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Several years ago, at a Consumer Electronics Show, Bob Stuart, then with Meridian Audio, took John Atkinson and me into a private room to demonstrate something new. He played individual tracks of mostly familiar recordings, twice each: first, straight from the commercial release, and then again, this time after processing with technology he was still developing. The differences were subtle, but usually we favored the second version. It was all very hush-hush, and despite our requests for technical information, Stuart spoke of his new process only in terms of results—as a way to recover the…
This arrangement is exactly the one I use with my other servers. The only special requirement for MQA was to make sure that all of JRiver's DSP options were turned off, including any up/downsampling, file conversion, and dither settings. It was also necessary to uncheck the box for "Open device with exclusive access."
Mmm-mmm, Good
Most of the recordings I'd requested from 2L were hi-rez DXD files (24/352.8)—the MQA versions downloaded in a fraction of the time it took to download the unprocessed originals. The batch of 10 original files (5.96GB) was more than six times larger than…
Sidebar 1: Contacts
MQA Limited, Latham Road, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE29 6YE, England, UK. Tel: (44) (0)1480-445678. Fax: (44) (0)1480-445686. Web: www.mqa.co.uk.
Mytek HiFi, 148 India Street, First Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11222. Tel: (347) 384-2687. Web: www.mytekdigital.com.
Sidebar 2: Recordings in the Round
TRONDHEIM SOLOISTS: Reflections
Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge. Stravinsky: Apollon Musagète. Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis.
Trondheim Soloists; Øyvind Gimse, artistic dir.; Geir Inge Lotsberg, guest leader
2L 2L-125-SABD (SACD/CD+BD). 2016. Morten Lindberg, prod., eng. DDD. TT: 70:16
This recording was nominated for a Grammy for Best Surround Recording. The winner is more than fine (you can look it up), but we wuz robbed! Perhaps the Trondheim Soloists' 2L recordings are now quantities too…
Having discontinued the MAXX3 loudspeaker ($68,000/pair in 2009, when I reviewed it), Wilson Audio needed to plug the resulting gaping hole between the Alexia ($48,500/pair) and the Alexandria XLF ($210,000/pair). Company founder Dave Wilson was busy with the limited-edition WAMM Master Chronosonic loudspeaker ($685,000/pair), so son Darryl Wilson set about creating a speaker with a retail price of about $100,000/pair. The result, the Alexx, finally came in at $109,000/pair.
The Alexx shares with the Alexandria XLF Wilson's Aspherical Group Delay technology, whereby the positions of its…
In my room, the Alexx's bottom end was far superior to the Alexandria's: deeper, faster, tighter, and, interestingly, more organically and tunefully delivered. With recordings that include deep bass, that deep bass was just there—it didn't sound as if it was being pumped into the room by a loudspeaker. In that regard, the Alexx was remarkable.
That visceral but tuneful, well-controlled bass was ideally damped: sounding neither too tight nor mechanical nor in any way "porty." I'll be interested to compare John Atkinson's measurements of the Alexx's in-room frequency response with those…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Four-way, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25.4mm) silk-dome tweeter, 5.75" (146mm) paper/pulp-cone midrange, 7" (178mm) carbon-fiber/paper-cone midrange, 10.5" (267mm) & 12.5" (318mm) paper/pulp-cone woofers. Crossover frequencies: not disclosed. Frequency response: 20Hz–31kHz, ±3dB. Sensitivity: 91dB/2.83V/m. Impedance: 4 ohms nominal, 1.5 ohms minimum at 2850Hz. Minimum amplification: 50Wpc.
Dimensions: 62.3" (1582mm) H by 15.75" (400mm) W by 26.75" (680mm) D. Weight: 452 lbs (205kg).
Finishes: Multiple automotive paint…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn turntable & Castellon stand; Kuzma 4Point, SAT tonearms; Lyra Atlas & Atlas SL & Etna & Etna SL, Ortofon Anna & A95, Miyajima Labs Zero (mono) & Madake cartridges.
Digital Sources: Audio Alchemy DDSPro CD transport; Simaudio Moon Evolution 780D, Brinkmann Nyquist DACs; Lynx Hilo A/D-D/A converter; Meridian Sooloos Digital Media System; Pure Vinyl & Vinyl Studio software.
Preamplification: Ypsilon MC-10L & MC-16L step-up transformers; CH Precision P1, TruLife Argo,…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Because this speaker's size and 452-lb weight made shipping one of them to me for measurement impossible, I drove my test gear to Michael Fremer's place. I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Wilson Audio Alexx's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield and in-room responses.
The first dilemma was on what axis to examine the speaker's quasi-anechoic behavior. Wilson's Peter McGrath had adjusted the Alexx's tweeter and midrange modules so that their axes converged on the…
Saturday, April 29, from 1–5pm, Lavish Hi-Fi (1044 4th Street, Santa Rosa, CA 95404) is holding a vinyl lover's dream day, featuring The Last Record Store, and Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab.
Mobile Fidelity mastering engineers Shawn and Rob will play their fabulous LPs and discuss the challenges of making ultra-high quality vinyl records. Last Record Store owner and music buff Doug Jayne will talk about his 30+ years of seeing the public's reaction to changing audio formats, and his own feelings about what vinyl does that other mediums do not. And Lavish Hi-Fi's Craig Allison will recount…