Digital Sources: Ayre Acoustics CX-7eMP CD player, PS Audio DirectStream DAC & PerfectWave Memory Player CD/DVD transport.
Preamplifier: Convergent Audio Technology SL-1 Renaissance.
Power Amplifier: McIntosh Labs MC275LE.
Cables: Digital: Nordost Valhalla 2 XLR (AES/EBU), Nordost Blue Heaven HDMI, PS Audio HDMI 10. Interconnect, Speaker, AC: Nordost Valhalla 2.
Accessories: PS Audio P5 Power Plant AC regenerator, Arcici suspense rack, PolyCrystal amplifier stand, Furutech RD-2 CD demagnetizer.—Robert Deutsch
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the GoldenEar Triton One's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield responses. The Triton One has a very high specified voltage sensitivity of 92dB/2.83V/m. My B-weighted estimate was 91.3dB(B), which is within experimental error of the specification.
The One's nominal impedance is specified as being "compatible with 8 ohms." The solid trace in fig.1 reveals that the impedance magnitude ranges between 3 and 6 ohms for much of the audioband,…
The more integrated amps I review, the more I want to tell manufacturers: Please, skip the DAC, omit the phono stage, lose the Bluetooth—just give me the best sound quality, and the most vivid, most transparent line stage and control center (with pre-out) you can design. Make sure this line stage has appropriate gain, and high input and low output impedances. Give me at least four balanced and single-ended inputs. Make sure the volume, balance, and tone controls are durable and degrade the sound as little as possible. That way, I can add a DAC, server, phono stage, or Bluetooth, of any…
I couldn't tell exactly where the mikes were placed, but in the three Embryons desséchés (Dried Embryos), I felt I was back home, sitting next to my childhood piano teacher. The piano sounded as I imagine it sounded to M. Thibaudet while he was playing it. In the first movement, both Thibaudet and the Azur 851A got the cabaret-like "purring" of the holothurian just right. Pianist and amplifier seemed in sync—I could feel the varied forces of Thibaudet's fingers as they struck the keys. At this point in my listening I could best describe the sound of the Azur 851A as relaxed and enjoyably…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state integrated amplifier. Audio inputs: 2 balanced (XLR); 8 unbalanced, line level (RCA). Audio outputs: Preamp, Record. Tone control (shelving type): maximum bass boost/cut, ±10dB at 10Hz; maximum treble boost/cut, ±7.5dB at 20kHz. Power output: 120W into 8 ohms (20.8dBW), 200W into 4 ohms (20dBW). THD (unweighted at 80% of rated power): <0.001%, 1kHz; <0.01%, 20Hz–20kHz. Frequency response: 10Hz–50kHz, ±1dB. Signal/noise: >93dB, ref. 1W/8 ohms. Input impedance: Inputs 1 and 2 (balanced), 20k ohms. Inputs 1–7 (unbalanced), 20k…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: VPI Traveler turntable & tonearm; Thorens TD-124 turntable, SME 3009 II tonearm; Grado Mono, Miyabi Mono, Miyajima Spirit mono, Ortofon 2M Black & 2M Red, Zu Audio DL-103 cartridges.
Digital Sources: Oppo DV-980H SACD/CD player, Puresound A-8000 CD player; Halide HD, Line Magnetic LM 502CA DACs; HiFiMan HM-101USB soundcard.
Preamplification: Blue Horizon BN:09-11-009, April Sound BB1, Sentec EQ11 MM, Soundsmith MMP3 phono stages; Audio Note S1H & S1L MC, Intact Audio MC Ni, step-up transformers.
Integrated…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the second sample of the Cambridge Audio Azur 851A (serial no. FE C10427K 1205 0137) using my recently recalibrated Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see www.ap.com, and the January 2008 "As We See It"). Before performing any measurements on an amplifier, I run it for an hour at one-third its specified maximum power, which, thermally, is the worst case for an amplifier with a class-B or -AB output stage. I cut short this preconditioning with the Cambridge 851A after 30 minutes, however, because its case was getting very hot—the top-panel grille over the…
Are you trying to decide between high-resolution downloads and LP reissues? In the market for a hi-rez portable audio player? A zealot bravely fighting back in the Loudness Wars? Change is inevitable, and in the audiophile world it's the spice that keeps things interesting—there's always a new remastering or idea product just around the corner. Minds and tastes, too, can change. In answer to the eternal question "What are you listening to now?," we present the 2015 edition of "Records to Die For," our annual album of snapshots of the minds and ears of Stereophile's staff.
The idea, as…
DAVID R. ADLER
Reid Anderson: The Vastness of Space
Reid Anderson, bass; Andrew D'Angelo, alto saxophone; Bill McHenry, tenor saxophone; Ben Monder, guitar; Marlon Browden, drums
Fresh Sound New Talent FSNT 096 (CD). 2000. Reid Anderson, prod.; James Farber, eng. DDD? TT: 64:35
Before he rose to jazz renown as bassist of the Bad Plus, Reid Anderson put out two keeper Fresh Sound albums and then this, a quintet session that should rank as a classic of turn-of-the-millennium New York jazz. Two tracks, "Prehensile Dream" and "Silence Is the Question,"…
BRIAN DAMKROGER
The Smithereens: Especially for You
Enigma ST-73208 (LP). 1986. Don Dixon, prod.; James A. Ball, Gray Russell, Carol Cafiero, Paul Special, Frank Pekoc, engs. AAA. TT: 44:14
Especially for You isn't just a great and great-sounding rock album, it might just be the rock album. "Blood and Roses" got all the attention, and yes, it truly does reach in and grab your soul. But the real stunners are the two cuts that precede it, "In a Lonely Place" and "Behind the Wall of Sleep." Suzanne Vega's background vocal in the former is spectacular, and…