The S2 driver is built from the ground up by Grado. It features a carbon fiber and paper composite diaphragm mated to a lightweight copper-plated aluminum voice coil. Grado engineered the driver to deliver a natural presentation, with high definition and a wide dynamic range. The new drivers are housed in hand built all-aluminum open-back…
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Grado has announced the Signature S750 headphones, the third model in its Signature Line. At the heart of the S750 is an all-new S2 50mm driver paired with a newly developed "B" cushion, a combination designed to fine-tune the listening experience.
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Streaming integrated amplifier with FM tuner. Output power: 250Wpc into 4 ohms, 125Wpc into 8 ohms (both equivalent to 21dBW). Frequency range: 1Hz–60kHz. Preamp S/N ratio: 105dB, unweighted; 109dB, A-weighted. Digital inputs: 1 standard S/PDIF (coax); 1 TosLink; 1 USB DAC; 1 HDMI ARC. Analog inputs: two pair single-ended on RCAs. Analog outputs: one pre-out; two subwoofer out (RCA). DAC with two 32-bit sigma-delta D/A converters per channel. PCM sampling rate up to 768kHz. DSD: single-bit D/A converter, up to DSD512. Signal processor with four…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: Aurender A20 streamer and DAC. Grimm MU1. HiFi Rose RS520. Evernote DMP-A10. Sony S900ES SACD player. 16" MacBook Pro M1 Max running Roon 2.0. Roon ROCK (Lenovo ThinkCentre).
Preamplifiers: Benchmark HPA4 linestage. Quad 33 (2024).
Power amplifiers: Audia Flight FLS10, T+A R 2500 R integrateds. McIntosh MHA100 (headphone). Quad 303 monoblocks (2024).
Loudspeakers: Focal Utopia Scala Evo. Estelon X Diamond Mk II.
Headphones: Audeze LCD-4, HiFiMan Susvara Unveiled.
Cables: Loudspeaker: AudioQuest Thunderbird Zero.…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, reflex-loaded standmount loudspeaker. Drive units: 7.1" (180mm) MSP (Magnesium Silicate Polymer) NeoTec woofer with neodymium magnet system, 1.1" (28mm) Esotar 3 cloth-dome tweeter with Hexis inner-dome structure. Crossover frequency: 3.6kHz. Crossover topology: second-order. Frequency response: 50Hz–23kHz ±3dB, 43Hz–33kHz ±6dB. Impedance: 4 ohms. Minimum impedance: 4.6 ohms. Sensitivity: 86dB/2.83V/1m. IEC power handling: 180W.
Dimensions: 17.3" (440mm) H × 8.46" (215mm) W × 15.75" (400mm) D. Height on stands: 40.5" (1029mm). Weight: 32…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: Roon Nucleus+ file server; Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP universal player; MBL N31 CD player/DAC; Ayre Acoustics QA-9 A/D converter; NetGear Nighthawk router.
Power amplifiers: Parasound JCA100 Tribute monoblocks.
Integrated amplifiers: NAD M10, NAD M10 V3.
Loudspeakers: Dynaudio Contour 20, GoldenEar BRX, Magico S5 2024.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Vodka (Ethernet), AudioQuest Coffee (USB), DH Labs (1m, AES3). Interconnect: Ayre/Cardas (balanced). Speaker: AudioQuest Robin Hood. AC: AudioQuest Dragon Source & High Current;…
Crystal Cable has introduced Infinite Dream, a three‑model cable series consisting of power, interconnect, and speaker cables handmade in the Netherlands. Infinite Dream becomes Crystal Cable's flagship line, following the sold‑out, limited-edition Infinity power cable.
The Infinite Dream cables utilizes the company’s "Infinite Crystal Silver & Silver‑Gold" alloys and its own connector designs, which are said to "ensure perfect contact, durability, and signal integrity." In the product brochure, Crystal Cable notes "positive aging," in which "materials and connectors are engineered…
If you go to Tokyo, there's a good chance you'll develop a new appreciation for shopping malls. The Japanese know malls. They know just what to do with them. Inside a Tokyo mall, you can peruse the usual handbags and shoes in their unending variety. But you can also stare at Fuji apples as large as a baby's head swaddled in tissue paper, flip through the world's most exquisite stationery, stock up on fabric from the 1920s, and taste things that will haunt you well into retirement.
I remember having my first serious sushi in Tokyo on the top floor of a Ginza mall. My partner and I were led…
German aesthetes are fond of saying "Das Auge isst mit": "The eye feasts too." In audio terms, your ears do the listening, but your eyes want their share of pleasure.
I thought of that expression after I opened the T+A Symphonia's double factory box. This German-built all-in-one has an attractive, subtly beveled, anodized-aluminum chassis that's a few inches narrower and lower (14.9" W × 3.9" H) than the typical stereo amplifier. At 13.7lb, it isn't heavy either, though it feels substantial, even dense, conveying a sense of quality. Looking at the Symphonia gave me a case of…
McIntosh, which is based in my home state of New York, has long been in my audio life. It was the "house sound" where I grew up. My parents' stereo system was powered by a pair of MC75 tubed amplifiers (fed by a Marantz 7B preamp, driving Bozak Concert Grand speakers). In my father's recording studio (footnote 1), McIntosh amplifiers powered the monitors (most likely MC60s), and stereo records were cut using modified MI-200 power amps (footnote 2). Today, my office system is built around an early 2000s MA6500 solid state integrated amp.
In this decade, Stereophile has reviewed a few…