"Moderation in all things, especially moderation" may read like one of Ralph Waldo Emerson's more pithy sayings, but it unfortunately fails to address situations where the moderator feels as…
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When the Greek poet Hesiod and Roman comic dramatist Plautus wrote about moderation in all things, I'm not sure they had in mind RMAF's Saturday morning seminar, "High Resolution Audio: Have files Eclipsed Physical Media?" Nor, in fact, did I, until, just 10 days before the event, I discovered that my offer to participate had been transformed without my knowledge into serving as seminar moderator.
"Oh my god, Justin Timberlake? That room's next." I thought to myself.
JT's album, The 20/20 Experience—which, coincidentally or not, came out when I was 20!—radiated grooviness out of one of the many rooms sponsored by Denver retailer ListenUp, from an LP spinning on a VPI Prime Signature Rosewood turntable ($6799), through a Simaudio Moon 610LP phono stage ($7500) and 600i V2 integrated amplifier ($9000), and Bowers & Wilkins 802 D3 loudspeakers. Afterward, we listened to a very neutral sounding "Reflektor" by Arcade Fire, then a rowdy yet well contained "Be My Yoko Ono" by…
For the first time in their three-year history, the Rocky Mountain International HiFi Press Awards (RIHPA) came into their own. Well-organized and presented, with winners that, in almost all instances, made sense, these were awards of substance, and worthy of your attention.
The RIHPA were first conceived by Ingo Schulz, publisher of Germany's Fidelity magazine, who discussed the concept with RMAF's Marjorie Baumert. Baumert then suggested they speak (and subsequently team up) with Roy Gregory, European editor of TheAudioBeat.com and founding editor of Hi-Fi Plus, to move the awards…
Legendary Japanese electrostatic headphone manufacturer Stax, Ltd. was demonstrating a new—and very upscale looking—"Vacuum Tube Input Driver Unit For Earspeakers" (ie, an amplifier) for their highly esteemed SR-009 Earspeakers ($5250). It is called the SRM-T8000 and costs $6000—which is a considerable price leap from the Stax SRM-007tII amp ($2400) I compared it to. During my brief audition, this new, 6922 tube-equipped Stax amplifier played smother, slightly fuller, a little lusher, and, less electrostatically than the SRM-007tII.
I thought the sound character of the Stax SR…
Classé Audio's flagship preamplifier, the Six, has enjoyed a five-year life span—quite long for an audiophile component. Company president Glen Grue reports that the Six's sales have continued to improve during that time. How to explain this solid-state preamp's continued success in competition with today's newer, remote-controlled, line-stage preamplifiers?
How about these factors: value, convenience, ergonomics, and sonics. High-end "value"—a difficult term to define—resides in a product's sonics, reputation, and price; even in the "feel" of its controls. The Classé Six sits squarely…
Chassis construction and systemboard assembly are first-rate, and are supported by a nontransferable lifetime warranty. The chassis case is standard sheetmetal, but the screwholes are predrilled with nuts fixed to the metal on the opposite side to allow firm tightening. The main circuit is carried on a high-quality epoxy pcb with solder mask and designator. There is no point-to-point wiring on the main board. There are 16 large 4700µF blue capacitors and eight large yellow capacitors. There is a small pcb at the chassis's right rear for the power-supply feed, which is isolated from the main…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state preamplifier with external power supply and built-in optional internal phono stage. Unit can be ordered as a phono model (Six), set up for either moving-coil or moving-magnet cartridges, or as a line-only model (Six L). Inputs: one balanced line-level, one phono (either MM or MC), tuner, tape, CD, Aux, Aux 2 (Six L only). Outputs include balanced main out, single-ended main out, and buffered tape out. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, ±0.1dB; 1Hz–150kHz, ±3dB. S/N ratio (A-weighted, ref. 500mV): 95dB (line stage), 85dB (phono stage).…
Sidebar 2: System
Associated equipment for this review included LP, CD, and FM stereo musical sources. CDs were played on a Krell MD-1 transport driving a Krell SBP-32X D/A converter. Quad FM-66 and Day Sequerra FM Reference tuners provided music from WQXR and WNCN, our local New York classical music stations. LPs were played on a Linn Sondek LP12/Lingo, an Ittok arm, and a Spectral moving-coil cartridge. Records and CDs included those I've nominated for the magazine's annual "Records To Die For."
Because preamplifiers interact differently with different power amplifiers, I used…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
All measurements were made in the normal (non-bypass) mode. Spot checks made in the bypass mode indicated virtually no measurable differences, with the exception of 0.02% lower THD+noise in the moving-coil phono mode at 1kHz—an insignificant change relative to the total reading.
The output impedance of the Classé 6 at its line output, measured at 1kHz, was just over 50 ohms, unbalanced (just over 100 ohms balanced). This is higher than the specified 1 ohm, but is still very good, and not atypical of solid-state preamps.
The (line) input impedance…
Introduced in 1985 as the smallest model in JBL's "Ti" range, the 18Ti ($590/pair) shares with its larger siblings, like the JBL 250ti (recently reviewed by J. Gordon Holt), a high-tech tweeter that uses a one-piece ribbed titanium-foil dome/surround just 25µm thick. This is both rigid and of very low mass, pushing its first-breakup mode up to the region of 30kHz. The tweeter is mounted above the polypropylene-cone woofer, offset a little to one side to make room for the 45mm diameter port (though the speakers are not supplied as a handed pair). The 10-liter internal volume box is well-…