It doesn't matter whether the artist worked in Paris or Polynesia, in the 15th or 20th century. The force of the creator's persona, united with the constraints of the cultural system that supported the making of that type of art, determines the vibe the object emits. That vibe is what I'm hoping to grasp.
Whether I'm examining a Zulu beer pot or a John Cage drawing (both of which I've lived with), my first step…
Listening
Whenever I play records through my sound system, I need to feel the personas of the artists coming through. I want some authentic John Fogerty attitude. I want as much edgy John Lennon as I can get. I want to feel Tina Turner's moves. I want Aaron Neville's sacred voice to haunt me 'til we meet by the river.
As I sat listening with the Stax SR-007S, it took only a few seconds for Aaron Neville singing John Hiatt's sexy dreamy "Feels Like Rain" (16/44.1 FLAC A&M/Qobuz) to lope its way into my heart and choke me up.
Down here the river meets the sea…
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone with an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the Dynaudio Contour 20 Black Edition's farfield frequency behavior and dispersion. I used an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield and in-room responses and Dayton Audio's DATS V2 system to measure the impedance magnitude and electrical phase angle.
Dynaudio specifies the Contour 20 BE's sensitivity as 86dB/2.…
For digital-input testing, I used optical S/PDIF data, USB data sourced from my MacBook Pro, and network data played with Roon. Apple's AudioMIDI utility revealed that the USB port accepted 32-bit integer data sampled at all rates from 44.1kHz to 768kHz. The USB Prober app identified the Symphonia as "Symphonia" from "T+A elektroakustik" with the serial number "343636303133510D00320039," and indicated that the USB port operated in the optimal isochronous asynchronous mode. The optical and coaxial inputs only accepted data sampled at rates up to 96kHz—there was…
Lucskai, a Hungarian who emigrated to Spain 15 years ago, calls himself a Personal Audiophile Journey Advisor. With Costa Soniqa, he aims to serve Germans, Brits, Poles, and other Europeans who wish to buy a house in Spain that can readily be outfitted with a high-end listening room. For the demanding and the highly committed, he even finds entire homes that can qualify as "…
Maybe not, but this I know: When it comes to madcap marketing lingo, Revox is up there with its claim that the new B77 Mk III reel-to-reel is "built for eternity." I coughed politely behind my hand. Will a B77 give many years of top-notch service? I expect so. Will it outlive your grandchildren? Perhaps. The next ice age? No. For the record, the warranty is just two years.
Does the German-built machine look and sound…
I performed a full set of measurements on the T+A Symphonia using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system. I controlled the amplifier both with the front-panel controls and with the T+A Music Navigator G3 app, which I installed on my iPad mini after connecting the amplifier's Ethernet port to my network. With the network connection active, Roon recognized the processor as the Roon Ready "T+A Symphonia."
As the Symphonia appears to use a class-D output stage and because class-D amplifiers emit relatively high levels of ultrasonic noise that would drive my…
Not many hi-fi dealerships can say they've survived half a century of history. Natural Sound, which is based in Framingham, Massachusetts, about 20 miles west of Boston, is one that can. Founded by Jim Lackey in 1975, Natural Sound turns 50 years old this November. Lackey continues as the company's owner and president, though General Manager Pete Chinigo manages everyday business. In a recent conversation with Chinigo, I learned more about how business is going and what it takes for a hi-fi store—Natural Sound and others—to continue surviving into an uncertain future…