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I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system, a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone, and an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the Bowers & Wilkins 804 D4's frequency response in the farfield. My primary axis for the measurements was level with the tweeter, but I also performed a series of tests on an axis level with the midrange unit, which is 36" from the floor, the height of my ears in my listening chair. I used an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield and in-room responses.

Bowers & Wilkins specifies the 804 D4's anechoic sensitivity as 89dB/2.83V/m.…

I knew about the Rolling Stones mainly through the Hot Rocks compilation, from listening on radio to hits from Some Girls (which came out when I was too young and sheltered in leafy suburbia to understand the urban grit and decadence described in its lyrics), and from Emotional Rescue, which I owned, and which I thought (and still think) lacks interesting music in the grooves to match the cool cover…

What Michael said about resolution mirrored my own experience but nagged at me. If resolution is a good thing, then how can there be too much of it? After…

Description: tubed, two-chassis. 24-bit, D/A converter. Tube complement: two ECC82 and two ECC88 in the analog section and one each EL84 and EF86 in the power supply. Inputs: one each AES3, S/PDIF electrical (RCA), S/PDIF optical (TosLink), USB. AES3, coaxial, and TosLink inputs convert data up to 24/192; USB accepts and converts data up to 24/384, plus DSD. Outputs: One pair unbalanced (RCA), one pair balanced (XLR). The JS1 MkV is fully balanced through the XLR outputs. S/N ratio: >100dB. Frequency range: 20Hz–20kHz. Output level: 2.5V RMS.
Dimensions:…

Analog sources: Garrard 301 turntable in a Box Furniture Co. plinth; Thomas Schick 12" tonearm; Hana Umami Red, Ortofon SPU Classic G, and Zu/Denon DL-103 cartridges.
Digital sources: Sonnet Morpheus DAC; Sonore opticalRendu; Roon Nucleus+; Small Green Computer sonicTransporter i5 server running Roon Core.
Preamplification: Shindo Aurieges preamplifier; Parasound Halo JC 3+ phono preamplifier.
Power amplifiers: Shindo Montille; Line Magnetic LM-845IA; SET amplifier with triode-wired 307A output tubes, built by Oliver Sayes.
Loudspeakers:…

I used my Audio Precision SYS2722 to examine the Jadis JS1 MkV's performance. To minimize the possibility of the analog circuitry picking up noise from the power supply, I placed the supply on the floor, as far away from the processor chassis as the two umbilical cables would allow. The heatsinks on the back of the supply became very hot during testing, their temperature stabilizing at 135.3°F (57.4°C).

The processor's AES3 and optical and coaxial S/PDIF inputs locked to data sampled up to 192kHz. Apple's AudioMIDI utility revealed that the USB inputs…

On my way there, I was remembering some of my…

Speaking of Western Electric: I recently heard that High Lonesome disc on a 10'-tall, five-way horn-speaker system with a $350k record player. That…

What, if anything, might those extra 260Wpc—and those extra pounds of transformer and heat-dissipating metal—mean sonically in my moderately sized listening room? I was…