Analog sources: Kuzma Stabi R turntable & Kuzma 4Point 11" tonearm; Hana ML MC phono cartridge.
Preamplification:
Mytek Brooklyn DAC+, Tavish Audio Design Adagio.
Power amplifier: Mytek Brooklyn AMP+.
Integrated amplifiers: Cary SLI-80HS, Schiit Audio Ragnarok II, Heed Audio Elixir.
Loudspeakers: Quad S2, Spendor BC1.
Cables: Interconnect: Shindo Laboratory, Triode Wire Labs Spirit II. Speaker: Auditorium 23. AC: Triode Wire Labs Obsession NCF power cord, manufacturers' own.
Accessories: Kuzma PLATIS 65 isolation platform, IsoTek…
search
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Polk Legend L100's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield responses.
Polk specifies the L100's sensitivity as 85.5dB/2.83V/m; my estimate was actually a little higher, at 87dB(B)/2.83V/m. The L100's impedance is specified in the manual as 4 ohms, with a minimum magnitude of 3 ohms, though on Polk's website it is specified as 3–4 ohms. The solid trace in fig.1 shows that the impedance magnitude remains above 4 ohms from the bass…
In 2013, when I first wrote about it (footnote 1), the TechDAS Air Force One ($105,000) was that company's best and most expensive turntable; it joined the handful of products that have earned an A+ in our semiannual Recommended Components feature—a rating that remained in place for six years. But too much time has passed since the Air Force One was auditioned by a Stereophile writer, so it has now fallen from that list.
The Air Force One is still available, but it's now a special-order product that, according to distributor Graham Engineering, can take up to six months to deliver. So…
I found that one end of the acceptable belt tension range produced greater absolute speed variation measurements but impressively flat and stable high-pass–filtered results (smooth green line), while at the other end, there were smaller absolute speed variations but greater filtered speed undulations.
Crisply executed commands
For this kind of money, you should expect your playback wishes to be obeyed. The Air Force One Premium does not disappoint. Once set up, it remains set up. It's physically quiet (including the pumps), responsive, and neither finicky nor tweaky. The…
Sidebar: In Heavy Rotation
Ali Akbar Khan: Music of India: Morning and Evening Ragas (Connoisseur CS 1766)
Band of Horses: Acoustic at the Ryman (Brown Records BRWN003)
Clark Terry and His Orchestra: With Paul Gonsalves (SAM/French Decca 153924)
At $1295, the Tercet Mk.III represents a step up from CAL's $750 Icon, which I enthusiastically recommended back in April 1990 (Vol.13 No 4, footnote 1). Externally, with the exception of a wider and slightly thicker front panel, it appears to be a carbon copy of that unit. Like the other products in California Audio Lab's stable, the Tercet Mk.III is designed from the ground up in-house. It is totally solid-state, and, like the Icon, uses the same linear-drive, glass-optics, single-laser transport and noisy loading drawer (equally loud but lower in pitch than the Luxman D-105u CD player…
Blandine Verlet's Hans Ruckers II harpsichord (track 7) never sounded better. The tonal balance was excellent, with no register calling attention to itself. The resonating capacity of the instrument is fully explored in this fiery performance, and the sound did not disappoint. Listening closely, I sensed the entire instrument vibrating from the floor up. Inner harmonics, hanging on their own cushions of air and well-separated from the fundamentals, were captured exquisitely, lending an often-missed depth to the music. The strings "buzzed" as they should (which, in this music, is most of the…
Sidebar 1: The LP in 1991
I beg the reader's indulgence for a moment, but I feel compelled to articulate my feeling (apology, if you like) regarding the current state of the long-playing record in this country. I know, this is supposed to be a review of CD players, but please be patient. I feel the tone of my review and the subsequent recommendations will mean more with this brief background confession.
I have been told and have read that analog recordings and LPs will sing their swan songs during the early years of this decade. If so, many will call me foolish for continuing to…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
My listening venue remains, with the exceptions noted below, as described in my review of the Audio Research SP9 Mk.II and Counterpoint SA-3000 preamps (Vol.13 No.11). Both the preamps and the Quicksilver amps that drove the Acoustat Twos have been replaced with the Ensemble B-50 (Tiger) control amplifier plugged into an Ensemble Isotrans isolation transformer.
All system interconnect is Ensemble Supraflux, and speaker cable is Ensemble Hotline. The B-50 sits within arm's reach on an Arcici Superstructure II. All CDs used in listening evaluations…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The Tercet's maximum output level was a fraction over spec at 2.079V, sourced from a low 52 ohms, which implies the Tercet should be able to drive reasonably long or overly capacitive cables. As shown by the impulse response (fig.1), the output is polarity-correct, while the squarewave response (fig.2) reveals by its flat tops that the digital filter overflows at its maximum level, a tradeoff said to increase low-level resolution. The player's frequency response (fig.3) was flat within the audio band, though a slight 0.3dB de-emphasis error at 10kHz exists (fig.4…