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The only thing that excites me as much as finding an excitable new affordable component (which I define as below $1000, and the lower the better) is a new "trickle-down" design from a cutting-edge designer. Thankfully, such new "real-world" products are becoming more commonplace in the High End. The process begins when a talented high-end designer releases an expensive, cutting-edge product that is hailed by the audiophile press as a breakthrough, a new "reference." The designer then takes the most significant features of his cost-no-object design and reinterprets them in a more cost-…
Bring on the trickle-down designs!!!
In my Winter CES Show report (April 1996, p.89), I gave the Audio Research room Best Sound because I was hearing the system, which featured the new Reference 600 amplifier, reproduce things I'd never heard before from familiar recordings. I heard the very same things in my listening room with the VT100:
In my Winter CES Show report (April 1996, p.89), I gave the Audio Research room Best Sound because I was hearing the system, which featured the new Reference 600 amplifier, reproduce things I'd never heard before from familiar recordings. I heard the very same things in my listening room with the VT100:
Extraordinary Resolution of Detail: The noisefloor was significant lower than that of any other amp I've reviewed. The amount of information retrieved from very familiar recordings in some cases changed my reaction to the music. Over the last…
The Audio Research VT100 Mk.II (from December 1998 (Vol.21 No.12)
Designers frequently make minor changes in an electronic component's design throughout its market life cycle. As these changes tend to be evolutionary rather than revolutionary, manufacturers seldom make a big deal about a capacitor change here, a tube change or wiring reconfiguration there. This strategy is partly due to the company reluctance to get the market excited about subtle changes, and so not piss off the gal who just plunked down some heavy green for what she thought was the latest design.
Nevertheless,…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-channel, tube power amplifier. Tube complement: four matched pairs 6550C output; four 6922 drive; four 6922 input. Power output: 100Wpc continuous, 20Hz–20kHz, into 8 ohms (20dBW). Power bandwidth (–3dB): 15Hz–80kHz. Frequency response at 1W: 1Hz–100kHz, –3dB. Total harmonic distortion: typically 1% at 1kHz at 100W, below 0.05% at 1W. Input sensitivity: 1.0V RMS (balanced or single-ended) for rated output. Input impedance: 200k ohms balanced, 100k ohms single-ended. Overall negative feedback: 10dB. Slew rate: 15V/µs. Risetime: 3µs. Hum and noise…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
For this review I used the Goldmund Studio/Syrinx PU-3/Koetsu Urushi and California Audio Labs Delta/Sigma II front-ends, Vendetta Research SP-2C and EAR 834P phono stages, Audible Illusions Modulus L1 and Audio Research Reference 1 line stages, and Acarian Systems Alón V Mk.II and Circe loudspeakers. Wires included MIT Digital Reference and MI-350 CVTwin Terminator interconnects, and Acarian Systems Black Orpheus tri-wired speaker cable.—Robert J. Reina
Sidebar 3: Measurements
A full set of measurements of the Audio Research VT100 was made using its balanced inputs, with selected measurements repeated in the unbalanced mode, as noted below.
Following preconditioning/warm-up, the VT100 was very hot, though not hotter than the normally expected range for a tube amplifier. The Audio Research VT100's input impedance measured 178k ohms (98.9k ohms, unbalanced). The output impedance (at the 8 ohm taps) measured a maximum of 1.26 ohms at 20Hz and 1kHz, and 1.54 ohms at 20kHz. Voltage gain measured 23.8dB into 8 ohms (and an almost…
Although one of the most innovative firms in the audio electronics field, the David Berning Company seems determined to keep as low a profile as possible. The company advertises little, does not actively seek out new dealers, and seems content to let potential customers seek it out, as though to say "Okay, here's my product, take it or leave it." Thus, even though both Stereophile and The Absolute Sound, in a rare outbreak of agreement, a couple of years ago declared Berning's TF-10 to be one of the best preamplifiers available, most serious audiophiles are still unaware of the Berning…
Anthony H. Cordesman wrote about the Berning 2100M in July 1985 (Vol.8 No.3)
Wife: I read your draft reviews on the Futterman, Conrad Johnson, and Audio Research (footnote 2).
Husband: Ummmm.
Wife: If I were one of your readers, I'd think you missed a key point.
Husband: Urrmhm?
Wife: Doesn't the Berning 2100M cost less than half of all those other super amplifiers you are reviewing?
Husband: Umph.
Wife: Even if it wasn't the absolute best, wasn't the Berning 2100M directly competitive in most ways with amplifiers costing twice as much?…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: All-tube stereo power amplifier. Rated power: 100Wpc (20dBW). Frequency response: 20Hz–50kHz, +0/–3dB at full power.
Dimensions: 5¼" H × 19" W × 17¼" D. Weight: 40lb.
Price: $2995 (1984). No longer available (2021).
Manufacturer: The David Berning Company, 11007 Candlelight Lane, Potomac, MD 20854 (1984); 12430 McCrossin Lane, Potomac, MD 20854 (2021). Tel: (301) 926-3371. Web: davidberning.com.
When the person on the street hears the term "high-end audio," they usually think of fancy, feature-laden systems that cost more than most houses. The unfortunate phrase evokes images of a lavish lifestyle replete with expansive Manhattan apartments and rolling country estates.
In reality, "high-end audio" has nothing to do with price, features, or complexity. It simply describes a subset of music-reproduction components designed to convey the musical experience in the most realistic way possible—at any price level. A $500 integrated amplifier designed by sensitive engineers to sound…