I was curious to check out Stereo Stereo, Klein's new dealership in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (footnote 1). I wanted to find out how a brick-and-mortar shop like his can compete and coexist with other retailers, especially online retailers.
Stereo Stereo isn't Klein's first stereo rodeo; in fact, it's his third. He opened his…
More than half a century later, blind dates—now with review equipment—remain fraught. Sure, expectations and the frisson of unknowns heighten the experience, but if it isn't a good match, I'm stuck for the duration of our time together. If a component sounds so mediocre that I can't be sure what's on a recording, the review and my joy are compromised. When music's emotion…
Moderately biased impressions
At 145.5lb and close to 28" high and 19" deep and costing $80,000/pair, Octave's Jubilee Mono SE is the largest, most expensive amplifier I've ever reviewed—$32,500/pair more than my reference D'Agostino Progression M550 monoblocks ($47,500/pair).
With eight…
Description: Tubed pentode push-pull monoblock power amplifier. Tube complement: 8 KT120, 3 ECC82. Inputs: 1 balanced (XLR), 1 single-ended (RCA). Outputs: 2 pair binding posts. Output power: 400W (23dBW) average and 450W (23.5dBW) peak power into 4 ohms. Minimum load impedance: 2 ohms. Voltage gain: 28dB; input sensitivity:1.5V at full output power. Frequency response: 10Hz–80kHz, +0/–0.5dB. THD: <0.1% at 10W into 4 ohms. S/N ratio: >103dB. Power consumption: 420W minimum, 800W at full power.
Dimensions: 27.8" (707mm) H × 11"(280mm) W × 19" (484mm) D…
Digital sources: dCS Rossini SACD/CD transport, Rossini DAC, and Rossini Clock; EMM Labs DV2 Integrated DAC; Synology 5-bay 1019+ NAS, Roon Nucleus+ music server, Uptone Audio EtherRegen with AfterDark Giesemann Emperor Double Crown Master Clock, Small Green Computer Sonore opticalModules (2) and Deluxe opticalModule, Linksys router and Arris modem, all powered by HDPlex 300 (3) and HDPlex 200 linear power supplies (3); Nordost QNET Ethernet Switch; Apple 2017 iPad Pro and 2017 MacBook Pro laptop with 2.8GHz Intel i7, SSD, 16GB RAM.
Preamplifier: Dan D'…
I used my Audio Precision SYS2722 system to examine the Octave Jubilee Mono SE's measured performance. (For logistical reasons, the sample I measured was not one of those auditioned by JVS but was borrowed from a Boston dealer.) I followed the instructions in the manual to check the bias of the eight output tubes after running the amplifier for 30 minutes to allow the operating conditions to stabilize. The pots that allow the bias for each tube to be optimized have a somewhat coarse action. The best I could arrange was for the bias for the tubes to lie between "…
Over time, however, the peephole's lens turned amber-yellow and frosted-foggy like those headlight protectors on cars. In recent years, it became so clouded that all I could make out were unidentifiable Sasquatch figures moving in a blurry space.
I was startled one day when I peered through the peephole and recognized my UPS…
After listening to fewer than a dozen tunes with the hybrid pads, I played the dreamy drum-synth and poetry-reading tracks from Brian Eno and Rick Holland's 2011 collaboration Drums Between the Bells (16/44.1 FLAC, Warp Records/Tidal). That's when I realized that something…
A shame. Two Against Nature, which marked the return of Steely Dan after a 20-year hiatus and won the Grammy that year for Best…