Best New Releases:
1. Sonny Rollins, Road Shows, Vol. 3 (Okeh).
2. Keith Jarrett & Charlie Haden, Last Dance (ECM).
3. Kenny Barron & Dave Holland, The Art of Conversation (Impulse!).
4. Ambrose Akinmusire, The Imagined Savior Is Far Easier to Paint (Blue Note).
5. Fred Hersch, Floating (Palmetto).
6. Sylvie Courvoisier Trio, Double Windsor (Tzadik).
7. The Bad Plus, The Rite of Spring (Okeh).
8. Matt Wilson Quartet + John Medeski, Gathering Call (Palmetto).
9. Frank Kimbrough…
Earl Wild: Works for Piano
Cesar Franck: Prelude, Chorale and Fugue; Gabriel Fauré: Barcarolle No.3 in G Flat, Op.42. Maurice Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit.
Earl Wild, piano.
Audiofon Stereo 207 (LP). Julian H. Kreeger, prod., Peter McGrath, eng.
Darn…
1948: Brook Electronics Inc. (Elizabeth, New Jersey) introduces the 12A audio amplifier and 12A3 preamplifier, beginning the era of high-fidelity audio separates.
Since hi-fi's postwar beginnings, hundreds of high-quality audio inventions for the home have thrilled and satisfied music lovers worldwide. But inevitably, no more than a few score companies, and maybe a dozen or so engineer-designers, have defined audio's most creative and enduring achievements.…
Some audiophiles hold that at higher power you may gain maximum volume but lose some finesse, and that as long as the amplifier is not driven into clipping, the fewer the tubes, the better the sound.…
Description: Tubed, remote-controlled, stereo integrated amplifier. Tube complement: six 12AU7, eight EL34; KT88 or KT120 tubes also available. Inputs: 5 pairs RCA, 1 pair home-theater bypass. Outputs: 4 & 8 ohms. Subwoofer output: RCA. Headphone output: ¼" stereo jack. Rated output power into 8 ohms, 1% THD: triode mode, 40Wpc (EL34, 16dBW), 42Wpc (KT88, 16.23dBW), 45Wpc (KT120, 16.53dBW); ultralinear mode, 70Wpc (EL34, 18.45dBW), 73Wpc (KT88, 18.63dBW), 85Wpc (KT120, 19.3dBW). Frequency response, ±1dB: 7Hz–65kHz (EL34), 7Hz–70kHz (KT88), 7Hz–75kHz (KT120…
Digital Source: Ayre Acoustics CX-7eMP CD player.
Preamplifier: Convergent Audio Technology SL-1 Renaissance.
Power Amplifier: McIntosh Labs MC275LE.
Integrated Amplifier: PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium.
Loudspeakers: Focal Aria 936.
Headphones: Grado SR125.
Cables: Interconnect, speaker, AC: Nordost Valhalla 2.
Accessories: PS Audio PerfectWave Power Plant 5, Nordost Sort Kone TC, Furutech RD-2 CD demagnetizer.—Robert Deutsch
My review sample of the PrimaLuna DiaLogue Premium HP (a different one than that auditioned by Robert Deutsch) was fitted with EL34 output tubes—I made sure that the bias was correctly set for these tubes before performing any testing. After allowing the DiaLogue Premium HP to warm up for an hour or so, I used my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It" and www.ap.com) to examine its measured performance. With 4 and 8 ohm output-transformer taps and the choice of triode (green LED illuminated) or ultralinear (red LED) operation, the…
I've enjoyed having one of Cambridge's integrated amps in my office system for years, and the company boasts that the 851 series, designed in the UK and…
Still, Badfinger managed to transcend…