search
The older an audiophile becomes, the faster time flies. Has it really been 60 years since Saul Marantz founded the company that bears his name? Has it really been almost 50 years since that company was acquired by the Tushinsky brothers and Superscope? Has it really been 33 years since Superscope sold Marantz to Philips, just in time for the launch of CD? Has it really been 13 years since Marantz Japan acquired the brand's assets and, a year later, merged with Denon to form D&M Holdings? And more significant in the context of this review, has it really been almost 35 years since Ken…
Finally, I connected one of the Mac mini's USB ports to the NA-11S1 and streamed audio data to it using Pure Music. Now I could play everything in my iTunes library with the Marantz, including the AIFF and 192kHz ALAC files it had stuck up its nose at with the other inputs! Even DSD-encoded DFF files—but see later.
Remote Control
A word on controlling the NA-11S1. Its display is too small for me to see from my listening seat, which made using the remote control awkward. It was also a pain to use the remote's numeric keypad to type search keywords the first time when looking for…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Remote-controlled, network-connected media player and D/A processor with two user-selectable digital filters and direct access to SiriusXM, Pandora, Spotify (separate subscriptions required), and Internet radio. Digital inputs: 1 S/PDIF on coax, 1 S/PDIF on TosLink, 1 USB 2.0 on USB type B connector on rear panel, 1 USB 2.0 on USB type A connector on front panel; CAT5 network connector. Digital outputs: 1 S/PDIF on coax, 1 S/PDIF on TosLink. Analog outputs: 1 pair balanced on XLRs, 1 pair unbalanced on RCAs, 1 headphone output. Compatible file…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Source: Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Lingo power supply, Linn Ekos tonearm, Linn Arkiv B phono cartridge.
Digital Sources: Astell&Kern AK100 hi-rez portable player, Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP universal player; Apple 2.7GHz i7 Mac mini laptop running OS10.7, iTunes 10.7, Pure Music 1.89, Twonky Server 7.2.3, MinimServer 0.72, Audirvana Plus v1.5.4; Shuttle PC with Lynx AES16 soundcard & dual-core AMD Athlon processor running Windows 7, JRiver Media Center; Arcam FMJ D33, MSB Diamond DAC IV D/A converters; Ayre Acoustics QA-9 USB A/D…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I examined the Marantz Reference NA-11S1's electrical performance with Stereophile's loan sample of the top-of-the-line Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see www.ap.com and the January 2008 "As We See It"); for some tests, I also used my vintage Audio Precision System One Dual Domain. Because of the NA-11S1's complexity, I performed most of the testing using its TosLink input, repeating some of the tests using: test files stored on a USB stick, streamed to the Marantz via USB from my MacBook Pro mini running Pure Music; files pulled from my Mac mini running Twonky…
The name sounds perfect. It fits neatly next to those of Messrs. Leak, Sugden, Walker, Grant, Lumley, and others of Britain's most rightly revered amplifier builders. In fact, when their distributor called and asked if I'd like to review the latest amplifier from Croft Acoustics, I accepted without actually knowing who they are, simply because they sounded like someone I was supposed to know—someone who's been around for 60 years or so, shellacking bell wire in an old mill with a thatched roof.
As it turns out, this British company has been in business just 30 years—itself no small feat…
Stephen Mejias also wrote about the Croft Phono Integrated in October 2013
As I write these words, I haven't yet read Art Dudley's complete review (elsewhere in this issue) of the new Croft integrated amplifier. I do know, however, that Art liked it a lot and that it performed very poorly on John Atkinson's test bench. It's not the first time we've experienced such a discrepancy, and it won't be the last. In this case, though, the results diverged so thoroughly that JA asked for a second opinion. Perhaps because I happened to be in his direct line of vision, JA offered the assignment to…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-channel hybrid integrated amplifier with 3 line inputs and one moving-magnet phono input. Tube complement: three ECC83 (12AX7). Maximum output power: 45Wpc into 8 ohms (16.5dBW), 50Wpc into 4 ohms (14dBW). Frequency response: 0.15Hz–150kHz, –1dB. Line input sensitivity: 250mV. Line input impedance: 100k ohms. Phono input sensitivity: 1.5mV. Phono input impedance: 47k ohms.
Dimensions: 16" (410mm) W by 3" (80mm) H by 10" (255mm) D. Weight: 11 lbs (5kg).
Serial number of unit reviewed: 11124.
Price: $1895. Approximate number of dealers…
Sidebar 2: AD's Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Garrard 301, Thorens TD 124 turntables; EMT 997, Ikeda IT-407 tonearms; EMT OFD 25 & TSD 15 70th Anniversary pickup head; Denon DL103, Miyajima Premium BE mono, phono cartridges.
Digital Sources: AudioQuest DragonFly, Meridian Explorer, Wavelength Proton USB D/A converters; Apple iMac G5 computer running Apple iTunes v.11.0, Decibel v.1.2.11 playback software; Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player.
Preamplification: Silvercore One-to-Ten, Auditorium 23 Standard (SPU version), Hommage T2 step-up transformers; Sutherland Insight…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Croft Phono Integrated using Stereophile's loan sample of the top-of-the-line Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It" and www.ap.com). Before performing any measurements on an amplifier, I run it for an hour with both channels driven at 1/3 its rated power into 8 ohms; this is the level at which the maximum amount of power is dissipated in the output devices with a class-A/B topology. At the end of the first 30 minutes running at 1/3 the specified 45Wpc into 8 ohms, the top panel over the Phono Integrated's output stage…