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.…
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
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…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Before beginning any measurements, I powered up the WiSA transmitter/hub, installed the SA Cockpit app on my iPad mini, connected the app to the hub via my Wi-Fi network, paired the hub with one of the speakers, and connected my MacBook Pro's USB port to the hub. Apple's AudioMIDI utility revealed that the USB port accepts 16- and 24-bit integer data sampled at all rates from 44.1kHz to 192kHz. The USB Prober app identified the WiSA hub as "Stereo Hub HT" from "Hansong (Nanjing)" and indicated that the USB port operated in the isochronous adaptive mode…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Floorstanding, active, wireless four-way loudspeaker. Frequency response: 20Hz–25kHz ±1.5dB. Drive units: two 5.5" 15/6 Legend glass-fiber diaphragm woofers, one 5.5" Legend 15/4 glass-fiber diaphragm midrange unit, and one 25mm Legend DXT soft-dome tweeter. Crossover frequencies: 200Hz, 2.8kHz. Analog input: balanced (XLR). Wireless input: WiSA HT. Power: 300W, four channels. Standby power consumption: 2W.
Dimensions: 7.5" (190mm) W × 36.6" (930mm) H × 10.4" (265mm) D; 12.2" (310mm) W × 37.6" (955mm) H × 11" (280mm) D with grille, base, and feet…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Streaming D/A processor. Inputs: Ethernet, asynchronous USB-B, two S/PDIF on RCA, two optical S/PDIF on TosLink, AES3 on XLR, HDMI-eARC, McIntosh MCT HD. Outputs: One pair each line-level XLR balanced, RCA unbalanced. DAC chip: ESS ES9028PRO. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, ±0.5dB; 5Hz–60kHz, +0.5/–3dB. THD: 0.005%. S/N ratio (A-weighted): 100dB. Dynamic range: 100dB. Output impedance: 100 ohms, balanced and single-ended. Fixed output level 2.0V RMS single-ended, 4.0V RMS balanced. Adjustable output level 0–8V RMS single-ended and 0–16V RMS balanced…