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Paradigm Reference Studio/60 v.3 loudspeaker Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Two-Channel System
Digital sources: Sony XA-777ES SACD/CD player, McCormack UDP-1 universal player, Theta Gen.VIII DAC.
Preamplifier: Sonic Frontiers Line-3.
Power amplifiers: Sonic Frontiers Power-3, Classé Omicron monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Revel Ultima Studio.
Cables: Digital: Stereovox HDVX. Interconnect (all balanced): AudioQuest Anaconda & Python, JPS Super-Conductor 2. Speaker: AudioQuest Granite. AC: JPS Aluminata.

Multichannel System
Digital sources: Sony SCD-XA9000ES SACD player, Denon DV-5900 universal player.
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Paradigm Reference Studio/60 v.3 loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

The Reference Studio/60 v.3 is of above-average voltage sensitivity, at an estimated 89dB/2.83V/m. Its impedance doesn't drop below 4 ohms, and remains above 6 ohms for much of the audioband (fig.1), implying that it will work well with modestly specified amplifiers and receivers.

Fig.1 Paradigm Reference Studio/60 v.3, electrical impedance (solid) and phase (dashed). (2 ohms/vertical div.)

The traces in fig.1 are free from the midrange wrinkles and small discontinuities that would hint at the presence of panel resonances. Investigating…

Technics DVD-A10 DVD-Audio player

If you search for "DVD-A" on this website, you can get the whole confusing story of the format, which has been the subject of one of the strangest format launches of recent years: First it's on, then it's off. The watermark is audible. No, it's not. Oops, it is—back to square one. There's software, there's no software. (There's not—only one demo disc officially available in September 2000, when I wrote this review!)

I fixed K-10 with my best whodunnit look. "So, ma chérie . . . who's on first?" She gave me one of her looks.

I should have said "Who's first?"—with machines on…

Technics DVD-A10 DVD-Audio player Page 2

'Round back is a full array of connectors, including two pairs of audio outs on RCA plugs, six RCAs for 5.1-channel analog surround, and two digital outputs on TosLink and RCA (S/PDIF), for an external Dolby Digital/DTS decoder or external DAC. (Yes, that means the DVD-A10 can be used as a CD transport.) Next to that are a full set of video outputs. Rather than the ubiquitous IEC mains-in connector, the A10 uses one of those small-appliance AC input and cord.

The DVD-A10 is built fairly well for a mass-market item, weighing in at a hefty 19 lbs, with a multilayer honeycomb resonance-…

Technics DVD-A10 DVD-Audio player Page 3

Re-Mastering is Technics' effort to maximize CD sound quality by upsampling. According to a graphic supplied by Technics, anything sampled at or above 88.2kHz, at whatever word length coming off a DVD, goes straight to the MASH DAC. However, 16-bit/48kHz material from DVD sources is routed through Re-Mastering DSP (digital signal processing) and upsampled to 24 bits and 96kHz. Data at 16/44.1, from DVDs or "Red Book" CDs, are Re-Mastered (upsampled) to 24/88.2. Bottom line: signals of 48kHz and below are always Re-Mastered. (You can turn Re-Mastering off, but you need a video monitor to do…

Technics DVD-A10 DVD-Audio player Page 4

CD Sound
After more than a week in repeat mode, the DVD-A10 was nice 'n' toasty 'n' ready to go. (When idle, the unit powers down to Standby to save energy.) I started listening to a lot of familiar "Red Book" CDs on the Linn and the Accuphase, then flipped the discs into the DVD-A10.

On most 16/44.1 recordings, in the default Re-Master mode (upsampling to 24/88.2k), the DVD-A10 sounded like a pleasant, smooth, inoffensive $1k CD player. Re-Mastering produced a pleasant aura around the music, especially in the midrange, that could be quite attractive. It smoothed off the rough edges…

Technics DVD-A10 DVD-Audio player Page 5

Track 1 of the "official" sampler is the Jazz at the Movies Band (uh-oh) doing (to death) "Farewell My Lovely." A 24/96 six-channel mixdown, my notes read, "and don't let the door hit'cha on the way out!" The music was hackneyed, but I perked up at the burnish in the horn section: very soaring and attractive.

Track 2 featured Natalie Merchant, an artist I respect more than love. She was quite nicely rendered, though with some bloat in the upper-midrange/lower-treble that made her sound positively epiglottal! Swollen glands, I reckoned. Still, there was a welcome smoothness in her voice,…

Technics DVD-A10 DVD-Audio player Page 6

DVD-Video sound
While the two sampler discs demonstrated the potential of DVD-Audio, the 24/96 recordings from Classic and Fréres Chesky delivered the musical goods in the here and now, producing a familiar, unmanipulated two-channel sound that I related to more easily. But before I tell you what I liked about them, I'll tell you about a weakness they revealed.

I popped Dave's True Story's Sex Without Bodies into the DVD-A10 and cued up one of my favorites, "Daddy-O," followed by Kelly Flint's and David Cantor's cover of Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side." Now I know this recording…

Technics DVD-A10 DVD-Audio player Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Single-box DVD-Audio/Video player with remote control. Plays CD, DVD-A, DVD-V. Outputs: 2 pairs RCA line-level audio, one each coax and TosLink S/PDIF, full set 5.1 surround outputs on RCA, video, S-video, and component video. S/N ratios: CD, 115dB (EIAJ); DVD, 106dB (LPCM). Harmonic distortion: DVD, 0.0012% (LPCM); CD, 0.0017%. Power consumption: 26W.
Dimensions: 17" (430mm) W by 5" (125mm) H by 10.8" (275mm) D. Weight: 18.9 lbs (8.6kg).
Serial number of unit reviewed: None.
Price: $1199.95. Approximate number of dealers: 200.
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Technics DVD-A10 DVD-Audio player Associated Equipment

Sidebar 1: Associated Equipment

Digital source: Linn CD12 CD player, Accuphase DP-100/DC-101 SACD 24-bit/192kHz transport/DAC.
Preamplifiers: Audio Research Reference Two, Mark Levinson No.32 Reference.
Power amplifiers: Krell FPB350mc, Cary CAD-1610-SE, Linn Klimax Solo 500 (all monoblocks).
Loudspeakers: JMlab Utopia.
Cables: Digital: XLO The Limited. Interconnects: Cardas Neutral Reference and Golden Reference, Synergistic Research Designer's Reference, TARA The One/Air One. Speaker: TARA The One, Cardas Golden Cross, XLO The Limited. AC: Synergistic Research Designer's…