Still, Badfinger managed to transcend…
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I moved on to 1971 and "Baby Blue," from Badfinger's Straight Up (CD, Apple)—the song used to glorious effect in the final scene of the TV series Breaking Bad (a reference to the blue meth that Walt perfected). It begins with that famous crunchy guitar riff, dropping into classic early-'70s rock production: simple and compressed. There are Beatles signs all over this album: the arrangements, the sound, the vocal harmonies, the guests (George Harrison), the label (Apple), the producers (Geoff Emerick, Harrison), the keyboard player (Klaus Voorman).
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state D/A processor with volume control and remote control. Digital inputs: S/PDIF, TosLink optical, BNC, AES/EBU, BT100 Bluetooth. USB audio input: USB Type B conforming to Audio profile 1.0 or USB Audio profile 2.0 (user selectable), 1.0 or USB Audio profile 2.0 (user selectable). Analog audio outputs: balanced (XLR), unbalanced (RCA). Headphone output: 1 ¼" (6.35mm); supports 600 ohm headphones, but 300 ohms max recommended. DACs: dual Analog Devices AD1955, 24-bit. Upsampling: Analog Devices Black Fin ADSP-BF532 32-bit DSP performing ATF2…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Apple MacBook Pro computer (2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD) running OS 10.6.7, Audirvana Plus, iTunes 11.1.5, Sonic Studio Amarra 2.5, Songbird 1.9.3, XLD; Western Digital NAS Device (2TB); Oppo BDP-103 universal BD player; Meridian (formerly Sooloos) Digital Media System (Control 15, QNAP TS-669 Pro NASApple iPad Air, iPod Touch 1G, iPhone 4S. Digital Processors: Antelope Audio Zodiac Platinum DSD DAC & Voltikus Power Supply, AudioQuest DragonFly USB DAC, Benchmark DAC1 USB & DAC2 HGC, Cambridge Audio DacMagic XS,…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Cambridge Audio Azur 851D with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see www.ap.com and the January 2008 "As We See It"), using mostly a TosLink connection. To test its performance via USB and Bluetooth, I used my 2012 MacBook Pro running on battery power. Apple's USB Prober utility identified the DAC as "Cambridge Audio USB Audio 2.0" and confirmed that it operated in the sonically optimal isochronous asynchronous mode. The Cambridge's S/PDIF and AES/EBU inputs successfully locked to all sample rates up to 192kHz—including TosLink, which is usually…
No one spells it out anymore: Ours is a culture of BTW, TIA, AFAIK, and other letter-lumps, some of which have taken on meanings beyond their original intent. (Only recently did I discover that LOL stands for "I'm certain you find my attempts at humor as riotously funny as I do.") I am scarcely young enough to adapt.
Our interoffice communications are no different. Once a year I am jarred to find in my inbox a message from John Atkinson with the curious subject line "POTY." I am scarcely old enough to be perturbed: Every 12 months, I have to be re-reminded that POTY stands for Product of…
Joint Loudspeakers of the Year
Vivid Audio Giya G3 ($39,990/pair; reviewed by John Atkinson, April 2014, Vol.37 No.4 Review)
Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia ($48,500/pair; reviewed by John Atkinson, December 2013, Vol.36 No.12 Review)
This year's Loudspeaker of the Year finalists span a wide range of sizes, prices, and design technologies. Yet in 2014, as in 2013, the top honor is shared by two rather large, rather expensive, and decidedly high-tech entries: Vivid Audio's distinctive Giya G3, and the no less eye-catching Alexia from Wilson Audio Specialties.
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Amplification Component of the Year
Pass Labs XA60.5 monoblock power amplifier ($11,000/pair; reviewed by John Atkinson, January 2014, Vol.37 No.1 Review)
In a list of finalists that was more or less evenly divided between preamps and power amps, and more or less evenly divided between tubes and transistors, one product stood above all others: the XA60.5 solid-state mono amplifier from Pass Labs, which enchanted John Atkinson on all but the warmest days of summer. (The amp runs moderately but not dangerously warm.) This recent design from the legendary Nelson Pass, a man who…
Analog Component of the Year
VPI Industries Classic Direct turntable with JMW 3D 12" tonearm ($30,000; reviewed by Michael Fremer, May & June 2014, Vol.37 Nos. 5 & 6 Review and Review)
The analog source remains nearly as vital as ever: a product category that continues to attract both new design talent and the efforts of industry veterans. Our 2014 choice for Analog Source Component of the Year—the Classic Direct Turntable with JMW Memorial 3D-printed 12" tonearm—comes from the latter group: manufacturer VPI Industries has toiled in the vinyl vineyards for 36 years. (We…
Joint Digital Components of the Year
MSB Technology Analog DAC D/A processor ($6995; reviewed by Jon Iverson, April 2014, Vol.37 No.4 Review)
PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream D/A processor ($5995; reviewed by Art Dudley, September 2014, Vol.37 No.9 Review)
Sony HAP-Z1ES media player ($1999.99; reviewed by Kalman Rubinson, May 2014, Vol.37 No.5 Review)
No hanging chads for us: The voting for this year's Digital Component of the Year was sufficiently close that we declared a three-way tie. Our winners are two D/A processors and a media player. In what may or may…
Accessory of the Year
Audeze LCD-X headphones ($1699; reviewed by John Atkinson, March 2014, Vol.37 No.3 Review)
Once we've dispensed with source components, amplification components, and loudspeakers, virtually anything else that gets put into—or under, or onto—our music systems can qualify as an accessory. Thus, one supposes that a few readers will be let down that the voting for our 2014 Accessory of the Year reflected a conservative turn of mind, with nary a quantum-field generator, plastic demagnetizer, or capacitor ointment in sight. Indeed, fully three of our seven…