Here's the shocker: this album was recorded in 1950. That is not a typo. It was recorded 67 years ago. It was Ellington's first "long-playing" album…
search
In 2014, Chad Kassem, proprietor of Acoustic Sounds and Analogue Productions, released a 200-gram QRP vinyl pressing of Masterpieces by Ellington, one of the Duke's least-known but possibly finest and finest-sounding albums, to wild acclaim and (by audiophile standards) brisk sales. Now he's put it out at 45rpm, and while the 33 was a startler, the new version—spread out on two LPs, to accommodate the wider grooves—will leave you breathless.
Want to go from yang to ying by the simple switch of a silver disc? Try seguing from the two supremely energetic, densely populated chamber symphonies of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Adams (b. 1947), which we explored last week, to the far milder and less complicated choral work, Canticles of the Holy Wind (Cantaloupe) from the other Pulitzer Prize in Music-winning Adams, John Luther Adams (b. 1953). Although just six years separate the men, their choices of where to set down roots—John Adams in Berkeley, with frequent sojourns to orchestral residencies and music festivals in major…
At the Los Angeles Audio Show, held June 2–4, John Atkinson spoke with Elac's Andrew Jones about speaker design, building affordable loudspeakers, and Elac's Adante AF-61 speaker, which made its debut at the show, driven by Audio Alchemy amplification.
Back in 2015, one of Andrew's first designs for Elac was the affordable Debut B6 ($279/pair), which Herb Reichert favorably reviewed in April 2016. But at an estimated price of $5000/pair, the new Adante tower occupies a very different price category. JA asks why.
Manufacturer’s Comment
Editor: Upon reading Michael Fremer's review of our VTM200, we were alarmed when Michael first "had to juggle at least two additional variables so I could listen..." As he had never run his Ayre preamp from its balanced outputs, and his only balanced cable was "so old it was growing hair...I'd never used it," we had the feeling our VTM200s were starting the review facing uphill.
And we were right. Since Michael was working under a tight deadline, it would have helped everyone if he had asked us for a cable recommendation or two, since we are more familiar…
Thursday evening, June 22, 5–9pm, F1 Audio (311 E Dundee Road, Palatine, IL 60074) is holding an event featuring Evolution series loudspeakers and electronics from TAD Labs and Isotek power conditioners. Attendees will also be able to audition rare, out-of-print Mobile Fidelity albums and test pressings from MoFi's UltraDisc One-Step series and take a test drive in the new Porsche 718 Boxster S and Macan Turbo, courtesy of The Porsche Exchange of Highland Park.
For digital playback, in recent months I've been breathing some rarefied air, pricewise. In December 2016, I reviewed dCS's Rossini Player and Clock, followed in May 2017 by Meridian's Ultra DAC, and in June by Chord's DAVE DAC. The Rossini Player costs $28,499 without the Clock, the Meridian $23,000, and though the DAVE is less expensive than either at $10,588, that's still a fair chunk of change. Even PS Audio's PerfectWave DirectStream DAC, which I bought following Art Dudley's review in September 2014, costs $6899 with the Network Bridge II, which hardly counts as "affordable."
High…
Listening with Headphones
As it did in the big rig, the Arcam irDAC-II's headphone output offered, in absolute terms, a somewhat light balance combined with clean highs and an excellent presentation of recorded detail. It worked well with both the Audeze LCD-X and AudioQuest NightHawk headphones, less so with the Thinksound On2s, where the highs sounded a little aggressive. However, it could readily swing enough volts to drive the high-impedance Sennheiser HD650s to satisfying levels. But I needed to hear how it compared with other D/A headphone amplifiers.
As it did in the big rig, the Arcam irDAC-II's headphone output offered, in absolute terms, a somewhat light balance combined with clean highs and an excellent presentation of recorded detail. It worked well with both the Audeze LCD-X and AudioQuest NightHawk headphones, less so with the Thinksound On2s, where the highs sounded a little aggressive. However, it could readily swing enough volts to drive the high-impedance Sennheiser HD650s to satisfying levels. But I needed to hear how it compared with other D/A headphone amplifiers.
The perfect comparison…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: D/A processor & headphone amplifier with volume control. Digital inputs: 2 coaxial (RCA), 2 TosLink, 1 USB (Type B), 1 Bluetooth. Analog outputs: 1 pair unbalanced, fixed output (RCA); 1 pair unbalanced, variable output (RCA); 1 headphone (3.5mm). Digital formats supported: 16–24-bit/32–384kHz, PCM; DSD64/128, USB; 16–24/32–96, TosLink; 16–24/32–192, coax; SBC, aptX, aptX-Ll, AAC, Bluetooth. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, ±0.05dB. THD+N: 0.0007% ref. 0dBFS. Signal/noise (A-weighted): 115dB. Maximum output level: 2.15V RMS, line; 4V RMS,…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Aurender N10 music server (big rig); Antipodes DX (desktop system, headphones); Meridian Explorer USB D/A processor; AudioQuest JitterBug, UpTone Audio ReGen USB cleaner-uppers; MacBook Pro running Pure Music 3.
Power Amplifiers: MBL Corona C15 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: KEF LS50, Rockport Technologies Avior II.
Headphones: Audeze LCD-X, AudioQuest NightHawk, Sennheiser HD-650, Thinksound On-2.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Coffee, Belkin Gold, USB; Monster 3.5mm–TosLink, S/PDIF optical. Interconnect (unbalanced): AudioQuest…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Arcam irDAC-II with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 As We See It"), using the Audio Precision's optical and electrical digital outputs, USB data sourced from my MacBook Pro running on battery power with Pure Music 3.0 playing WAV and AIFF test-tone files, and with the same files played on an iPhone 6S, an iPad2, and an HTC Android phone via Bluetooth. Apple's USB Prober utility identified the irDAC-II as "irDAC-II" from "ARCAM," and revealed that its USB port operated in the optimal isochronous asynchronous mode. Apple's…