Ground hum and noise are facts of the analog life, yet ground-wire spades come with variously sized gaps, from tiny to gaping. So do the ground lugs on phono preamps. Mismatches are common, and that's frustrating, especially if you have to reach around the thing to make a connection. The P1 has the absolute best ground-lug system I've…
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Setup and Use
The P1's rear panel is well organized and easily accessible, even by the braille method I have to use because I don't have an easy way to reach the rear panel of any component placed on my HRS racks, which are set close to the wall behind them.
Stereophile's March 2023 issue includes two follow-up reviews of high-performance digital playback products: the Benchmark DAC3 B D/A processor; and the Rotel Diamond Series DT-6000 DAC Transport (a CD player with digital inputs).
When he reviewed Benchmark's DAC 3 HGC D/A processor/headphone amplifier in the November 2017 issue of Stereophile, Jim Austin was impressed by what he heard, as was I by its measured performance. "This is as good as a DAC can currently get!" I wrote. So when I was given the opportunity to live with the stripped-down DAC3 B version, which costs $1799,…
There has been much discussion lately about ChatGPT, the machine-learning– based chatbot from OpenAI. Some experts say it will soon make human writers obsolete. Will that include human hi-fi reviewers?
I decided to engage ChatGPT in an exploratory conversation; think of it as a sort of job interview. What follows has been intensively edited; many words have been removed, but none have been altered. I'm including my own comments in italics.
ChatGPT: Hi-fi,or high fidelity, refers to audio equipment and systems that are designed to reproduce sound as accurately and faithfully as…
Steely Dan: Countdown to Ecstasy
ABC/Geffen Records/UMG, Analogue Productions UHQR 0010-45 (2 LPs). 2022.
Gary Katz, Chad Kassem, prods.; Roger Nichols, Miss Natalie, Bernie Grundman, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics *****
ABC/Geffen Records/UMG, Analogue Productions UHQR 0010-45 (2 LPs). 2022.
Gary Katz, Chad Kassem, prods.; Roger Nichols, Miss Natalie, Bernie Grundman, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics *****
They were elitist brainiacs. The lyrics were too obscure. Their rhythmic, irresistible pop confections resisted easy description. Yet their debut album, Can't Buy a Thrill, was a surprise hit. The band's response? Knowing that their sales success had bought them goodwill at ABC, their record label, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker went the integrity route.…
I became interested in hi-fi well before the stereo era, at a time when DIY was a significant part of the hobby. In store catalogs of the time, as much or more space was devoted to raw speaker drivers and enclosures than to complete speaker systems. Those of us who wanted or needed to save some money built our own speaker enclosures from kits or plans or from articles in magazines like Radio-Electronics, Audiocraft, and Audio.
In those early days, the popular choices were corner horns and bass reflex speakers, but everyone was welcome to put drivers into any box they would fit in. Then,…
I began by using the LS60s the way I usually listen to music, playing music files stored on my NAS using Roon or JRiver. The LS60 system is Roon Ready; Roon sees it as a valid output capable of accepting up to 32/384 and DSD256, and of decoding MQA. However, all internal processing in the Primary LS60 is PCM, the rate determined by how the Primary speaker is connected to the Secondary. When wireless is used, sources are resampled to 24/96 PCM (footnote 3). If the two speakers are linked by the supplied Ethernet cable, all are resampled to 24/192. I could not discern an audible difference, but…
Sidebar 1: They're Not Just Speakers
I undertook this review thinking of the LS60s as a pair of powered loudspeakers with some additional features and concentrated on how they performed on those terms. However, their ability to accept and perform well with almost any music source puts them in a different category. They really are a complete audio system, lacking only a source.
At the most basic level, no networking is needed, although a Wi-Fi–connected smartphone is required for setup and control. You can directly connect a stereo line-level source (RCA) to the LS60 from…
Sidebar 2: Specifications
Description: DSP-controlled, powered, floorstanding, three-way, Single Apparent Source loudspeaker with bass-reflex enclosure. Drive units: 4" aluminum Uni-Q (coaxial) with 0.75" aluminum dome with MAT, four 5.25" aluminum-cone bass drivers in two force-canceling pairs. Wireless: AirPlay 2, Google Chromecast, Roon Ready, Bluetooth 4.2, UPnP compatible. Streaming services: Spotify via Spotify Connect, Tidal via Tidal Connect, Amazon Music, Qobuz, Deezer, QQ Music via Qplay, Internet Radio, Podcasts. Input resolution: Network, up to 24/384, Optical, up to 24/96,…
Sidebar 3: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: Oppo Digital UDP-105 universal disc player, Apple TV 4K, Custom Intel/Win11 music server running JRiver Media Center v30 and Roon 2, exaSound s88 Mark II and Okto DAC8 PRO D/A processors. QNAP TVS-873 NAS.
Preamplifiers: Coleman Audio 7.1SW for balanced source switching. 3× Topping Pre90 preamps for buffer/line drivers.
Power amplifiers: Benchmark AHB2, NAD C 298.
Loudspeakers: KEF Blade Two Meta, Revel Ultima2 Studio, SVS SB-3000 subwoofers.
Cables: Digital cables: AudioQuest Coffee (USB). Analog interconnects: Benchmark…
Sidebar 4: Measurements
I followed the instructions in the manual to set up the KEF LS60s, first installing the KEF Connect app on my iPhone 11 then connecting the Primary speaker to my Wi-Fi network. The speaker was identified as "LS60 Wireless-1a05a2," and its firmware was up to date. I used the app to select the input and apply DSP settings. Although Roon recognized the KEF as a Roon Ready Airplay device, I didn't use Roon for the testing. Instead, I performed a complete set of measurements with DRA Labs' MLSSA system using the Primary LS60's Aux analog input. I used a calibrated DPA…