Real Music
Now, since I'm writing this at Christmastime, and because, deep down, I really am the kind of guy who sees a half-full glass wherever he goes (and then, of course, empties it), let me bring to your attention five albums of real, bona fide, artistically legitimate, fun-to-listen-to, honest-to-God great music that also happen to sound at least as good as any of the above. Please note that these records contain normal, accessible music—I'm not here to convince you that I'm too cool to listen to anything other than snuff rock, Peruvian mummy chants, or John Cage—as written and…
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Letters in response appeared in May 2003 (Vol.26 No.5):
Life is too short
Editor: Art Dudley's March "Listening" column is one of the finest ever to have appeared in Stereophile.
Most of my musician friends (I'm pleased to say I have quite a few) enjoy listening to recorded music, but do so over modest equipment, and without inordinate concern for the quality of the recording. They get to hear plenty of live music, and generally, their view is that reproductions of live music always involve compromises, and that they're happy to hear great records, even if they aren't…
All the action in digital playback for the past seven years has taken place in separate transports and digital processors. Nearly all high-end manufacturers have focused their skills on perfecting the individual elements of the digital playback chain—transports and processors—rather than on designing integrated CD players.
As digital processors and transports have improved, however, it has become increasingly apparent that the jitter-inducing S/PDIF or AES/EBU interface connecting them, where the word clock is embedded within the data—is becoming the limiting factor. Some…
Sound
Right from the start I felt that the SFCD-1 sounded musical and enjoyable, a feeling that continued to grow during the review period. The more I listened to the SFCD-1, the more I appreciated its subtle musical qualities. The presentation had an involving quality that made the SFCD-1's sonic characteristics take a back seat to its ability to convey the music.
Right from the start I felt that the SFCD-1 sounded musical and enjoyable, a feeling that continued to grow during the review period. The more I listened to the SFCD-1, the more I appreciated its subtle musical qualities. The presentation had an involving quality that made the SFCD-1's sonic characteristics take a back seat to its ability to convey the music.
The SFCD-1's overall perspective was very different from that of Sonic Frontiers' SFD-2 and SFD-2 Mk.II processors, and the SFT-1 transport. All these units have some degree of forwardness to the sound that tends to…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: CD player with HDCD decoding and tube output stage. Tube complement: 6922 (x2). Outputs: Two 6922 single-ended on RCA jacks, balanced on XLR jacks. D/A conversion: UltraAnalog D20400A. Transport mechanism: Philips CDM 12.4. Frequency response: 0.5Hz–20kHz ±0.3dB. S/N ratio: >107dB (A-weighted). Channel Separation: >100dB, 20Hz–20kHz. THD: <0.05%, 20Hz–20kHz. Intrinsic jitter: <8ps, DC–40kHz with any music signal.
Dimensions: 19" W by 4" H by 12" D. Weight: 27 lbs unpacked.
Serial number of review sample: 7074.
Price: $3495 (1996…
Sidebar 2: Review System
I evaluated the SFCD-1 on its own and in matched-level comparisons with some transport/processor combinations I hold in high regard. The digital front-ends drove a Sonic Frontiers SFL-2 line-stage preamplifier, which fed a pair of Audio Research VT150 tubed monoblock power amplifiers. Interconnects were AudioQuest Lapis, Diamond, and Diamond x3, and WireWorld Gold Eclipse (balanced and unbalanced). The loudspeakers were Genesis Technologies II.5s, connected with short runs of AudioQuest Dragon II loudspeaker cable. Power to the system was conditioned by an MIT Z…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The SFCD-1's output voltage was a rather low 1.9V from the single-ended outputs and 3.8V from the balanced jacks. The left- and right-channel output voltages were matched to 0.02dB, which is essentially perfect.
Unlike the SFD-2 and SFD-2 Mk.II, the Sonic Frontiers CD player had a moderate output impedance of 165 ohms (unbalanced) and 390 ohms (balanced) at any audio frequency. The original SFD-2's output impedance was 735 ohms over most of the band, but rose to a ridiculously high 8k ohms at 20Hz. This high output impedance in the bass was due to the…
Comparisons with the Accuphase DP-55, September 1996 (Vol.19 No.9):
Having just reviewed the similarly-priced Sonic Frontiers SFCD-1 CD player (June '96, Vol.19 No.6), I was interested to hear what the Accuphase DP-55 had to offer. The $5995 DP-65 had been favorably reviewed by TJN, and the $21,000+ DP-90/DC-91 pair had so impressed Dick Olsher that he bought the review samples (see June 1995, Vol.18 No.6).
The following impressions were gained with the DP-55 in its optimum setup: no attenuation, and playing through the balanced outputs.
It was evident from the start that…
"Hey! Make sure you mention my name in your article! I don't want you taking all the credit."
No problem! Some of the best and least expensive setup tweaks come from Stereophile's readers. Lonnie Ragin (LRagin134@aol.com) came up with two beauties that deserve their day in the sun:
"I posted this online at Audio Review after a listener posted a message regarding cinder blocks used as speaker bases. Instead of using black spray paint, try wrapping them in heavy black trash bags. I tried them with spray paint and the rough surface of the cinder blocks still snagged my carpet. And…
A relevant letter appeared in March 2000:
EAR & Water Lily
Editor: I have just read Jonathan Scull's review of the Sony SCD-1 Super Audio CD player in November 1999. Jonathan mentioned Jon Hassell's Fascinoma recording (Water Lily CS-70-CD) I must correct one statement, where Jonathan mentioned the noise and hiss that he heard on this recording. This noise is not due to the 1" Analog Master tape machine that I built for Kavi Alexander, which is some 8-10dB lower than the noise of the microphone and microphone preamplifier. This is very nearly comparable with digital systems…