I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the GoldenEar Triton Reference's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield and in-room responses. The GoldenEar's sensitivity is specified as a very high 93.25dB/2.83V/m; my estimate was close to that at 92.5dB(B)/2.83V/m, which places the Triton Reference in exalted company. Speakers this sensitive are rare. Fig.1 shows how the impedance and electrical phase vary with frequency. The magnitude does dip below 6 ohms in the midrange and high treble, with…
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Manufacturer's Comment
Editor: Everyone at GoldenEar is thrilled that JA so enjoyed his time with the Triton References. This was especially meaningful as he had spent much time over the last year listening to many hyper-expensive top-of-the-line speakers from hallowed names like Magico, Rockport, Vandersteen, Vivid and Wilson; the least expensive of which sells for over four times the cost of T Refs.
As JA observed, T Refs are significantly more efficient than most other speakers that he has had in his room for a long time. It was a challenge to engineer an extremely natural…
In 2010, down in the East Village, on Delancey Street, at the NYC debut party for Robert Plant's Band of Joy, the assembled rock press, assorted hangers-on, and wannabe VIPs patiently sipped drinks as we waited for the guest of honor. Suddenly, with no fanfare or even announcement, he stepped out of a closet or secret passage of sorts into a roomful of astonished smiles. He'd been there all along.
In the rock world, it seems as if Robert Plant and his former band, Led Zeppelin, are always hovering somewhere nearby. While some 1970s acts have not remained relevant to younger generations,…
A huge fuss was made over Aurender's first music server, the S10, when it premiered in 2011 at the California Audio Show. While I didn't feel that the room acoustics and setup were good enough at CAS to permit an honest appraisal, the looks and features of the S10 (now discontinued) thrust Aurender into the spotlight. So when John Atkinson, who had very favorably reviewed Aurender's N10 server in April 2016, asked if I would evaluate Aurender's new A10, the opportunity to serve so many audiophiles with a single review elicited from me an unequivocal "Yes!"
What have we here?
As part…
It also made me realize that an honest assessment of the A10 required removing multiple shelves of dCS gear. Once the A10 had a shelf of its own, I further isolated it from noise by placing it on a Grand Prix carbon-fiber Formula platform. These relatively lightweight platforms contribute greatly to the "black"-background transparency of my reference system. On the empty shelf below the Aurender went a Mytek HiFi Brooklyn DAC ($1995), set atop a second Formula platform.
My plan was to first listen to the A10 by itself for an extended period of time. Once I was clear on how it sounded as…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Music server running Linux with integrated digital-to-analog converter. Formats supported: AAC, AIFF, ALAC, APE, DFF, DSF, FLAC, M4A, MQA, WAV. Internal storage: 2.5" 4TB hard-disk drive, 120GB solid-state cache drive. Conversion: PCM to 32-bit/384kHz, MQA, DSD64, DSD128. Dynamic range: 128dB. Resolutions supported via USB: PCM to 32/384, DSD64, DSD128 (DoP). Inputs: Ethernet, two USB Type A, one TosLink S/PDIF (supports up to 24/192 PCM). Outputs: USB Class 2.0 (Type A jack), balanced (XLR) and single-ended (RCA) left and right analog outputs. No…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: dCS Paganini SACD/CD transport & Rossini DAC & Scarlatti clock & Vivaldi DAC & Network Bridge; Mytek HiFi Brooklyn DAC; Oppo Digital UDP-205 universal BD player; Intel NUC7i7BNH with 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, running Roon; Apple MacBook Pro computer with Intel i7, SSD, 8GB RAM; iPad Pro, external hard drives, USB sticks.
Power Amplifiers: Pass Laboratories XA200.8 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Diamond (FireWire, Ethernet), Nordost Odin 1 & Odin 2 &…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Aurender A10 with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"), using the Audio Precision's optical digital outputs, and data stored on the A10's internal hard disk and sourced from a NAS on my network. The serial number of the sample I'd been sent for measurement was ASA4A0096A10, its system software was v.5.10.16, and the Conductor app running on my iPad mini was v.2.8.6 (1730).
The optical inputs accepted data sampled up to 96kHz, the internal drive and the network connection files sampled at up to 384kHz. The…
Recently, I opened a package and there was a pair of records that feature Elvis Presley's voice singing over a new rhythm track and new orchestral accompaniment played by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Both are huge hits in the UK and the US, having sold over a million copies each. My eyes instinctively narrowed. A cynical smile curled across my lips. "Gimmick" I dissed with a whisper.
But wait! Much as elitist music fans like to get snobby and disparage anything that sells, sometimes you just have to open your ears, hold your nose, stifle the facetiousness and just listen. Everything…
If the holidays are a time for fantasy, what better way to celebrate than with the first complete recording of David Del Tredici's (b. 1937) absolutely fantastic fantasy, Child Alice for soprano and orchestra? Based on the "Alice" adventures of Lewis Carroll—Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and the sequel, Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found (1871)—the first part of Child Alice, entitled In Memory of a Summer Day, won the 1980 Pulitzer Prize in Music, and helped solidify the then 43 year-old composer's position as the foremost exponent of the Neo-Romantic movement in music…