VPI Classic turntable/arm, Lyra Delos cartridge, Nagra BPS battery-powered phono preamp, Simaudio Moon 700i integrated amp, Krell Cipher CD/SACD player, Revel Ultima Studio2 speakers, Nirvana cables, Bybee Technologies Signature Model Power Purifier (except for the amp), Black Diamond Mk. 4 Racing Cones.—Fred Kaplan
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Julianna Barwick's new album, Nepenthe, is available now. Photo: Shawn Brackbill.
I’ve been so happily preoccupied with my review of NAD’s new D 3020 integrated amplifier that I’ve again fallen behind on my “Payday Albums” posts. My review of the D 3020 will appear in our November issue. I used many of the albums listed below as demo material for that review.
It’s been a seriously great time.
Payday Albums: 7/26/13
Mayer Hawthorne: Where Does this Door Go (CD, Republic Records)
We had been planning a feature on Mayer Hawthorne, to be published in…
Alto saxophonist Steve Coleman's new CD, Functional Arrhythmias (Pi Recordings), is his best in many years.
Coleman, 56, is a fascinating figure in modern jazz. Born and raised in Chicago, he moved to Brooklyn in the late '70s, apprenticed in several top big bands (ranging from Thad Jones' to Sam Rivers'), and linked up with a group of other young Brooklyn musicians—including Greg Osby, Graham Haynes, Geri Allen and Cassandra Wilson—who formed a movement of sorts that they called M-Base, short for "micro-basic array of structured extemporization," which explored new and conceptually…
In July 2008 I reviewed the intriguing Phono 2Ci moving-magnet/moving-coil phono preamplifier from Aqvox Audio Devices. Though it then cost only $1400, the Phono 2Ci's current-input circuitry represented a high-tech departure from the typical voltage-gain circuits used by almost everyone else. Although keeping its retail price so low resulted in some sonic compromises, it sounded remarkable, and tough to beat at the price.
The Aqvox's designer was a hired gun: Carlos Candeias. Now he's back, this time with the Phono MCCI balanced phono preamplifier ($3890), another current-input design,…
The Phono MCCI uses XLR jacks on its rear panel; while you can use an RCA-to-XLR adapter, Carlos Candeias doesn't recommend it: Such adapters can produce noise, and you must ascertain with a voltmeter that pin 1 of the XLR isn't connected to any of the four cartridge leads. Use an adapter if you must, but according to the manual, if you do, you won't get all of the Phono MCCI's sonic benefits, especially low noise.
The ideal phono cable to be used with the Phono MCCI is a twisted-pair cable with shielding connected to XLR pin 1. An unshielded cable can be used, but it must be a noise-…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state, current-mode moving-coil phono preamplifier. Frequency response: RIAA ±0.25dB. Subsonic filter: –6dB at 10Hz. Input impedance: <3 ohms. Gain: see text. Output impedance: 100 ohms. Maximum output voltage: 8.4V (1% THD). THD at 1kHz, 4V: 0.025%. THD at 1kHz, 2V: 0.007%. S/N Ratio: >80dBA (no reference level quoted). Power consumption: 18–20W.
Dimensions: . 17.1" (435mm) x 3.6" (91mm) H x 13.8" (350mm) D. Weight: (8kg).
Price: $3890.
Serial number of review samples: Not noted (auditioning); PH101 1014101 (measurements).…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn, Cobra, & Castellon turntable, tonearm, & stand; Kuzma 4Point tonearms; Lyra Atlas, Kubotek Haniwa HCTR01 "green dot" cartridges.
Preamplifiers: darTZeel NHB-18ns, Ypsilon PST-100, Ypsilon VPS-100 phono.
Power Amplifiers: darTZeel NHB 458 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Alexandria XLF.
Cables: Interconnects: TARA Labs Zero Gold, Stealth Sakra & Indra, Kubala-Sosna, Teresonic Clarison Gold. Speaker: TARA Labs Omega Gold. AC: Shunyata Research Zi-Tron Anaconda.
…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The MCCI is designed in Germany but manufactured at B.M.C.'s own factory in China. Once I got the MCCI on the bench, measuring it proved trickier than I'd expected, due to the preamplifier's "current injection" input circuit. Unlike almost all other phono stages, the MCCI takes advantage of a moving-coil cartridge's very low impedance, its inherent current-generating capabilities, and its balanced, floating-ground architecture, and arranges for its input stage to operate in current mode. It thus has a very low input impedance (specified as <3 ohms), and will…
In this, my first equipment review for Stereophile, I'll begin by explaining my philosophy regarding reviewing inexpensive components. In my quest for products by designers who strive to establish new benchmarks for reproducing sonic realism at lower prices, I'll be looking for "value" components (a more appropriate term than "budget") whose designers logically fall into two camps:
"Price point" designers (Arcam, Audible Illusions, Audio Alchemy, Creek, Grado) who have built their reputations by placing all of their designs under very stringent cost constraints. The presumption is that…
Is the sound special enough?
When I cranked up the Creek, I didn't expect much improvement in sound quality vs the stock 4240. I was in for two big surprises. First, the Special Edition Creek transformed the performance of the system to a much higher level of sonic realism than would be indicated by the $200 price differential. But, ironically, the character of the amp remained essentially the same as the stock 4240. When I switched to the Special Edition, the sound change was akin to that of making a significant upgrade elsewhere in the system while leaving the original 4240 intact.
When I cranked up the Creek, I didn't expect much improvement in sound quality vs the stock 4240. I was in for two big surprises. First, the Special Edition Creek transformed the performance of the system to a much higher level of sonic realism than would be indicated by the $200 price differential. But, ironically, the character of the amp remained essentially the same as the stock 4240. When I switched to the Special Edition, the sound change was akin to that of making a significant upgrade elsewhere in the system while leaving the original 4240 intact.
…