At that moment, six hours away by car, across the English Channel in the country next door, a new audio company sprung up and surprised and delighted the audio world with its inaugural product, the 20Wpc Cambridge Consultants P40 integrated amplifier. It sounded especially good and…
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In 1968, I was a 2-year-old toddler living in Paris, France—my birthplace—on the 14th floor of a diplomat-occupied apartment complex overlooking the Seine. My dad, a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, was stationed in Paris, working security at the Canadian embassy. My mom and I were there with him.
Out of the gate, the EVO 150 sounded good even on MP3 radio broadcasts. The sound was fresh-faced and convivial, with a dynamic spring in its step. There was a confident, unforced quality that let the music unfold gracefully. I instantly liked how the EVO pitched a circa 6' × 6' virtual space into my room and filled it with clear sounds, and how it maintained its composure at high volume. A promising start.
When music is playing, the EVO's screen displays, along with the album cover, the song and album titles, the artist's name, the stream resolution, the file format, the track's total…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: All-in-one network music streaming integrated amplifier with 6.8" LCD display screen. Analog inputs: 1 RCA, 1 XLR, 1 MM Phono stage. Digital inputs: 2 TosLink, 1 coaxial S/ PDIF, 1 HDMI ARC. Analog outputs: Speakers A+B, 3.5mm headphone, Preamp, Subwoofer, Bluetooth: 4.2 A2DP/AVRCP supporting up to aptX HD. Data rates: TosLink: 16/32–24/96 PCM; S/PDIF coaxial: 16/32–24/192 PCM; USB: to 32/384 (asynchronous), DSD to DSD256. Bluetooth: 4.2 A2DP/AVRCP supporting up to aptX HD (24/48) UPnP, Local USB media, AirPlay 2, Chromecast built-in, Internet Radio…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Rega P5 turntable with RB700 tonearm and Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 cartridge.
Digital sources: Simaudio Moon 260D CD transport.
Preamplification: Sonic Frontiers SFP-1 Signature phono.
Integrated amplifier: Grandinote Shinai.
Loudspeakers: Focal Aria K2 936.
Headphones: Grado Labs GS3000e.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Diamond (USB), BIS Audio Maestro (S/PDIF). Speaker: Nordost Heimdall. Power: Shunyata Research Black Mamba CX, LessLoss DFPC.
Accessories: Shunyata Research Venom PS8 power conditioner; component…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I tested the Cambridge Audio EVO 150 with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It") then repeated some tests with the magazine's more recent APx555 system. As the amplifier has an output stage operating in class-D, I inserted an Audio Precision auxiliary AUX-0025 passive low-pass filter between the test load and the Audio Precision analyzers. This filter eliminates RF noise that could drive their input circuitry into slew-rate limiting. I used it for all the loudspeaker output tests other than frequency response. After two hours of…
Adoption of DSP-based speaker-and-room correction in home theater—a parallel universe to audiophilia—is almost universal. It's easy to understand why. Home theater matured in the digital age. Its fans were expected to install several loudspeakers in a full-range setup that included at least one speaker—the subwoofer(s)—that functioned exclusively in the problematic bass region. Setup issues were intimidating.
Help quickly came in the form of setup utilities that required no knowledge of acoustics—only a willingness to position a microphone for a series of measurements and let the system…
Select some music and, while it is playing, download and install Dirac Live. Start the Dirac Live program, and it opens with a big Dirac Live 3 logo (yeah, I know). The software then verifies your Dirac account (with account information you provided at purchase) and scans the system for your Dirac Processor. Click on it—most users will have only one—and proceed to the subsequent menu options.
Select Recording Device: Select a microphone and load its correction file. Any USB measurement mike will do as long as it comes with a correction curve file, preferably for a vertical (90°)…
Sidebar 1: Dirac Live Bass Control
With Dirac implementations in AVRs or pre-pros, bass management has long been the responsibility of the host device; it was not included in Dirac—until now, or anyway, soon. Dirac Live Bass Control (DLBC) is an important new feature, providing bass management with potential to better integrate subwoofers with each other and with the main speakers. DLBC has already been implemented in a few AVRs, and Dirac sent me a beta version for Windows. I added three SVS subs—two SB-3000s and an SB-2000 Pro—to create a 5.3 system. Because that configuration isn't…
Sidebar 2: Specifications
Description: Dirac Live Processor for Windows or Mac. Version 1.4.0. Enables Dirac Live processing without dedicated hardware. Supported plug-in formats: AU, VST, VST3, and AAX. Dirac Live Calibration Tool for Windows or Mac. Version 3.0.14. Includes Enhanced Phase Correction algorithm for improved stereo reproduction. Supported platforms: Windows 10, MacOS Mojave, Catalina, and Big Sur.
Price: Dirac Live processor, $349 (stereo license), $499 (multichannel license). Dirac Live Calibration Tool: free. Purchase and download from live.dirac.com/download.
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Sidebar 3: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: Oppo Digital UDP-105 universal disc player, custom Baetis Prodigy-X4i music server running JRiver Media Center v28 and Roon 1.8, exaSound s88 streaming DAC and Okto DAC8 Pro D/A processors. QNAP TVS-873 NAS.
Preamplifiers: 3 Topping Pre90 for gain/buffer. Coleman Audio 7.1SW for source switching.
Power amplifiers: Benchmark AHB2, NAD C 298.
Loudspeakers: Revel Ultima2 Studio with IsoAcoustics Gaia I isolation feet. Revel Performa3 f206 for surrounds. Two SVS SB-3000 and one SVS SB-2000 Pro subwoofers.
Cables: Digital cables…