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Stein Goes for the Gold

Holger Stein may be one of the softer-spoken men in the audio business, but he's hardly shy when it comes to attracting attention. For eye candy alone, Stein Music's new Bob XL Plus Ultimate loudspeaker (348,000/pair) had few rivals at Munich High End.

In a difficult, sloped ceiling room that had no visible room treatment (although there were, as expected, any number of the company's proprietary sonic enhancements), the Stein Music system produced good bass, lots of inviting midrange, and a smooth top. It triumphed through Youn Sun Nah's ridiculous, both barrels loaded, over-the…

Ortofon MC Diamond Cartridge, Audiovector R11 Arreté loudspeakers, TechDAS Air Force V Premium turntable, SME V tonearm, Einstein and Mark Levinson amplification

In the US market it isn't every day you see big, shiny red speakers—cars, yes—but less often flagship floorstanders. Here, a pair of tall, Danish flagships, the Audiovector R11 Arreté Titanium speakers clad in red enclosures graced the room. A model above the Audiovector R8 Arreté that Jim Austin reviewed, they use the company's Quasi Dual Drive Avantgarde Air Motion Transformer (AMT) tweeters.

Speaking of flagships, I also had the pleasure of meeting Ortofon's COAR (Chief Officer Acoustics and Research) Leif Johannsen in, yes, the Ortofon room at the MOC and he delightedly told…

Channel D Lino C 3.3 phono preamplifier

Years ago, at a San Francisco Audiophile Society gathering, I was lucky enough to spend time with the late, brilliant electrical engineer Roger Modjeski, whose Music Reference RM-200 Mk.II hybrid stereo tube amp is among my most prized hi-fi treasures. I asked him what he knew about transimpedance phono preamplifiers. He grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil and drew a detailed transimpedance phono preamp circuit, quipping, "These have been around forever, but until recently no one has paid much attention to them."

We talked about the newer, low-internal-impedance cartridges that were…

Channel D Lino C 3.3 phono preamplifier Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Battery-powered, solid-state, DC-coupled, current-mode, moving-coil phono preamplifier. Inputs: one pair current-mode balanced MC (XLR), one optional pair voltage-mode balanced MC (XLR), one pair optional unbalanced MM (RCA). Outputs: I pair balanced (XLR). Gain: 69dB, 61dB, 64dB, 67dB, 70dB; 39dB, 43dB, 46dB, 48dB (MM input option). Cartridge Loading (voltage mode): 100, 200, 500, 750, 1000 ohms (other settings possible by selecting more than one switch). RIAA accuracy: < ±0.1dB, 20Hz–20kHz. RIAA channel matching: < ±0.1dB, 20Hz–20kHz. Channel…

Channel D Lino C 3.3 phono preamplifier Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog sources: OMA K3 and Schröder K3 tonearm; Haniwa CO Mk.II, the Lyra Atlas SL Lambda, and the Ortofon Anna D cartridges.
Preamplification: darTZeel NHB-18S, Ypsilon MC-10L, MC-16L, and MC-20L and X-quisite SUT X-20 step-up transformers; Ypsilon VPS-100, CH Precision P1 with X1 PSU.
Power amplifiers: darTZeel NHB 468 monoblocks, Music Reference RM-200 Mk.2.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Chronosonic XVX.
Cables: Interconnect: TARA Labs Zero Gold, Zero Evolution, Zero and Air Evolution, AudioQuest Dragon, Analysis Plus Silver Apex…

Channel D Lino C 3.3 phono preamplifier Measurements

Measurements (from July 2022, Vol.45 No.7)

Michael Fremer was impressed by the sound quality of Channel D's Lino C 3.3 phono preamplifier when he reviewed it in his June 2022 Analog Corner column. Editor Jim Austin suggested I examine its performance on the test bench.

The Lino C 3.3 ($3799, basic version1) resembles its predecessor, the Lino C 2.0, which Mikey reviewed in June 2019. The 3.3 is powered by a rechargeable battery and features a direct-coupled, wide-bandwidth, balanced, transimpedance circuit, which generates an output voltage that's proportional to the current…

Hegel Reference H30A Reference power amplifier, P30A preamplifier, KEF Reference 5 Meta loudspeakers, and Nordost cabling

My first stop in the Munich High End venue's huge halls, or Halles, was a treat—and not only because the Hegel folks had a box of Norwegian chocolate hearts to taste. Hegel introduced a couple of new analog components, the Hegel Reference H30A Reference power amplifier and the P30A preamplifier, which supersedes the P30 preamp. Hegel CEO, founder, and lead designer Bent Holter (right) was on-hand along with Anders Ertzeid "VP of This and That" (aka VP Sales and Marketing, left) to share details. The amp and preamp are both analog designs—the A stands for analog.

The Hegel H30A power…

Esoteric's New Grandioso T1, M1X, S-05

In celebration of Esoteric’s 35th anniversary, the company’s Shota Terai offered a sneak preview of the Grandioso T1, the first turntable in Esoteric's long history. Due to be finalized soon, the T1 employs the company's "patent-registered unique contact-free Esoteric MagneDrive System that inductively synchronizes the rotations of a magnetic driver and platter, realizing a quiet and silky-smooth rotation at an extraordinarily accurate rotation speed."

The turntable's motor drive unit uses the Grandioso G1X Master Clock to achieve 10MHz Clock Sync capability. The three-piece independent…

VTL Siegfried II monoblocks, Wilson Alexx V, Nordost QNet Switch, and more

New components in Wilson's other eye-candy exhibit may have been limited to the new Nordost QNet 5-port internet switch and QSource Linear Power Supply, but that didn't prevent a miracle from happening. In a room that D'Agostino's Bill McKiegan had warned me rarely delivered good sound, VTL's Siegfried II Series II monoblocks and top-level line TL 7.5 Series III and TP 6.5 Series II preamplifiers, seen here with Nordost’s Dennis Bonotto, sounded extremely musical and inviting.

Is Wilson's Alexx V a miracle worker? Is it because, as VTL's Luke Manley (pictured below) said, "Tubes can be…

Color for Days: Wilson Chronosonic XVX, D'Agostino Relentless Epic, Stromtank, Nordost, and More

Gone are the days of blacks and grays. Thanks in large part to the new face of Wilson Audio, color reigned supreme in Audio Reference Munich's impressive Atrium spread.

It's not that you can't buy a Wilson speaker in traditional Brooks Brothers meets Provo garb. But for those who wish to brighten up the show, Wilson presented its Chronosonic XVX with one of its four new "Season" color highlights (below). Rather than asking the price, I greatly enjoyed what I saw and focused on the music, which in this case was a Schedrin encore, performed by pianist Simon Trpceski and recorded just a few…