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Aesthetix Saturn Romulus DAC/CD player Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

I examined the Aesthetix Saturn Romulus'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. For USB tests, I used my MacBook Pro running on battery power and the Romulus set to USB2.0. I played back test-signal files with Bias Peak Pro, using Apple's AudioMIDI utility to make sure that the sample rate and bit depth were correctly set for each file.

The Romulus's error…

Audio Research Reference CD9 CD player/DAC

Now entering its fourth decade, the Compact Disc player seems to have reached a stage of maturity where the best models within a given price range will sound pretty much alike. The technology of the Compact Disc itself is set, its possibilities and limitations are well understood; and the designers of CD players who figure out how to stretch the former and finesse the latter wind up at about the same sonic place (again, for the same price), even if they've taken different routes to get there. What distinguishes these players in the marketplace tends to be not so much their sound quality as…

Audio Research Reference CD9 CD player/DAC Page 2

Not so with the CD9 and the Cipher. In fact, if you crept into my house, swapped out one for the other without telling me, and put on a disc that I know well, I probably wouldn't notice anything amiss unless I listened very closely, and even then the difference would be small; if you revealed the substitution and told me I was stuck with it, there was no going back to what I had before, I wouldn't be upset; I might even shrug.

When I did my first A/B comparison of the players and found them sounding more similar than any two components of any sort that I'd ever heard in my system, I dug…

Audio Research Reference CD9 CD player/DAC Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Top-loading, remote-control, tubed CD player with optional upsampling, two digital reconstruction filters, and digital inputs/outputs. Tube complement: four 6H30 dual triodes (analog stage), one 6H30 and one 6550C (power regulation). Digital inputs: S/PDIF (TosLink, BNC, RCA), AES/EBU (XLR), and USB. Bit depths handled: 16 and 24 bits. Sample rates handled: 44.1, 88.2, 96, 176.4, and 192kHz. Digital outputs: BNC, AES/EBU. Analog outputs: single-ended (RCA), balanced (XLR). Frequency responses: 3Hz–96kHz, +0/–3dB; 20Hz–20kHz, ±0.15dB. Signal/noise:…

Audio Research Reference CD9 CD player/DAC Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog Source: VPI Classic turntable & tonearm, Lyra Delos cartridge.
Digital Source: Krell Cipher SACD/CD player.
Phono Preamplifier: Nagra BPS (battery-powered).
Integrated Amplifier: Simaudio Moon Evolution 700i.
Loudspeakers: Revel Ultima Studio2.
Cables: Nirvana
Accessories: Bybee Technologies Signature Power Purifier (not with amplifier or, sometimes, CD players), Black Diamond Mk.4 Racing Cones (sometimes not used), Audio Desk Systeme LP cleaner.—Fred Kaplan

Audio Research Reference CD9 CD player/DAC Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

To measure the Audio Research Reference CD9, I used 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. To test the CD9's performance via USB, I used my MacBook Pro, running on battery power, with ARC's supplied USB2.0 driver (v.2.03.14), and played test-signal files with Bias Peak Pro, using Apple's AudioMIDI utility to ensure that the sample rate and bit depth were correctly set for each file.

…

SME 3009 Series III tonearm

The third iteration of SME's 3009 is one of the most versatile tonearms around. For the same reason, it is also one of the most tedious to set-up because, since every parameter is adjustable, every parameter must be adjusted.

Unlike most arms with plug-in headshells, the SME has a plug-in arm, which accomplishes the same thing but places the additional mass of the plug and socket back near the tonearm base, where its effect on the cartridge-system effective mass is minimal.

The arm is available with an optional viscous-damping system, presumably for the benefit of those…

SME 3009 Series III tonearm Specifications

Sidebar: Specifications

Description: Low-mass tonearm with plug-in arm tube. Accepts phono cartridges weighing up to 12gm. Adjustable mass. Damped cueing control. Adjustable viscous damping on arm.
Dimensions: Stylus-to-base distance: 9". Overall length: 11". Requires 2" depth below top surface of armboard and 1.75" above turntable platter mat.
Price: $294 (1980); no longer available (2013).
Manufacturer: SME Ltd., Steyning, Sussex BN4 3GY, England. US distributor: Sumiko, Berkeley, CA (1986–2012); Acoustic Sounds, Salina, KS (2014). Tel: (785) 825-8609. Fax: (510) 843-7120.…

The Entry Level #34

Last month, I'd intended to compare the overachieving Pioneer SP-BS22-LR stand-mounted loudspeaker ($129.99/pair) with the Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 ($349/pair). In fact, I was deep into the process—surrounded by pages and pages of scribbled notes, thumbs swollen and sticky with Blu-Tack—when it occurred to me that something was wrong with the Wharfedales.

When I noticed the problem, I wasn't really paying attention to the music. I wasn't even sitting in the sweet spot—a fact that I find slightly annoying and, even more, disturbing. Maybe all critical listening should be done in the…

The Entry Level #34 Page 2

Partnered with my NAD C 316BEE integrated amplifier ($380) driving the Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 speakers, the new C 516BEE sounded a lot like its predecessor: clean, clear, smooth, engaging. There were times—such as when Jenny Hval really lets loose in the title track of Innocence Is Kinky (CD, Rune Grammofon RCD3142), her voice rising and rising like heat from asphalt—that I thought the new player sounded slightly more extended on top, slightly more effervescent and polished overall. But I'm not entirely sure about that. I do know, however, that the NAD wasn't out of place when matched…