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darTZeel NHB-18NS preamplifier Mk.2 June 2017

Michael Fremer returned to the darTZeel NHB-18NS in June 2017 (Vol.40 No.6):

DarTZeel Audio, the Swiss company dedicated to listening first and measuring later, has introduced a completely redesigned version of its battery-powered NHB-18NS preamplifier that is vaguely similar to the original in looks and in name. Based on its list price in Swiss francs and the exchange rate at time of writing, the NHB-18NS Mk.2 costs about $38,000.

I reviewed the original NHB-18NS ten years ago this month, in the June 2007 issue, and bought the review sample (it cost $23,250) without really…

Hi-Rez Bach Trios from Ma, Thile, and Meyer

Given the pedigree of its three artists—cellist Yo-Yo Ma, mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile, and bassist Edgar Meyer—this new recording of Bach Trios is destined to become a best-seller. That the hour-long recording is available in multiple formats, including as a Nonesuch CD, 24/96 hi-rez download, LP, and MQA stream via Tidal Masters, and is filled with glorious music grants it potential appeal to all music lovers, including audiophiles eager to compare formats.

The wonders of Thile's Bach playing are already known from his previous recordings for Nonesuch and Sony, and both Ma and Meyer…

Hot Damn, it's the June Issue

Chord's extraordinary DAVE—"Digital [to] Analog Veritas [in] Extremis (Truth in Extreme)"—D/A processor takes pride of place on its cover, but the June Stereophil is packed full of good stuff. Art Dudley reports on Peachtree's "Made in America" nova300 integrated amplifier; Herb Reichert and Jim Austin live with high-performance preamplifiers from PrimaLuna and PS Audio; Kal Rubinson checks out a two-channel AV integrated amplifier from Arcam; Ken Micallef reviews a truly loud speaker, the horn-loaded Rival from Volti; and Robert Baird listens to great-sounding vinyl reissues of recordings of…

Recording of June 2017: <I>Silent Light</I>

Dominic Miller: Silent Light
Dominic Miller, guitar; Miles Bould, percussion
ECM 2518 (CD). 2017. Manfred Eicher, prod.; Jan Erik Kongshaug, eng. DDD? TT: 41:06
Performance *****
Sonics *****

It was a pairing that seemed right from the very start: ECM's founder, Manfred Eicher, a man renowned for having an unmatched ear for talent and exacting sound-engineering skills; and guitarist Dominic Miller, an internationalist who was born in Argentina, raised in Racine, Wisconsin, and now lives in Provence, France, and who's spent more than 20 years playing and writing with Sting…

Balance

Balance is certainly a lovely concept, as well as a lofty ideal. But achieving an optimal sonic balance in a high-end audio system—whose final sound is determined, in part, by interactions among any number of components and that great bugaboo, the listening room—while maintaining some semblance of psychic equilibrium can be the hardest goal of all.

One dictionary defines the noun balance as "a condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions," as well as "mental and emotional steadiness." In the largest sense, balance describes the place where two or more…

Bill Frisell and Thomas Morgan's <I>Small Town</I> on ECM

At this point in his hugely varied and successful career it's tempting to pull out the old cliché and rhetorically ask, "Is there anything Bill Frisell can't do?"

Initially tagged as a jazz cat, guitarist Frisell has moved far beyond that and shown remarkable ability in musical genres as widely diverse as surf guitar and Americana. On Small Town, his latest album, a program of duets with bassist Thomas Morgan recorded live at the Village Vanguard in NYC and produced by the founder, owner, and visionary behind ECM Records, Manfred Eicher, Frisell again shows his affinity for American roots…

Chord Electronics DAVE D/A processor

Fifteen years? Has it really been 15 years since I reviewed what was then the flagship D/A processor from English company Chord Electronics? In the July 2002 issue, here's how I summed up my review of the Chord DAC64: "While the Chord Electronics DAC64 is undoubtedly expensive, it is eye-poppingly gorgeous. . . . many listeners should find its silky-smooth highs seductive, as well as its slightly larger-than-life lows." How times and prices change—the "undoubtedly expensive" DAC64 cost only $3040! I did make a couple of criticisms of the DAC64 in my review, but according to Wes Phillips, in…

Chord Electronics DAVE D/A processor Page 2

Watts again: "Bob Cordell proposed nested feedback loops in the 1980s as a way of improving amplifier performance. . . . [W]hat he was proposing was equivalent to a second-order analog noise shaper [that] eliminates distortion. There is a huge amount of negative feedback available with a nested feedback stage, even at 20kHz. The benefit is that when you plug in a 33 ohm load, there is no increase in distortion at all. In all my DACs I've got a very simple analog structure. From Mojo right up to DAVE, it comes down to two resistors and two capacitors and a single amplification stage . . .…

Chord Electronics DAVE D/A processor Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: D/A processor with volume control. Digital inputs: 1 AES/EBU (XLR), 4 75 ohm coaxial (BNC), 2 TosLink, 1 USB (Type B). Analog outputs: 1 pair balanced (XLR), 1 pair unbalanced (RCA), 1 headphone. Digital formats supported: 32–768kHz PCM in 32-bit; DSD64/128/256/512. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, ±0.1dB. THD+N: –127.5dB ref. 0dBFS. Dynamic range: 127.5dB. Output impedance: 0.0055 ohm (short-circuit–protected).
Dimensions: 13.2" (334mm) W by 2.8" (71mm) H by 6.1" (154mm) D. Weight: 15.4 lbs (7kg).
Finishes: Silver, Black.
Serial number…

Chord Electronics DAVE D/A processor Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital Sources: Aurender N10 music server; Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP universal player; Meridian Ultra DAC; PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream D/A converter with Bridge II network adapter; AudioQuest JitterBug, UpTone Audio ReGen USB cleaner-uppers; Mac mini running Pure Music 3, Audirvana, Tidal HiFi, Vinyl Studio apps; Ayre Acoustics QA-9 USB A/D converter.
Power Amplifiers: MBL Corona C15, Pass Labs XA60.5 (both monoblocks).
Loudspeakers: Aerial Acoustics 5T, Bowers & Wilkins 805 D3, Dynaudio Contour 20, Rockport Technologies Avior II.
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