Sidebar 2: Robert Harley's System
I listened to the SDR-2000 Pro at the front of my usual reference system, and with an all-Spectral playback system with MIT loudspeaker cables and interconnects. The people at Spectral believe that their electronics and MIT cables are needed to fully hear the SDR-2000 Pro's musical performance. Although I agreed to replace my usual amplification and cables for part of this review, auditioning the SDR-2000 Pro in my familiar reference system was mandatory.
My system consisted of a Mark Levinson No.31 CD transport feeding the SDR-2000 Pro via…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The SDR-2000 Pro's maximum output level was lower than that of most processors, measuring just 2.06V from the balanced outputs and 1.03V from the single-ended outputs. These low levels are a result of the 6dB attenuation in the SDR-2000 Pro's analog stage to conform to the HDCD requirement. When playing HDCD-encoded discs, the maximum levels will be 6dB higher: 4.12V from the balanced outputs, 2.06V from the single-ended outputs.
The output impedance measured 200 ohms from the unbalanced jacks, 400 ohms from the balanced outputs at any audio frequency. DC…
Capital Audiofest (CAF) has canceled its 2020 show, previously scheduled for October 30 through November 1, and announced dates for 2021.
Early Sunday, CAF issued this statement, signed by show founder and organizer Gary Gill:
To all friends of The Capital Audiofest:
We apologize for our silence but are happy to announce that the Capital Audiofest (CAF) has finalized an agreement with the Hilton Hotel that allows us to move the show from 2020 to 2021 without any issues. We feel it is better to wait a year in order to provide everyone with the same CAF qualities inclusive of…
Most audiophiles are aware of the modification and add-on aftermarket. A few have learned the hard way that modifier competence varies from primitive magic and sales hype to real engineering skill. Some modifiers are serious audiophiles who are also good technicians; others are scam artists whose only goal is to make a quick buck on the latest fad. If you have only a rudimentary understanding of electronics, you may not be able to make a distinction. Even the most jaded and battle-hardened among us can still be hooked and reeled in by a slick sales presentation.
Can you tell a product…
If I've read it once in mainstream audio magazines, I've read it a hundred times: "The most important component in a system is the loudspeaker, because it is the loudspeaker that makes the sound." Putting aside the obvious illogic of this statement—that without other components in the playback chain, even the perfect loudspeaker can't make a sound—my experience is that it just is not so. Yes, it is true that changing from one loudspeaker to another makes the greatest overt changes in a system's sound. Yet I have found that it is the source components—and, even more, the amplifier—that most…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state stereo amplifier. Rated output power, 20Hz–20kHz, with no more than 0.5% THD (FTC): 300Wpc minimum continuous into 8 ohms (24.8dBW); 600Wpc minimum continuous into 4 ohms (24.8dBW); 1200Wpc continuous into 2 ohms (24.8dBW). Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz ±0.05dB. S/N ratio: ᢈdB (ref. 1W). Input impedance: 100k ohms balanced, 50k ohms single-ended. Voltage gain: 26.8dB. Input sensitivity (for 2.8V output): 130mV. Input sensitivity (for full output): 2.25V. Output impedance: <0.05 ohms, 20Hz–20kHz. Damping factor: !w800, 20Hz–…
Sidebar 2: System Context
The preamplifier was the remote-controlled Mark Levinson No.38S, with either a Mod Squad Phono Drive EPS or an Audio Alchemy VAC-in-the-Box used to amplify LP signals from a Linn Sondek/Cirkus/Trampolin/Lingo/Ekos/Arkiv setup on an ArchiDee table. Digital sources were MLevinson No.30.5 HDCD and Parts Connection Assemblage D/A processors driven by Mark Levinson No.31 and No.31.5 transports via Madrigal and Illuminati AES/EBU cables and Meridian 518 or Genesis Digital Lens jitter-reduction units (No.31) or Sonic Frontiers UltraJitterbug (Assemblage). I also used…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
All of the No.333's measurements were taken using the balanced inputs. After a one-hour, 1/3-power preconditioning, the heatsinks were too hot to keep my hands on. The wideband S/N Ratio (ref. 1W into 8 ohms) measured a reasonable 62.5dB, this improving to 79.5dB when A-weighted. The channel separation (not shown) was better than 90dB below 5kHz, decreasing above that frequency to a still-good 70dB at 50kHz, due to capacitive coupling between the channels. The amplifier's voltage gain into 8 ohms measured 26.7dB, it didn't invert polarity, and its input impedance…
Ah, yes, headphones again. The market for super–high-end headphones must be small, but manufacturers nevertheless keep introducing new designs. At least two manufacturers—Stax and Sennheiser—seem to have carved out a big chunk of this market for themselves, and are currently slugging it out with their respective takes on the best that electrostatic headphones have to offer. Headphones aren't for everyone, but if you're a fan of private listening (or are one of that small but vociferous audiophile subset—a binaurophile), you need to pay attention to what these two companies are up to. In…
It was also possible to overload the SR-Omegas in the bass, though it was difficult to predict which material would challenge it. Pictures was handled without a hitch. Two bass transients on "Second Hand Copter," from the Clear and Present Danger soundtrack (Milan 73138-35679-2), however, broke up badly at high levels, though the SR-Omegas handled most of the (very deep) bass on this recording with ease. Occasionally, the SR-Omegas showed definite but less overt signs of strain. There were hints of breakup, without things actually pulling apart, where powerful deep-bass passages are…
