"Is it wrong to love the AK240 for its physical beauty?" asked Michael Lavorgna when, last November, he reviewed this $2500, cost-no-object portable player from Astell&Kern, owned by Korean company iriver Inc. Fortunately, he decided that the question was irrelevant—the AK240's combined strengths of "superb resolution and clean, clear, fatigue-free reproduction made it a joy to listen to." As I had purchased a sample of the less expensive but still superb-sounding AK100 player, following my review of it in August 2013, I asked Michael to ship me the AK240…
search
Always aware and involved in issues of sound quality throughout his recording and performing career, Browne said he understands and sometimes even enjoys the process.
"Oh yeah, absolutely. Sound has always been important to me, but I've never known very much. I had a great conversation with Glyn Johns once, and I was saying, 'I don't really know about the bass. I don't know how to get, or even what, a great bass sound is.' And he says, 'You know.' I said, 'No, I really don't know,' and he says, 'You know—of course you know.' And that's all he would say. He was wonderfully, eloquently…
If you want to complain that young rock bands have no sense of the past; no melodies; no hooks; no hope then what do you call a young band with the sense and taste to take a freaky masterpiece like Zep III as a model for their debut? Weak? Lazy? Unworthy of a listen?
The clangy, folk rock debut of Portland trio Greylag caught my ear in a record store the other day. At the time my eyes were fixed upon a female employee with a bad attitude, tight clothes, cool sneakers and such determined gum chewing that I was sure she was packing heat. Working in record stores was always about admiring/…
It’s always been easy to bash the record business because, let’s face it, they deserve it. Too many broken dreams. Too many people cheated out of money. Too much emotional wreck and ruin, and I say this knowing that most musicians come to it fully aware that the intersection of art meets commerce is, by its very definition, a cruel and dangerous place.
Yet, there’s a recent recording project that I have to say exemplifies that there are still human hearts beating in the biz.
Tenor saxophonist Jimmy Greene, a solid, productive player on the New York scene, lost his daughter Ana…
Readers of Stereophile need no introduction to Bryston, a venerable Canadian electronics manufacturer known for the quality and reliability of its amplifiers and preamplifiers, and for its unique 20-year warranty. In the past few years, Bryston has ventured into digital audio with notable success, producing D/A converters, multichannel preamplifier-processors, and music-file players. While an evolution from analog into digital audio would seem logical, their most recent expansion, into loudspeakers, is more surprising. Apparently, James Tanner, Bryston's vice president, designed a speaker…
With the Middle Ts (and no DEQX or other processing), large ensembles of all types and well-recorded operas were presented in large, holographic soundstages that approached what I enjoy with my multichannel system. Take, for example, the 24-bit/96kHz remastering of the 1963 recording of Britten's War Requiem, with the composer leading the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus (BD, Decca 478 5433)—a towering performance that has not yet been supplanted by newer ones made with more modern recording technologies. With just a pair of Middle Ts to handle the massive forces and familiar acoustic of…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, reflex-loaded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1.0" titanium-dome tweeter, 5.25" polypropylene-cone midrange, two aluminum-cone 8" woofers with substantial half-roll surrounds. Crossover frequencies: 160Hz, 2.3kHz. Frequency response on reference axis: 33Hz–22kHz, ±3dB. Sensitivity: 88dB/2.83V/m, anechoic. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Recommended amplification: 10–250W. Maximum SPL at 1m: 112dB.
Dimensions: 39.4" (1000mm) H by 10.4" (267mm) W by 16.3" (419mm) D. Weight: 81.4 lbs (37kg).
Finishes: Black Ash, Natural Cherry,…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Oppo BDP-105 universal Blu-ray player; Baetis XR2 PC-based music server; exaSound e28, Mytek Stereo 192-DSD D/A converters.
Preamplification: Audio Research MP1 preamplifier, Meridian HD621 HDMI audio processor & 861 V8 Reference digital surround controller.
Power Amplifiers: McIntosh MC303, Parasound Halo A 31.
Loudspeakers: Bowers & Wilkins 800 Diamond.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Vodka HDMI & Carbon USB, Black Cat Veloce. Analog: AudioQuest Cheetah (balanced). Speaker: AudioQuest Mont Blanc (biwire). AC:…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Bryston Middle T's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield responses. (The grilles were left off for all the measurements.) My estimate of the Middle T's voltage sensitivity was 85dB(B)/2.83V/m, significantly lower than the specified 88dB/W/m.
Though the Middle T's impedance is specified as 4 ohms, my measurement indicated that the magnitude remained above 4 ohms up to 30kHz (fig.1, solid trace). However, while the electrical phase angle…
Art Dudley wrote about the Azur 851D in February 2015 (Vol.38 No.2):
It's November 18, and by the time you read this my family and I may be snowed in. Soon enough, our driveway will become an obstacle for the man who delivers our firewood, the man who delivers our drinking water, and our local UPS and FedEx couriers.
One delivery came in under the wire. Last week our UPS man, whom we would recommend for canonization were such a thing within our powers, came by with an unexpected parcel: John Atkinson had forwarded to me the magazine's review loaner of Cambridge Audio's Azur 851D D…