One of my favorite recordings for these kinds of comparisons (as regular readers know) is "Buddy & Maria Elena Talking in Apartment (Undubbed Version)" from Buddy Holly's Down the Line Rarities (16/44.1 FLAC, Geffen/Qobuz). The component that…
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For this comparison, I need to add one more audio-glossary word: vivid. In my glossary, "vivid" means that I can see into the recording with more brilliance and intensity than is usual. The images, sonic textures, and timbral nuances revealed by a component are dramatically exposed. To me, "vivid" equals raw, unprocessed clarity.
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Stereo integrated amplifier with preamplifier, power amplifier, and class-A headphone amplifier with one 6.3mm jack. Analog inputs: 6 pairs RCA, one Tape. (Phono and digital inputs are optional.) Analog outputs: 2 pairs fixed (RCA), 1 variable (RCA), stereo pair of 3-way loudspeaker binding posts. Input impedance: 30k ohms. Input sensitivity: 1.16V for full output. Power output: 135Wpc into 8 ohms (21.3dBW), 180Wpc into 4 ohms (19.6dBW). Damping factor: at 20Hz into 8 ohms: >500. Power consumption: 500W at 135W into 8 ohms, 70W at idle, <1.0W…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Dr. Feickert Analogue Blackbird turntable with Schick 10.5" tonearm, Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum, My Sonic Lab Ultra Eminent Ex, Zu Audio Denon Zu/DL-103 moving coil cartridges; Lundahl LL1931Ag SUT, Koetsu SUT, Sutherland Engineering Little Loco Mk2, Kitsuné KTE LCR-1 MK4, EAR Phono Classic phono preamplifier.
Digital sources: Roon Nucleus+ music server; HoloAudio May (Level 3) D/A processor; Mola Mola Tambaqui, dCS Bartók DAC/streamers.
Preamplifier: Rogue Audio RP-7.
Integrated amplifiers: Pass Labs INT-25, Rogue Audio…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Bryston B1353 with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 As We See It). The review sample was not fitted with the optional phono and digital input modules. Before I performed the testing, I preconditioned the amplifier by running it at one-eighth its specified power into 8 ohms for 30 minutes, as recommended by the CEA. After preconditioning, the heatsinks on the amplifier's sides were too hot to touch, at 148.5°F (64.8°C). The top panel was also hot, at 106.4°F (41.4°C). This amplifier needs plenty of ventilation.
The…
I received an email from a longtime press representative I've known for years, telling me about a new loudspeaker company he's representing. The company is bursting from the gates with a line of products that includes floorstanders, standmounts, wallmounts, surrounds, center channels, and a range of subwoofers.
Looking at the pictures, the products do look much more elegant, well made and ambitious than those from the usual hi-fi startup, but still, I'm thinking, I've heard a lot of clever and ambitious fluff like this before: a full-blown catalog of home theater–friendly speakers and,…
Clearly though, this speaker was not immune to placement/boundary issues. More effort in positioning them was the only remaining option, so I moved them around. They ended up not far from where they started but somewhat closer to me (10.5' rather than 12') and closer together (7.5' rather than 8'). The Super Bass Traps I keep on the sidewalls were moved from just in front of the speakers to a position behind them. Given the wide horizontal dispersion of the S7t, it seems likely, in retrospect, that the traps were absorbing a significant amount of the medium- and high-frequency early…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Four-way loudspeaker in bass-reflex (or sealed) enclosure. Drive-units: 28mm beryllium-dome and two 28mm thin-ply carbon-diaphragm tweeters in a "DPC" waveguide; four 180mm thin-ply carbon-diaphragm woofers. Crossover frequencies: 500Hz, 1.1kHz, 4.4kHz. Frequency response: 80Hz–20kHz (±1.5dB), 22Hz–37kHz (–10dB). Typical in-room bass extension: 16Hz. Impedance: 4 ohms (3.2 ohms minimum). Sensitivity: 92dB/2.83V/m. Recommended amplifier power: 100–600W RMS. SPL capability (100Hz–20kHz): 117dB peak at <2% 2nd and 3rd harmonics.
Dimensions: 51.…
Sidebar 2: 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 processor. QNAP TVS-873 NAS for file storage.
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 & one SB-2000Pro subwoofers.
Cables:…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The center of the Perlisten S7t's DPC high-frequency driver array is just 32" from the floor. While the distributor had placed the loudspeaker on a 3"-high dolly when he delivered it, I wasn't able to lift the speaker any higher for the measurements. (It weighs 122.5lb.) I therefore performed my farfield frequency response measurements at 1m rather than my usual 50" in order to push the reflections from the floor as far back in time as possible.
(I allowed for the slight tiltback of the loudspeaker's front baffle, to ensure that the microphone was on the…
John Coltrane: A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle
Impulse!/UMe (CD B0034290-02, LP B0034291-01, download). 2021. Ravi Coltrane, prod.; Kevin Reeves, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ***½
Impulse!/UMe (CD B0034290-02, LP B0034291-01, download). 2021. Ravi Coltrane, prod.; Kevin Reeves, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ***½
John Coltrane's career as a bandleader can be divided, with haphazard tidiness, into three periods. His so-called classic quartet with pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones, which deserves every bit of its legendary status, dominates the 1962–1965 middle section and encompasses Coltrane's greatest achievements. Before that was the ramp-up and after lay the free jazz…