Patented by German-American inventor Emile Berliner in 1887, the Gramophone, which later became, generically, the small-g gramophone, is a device for making permanent, direct-to-flat-disc recordings (footnote 1)—of the human voice, musical instruments, or other…
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"Future generations will be able to condense into the brief space of twenty minutes the tone pictures of a lifetime—five minutes of childish prattle, five moments embalming the last feeble utterances from the death-bed. Will this not seem like holding veritable communion with immortality?"—Berliner Gramophone Company ca 1877
Nirvana with Susvara: In Bed-Stuy Brooklyn, during the intense Black Lives Matter protests, there were helicopters and military-loud all-night-long barrages of "no justice, no sleep" fireworks. As my own form of sympathy, I played "Get Up, Stand Up" from the first reggae album I heard when I came to NYC, in 1974: Burnin' by the Wailers with Bob Marley (16/44.1 FLAC Tuff Gong/Qobuz). I listened with the 60 ohm, low-sensitivity (83dB/1mW), open-back, planar-magnetic HiFiMan Susvara headphones. Their $6000 price is Babylonian high (although 24kt gold is sputtered on the Susvara's nano-thin…
I was shocked and greatly saddened by news of the passing, at age 68, of Brian W. Russell, President and co-founder (along with his brother Chris Russell) of Bryston, Inc. Established in 1973, Bryston's first product was a power amplifier for the professional market. The company went on to produce just about every kind of audio equipment: preamps, multichannel amplifiers, digital equipment, surround processors, speakers, subwoofers—even turntables. I interviewed the Russell brothers and James Tanner, Vice President Sales, in 1996 .
A larger-than-life presence with a quick wit and…
The fog hung ominously thick as I climbed the 194 steps leading up to Red Rocks Amphitheatre. I'd been in Denver for the 2018 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, and the weather had suddenly turned damp and cold—unusually so for early October. Due to dense fog and possible ice, my drive in from another Colorado city had been slowed. Though I'm in good shape, I was unaccustomed to the altitude, which also slowed my pace. So, I was arriving shortly after the opening act had started.
But when I heard the heavy synth swells and somber vocals of Sharon Van Etten performing "Jupiter 4" (named for the…
The Mu-so's six speaker drivers—a tweeter, midrange, and oval-shaped woofer per channel—are housed on the front panel, covered by a detachable grille of stretched fabric; dark gray comes standard but three other hues are available at additional cost: Terracotta, Olive, and Peacock.
Removing the grille reveals that the midrange drivers are positioned at the extreme ends of the cabinet; that's because the stereo-steering information comes mainly from the mids. The midrange arrays have patented rubber surrounds of slightly higher mass—a design borrowed from Focal's Utopia Evo speaker line…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Integrated all-in-one network music system with DSP (XMOS processor) with custom software, and built-in powered stereo speakers. Driver array: 2 tweeters, 2 midrange drivers, 2 woofers. Amplification: direct-digital class-D; 75W for each of the 6 drivers (450W total). Digital inputs: Optical (S/PDIF up to 96kHz), USB2 (Type A), HDMI ARC; Analog input: 3.5mm stereo jack. Network connectivity: Wi-Fi (2.4GHz, 5.0GHz), Ethernet. Streaming: Apple AirPlay 2, built-in Chromecast (via Google Home app), UPnP (up to 32-bit/384kHz); Native apps: Spotify…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Accessories: AudioQuest Niagara 1000 Low-Z Power Conditioner with NRG 10 power cord, and Vodka Ethernet cable. Critical Mass Systems Maxxum equipment racks. Zanden Audio AT-1 proprietary foam bass traps/tubes (corners, 2×).—Julie Mullins
Summer!
COVID-19 notwithstanding, summer—warmth, flowers, leaves on trees—has descended on Greenwich Village, my New York City home for the past 30 years. What hasn't descended are tourists, belching motorcycles, behemoth sports cars, beer drinkers, and the usual summer hell-raisers, the sort that would've sent legendary Village bohemians Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Burroughs running back to their cold-water flats.
With these absences comes something unique to my downtown experience: peace and quiet. As I write this, in early June, the streets are mostly empty, birdsong seems…
The specifications indicate that the L100 need power to sing. In this, the specifications are correct—but I found that the connection between amplifier power and musical satisfaction wasn't linear. My workhorse Heed Audio Elixir integrated amplifier ($1195, 50W into 8 ohms, 65W into 4 ohms) proved insufficient; with the Heed, the L100s sounded soft and lacked dynamics. The bass was better with the Schiit Audio Ragnarok II (60Wpc into 8 ohms, 100Wpc into 4 ohms, $1799), but the L100s still seemed underdriven.
Polk and Mytek
Paydirt came in the form of the Mytek Brooklyn AMP+ (250Wpc…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, ported, standmount loudspeaker. Drive units: 1" (25.4mm) "Pinnacle Ring Radiator" tweeter, 5.25" (133cm) polypropylene-cone mid/woofer. Crossover frequency: 2.9kHz. Frequency range: 43Hz– 50kHz. Nominal impedance: 3–4 ohms. Minimum impedance: Not specified. Sensitivity: 85.5dB/W/m. Recommended amplifier power: 70Wpc. Minimum recommended power: 30W. Peak power: 160Wpc.
Dimensions: 13.64" (346.5mm) H × 7.78" (197.6mm) W × 11.29" (286.8mm) D. Weight: 16.9lb (7.67kg).
Finish: Piano black, brown walnut, medium oak.
Serial numbers of…