Analog Sources: Linn Sondek turntable with Lingo power supply, Linn Ittok tonearm, Spectral cartridge; Day-Sequerra 25th Anniversary FM Reference tuner.
Digital Sources: Bryston BCD-1 CD player, BDP-2 media player with IAD sound board, BDA-2 DAC. Lenovo W510 laptop computer running Windows 7, Mark Levinson USB driver, JRiver Media Center 20.
Preamplifier: Bryston BP26.
Power Amplifier: Mark Levinson No.334.
Integrated Amplifier: Mark Levinson No.585.
Loudspeakers: Quad ESL-989, Revel Salon Ultima2.
Cables: Digital: Wireworld…
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Was it more surprising that, in 2015, PS Audio would produce a monoblock class-AB power amplifier containing vacuum tubes, or that PS Audio would release a monoblock power amplifier at all? I'm not sure.
In 1974, Paul McGowan and Stan Warren founded the company to produce and market a standalone phono preamplifier, sold directly to consumers for $59.95. From there they naturally progressed to a series of line-level preamplifiers. Toward the end of the '70s, PS Audio produced the Model One, the company's first power amplifier. In the mid-1980s came the high-performance, moderately priced…
This is the third tube/solid-state hybrid I've reviewed in the past few years. The others were Siltech's unique two-box SAGA power amp and, more recently, Musical Fidelity's Nu-Vista 800 integrated. Though all three have tubed input stages and solid-state output stages, each sounds quite different from the other two.
The goal, according to PS Audio's website, was to build "one of the top five power amplifiers in the world, regardless of price. Bascom H. King took the charge under the condition he be permitted to design and build the amplifier his way, without restriction and that is what…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Hybrid tube/transistor monoblock amplifier. Tube complement: two hand-matched 6922/6DJ8. Input connections: single-ended (RCA), balanced (XLR). Speaker binding posts: 2 pairs, gold-plated copper. Output power: 300W into 8 ohms (24.8dBW), 600W into 4 ohms (24.8dBW), 1000W into 2 ohms (24dBW). Frequency response: 10Hz–20kHz, ±0.1dB; 10Hz–200kHz, +0.1/–3.0dB. Voltage gain: 30.5dB, ±0.5dB. Sensitivity: 1.2V. Damping factor: >350 (8 ohms, up to 1kHz). Output impedance: 0.1 ohm at 50Hz, 2.8V RMS. Input impedance: 200k ohms balanced, 100k ohms…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn turntable, Cobra tonearm, Castellon stand; Dr. Feickert Analogue Firebird, Kuzma 4Point, Reed 3P, SAT tonearms; Lyra Atlas & Etna, Miyajima Labs Zero (mono) & Madake, Ortofon Anna cartridges.
Digital Sources: Simaudio Moon Evolution 650D transport-DAC; Lynx Hilo A/D–D/A converter; Meridian Sooloos Digital Media System; Pure Vinyl, Vinyl Studio apps.
Preamplification: Ypsilon MC-10L & MC-16L step-up transformers; darTZeel NHB-18NS, PureAudio Vinyl, Viva, Ypsilon VPS-100 preamplifiers.
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Sidebar 3: Measurements
I began to perform a full suite of measurements on the PS Audio BHK Signature 300 (serial no. NPWA-A1-5G0062), using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see www.ap.com and the January 2008 "As We See It"). First, however, I preconditioned the amplifier by running it at one-third the specified power, 100W, into 8 ohms for 60 minutes. At the end of that time, its top panel was warm and its heatsinks were hot, at 122.1°F (50.1°C). The percentage of THD+noise at this power level was 0.0145% with the amplifier cold, 0.0164% with it fully warmed up.
The BHK 300's…
High-End retailer AudioVisionSF (1628 California Street, San Francisco, CA 94109) is having what it calls a "Big Free Event!!" Thursday February, 7:30–9:30pm, featuring the Devialet Limited Edition Reference LE900 Original d'Atelier 900Wpc Integrated Amp/DAC/Phonostage. Only 100 of the LE900 were produced worldwide, and the amplifier features a new 900W D-amp, class-A evolution circuit with updated transistors, a new filter board, and an enhanced power supply, The event will also feature YG Acoustics loudspeakers, Clearaudio turntables, and Nordost cables.
There'll be wine and cheese,…
My first girlfriend was a hopeless kleptomaniac. Once, just before sunrise, as I helped her bury a few hot items in the woods, she asked from which direction the sun would rise. Always the smart-aleck, I told her: "It rarely fails to rise in the east."
She frowned and stared quizzically into the darkness. After a long moment, she said, in a low, sad voice, "Really . . . ?"
September 23, 2015: In his response to and defense of Elizabeth Newton's wildly insightful essay "The Lossless Self" (footnote 1), Michael Lavorgna wrote, on Stereophile's sibling website AudioStream.com: "My…
With recordings that did not contain copious energy in the 50–100Hz region, such as Chants Grégoriens Pour le Temps de Noël, by the Munich Capella Antiqua directed by Konrad Ruhland (LP, Harmonia Mundi 5112), the Morels played gloriously. The main energy in Gregorian chant seems to fall in that gender-ambiguous range of 120–200Hz, while the subsequent reverberations off the stone walls of Schloss Aicha vorm Wald, in Bavaria, in which this was recorded, can be heard logarithmically expanding and diminishing through the octaves on either side of that center point. With the Morels, the adult…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way dynamic bass-reflex loudspeaker. Drive-units: 11/8" (28mm) Acuflex soft-dome tweeter, 6" (130mm) mid/woofer. Crossover frequency: 2.2kHz. Crossover slopes: 12dB/octave. Frequency response: 30Hz–22kHz, ±3dB; 40Hz–18kHz, ±1.5dB. Sensitivity: 88dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Power handling: 140W RMS nominal, 1kW 10ms (peak).
Dimensions: 11.6" (297mm) H by 7.3" (187mm) W by 13.3" (340mm) D . Weight: 16.1 lbs (7.3kg).
Finishes: Black or White Piano Gloss.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: None found.
Price: $2799/pair; 27"-…