AcroLink 7N-DA2090 Speciale: $2375/1.5m pair ★
The less-than-snappily named 7N-DA2090 Speciale is technically laudable; commendably, AcroLink publishes the specs for this product's resistance (18milliohm/meter) and electrostatic capacitance (56pF/meter). It's made of 99.99999% pure multistrand copper, arranged in what AcroLink calls a "balanced twin core structure." According to MF, substituting the AcroLink interconnect for his TARA Zero Evolution "produced sharper but not unnaturally defined transients, shorter sustain and decay, and an overall well-detailed and…
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Interconnects
John Atkinson wrote about the Step Plus in April 2019 (Vol.42 No.4):
When Ken Micallef reviewed the Audio Physic Step Plus ($2599/pair) in our February issue, he found it relatively difficult to optimize the positions of this two-way stand-mounted speaker. However, once he'd done so, he noted that the Step Plus could produce "serious lower-register heft for such a small speaker," and that the pair of them "disappeared" as the sources of the sound, leaving only the instruments in space before him. Ken summed up by saying that the Step Pluses "proved overachievers to the nth degree," and…
Don't be fooled by Definitive Audio of Seattle's intentionally understated exterior. In my five years covering the annual four-hour Music Matters showcases, I have never heard such stellar sound from the store's six showrooms and head-fi listening area. In fact, four of the exhibits at Music Matters 14, held on Thursday March 7, together offered the finest sound I have ever experienced at any show or store event. And I'll swear by that statement.
Let's start with the all-audio system, housed in a 23' x 18' x 10' space, that featured Wilson Audio's large Alexx speakers ($111,200/…
High Performance Loudspeakers: Optimising High Fidelity Loudspeaker Systems, Seventh Edition, by Martin Colloms. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2018. Paperback, 696 pp., $95. Available as an eBook, $79.99.
"Listen to that—that's what I mean by 'cone cry!'"
It was 1979. I'd been taking part in a blind listening test of loudspeakers organized by Martin Colloms (footnote 1) for the British magazine Hi-Fi Choice and, after the formal sessions had ended, had asked Martin to explain something I'd heard. A drive-unit's diaphragm produces cone cry when it resonates at a frequency…
The late Julian Vereker, the sharp-minded former racing driver who founded Naim Audio and designed its first products, did so because he wanted audio amplification of a quality he felt no one else was making at the time, reasoning that if he wanted such a thing, so might others. Thus came about Naim's first domestic-audio product, the distinctive NAP200 solid-state amp (1973).
Throughout the 1980s, I closely followed Naim's work, buying a few of their products, lusting after others, and seeing in many of them the same originality of engineering that had characterized the NAP200. At the…
Because the ND5 XS 2 is described as being Roon-ready, I was at first a bit peeved that this functionality, too, isn't even hinted at in the Quick Start Guide or the full owner's manual. Not knowing what else to do, I booted up the MacBook Air on which I keep Roon and most of my music files, launched Roon, went first to Settings, and then to Audio . . . and there on the screen before me, under the newly appeared heading Networked, were the words "Naim Audio ND5 XS 2" and a software button labeled Enable. Apparently, my Roon installation and Naim's network player had found each other! I…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Media player-streamer with D/A processor. Inputs: 1 Ethernet, 2 USB, 4 S/PDIF (1 BNC, 1 RCA, 2 TosLink). Formats supported: AAC, AIFF, ALAC, DSD, FLAC, M4A, MP3, OGG, WAV, WMA, PITA (AD made up that last one). Resolutions supported: PCM to 32-bit/384kHz, DSD to DSD128 (streaming, USB); PCM to 24/192, DSD over PCM to DSD64 (BNC, RCA); PCM to 24/96 (TosLink). Internet radio formats: AAC, MMS, MP3, OGG Vorbis streams, Windows Media–formatted content. Power consumption: 11W (typical use), <2W (standby), <0.5W (deep sleep).
Dimensions: 17" (…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Garrard 301, Thorens TD 124 turntables; Audio-Creative GrooveMaster II, EMT 997, Sorane ZA-12 tonearms; EMT TSD 15, Ortofon SPU Century & SPU Wood A, Shindo Laboratory SPU pickup heads.
Digital Source: Hegel Music Systems Mohican CD player.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Hommage T1 & T2 step-up transformers, Shindo Laboratory Monbrison (2017) preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: Shindo Laboratory Haut-Brion.
Loudspeakers: Altec Flamenco, DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/93.
Cables: Interconnect: Audio Note AN-Vx, Luna Red…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Naim ND5 XS 2 with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). I used the Audio Precision's optical and coaxial S/PDIF outputs as well as test-tone files sourced from Roon over my network, once I'd installed the Naim app on my iPad mini. (When I first connected the ND5 XS 2 to my router, the Naim checked with its manufacturer that its firmware was up to date; it was.) The ND5's TosLink inputs accepted PCM datastreams with sample rates up to 96kHz, and its coaxial S/PDIF inputs accepted data sampled at up to 192kHz. Over…
For all those who love Beethoven, for all who wish to honor conductor Bernard Haitink's 90th birthday earlier this month (March 4), and for all who've been posting variations of, "Jason, for the love of God, free us from the horrors of contemporary music," this one's for you. Live from the London Symphony Orchestra, we present Beethoven's Piano Concerto No.2, Triple Concerto in C for piano, violin, and cello, and Leonore Overture No.2, Op.72a from LSO Live (LSO0745D). Although identified as a "CD" by arkivmusic.com and Amazon, this is a hi-resolution SACD, recorded in DSD64.
Reflecting…