The balance control works fine. You can label the inputs. There's a home-theater bypass. And that headphone amplifier.
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Other Things: The remote control is nice enough, with a plastic body, a brushed-aluminum faceplate, and backlit, tacky rubber buttons. It has a little weight to it, and can control everything in a PS Audio system (footnote 3): the DirectStream DAC, the company's new transport, and a phono preamp that, as far as I know, doesn't yet exist. All that functionality makes it a little crowded, but I much prefer this kind of clutter to the clutter of multiple remotes.
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Fully balanced hybrid line preamplifier with headphone amplifier. Tube complement: two hand-selected, matched 12AU7 dual-triodes. Analog inputs: 5 unbalanced (RCA), 5 balanced (XLR). Analog outputs: 1 pair balanced (XLR), 1 pair unbalanced (RCA). DC triggers: 2. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, ±0.1dB; 0.1Hz–200kHz, –3dB. Input impedance: >66k ohms balanced, >33k ohms unbalanced. Output level: 4.0V RMS. Output impedance: <100 ohms. THD+IM at 1kHz (full scale): <0.03%. Headphone amplifier: output impedance, 0.5 ohm; output power, >200mW…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Thorens TD 124 turntable (reconditioned by Schopper AG); Ortofon RMG-212 (rebuilt), Thomas Schick 12" tonearms; Ortofon 90th Anniversary SPU cartridge.
Digital Sources: MacBook Pro computer (early 2015); Intel NUC computer with SSD drive running RoonServer; Benchmark DAC 3, Meridian Explorer2 USB, Mytek HiFi Brooklyn, PS Audio DirectStream DACs.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Standard step-up transformer; EAR 834P phono stage.
Power Amplifiers: Lamm Industries M1.2, PS Audio BHK Signature 300 Mono (all monoblocks).
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Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the PS Audio BHK Signature preamplifier with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). The gain with the volume control set to its maximum of "100" was 9.8dB, balanced input to balanced output; 3.7dB, unbalanced input to unbalanced output; and 9.7dB, unbalanced input to headphone output. The unity-gain setting at the line outputs would be between "79" and "80" on the front-panel display, except that that isn't possible; the balanced gain at "80" was 0.33dB. Both sets of inputs preserved absolute polarity (ie, were non-…
As much as I delight in pagan dreams of sweetly perfumed garden nymphs, I'm embarrassed to admit that my mind also drifts in pleasant reveries whenever I hear the words research and development in the same sentence. I am by nature a greasy gearhead. The idea of taking well-considered steps of engineering to analyze and possibly improve the operation of any electrical or mechanical system never fails to get my imaginative juices flowing. This is why I've spent decades fascinated by perfectionist audio: I like watching and participating in its edgy, eccentric evolution.
So it's perfectly…
I took a deep breath, pulled the bunker shades down, and listened to Lou Reed croon "Waiting for the Man" and execute long sloooow guitar licks that seemed so "I'm feeling g-o-o-o-o-o-o-d . . ." stretched out. An hour passed. I completely forgot to call Sphere back.
"Heroin (Version 4)": I'm addicted to musicians who can play simple guitar rhythms and jack me up into pulsating delirium. Through Sony's splendidly vivid-sounding MDR-Z1R headphones, Lou Reed's hyper-strummed, screaming, droning guitar, plus Maureen Tucker's poetic-eccentric drumming, were like a needle in my arm booting…
Ken Micallef auditioned the Wharfedale Diamond 225 in June 2017 (Vol.40 No.6):
In my review of Volti Audio's Rival loudspeaker, elsewhere in this issue, I recall how New York City turntable technician Michael Trei, who contributes to our sister magazine Sound & Vision, correctly recalibrated my Kuzma Stabi S turntable and Stogi S tonearm. That lit a fire in my vinyl-stuffed belly. I began a frenzy of LP cleaning. I bought one of those cute Pro-Ject Align It cartridge-alignment tools. For fun, I set up jazz drummer Dan Weiss's virgin Dynavector 10X5 cartridge. Lately, I've been…
Everyone knows that world-class analog and digital sources are the bedrock of all fine audiophile systems. Everyone also knows that a happy relationship of amplifier, speakers, and room makes audiophiles smirk Aren't I lucky? Fewer among us are aware that the upper limit of sound quality an audio system can deliver will be established by whichever audio contraption we use to select our sources and adjust their volume.
A hi-fi system with too little gain or an impedance mismatch (especially at the interfaces of the selector switch and volume control) can sound dim or hesitant. A system…
The next day, I played this LP through this system for one of my measurements-oriented audiophile friends. At the end of the concerto, he looked at me and said, "That's not an amp!" To my quizzical expression he responded, "That's a second-harmonic generator!" Sheepishly, I admitted that the sound might be a little rich in even-order harmonics, but then asked him, "What else could sort and display this complex music in such a tactile, spacious, satisfying way?" Timpani were far back but completely fleshed out, still weighty and accurately toned. Piano was front right, solid, and frantic, all…
One year ago almost to the day as I write, Peachtree Audio invited me and other members of the audio press to the New York City retail shop Stereo Exchange, where various announcements regarding the brand were bundled, by the company's Jim Spainhour and David Solomon, under the virtual banner "PEACHTREE 2.0." Among the news: Peachtree, based in Bellevue, Washington, would now be manufacturing their nova integrated amplifiers in Canada—the company's previous offerings were all made in China—and they'd signed up a new design and engineering team.
Smiles were smiled and drinks were drunk,…