The Shinai has a knack for detail retrieval, an attribute I've been fond of ever since, as a skinny, bespectacled 7-year-old, I got my hands on a magnifying glass, roamed a park on a burgeoning spring…
search
With all the speakers I used, the album's fade-to-white cricket-chirping intro filled more of the room than I was used to with my own electronics. It was as if a world was materializing around me, like I was gaining consciousness in the middle of a field on a hot day. Soon, every pore of the soundstage seemed filled with animated sound. The Shinai made aural space microscopically tangible.
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Fully balanced, zero-feedback, direct-coupled, solid-state, dual-mono stereo integrated amplifier with class-A output stage. Inputs: 2 single-ended (RCA), 2 balanced (XLR; these may be converted to unbalanced inputs). Outputs: 1 pair loudspeaker outputs. Output power: 37Wpc into 8 ohms (15.7dBW) and 4 ohms (12.7dBW). Frequency range: 2Hz–240kHz. Damping factor >150.
Dimensions: 12.5" (318mm) W × 7.7" (196mm) H × 18.6" (473mm) D. Weight: 88lb (40kg).
Serial number of unit reviewed: 0088. Manufactured in Italy.
Price: $15,000.…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Rega P5 turntable with RB700 tonearm and Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 cartridge.
Digital sources: Simaudio Moon 260D transport, Bryston BDP-1 USB Digital Player running Tidal, Bryston BDA-2 DAC.
Preamplification: Sonic Frontiers SFP-1 Signature phono preamp, Audible Illusions preamp.
Loudspeakers: KEF LS50, Totem Skylight, WLM Diva Mk 4.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Diamond (USB), BIS Audio Maestro (RCA). Interconnect: Moon Audio Silver Dragon (RCA). Speaker: Nordost Heimdall. Power: Shunyata Research Black Mamba CX, LessLoss…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Grandinote Shinai using my Audio Precision SYS2722 analyzer (see the January 2008 "As We See It." Before doing any testing I preconditioned the amplifier by following the CEA's recommendation of operating it at one-eighth the specified power into 8 ohms for 30 minutes. At the end of that time, while the black-finished chassis was warm, at 89°F (31.7°C), the chrome grille on the top panel that covers the internal heatsinks was very hot, at 125.8°F (52.1°C). I then performed the older FTC/IHF thermal stress test by running the amplifier at one-third…
The sense of hope I've been feeling may have started with those Sinatra swells, the on-hold music I heard when I called to interview the first audio dealer I talked to for this story. I wanted to know what's been happening with their businesses during the pandemic. Are there reasons for at least cautious optimism?
The economic news is discouraging. Most people don't have a lot of disposable income right now, and many who do are saving it. For those who have hit on COVID hard times, luxury items are out of reach.
On the other hand, people are spending more time at home, whether…
It was a "Wow!" audio moment I'll never forget. It happened just after Ladies Who Lunch, our regular Friday afternoon lunch-n-chat for audio poobahs at the Grand Sichuan restaurant in Chelsea. It was dark at 4 o'clock, and the first snow of winter looked enchanting under the 24th Street streetlamps. Audiophiliac Steve Guttenberg and I were accompanying our turntable setter–upper friend Michael Trei to Bob Visintainer's Rhapsody Music and Cinema, where Trei was scheduled to install a Lyra Etna SL cartridge on a TechDAS Air Force III turntable. I tagged along to chatter with Bob and listen…
To assess the Alyssas' upper bass and lower midrange clarity, I used my favorite Astor Piazzolla album Tango: Zero Hour (16/44.1 FLAC Nonesuch/Qobuz). Although there are only five musicians, this incredible piece of dark nuevo tango offers thick, difficult-to-sort masses of complex information in the octaves below 1kHz, making it a perfect recording for my speaker placement and focusing operation. With the album playing, I moved the speakers first forward and backward, then a little right and left, until the soundstage and instruments achieved their most transparent focus. They ended up…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Hybrid ported/ transmission-line stand-mounted speaker. Driver complement: One 6" mid/ woofer with a 3" voice-coil with titanium former, one 2.5" aluminum ribbon tweeter with a neodymium magnet. Crossover frequency: 2.2kHz. Crossover type: 3rd order. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Sensitivity: 87.5dB/2.83V/m. Recommended amplifier power: 50–150Wpc. Peak power handling: 200Wpc.
Dimensions: 14.5" (368.3mm) H × 9.6" (244mm) W (at bottom) × 14.25" (362mm) D (at bottom). Cabinet volume: 0.47 cubic feet (13 liters). Weight 28lb (12.7kg).
Finish: gloss…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Dr. Feickert Analogue Blackbird turntable; Jelco TK-850L tonearm; Grado Aeon3 (moving-iron), Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum, and My Sonic Lab Ultra Eminent Ex moving-coil cartridges.
Digital sources: MacBook Air laptop, Mac mini running Audirvana Plus, HoloAudio May (Kitsuné Edition), and Denafrips Terminator DACs, Integra DPS-7.2 used as CD transport.
Preamplification: Musical Surroundings Phonomena II+, Tavish Design Adagio; Parasound Halo JC 3+ and Sunvalley SV-EQ1616D phono preamplifiers; EMIA and Bob's Devices SKY 20 step-…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Alta Audio Alyssa's farfield behavior with DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone. I used an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the speaker's nearfield responses. A full set of measurements was performed with serial number ALY4004. I repeated some of the tests with serial number ALY4003. Other than when noted, the magnetically attached grille was left off for the measurements.
Alta specifies the Alyssa's sensitivity as 87.5dB/2.83V/m. My estimate was significantly lower at 81.5dB(B)/2.83V/m, and the Alta did sound a little…