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Luther and Cody

That old adage about apples falling close to trees has never been more true than it is with the duo of Cody and Luther Dickinson, whose new North Mississippi Allstars record, Prayer for Peace, shows again what good use they have made of the solid foundation their father, the producer Jim Dickinson, left them.

In their solo projects and in the North Mississippi Allstars, they are dedicated traditionalists and modern proponents of the kind of music that was celebrated in the new T Bone Burnett, Robert Redford, and Jack White film and music project, American Epic.

While Cody…

<I>Masterpieces by Ellington</I> at 45rpm

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.

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…

New Music from the Other Adams

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…

Elac's Andrew Jones Talks Loudspeakers

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.

Audio Research VTM200 monoblock power amplifier Manufacturer’s Comment

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…

TAD Event in Illinois Thursday

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.

Arcam irDAC-II D/A processor

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…

Arcam irDAC-II D/A processor Page 2

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.

The perfect comparison…

Arcam irDAC-II D/A processor Specifications

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,…

Arcam irDAC-II D/A processor Associated Equipment

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…