Not me. Beyond the sonic considerations—discussed below—JRiver doesn't thoroughly integrate Tidal and Qobuz, will neither decode nor render MQA (although it will…
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While I could have used virtually any good-sounding playback software with the Alpha 3 SX, Joe urged me to stick to the two music-server programs that he had thoroughly vetted: JRiver 24 and the latest version of Roon. He indicated that their sound was very close—depending upon their latest upgrades, sometimes Roon edged ahead by a few points, only to be surpassed by the next version of JRiver, which he ultimately preferred.
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Dedicated audio server running WolfOS. Contains an Intel i7 Processor with 32GB RAM, 1TB System SSD, and internal 2TB SSD, expandable to 12TB. Formats supported: WAV, AIFF, FLAC, ALAC, AAC, M4A, MP3, OGG, DSF, DFF, DXD, SACD ISO, Blu-ray, DVD-A, MQA. Resolution and sample rates supported: PCM up to 32-bit/1536Hz, DSD: DSD64–DSD1024, Native or DoP. Multichannel DSD up to DSD256. Ports: Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi, (2) USB 3.1 Gen 2 (Type A, Type C), (4) USB 3.0, TosLink, HDMI, DisplayPort, PS/2. OPTIONAL: (2) Ports Flux Capacitor USB Type B Clock:…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: dCS Rossini SACD/CD transport & Rossini DAC & Rossini Clock & Network Bridge; EMM Labs DV2 DAC; Roon Nucleus + with linear power supply; Linksys routers (2), Small Green Computer Systemoptique optical isolation bundle, TP-Link gigabit Ethernet media converters plus multimode duplex fiber optic cable (2); Small Green Computer linear power supply & Small Green Computer/HDPlex four-component 200W linear power supply (2); external hard drives, SSD USB sticks, iPad Pro. Power amplifiers: Dan D'Agostino Master Systems Progression…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
With music servers that have USB outputs, like the Roon Nucleus + that I reviewed in August 2018 and the Innuos Statement that Jason Victor Serinus reviewed in April 2020, it's difficult to decide what measurements could be meaningful. However, as I had done with the Innuos server, I could use two D/A processors with USB inputs—an original Mytek Brooklyn and an AudioQuest DragonFly Red—with which I could compare the effect of sourcing data from the Wolf server instead of my MacBook Pro laptop.
Before I ran the JRiver Media Center 25 app on the Wolf and…
I was all set to give up on moving magnets until the new Shure VI5-VMR (MR stands for Micro-Ridge stylus) arrived. In a word, it's terrific. I was slightly disappointed with the original V15-V: I just didn't think it was a significant improvement over the Type IV. What I missed was fine detail—especially in the high frequencies and during heavily modulated passages. The original V was not quite up to the sound of certain moving coils. Which is not to say the original V was a bad buy: moving coils cost twice the price and you need a stepup. I could recommend the original V without hesitation…
Anthony H. Cordesman wrote about the Shure V15 VMR January 1985 (Vol.7 No.8):
This cartridge ($275) seems to divide high-end reviewers more than any other, and largely along class lines. If you are a card-carrying highender, it is definitely declasse. If you bemoan the fact that high end audio now consumes more of the GNP than nuclear weapons, and are frightened of Carl Sagan's warning that cumulative emissions of upper-octave music can cause an "audio winter," then fans of expensive moving coils are effete snobs.
My own general impression—which is formed from a position of…
Sam Tellig returned to the V15 V-MR in November 1989 (Vol.12 No.11):
Larry Archibald once told me that I managed to find myself on the horns of every hi-dilemma there is: CD or LP?
I flip over the convenience of CD and the fact I don't have to flip over the disc. But I find, still, that LPs, at their best, sound superior. The problem, of course, is that most LPs and CDs, for that matter, do not represent the particular medium at its best. Better a well-recorded CD than a mediocre LP.
Every time I make an improvement in my CD playback system—the Musical Fidelity Digilog,…
Michael Fremer reviewed the Shure V15VxMR in July 1997 (Vol.20 No.7):
Older analog fans fondly recall the introduction of Shure's M3D back in 1959—that black blob of a device was the first stereo moving-magnet cartridge. A few years later it was followed by another black blob, the M7/N21D, which tracked at a lower downforce. Put either in a Garrard Type A turntable and you were cruising down the vinyl highway in "state-of-the-art" transportation. Anti-skating? Azimuth? VTA? Are you kidding? You couldn't even adjust overhang on that setup. But you could stack records!
In 1964…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Moving-magnet cartridge with (V15VxMR) Microwall/Be hollow, beryllium cantilever and Micro-Ridge MASAR polished stylus tip (0.015" by 0.003"), Dynamic Stabilizer/Destaticizer, Side Guard Stylus Protection System. Source resistance (typical): 1000 ohms. Source inductance (typical): 425mH at 1kHz. Recommended stylus downforce: 1.0gm (1.5gm with Stabilizer). Channel separation: 25dB or better at 1kHz; 18dB or better at 10kHz. Frequency range: 10Hz–25kHz. Output: 3mV RMS (5cm/s peak velocity, 1kHz). Recommended load: 47k ohms in parallel with 250pF.
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Classé Audio's DR-3 once again brings to the fore the issues of class-A vs class-AB, weighty vs small and efficient, and brute-force expensive vs clever and inexpensive.
A well-worn, if unproven, audiophile rule of thumb says that a small, quick amplifier will sound better than a very powerful one (footnote 1). Among low-powered amps, those that operate in "pure" class-A are thought to be sonically superior. Pure class-A means the amplifier must run a constant high bias (more than one ampere), so the output devices never turn off (footnote 2). This high bias current means the amplifier…