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While the Model 40n is said to be in the process of being certified by Roon (footnote 4), it doesn't implement Roon's RAAT protocol. So, over the network, the Roon core connects to the 40n via AirPlay (yes, even with a wired connection). This means that Roon playback (including Qobuz playback via Roon) is limited to 16/44.1 stereo. When used as a streamer, the 40n is at its best with the excellent HEOS app, its intended network implementation. That said, the Qobuz app on my iPhone also recognized the 40n and streamed to it at up to 24/192. SpotifyConnect was responsive and sounded good, but…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Remote-controlled, network-connected D/A integrated amplifier. Analog inputs: 5 pair RCA (CD, line, phono, recorder, power amp direct). Digital inputs: TosLink, coaxial S/PDIF, HDMI/ARC, USB-A. Network inputs: Bluetooth, Ethernet (RJ45), Wi-Fi. Supported file formats: MP3, AAC, WMA, ALAC, FLAC, WAV. Supported sample rates: up to 192kHz PCM (digital inputs), up to 192kHz PCM and 5.6MHz DSD (USB, Network). Supported streaming services: Pandora, Spotify, Amazon Music, Tidal, Deezer, HighResAudio, Juke, Napster, SoundCloud, TuneIn. Analog outputs: 1…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: Oppo Digital UDP-105 universal disc player, Custom Intel/Win11 music server running JRiver Media Center v29 and Roon, exaSound s88 Mark II, and Okto DAC8 Pro D/A processors. QNAP TVS-873 NAS.
Preamplifiers: Coleman Audio 7.1SW for source switching. 3 Topping Pre90s for buffer/line drivers.
Power amplifiers: Benchmark AHB2, NAD C 298. Both used as bridged monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: KEF Blade Two Meta, Revel Ultima2 Studio with IsoAcoustics Gaia I isolation feet. Revel Performa3 F206. SVS SB-3000 subwoofer.
Cables: Digital…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Marantz Model 40n with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system. For the digital-input measurements, I used TosLink data and the HEOS app on my iPhone to play back test-tone WAV files on a USB stick plugged into the rear-panel port.
The Marantz's single-ended line inputs preserved absolute polarity at both the loudspeaker and headphone outputs. The volume control operated in accurate 0.5dB steps, and the maximum gain was 40.6dB at the loudspeaker outputs and 40.7dB at the headphone output. The power amplifier stage offered a fixed gain of 24dB. The…
As indicative of the New York / West Coast melting pot, internationalism was the bottom line in a system assembled by Bob Vineyard, proprietor of Rhapsody Out West's Portland, Oregon showroom: Pilium from Greece, Taiko from Holland, Alsyvox and Vyda from Italy, Esoteric from Japan–all brands available from Bob Visintainer's Rhapsody Audio in NewYork and his five in-home satellite dealerships located in key cities across the US.
In Vineyard's room, showgoers encountered an eye-catching system headlined by Alsyvox Botticelli speakers ($100,000/pair) with "X" external crossovers ($36,000/…
In a little more than a week, Raleigh, North Carolina, consumer-electronics retailer Audio Advice will be hosting Audio Advice Live a three-day, single-dealer home theater and hi-fi show, showcasing equipment from more than 60 brands.
A first-of-its-kind event for the retailer, which runs the successful eCommerce site AudioAdvice.com in addition to maintaining world-class showrooms in Raleigh and Charlotte, Audio Advice Live kicks off Friday, August 19 at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Raleigh and runs through Sunday August 21. Show hours are 8am–6pm on Friday and Saturday and 8am–4pm…
The death of a company founder, whether sudden or expected, often produces trauma. Whoever was tapped to replace the visionary Steve Jobs would be handed a thankless task, but at Apple, timid Tim Cook's so-far unimaginative performance as caretaker demonstrates the difficulties of succession. As Jobs beat Sony to the iPod, Cook let Amazon beat him to the Alexa. Apple missed the lead on streaming audio, playing catch-up by buying the MOG music service, which was transformed into Beats Music in 2014. Apparently, Cook doesn't think it's worth pursuing high-resolution audio for iTunes. He's…
Then, in London last June, came an opportunity to interview the political cartoonist Gerald Scarfe, who illustrated and designed characters for Pink Floyd's The Wall. He'd be available immediately following a talk he was scheduled to give at the Victoria and Albert Museum, where Pink Floyd's exhibition, Their Mortal Remains, was drawing record crowds. As long as I was going to be in the UK, I figured, why not use the opportunity to revisit SME, and chat with McNeilis and Shirke about their plans?
The historic Arundel Castle
SME put me up in the historic town of Arundel,…
Since 1925, Japan-based Luxman Corporation has manufactured high-quality integrated amplifiers, preamplifiers, power amplifiers, phono stages, turntables, and, more recently, DACs and CD players. But it has been 40 years since Luxman introduced a new phono cartridge; the last one was the LMC-2 in 1982, released just after 1981's LMC-1. That dry period ended with the introduction of the Luxman LMC-5 ($2695).
Anodized in snazzy Luxman red, branded with a laser-etched, '70s-looking, flower-powered "L," and backed by almost 100 years of high-fidelity expertise, the aluminum-body LMC-5 is…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Moving coil stereo phono cartridge. A6063 aluminum body with threaded screw holes. Internal impedance: 4.7 ohms (1kHz). Tracking force: 2.1–2.3gm (2.2gm recommended). Output voltage: 0.4mV (1kHz, 3.54cm/s). Frequency range: 10Hz–35kHz. Channel separation (at 1kHz): 28dB. Recommended load impedance: 40 ohms or more; with SUT, 2.5–10 ohms. Dynamic compliance: 8 × 10–6cm/dyne (100Hz). Stylus: Solid diamond/Shibata stylus. Stylus rake angle: "0°" (square, 90° angle). Cantilever: 0.5mm aluminum. Vertical tracking angle: 25°. Magnet: samarium-cobalt…