Recently, I've run into a turntable-grounding issue related to the Continuum Caliburn's outboard motor controller, which produces an occasional "pop" through the CH Precision P1/ X1. I was unable to get rid of it, but it was easy to ignore until it got to where it would shut…
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Amplifier hum was banished when I banished that amplifier, but the front end of my system sometimes does have ground-related hum issues, probably in part due to the several turntables, cartridges, and phono preamps I typically have in the system at one time. It's way more than most audiophiles have to deal with.
On iconic singer-songwriter James Taylor's 20th album, American Standard, the lanky crooner adapts the classic American songbook to his easy-rolling musical ways. The result is an American mixture of timeless songcraft.
Where some popular singers use the songbook canon to increase record and ticket sales, Taylor has no need to change himself or increase his audience. He's as comfortable as any man can be, having sold many millions of records the world over for almost 50 years.
He wasn't always so comfortable. Taylor's breakthrough success of the early '70s, including the albums…
Micallef: Your Warner Brothers and early Columbia records are so comfy and warm, yet also punchy and dynamic. How have you thought about the sound of your albums and capturing that sound?
Taylor: The sound of my records, I leave that up to my engineer. I've worked with so many great soundsmiths; Frank Filipetti, certainly Dave O'Donnell, James Farber—really wonderful technicians with remarkable ears. I don't have any particular love for or feel the need to hold on to a certain classical sound. I'm willing to experiment with echo, with EQ, with signal-processing things, with doing all…
The organizers of the 2021 Florida Audio Expo have announced the show's cancellation. All deposits, the organizers say, have already been refunded.
“We sincerely appreciate the exhibitors, consumers, and media that support us,” says Bart Andeer, co-founder and operations manager of the Florida Audio Expo, quoted in a press release sent out by Sue Toscano of Toscano Communications. “This decision isn’t the outcome we hoped to announce, but in our estimation, is the best option for our event given the information available at this time. We will always put our customers’ well being first. We…
To echo Audio Cheapskate Sam Tellig, who was in turn paraphrasing Thomas R. Marshall, what the world needs is a great $299 CD player. Certainly there's no shortage of expensive units vying for your attention—most of them consisting of separate transports and D/A converters.
Sam, of course, has often advised against spending big for CD playback. That's an easy recommendation to make if you have a bazillion LPs and consider CD to be a secondary (and inferior) program source. There was a time when I would have agreed with Sam's low opinion of digital, but no longer. Neither does Madrigal…
Will HDCD catch on? A lot depends on what happens over the next year in the development of DVD, which promises a new, high-resolution format which might just revolutionize audio software. But it's not available now, and HDCD is, if only in limited supply. All I can say is, when I switch from a cross-section of my best-sounding standard CDs to the small population of HDCDs now in existence—and given that I'm not talking about identical program material, but only general overall impressions—the clouds do not part, and the sun does not emerge to cast life-giving light on the fertile plains.…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Digital processor with HDCD$r decoding. Inputs: two AES/EBU on XLRs, two S/PDIF coaxial (one RCA, one BNC), one ST optical, one TosLink optical. Outputs: L/R balanced (XLR) and unbalanced (RCA) analog out. Digital out. Also one RJ-45 communications port (see text) and IR repeater port. Frequency response: 10Hz–20kHz, +0, –0.2dB. Dynamic range: 98dB (or better). S/N ratio: 105dB. Channel separation: >110dB. FIFO jitter: <20 picoseconds, uncorrelated. Output impedance: <6 ohms.
Dimensions: 15.75" W × 14.3" D × 3.75" H. Weight: 35lb.
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Sidebar 2: Review system
The system used with the No.36 consisted of a Denon DP-S1 transport, Rowland Consummate preamplifier, Carver Research Lightstar amplifier, and Energy Veritas v2.8, KEF Reference 107/2, and Thiel CS7 loudspeakers. Other D/A processors in the system were the Theta DS Pro Basic III, the Sonic Frontiers SFD-2 Mk.II, and the Spectral SDR-2000 Professional.
The primary digital link was either Kimber TGDL or AGDL coaxial. TARA Labs Master RSC interconnect linked the Levinson converter to the preamp. The preamp-to-power-amp interconnects were Cardas Hexlinks, the…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Robert Harley generated the test-bench measurements and provided me with the data after I finished my listening tests. The Mark Levinson No.36 has an output of 1.85V (left) and 1.84V (right), unbalanced (3.69V, L&R, balanced) when decoding a 1kHz, 0dBFS (full-scale) sinewave. Its output impedance measured 7 ohms unbalanced, 13.4 ohms balanced—this processor should be able to drive any commercial preamplifier and cable with no adverse effects. The No.36 was non-inverting in its unbalanced mode, with pin 2 positive in the balanced mode. Its DC offset was 0.2mV…
For the sixth consecutive year, Stereophile has named a select few components as "Products of the Year." By doing so, we intend to give recognition to those components that have proved capable of giving musical pleasure beyond the formal review period.
There are five individual categories: Loudspeakers (including subwoofers); Amplification Components (preamplifiers, power amplifiers, etc.); Digital Sources (CD players, transports, processors); Analog Sources (phono cartridges, turntables, tonearms, FM tuners, etc.); and Accessories (everything else). In previous years, we have given an…