I first looked at the behavior of the Piega Connect wireless control unit, using my Audio Precision SYS2722 analyzer. Measured at its analog output jacks in variable mode, this had a maximum gain of 0.3dB. The fixed mode offered the same 0.3dB gain. The analog input clipped at 2.2V. A 1kHz signal at –12dBFS at the coaxial and optical digital inputs resulted in a level at the analog outputs of 534mV, suggesting that the Connect's gain architecture is very similar for both analog and digital signals. Both digital inputs locked on to data sampled at rates from 44.…
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I am proud of the fact that my first review for Stereophile was of a modestly priced integrated amplifier called the Rogue Audio Sphinx. Specified at 100Wpc into 8 ohms, 200Wpc into 4 ohms (footnote 1), it played the KEF LS50s like it was made for them. It was simple and handsome and cost only $1295, phono stage included.
I chose the Sphinx because it was a hybrid tube–class-D design that, to my ears, blended French-wine tube flavor with the grip and authority of class-D solid-stateness. The Sphinx was proletariat, not patrician, but it still showed me the merry music of Paris during La…
On In a Silent Way , the Hana EL did not generate as much radiant, glowing energy as the Ortofon 2M Black; instead, it surrounded Miles's trumpet and Herbie Hancock's keyboards with a more restrained but burnished glow that let my mind wander through the myriad polyrhythms and chord changes. The Hana EL was less detailed and transparent than the 2M Black, but it countered with an easygoing, tube-like, musical charm.
The Sphinx V3's MM/MC phono input did proclaim the virtues of analog.
Back to the Maggies
I connected the $995 Mytek HiFi Liberty DAC into the $1595 Rogue Sphinx…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Hybrid integrated amplifier with 12AU7 tubes in line stage and class-D output stage. Power output: 100Wpc into 8 ohms (20dBW), 200Wpc into 4 ohms (20dBW). THD: <0.1% typical, <1% at rated power. Frequency response: 5Hz–20kHz, ±1dB. Input sensitivity: 1.0V RMS. Power requirements: 115/230V–50/60Hz.
Dimensions: 15.5" (400mm) W × 5" (130mm) H × 17" (435mm) D. Weight: 25 lbs (11.4kg) net, 30 lbs (13.6kg) shipping.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 3057.
Price: $1595 with remote volume control. Approximate number of dealers: 50. Warranty…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: turntable (see J.Sikora Initial turntable with Jelco TK-850M tonearm, Ortofon 2M Black and Hana EL phono cartridges.
Digital Sources: Mytek HiFi Liberty DAC; Integra DPS-7.2 CD player used as transport.
Integrated Amplifier: Rogue Audio Sphinx.
Loudspeakers: Harbeth M30.2. P3ESR, Magnepan .7, KEF LS50.
Headphones: HiFiMan HE6se, ZMF Vérité.
Cables: Interconnect: Cardas Iridium. Speaker: Cardas Clear Cygnus.
Accessories: AudioQuest's Niagara 1000, PS Audio PerfectWave PowerBase; Sound Anchor speaker stands; Dr.…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
When I performed the measurements of the original Rogue Sphinx integrated amplifier to accompany Herb Reichert's review in the August 2014 issue of Stereophile, I was impressed by what I found. "Even without taking into account its affordable price, Rogue Audio's Sphinx offers excellent measured performance with little sign of the usual compromises made in class-D designs," I concluded, adding that it "also has an excellent, moving-magnet–compatible phono stage." Herb reports in this issue on the sound of the new V3 version of the Sphinx, which features a new…
I consider Charles Mingus one of the great American composers, at least on par with the most celebrated American classical dudes. With apologies to fans of that music, I'd much rather listen to this record, or any of several other Mingus recordings, than, say, Billy the Kid or Rhapsody in Blue. What makes Mingus great is precisely that, in contrast to Copland and Gershwin, when he explored the vernacular, it wasn't some pale imitation.
Some jazz records can seem generic, their solos interchangeable. Mingus's music is rarely generic. Like Thelonious Monk's, his music is instantly…
Hi-fi system resolution has long been the cause of heated arguments. But when it comes to converting digital data to an analog signal, there can be no argument. Data go in at one end of a DAC and an analog signal comes out of the other end, with a noise floor directly rated to the combination of the converter's digital and analog resolution. Ever since I started measuring digital products for Stereophile, I have been expressing a D/A processor's effective resolution in terms of the equivalent number of bits. With a typical FFT-derived analysis of 16-bit data, the levels of the individual…
A decade or so ago, I was giving seminars on how the way recordings had been made influenced what audiophiles hear from their systems. As an example of how different stereo microphone techniques resulted in different soundstage presentations, I used "The Turning" by Maura Bosch from While You Are Alive (Cantus CTS-1208). I had recorded all the tracks on this album from Minnesotan male-voice choir Cantus with three pairs of microphones: a close, central ORTF pair of cardioids, a close, spaced pair of omnis, and a distant pair of omnis mounted on a Jecklin disc. (You can see a photo of the…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Roon-Ready, two-channel, digital-to-analog converter with volume control, color LCD touch screen, DSP, and remote control. Digital inputs: AES/EBU on XLR, S/PDIF on RCA jack and TosLink optical connector, USB Type A, USB Type B, Ethernet on RJ45 jack. PCM sample rates supported: 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz, 352.8kHz, and 384kHz, plus DSD64 and DSD128 (not all frequencies are supported with all inputs). Maximum input word length: 24 or 32 bits depending on input. Analog outputs: 1 pair balanced XLR, 1 pair single-ended RCA, ¼"…