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All the usual mixing and matching review procedures were useless; it was out of the question to make direct comparisons. I was fought every inch of the way, precisely because these Audio Research components are of true balanced design; ie, fully balanced differential circuitry is present at their every stage, including cross-coupling between hot and cold signal paths. It didn't take me long to realize that you can't mess with true balanced components; fully balanced connections, in and out, is all that will be tolerated if satisfactory hum and hiss performance is to be obtained. With the ARC…
Seeking guidance, I was advised that, in addition to the centralized, focused grounding so carefully designed for this system's signal paths, the AC connections must also be similarly centralized. Although I was using a pair of high-quality, dedicated AC lines, the multiplicity of system power cables necessitated the use of multi-way socket strips. Accordingly, I detached all the AC plugs and compression-bonded all the 10A-rated IEC power cords to a 30A terminal block, this in turn plugged-in to one high-current spur on the AC mains supply.
The sonic transformation was little short of…
If I wrote a column for a car magazine and I learned that the magazine's readers were using their cars to run over kittens, I would be deeply troubled. I would beg them to stop. Failing that, I would find another line of work.
I'm faced with a similar dilemma: Some audio enthusiasts are listening to the worst junk imaginable on their expensive hi-fis—listening to it and apparently liking it, or at least not finding it sufficiently objectionable to stop.
Is an audiophile's choice of listening material really just a matter of taste? Up to a point, yes. I don't share some listeners…
Records To Die From
Burt Bacharach: Casino Royale(soundtrack), with Herb Alpert & his Tijuana Brass, Colgems COSO 5005
There are many sad things in audio, but the saddest of all is the image of grown men paying hundreds of dollars for an out-of-print album of bad game-show music: Can't you just imagine almost any of these tracks behind a television announcer as he oils his way through a list of consolation prizes? ("Well, Chuck, from Samsonite we have a beautiful five-piece set...")
Burt Bacharach: Casino Royale(soundtrack), with Herb Alpert & his Tijuana Brass, Colgems COSO 5005
There are many sad things in audio, but the saddest of all is the image of grown men paying hundreds of dollars for an out-of-print album of bad game-show music: Can't you just imagine almost any of these tracks behind a television announcer as he oils his way through a list of consolation prizes? ("Well, Chuck, from Samsonite we have a beautiful five-piece set...")
The album's single exception, the late Dusty Springfield singing Bacharach and David's "The…
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…
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…
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…