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Zesto first made its name with its Andros PS1 tubed phono preamplifier that Michael Fremer raved about in his April 2013 "Analog Corner" column. Then they launched the $7500 Leto tubed line stage, which Bob Reina will be reviewing in our February 2014 issue. Now they have the Bia 120 stereo power amplifier ($12,500), which uses a pair of autobiased KT88s per channel to produce 60Wpc. In a system featuring a Merrill Williams Real 101 turntable mounted with a TriPlanar tonearm and Dynavector XX2 cartridge, and TAD Evolution One speakers ($29,800/pair), I auditioned Steely Dan's classic "Hey…
One of our favorite small desktop loudspeakers has been significantly revised. Audioengine’s new A2+ powered loudspeaker ($249/pair) is scheduled to ship on November 1. Upgrades include a built-in 16-bit Burr-Brown DAC; variable subwoofer output; and improved binding posts, AC connection, and power supply.
Bass response has also been addressed. Audioengine's Brady Bargenquast explains, "In the new A2+ we've included a linear limiter which will manage the bass at the point where bass distortion starts to occur. Being a linear limiter, it will not chop the signal, but instead retains the…
SVS Sound’s Gary Yacoubian explained that his company’s speakers are designed to combine the dynamics of a home theater system with the neutrality of an audiophile system. “When voicing the speakers, we used real music that real people listen to in their homes.”
The company’s Ultra Tower loudspeaker ($1998/pair) is a 3.5-way design with a 1” aluminum dome tweeter; two 6.5” midrange drivers, each in its own enclosure; and two 8" horizontally opposed woofers. Fit and finish seemed very good.
The speakers were partnered with Mark Levinson amplification and an Oppo universal player.…
The Antelope Audio Zodiac Platinum DAC ($5500, including Voltikus power supply and remote control), seen here in the shadow of the wild Rubicon, utilizes the company’s 64-bit clocking technology, supports sampling rates up to 768kHz, and plays DSD files. It offers both analog and digital inputs, including balanced analog XLRs, unbalanced analog RCAs, AES/EBU, two coaxial, two Toslink, USB, and a 10MHz input for Antelope’s Rubidium Atomic Clock. Dual front-panel 1/4" headphone jacks, an analog volume control, and a spiffy app for PC, Mac, and mobile devices add to the fun.
Partnered with…
Astell&Kern’s AK10 portable DAC ($299) measures 2.1 ” W x 2.1 ” H x 0.5 ” D, weighs just 1.8oz, and comes with an attractive leather case. It uses a Wolfson WM8740 DAC, capable of handling 24-bit/96kHz data, and is compatible with iOs (iPhone 5 and 5th generation iPod Touch) and Android (Galaxy S3, S4, Note2, Note3) operating systems. Its USB 2.0 input means it can also be used to improve the sound of music files stored on your Mac or PC—just send the output to your headphones or stereo. Inspired by turntable design, the silver circle atop the AK10 is actually a volume control:…
Designed and manufactured in Columbus, Ohio, the JansZen zA2.1 loudspeaker ($7495/pair) is an interesting design with a side-firing ring-radiator tweeter and two 7” Alnico woofers—one above and one below a pair of stacked electrostatic panels.
David Janszen explained that he was interested in creating a “ground-up design,” made to be extremely room-friendly and easy to partner with other equipment. He especially concentrated on phase coherence, image precision, woofer integration, and rejection of room acoustics. A woofer control provides three settings (+3dB, 0dB, -3dB) and a…
Lambertville, New Jersey’s Channel D was in full effect at the 2013 RMAF, exhibiting in two rooms and proving that high-end doesn’t necessarily have to be high-priced.
In one room, Channel D used two Lynx Hilo A/D-D/A converters: One Hilo fed an audio signal to Channel D’s Pure Vinyl via the new Seta Piccola phono preamp; the other was connected to the output of the first, via AES/EBU digital cable, to demonstrate the headphone output. The Piccola MM/MC phono preamp ($1899) uses technology trickled down from Channel D’s Seta Model L and provides balanced, non-RIAA–equalized outputs, for…
The Eficion loudspeaker/Plinius amplification combo, favored by Eficion’s Peigen Jiang because the fast amp complements the speed of the Eficion’s distinctive, highly detailed AMT (Air Motion Transformer) tweeter, graced two adjacent rooms at RMAF. In the first, shared with FIM Music, Eficion F200 loudspeakers ($3400/pair), a Plinius SA103 amplifier ($10,150), Exemplar Audio preamp ($4250), and Exemplar-modded Oppo BDP-105 (aka the Expo T105—$4750 including cost of the Oppo) produced gorgeous, full range sound and beautiful tonality on Jacques Loussier’s rendition of J.S. Bach’s Pastorale in…
Given that Brodmann Acoustics uses Electrocompaniet components in their design studio, the pairing of Brodmann’s FS ($4500/pair), VC 2 ($19,900/pair) and VC 7 ($24,900/pair) loudspeakers with Electrocompaniet’s AW 180 power amplifier ($5425), EC 4.7 preamplifier ($3499), ECD-2 DAC ($3099, to be reviewed in the December issue by JA), and EMT-3 transport ($3995) was especially felicitous. I’m not sure which speakers I auditioned—probably the big guys—because things got a little crazy when someone from another publication entered the room. When I returned, however, the room was rocking out, and…
It was all psychedelic retro in Room 9000, as Odyssey’s Klaus Bunge dimmed the lights and headed to Fillmore West as he played Iron Butterfly’s "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.” Given that I was hardly prepared to drop acid in the midst of blogging the show (as in who is that strange person from Stereophile who has spent the last 15 minutes staring at our turntable while muttering something about God being the deepest groove of all?), I didn’t know what was going on equipment-wise until I found Klaus outside the room and asked which way was up.
At that point, he decided to enter the room, turn up the…