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Fyne Audio F500SP loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system, an Earthworks microphone preamplifier, and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Fyne Audio F500SP's farfield behavior, and an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for its nearfield responses. I left off the grille for the measurements. I used Dayton Audio's DATS V2 system to measure the impedance magnitude and electrical phase angle.

Fyne Audio specifies the F500SP's sensitivity as a high 90dB/2.83/m. My estimate was 87dB(B)/2.83V/m. The F500SP's impedance is specified as 8 ohms; I found that the impedance magnitude (fig.1,…

Revinylization #26: Two Charles Mingus LPs

In the annals of jazz, Charles Mingus—bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, unique, headstrong, and deeply influential in every category—occupies the transit point between Duke Ellington and the post-'60s avant-garde, a station he carved out deliberately. He venerated Ellington—his sophisticated rhythms and tonal colors, but also his attention to melody, harmony, and structure—and went beyond him (careened down a different path) in expressing emotion, chaos, and anger; it's these elements that the avant-gardists took from him, while abandoning (to a degree that intrigued but also…

ReDiscoveries #2: Joe Henderson, Blue Note and Beyond

Called "the phantom" by fellow musicians and dubbed the "bearded, goateed astronaut of the tenor sax" by a close friend, trumpeter Kenny Dorham, the enigmatic Joe Henderson recorded five albums for the Blue Note label that are uniformly regarded as jazz classics. Mosaic Records has gathered those records—Page One, Our Thing, In 'n Out, Inner Urge, Mode for Joe—plus Henderson's sideman dates and alternate takes for Blue Note for a limited-edition, five-CD box set, The Complete Joe Henderson Blue Note Studio Sessions (Mosaic Records MD5-271).

Henderson's music on Blue Note is cerebral but…

Questyle Audio M12 portable USB D/A headphone amplifier

There are words that, for reasons I can't fathom, I cannot stand. One such is "dongle." So when Bluebird Music's PR rep emailed me to ask if I would be interested in reviewing a new dongle from Chinese company Questyle Audio, I shuddered. But I must admit that "dongle" rolls off the tongue a lot more readily than "portable USB D/A headphone amplifier." I put aside my grammatical quibble and agreed to a review.

The M12
Priced at $139.99, the tiny, 2"-long M12 Mobile Hi-Fi Headphone Amplifier with DAC features a case machined from aluminum. On one end is a USB-C port. On the other is a…

Questyle Audio M12 portable USB D/A headphone amplifier Page 2

The Questyle did equally well with hi-rez PCM files. I am slowly ripping my LPs to 24/192 files using the Ayre QA-9 A/D converter. A favorite Beach Boys album is Holland (Brother/Reprise K54008), and the M12 reproduced the dropped-octave synth bass notes on "The Trader" with an excellent combination of low-frequency clarity and weight. The cloud of voices behind Carl Wilson's lead vocal was positioned well back in the soundstage. I was startled anew by the girl saying "Hi" into my left ear before the song starts.

Comparisons
At $139.99, the Questyle M12's price falls…

Questyle Audio M12 portable USB D/A headphone amplifier Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Portable, USB-powered, MQA-capable digital-to-analog processor/ headphone amplifier with ESS ES9281AC DAC chip. Supported operating systems: Apple MacOS, Apple iOS, Microsoft Windows, Android 5.0 and above. Sample rates supported: 44.1–384kHz (PCM), DSD64, DSD128, DSD256. Digital input: USB Type-C. Analog output: 3.5mm stereo headphone jack. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz ±0.1dB. THD+N: 0.0003%. Maximum output voltage: 2V RMS into 100k ohms; gain is adjusted automatically for load impedances <70 ohms, >70 ohms, and >600 ohms. Output power:…

Questyle Audio M12 portable USB D/A headphone amplifier Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Sources: Roon Nucleus+ server, Mac mini running Roon 1.8, MacBook Pro running Pure Music and Adobe Audition, iPad mini 2, iPhone 11, AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt.
Headphones: Audeze LCD-X, AudioQuest NightHawk, Sennheiser HD 650.
Cables: Headphones: manufacturer's own with AudioQuests and Sennheisers; Nordost Heimdall with Audezes. AC: manufacturers' own.
Accessories: AudioQuest JitterBug FMJ, AudioQuest Niagara 1000 Low-Z Power/Noise-Dissipation System.—John Atkinson

Questyle Audio M12 portable USB D/A headphone amplifier Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

I measured the Questyle M12 with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 As We See It). I performed a full set of tests with WAV and AIFF test-tone files played with Pure Music 3.0 and Adobe Audition on my MacBook Pro running on battery power, and on my iPad mini using the Lightning-to-USB-A–to–USB-C cable combination.

Apple's USB Prober utility identified the M12 as "M12" from "Questyle" with the serial number "0." The USB port operated in the optimal isochronous asynchronous mode, and Apple's AudioMIDI utility revealed that the M12…

Analog Corner #272: Kuzma CAR, Miyajima Madake Snakewood, TechDAS TDC01 Ti phono cartridges

At Stereophile, we don't generally allow Mulligans—review do-overs. Usually, we take a second look at a product we've reviewed only when the first sample turns out to have been defective, especially if it was damaged in shipping—and we rarely do even that.

In my March 2018 column I reviewed two new cartridges from Kuzma Ltd. (footnote 1): the CAR-50 ($5895) and the CAR-60 ($12,995). Presumably, CAR is an abbreviation of cartridge, but for $12,995 you could buy a car you could climb into and drive home—so the CAR-60 had better be a damn great cartridge. The CAR-60's qualities of parts…

Analog Corner #272: Kuzma CAR, Miyajima Madake Snakewood, TechDAS TDC01 Ti phono cartridges Page 2

In the Who's "Bargain," Keith Moon stomps all over his bass drum, hitting insistent eighth-notes that the Proteus D and some other cartridges fully deliver, producing a head-snapping effect the CAR-60 misses. Once my needle drops are posted, you'll be able to judge for yourself.

Miyajima Laboratory Madake Snakewood phono cartridge
In the December 2014 installment of this column, I reviewed Miyajima Laboratory's unusual Madake cartridge ($5895, footnote 3); later, I bought it. The Madake's cantilever is made of a particular strain of bamboo (madake in Japanese) said to grow only on…