Happy Thanksgiving!
Footnote: The Maria Schneider Orchestra’s Thompson Fields wasStereophile’s "Recording of September 2015."
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It's Thanksgiving week, which, in New York City, means that two of the best bands in jazz are playing at two of the best jazz clubs in the world: the Maria Schneider Orchestra at Jazz Standard; Jason Moran and the Bandwagon Trio at the Village Vanguard. Every set is usually packed, so make reservations now and get there early.
Just as John Atkinson has a special telephone on his desk, by means of which the late J. Gordon Holt expresses his displeasure at this magazine's continuing decline into latitudinarianism, my own desk is littered with a dozen or so windup timers, each set to remind me how long it's been since I last wrote about this or that hi-fi eccentricity. Each timer has its own distinctive ring: The one labeled "LOWTHER" is a bit shrill, especially at certain humidity levels, while the one marked "QUAD ESL" can be heard to best advantage only when sitting in a particular spot—and even I have to admit…
The Decca cartridge does indeed have a cantilever—if by cantilever one means the thingie that goes between the stylus and the generator—but it imposes no fulcrum between those two elements: A stylus excursion of, say, 1µm causes the moving armature in a Decca's generator to undergo a 1µm excursion. This aspect of their cartridge's performance was referred to by Decca Special Products as positive scanning, and they claimed that it resulted in a transducer that imposes far less dynamic compression than any other.
To test that claim, I asked Brian Tucker to loan me a current-production…
With each review I've written for Stereophile, I've redoubled my efforts to choose my adjectives prudently—to curb my penchant for overstatement. I've been feeling a need to speak more concisely and maturely about what my ears, mind, and heart experience while listening to music through a component that's new to me. So today, at the start of this review, I ask myself: What adjectives must I use to describe the character of GoldenEar Technology's new Triton Five tower loudspeaker ($1999.98/pair)? Which words will best use our shared audiophile lexicon to give you a working vision of what I…
With the Vinnie Rossi LIO: Vinnie Rossi's 25Wpc LIO integrated ($7750 as reviewed in Stereophile's September, 2015 issue) is one of the most grainless, pure-sounding amplifiers I have heard. Driving the GoldenEar Triton Fives, it created a modestly priced system capable of elite audiophile sound. Crystalline images sat in real acoustic spaces. Vocal and instrumental timbres were exact and attention grabbing. I got lost in Yehudi Menuhin's recording, as violin soloist and conductor of the Robert Masters Chamber Orchestra, of J.S. Bach's Violin Concertos 1 and 2 and the Double Concerto (with…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, reflex-loaded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: High Velocity Folded Ribbon (HVFR) tweeter, two 6" woofers, four 8" planar passive radiators. Frequency range: 26Hz–35kHz. Sensitivity: 90dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: "compatible with 8 ohms." Recommended amplification: 15–400Wpc.
Dimensions: 44.25" (1135mm) H by 6.625" (170mm) W (front) by 8.125" (210mm) W (rear) by 12.375" (320mm) D. (Height includes base, no spikes.) Weight: 40 lbs (18.2kg) net, 56 lbs (25.5kg) shipping.
Finish: Black cloth.
Serial numbers of units…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Acoustic Signature Wow XL turntable, TA-1000 tonearm, Ortofon 2M Black cartridge; VPI Scout Jr. turntable & tonearm, Ortofon 2M Red cartridge; Technics SL1200 Mk.2 turntable, SME M2-9 tonearm, Soundsmith Carmen cartridge.
Digital Sources: Burson Audio Virtuoso Conductor DAC-headphone amplifier, Line Magnetic LM-502 CA DAC.
Preamplification: Blue Horizon Ideas Profono, Schiit Audio Mani, Soundsmith MMP3 phono stages.
Integrated Amplifiers: Line Magnetic LM-518 IA, Parasound Halo Integrated, Simaudio Moon Neo 340i, Vinnie…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the GoldenEar Triton Five's frequency response in the farfield; and, for the nearfield responses, an Earthworks QTC-40, which has a ¼" capsule.
The Triton Five's voltage sensitivity is specified as 90dB/2.83V/m, which is high; my estimate was slightly higher, at 90.8dB(B)/2.83V/m. This is a speaker that will play loudly on just the few watts provided by the tube amplifiers Herb Reichert prefers. The GoldenEar's impedance is specified as being "compatible with 8 ohms." Fig.1 shows…
For me, one of the highlights of 2013 was being able to live with the Sonja 1.3, the flagship loudspeaker model from Colorado-based YG Acoustics. I reviewed this tall, massive, three-enclosure tour de force of a design, which costs $106,800/pair, in July 2013, and was not surprised when, for the December 2013 issue, Stereophile's writers voted it one of the magazine's two Loudspeakers of the Year. So when I was asked last spring if I wanted to review the new version of the smallest and least-expensive model in YGA's lineup, the request fell on receptive ears.
Description
The Carmel 2…
In July 2000, I reviewed the Mark Levinson company's first integrated amplifier, the No.383, and found that its sound had "clarity, transparency, liquid mids and highs, with dynamic contrasts." Also evident were the No.383's power-output limitations, the result of building large power supplies and heatsinks into a single case that had to fulfill multiple functions. Still, the No.383's price of $5900 was much less than the total cost of the equivalent in Mark Levinson separates. Later, in April 2007, I reviewed a similarly powered integrated amplifier, Bryston's B100-DA ($3195), which included…