The transport part of the player is even easier to nail, this thinking goes, because all it needs to do is extract the data accurately, something any box-store CD…
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There's a school of thought that maintains that among all hi-fi components, the D/A converter is easiest to perfect or come close to perfecting. Just make sure that every sample is converted accurately, that there's little rolloff in the audioband, that aliased images are suppressed almost completely, and that background noise is extremely low, and you have a top-quality D/A processor. Use of a high-quality DAC chip is assumed.
CH Precision's approach to optimizing timing in digital audio has much in common with the MQA approach. CH Precision tries to achieve as much time compaction as possible without having access to information about the ADCs used in the original digital conversion—and, of course, without MQA's controversial "audio origami," which reduces file size. Of course, MQA wasn't the first to think about these things, either. Heeb told me that this line of thinking goes back at least to the late 1980s, to Luxman's Fluency DAC, a design based on the splines-related DSP work of Professor Kazuo Toraichi of…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: CD/SACD/MQA-CD player/transport supporting "Red Book" CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MQA CD, hybrid and single-layer. 800 × 480, 24-bit AMOLED display. User control via dual-concentric rotary knob with push function, CH Control Android app, and remote control. Digital outputs: CH Link HD (proprietary) supporting high-definition uncompressed audio and control; data rates: 16/44.1 or 24/88.2kHz (CD, MQA CD); 1 bit/2.8224MHz (SACD); AES3: 16/44.1 or 24/88.2kHz (CD, MQA CD); 24/44.1, 88.2, 176.4kHz or 1/2.8224MHz DoP (SACD); S/PDIF (RCA) 16/44.1 or 24/88.2kHz (CD,…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: Intel NUC computer with SSD drive running Roon Optimized Core Kit, Roon Nucleus+; Denafrips Avatar CD transport; Synology DS918+ 4-bay Network Attached Storage device with 16TB; TP-Link 8-Port Gigabit network switch (unmanaged); dCS Rossini DAC.
Preamplification: Pass Labs XP-25 phono preamplifier, Pass Labs XP-22 line preamplifier.
Power amplifiers: Pass Labs XA60.8 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Alexx V.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Carbon & Cinnamon & Coffee, Comprehensive Connectivity DXLRP-…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I tested the CH Precision D1.5 SACD/CD player/transport with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system. As the D1.5 doesn't have digital inputs, I assessed its performance, using its own power supply and internal clock, with a Sony test SACD and a CD-R with 16-bit test signals.
I used the Pierre Verany Digital Test CD, which has gaps of various lengths in the data spiral, to check the D1.5's error correction. The Compact Disc Standard requires only that a player cope with gaps of up to 0.2mm in length, but the D1.5 played the tracks with gaps up to 2mm without…
Manufacturer's Comment
We would like to thank Jim Austin and John Atkinson for conducting such an in-depth and exhaustive review of our D1.5 CD/SACD player/transport.
John Atkinson's measurements are completely correct in identifying the early rolloff on CD replay, and Jim is also correct in suggesting that this might well be atypical. The measured results suggest that the machine is using a minimum-phase apodizing filter rather than the proprietary PEtER spline filter that should be engaged.
It seems that the software in the (preproduction) D1.5 supplied for review has…
Bill Callahan And Bonnie Prince Billy: Blind Date Party
Drag City Records (16/44.1kHz FLAC, Qobuz; also available on LP, CD, and cassette tape). 2021. Bill Callahan and Bonnie Prince Billy, prods.
Performance ****
Sonics ***
Drag City Records (16/44.1kHz FLAC, Qobuz; also available on LP, CD, and cassette tape). 2021. Bill Callahan and Bonnie Prince Billy, prods.
Performance ****
Sonics ***
Bill Callahan and Bonnie Prince Billy—the latter is a stage name for Will Oldham—did not set out to make an album together. They were just trying fill the long pandemic months with music. In 2020, they started singing other people's songs together, broadcasting them to fans via Zoom. They recorded the tracks, choosing a different guest musician to…
Gold Note's $11,999 PH-1000 is by a considerable margin the most sophisticated, most configurable phono preamplifier that any audio manufacturer has ever produced, at least that I know of. Remarkably, considering all that flexibility and sophistication, using and adjusting the PH-1000 is straightforward.
Despite all that the PH-1000 can do, and all that you can do with it, you'll never get lost in nested-menu dysfunctionality, thanks to what Gold Note calls "SKC" (Single Knob Control)—but before getting into control, let's explore the PH-1000's features and configurability.
The…
Gold Note offers two extra-cost options, neither of which was supplied for this review: the PSU-1250/1000 external power supply and the TUBE-1012/1006 external tubed output stage, both of which connect to rear panel jacks.
Big screen, complete control
As previously mentioned, a single rotary/pushbutton knob facilitates feature selection and control, aided by a generously sized, well-organized TFT LCD color screen. You can make changes without interrupting playback, although there is a momentary pause as the relays kick in.
The first button push puts a rectangle around the…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Single box, balanced phono preamplifier with dual-mono linear power supply and optional line inputs (one RCA, one XLR). Other available options include two tubed output stages and two power supplies. Multifunction remote control included. Inputs: two stereo pair RCA, one stereo pair XLR. Outputs: one stereo pair RCA, one stereo pair XLR. Gain (user-selectable): 40dB MM, 65dB MC ±3dB, ±6dB, ±9dB. Resistive loading, RCA (12 options): 100k, 75k, 47k, 33k, 22k, 1k, 470, 220, 100, 47, 22, or 10 ohms + external load; XLR (8 options): 47k, 1k, 470, 220,…