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…
search
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.
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"…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Roon Nucleus+ music server; Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP universal player; PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream D/A processor, Ayre Acoustics QA-9 A/D converter.
Power amplifiers: Classé Delta Mono, Parasound Halo JC 1+, and Lamm Industries M1.2 Reference (all monoblocks).
Loudspeakers: Vimberg Mino, KEF LS50, GoldenEar BRX.
Headphones: Audeze LCD-X.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Vodka (Ethernet), AudioQuest (USB), DH Labs (1m, AES/EBU). Interconnect: AudioQuest Wild Blue (balanced). Speaker: AudioQuest K2. Headphones: Nordost…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The Weiss DAC202, which Erick Lichte reviewed in January 2012, was one of the highest-resolution digital processors I have measured, so I was intrigued to see if the DAC502 would match its predecessor's performance. As I had done with the DAC202, I measured the Weiss DAC502 with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). Apple's USB Prober utility identified the DAC502 as "DAC501" from "Weiss_Engineering_Ltd." with the serial number string "0.0.1" (footnote 1).The USB port operated in the optimal isochronous asynchronous mode…