB/W/m. Nominal impedance: 6 ohms. Power handling: 150W. Recommended amplification: >25W.
Dimensions: 18.1" (460mm) H by 10.9" (277mm) W by 10.8" (275mm) D. Weight 25.6 lbs (11.6kg).
Finish: Silver Eucalyptus.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: 40THX 135R & 135L.
Price: $6495/pair. Approximate number of dealers: 30. Warranty: 3 years.
Manufacturer…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: AMG Giro G9 LP player, Linn Sondek LP12 Valhalla turntable with SME M-2 tonearm; Dynavector DV20X2, EMT TSD 75SFL, Koetsu Rosewood Standard, Miyajima Laboratory Saboten cartridges.
Digital Sources: Holo Audio Spring Kitsuné Tuned Edition, Mytek HiFi Manhattan II, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil DACs; Integra DPS-7.2 DVD player (used as CD transport).
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 (for EMT TSD 75), Bob's Devices CineMag 1131, Dynavector SUP-200 step-up transformers; Lounge Audio LCR Mk.III RIAA, Parasound Halo JC 3+, Tavish Design Adagio…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Harbeth Monitor 30.2's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield responses. My estimate of the Harbeth's sensitivity was 87.3dB(B)/2.83V/m, which is usefully higher than the specified 85dB. The Monitor 30.2's nominal impedance is specified as 6 ohms, and its impedance magnitude (fig.1, solid trace) actually remains at or above 6 ohms throughout the audioband. I would have specified this speaker as an 8 ohm design; it should be an easy load for…
AVTech Media Ltd (UK) has purchased the Home Tech Network from TEN: The Enthusiast Network, it was announced today. The Home Tech Network's six brands including Stereophile, Sound & Vision, Shutterbug, AnalogPlanet, Audiostream, and Innerfidelity will join with AVTech Media's Hi-Fi News, Hi-Fi Choice, Home Cinema Choice and the Hi-Fi Show Live. The new company creates a global powerhouse delivering the largest single specialized AV group on the planet, reaching more than three million enthusiasts/CE consumers through print, digital, social, video and events.
"The synergy between these…
When Michael McCormick, president of Bel Canto Design, suggested that I review their Black ACI 600 integrated amplifier, I accepted without hesitation. As wonderful as my reference system may sound, its dCS digital front end alone comprises four boxes and a web of cables complex enough to send many a spider spinning. Given the choice between connecting that front end to a pair of expensive, enormous monoblocks—with their similarly expensive AC cords and equipment racks/isolation platforms—or to a single, visually elegant, 45-lb box that costs $25,000, produces 300Wpc into 8 ohms, and requires…
I stuck with the USB-A and Ethernet inputs for digital playback. While I couldn't play DSD128 via USB-A—when I tried, the ACI 600 went silent—I could use Roon to convert DSD128 to PCM 24/176.4 before transmitting it via Ethernet.
Seek and ye shall find
Bel Canto's downloadable Seek iOS app lets you stream music from Tidal to a networked Bel Canto Black system, create and manage playlists, control volume via an iOS smartphone or tablet, and play MQA, DSD, and PCM files from a computer, external drive, or USB stick. Alas, Bel Canto offers but a single page of instructions remarkable…