And yet. Sometimes the all-in-one…
search
There's something inherently suspicious about most all-in-one solutions. They promise convenience but whisper compromise. It's a bit like those Swiss Army knives with 14 attachments: The corkscrew is barely adequate, and the other tools are terrible at everything. And it isn't just quality. The audiophile brain, trained over decades of mix-and-match rituals, recoils instinctively. Where's the fun in a speaker that arrives with amplification baked in? Where's the journey of pairing, the thrill of synergy discovered at 2am after your sixth cable swap?
I own a lot of records. Way too many if we're being honest. It's hard for me to come up with an accurate count, and I'm not even remotely organized enough to have a formal inventory, but if I had to make a guesstimate based on linear feet I figure I must have around 10,000. About 10 years ago, I started to recognize that I owned far more records than I could ever hope to listen to, even once, in my remaining time on the planet, and since that realization my record purchasing rate has slowed to a trickle.
These days, my worst weakness kicks in when I'm visiting my friend of over 45 years,…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
As Jim Austin primarily auditioned the CH Precision L1 using its direct-coupled balanced inputs and outputs with the gain adjust set to "0dB," the input impedance set to High, and with the preamplifier powered by the auxiliary X1 supply, I performed a complete set of measurements in that condition. (The manual says not to stack the L1 and X1; the supplied umbilical cable was long enough for me to place the X1 on the floor, well away from the L1.) I then repeated some of the tests using the unbalanced inputs and outputs, then performed the balanced input's…
Sidebar 1: Pascal's Wager: Betting on Class-D Pro Audio
Twenty years ago, the Danish amplifier specialists at Pascal Audio hand-built their first prototypes in a small lakeside cabin near Copenhagen. From the start, the firm specialized in electronics for self-powered loudspeakers and amplifier systems. It now partners with audio brands in more than 70 countries.
If you're not familiar with Pascal amplification, you're not alone; it's probably the least well-known of the class-D amplification companies. It positioned itself as a behind-the-scenes supplier to PA loudspeaker…
You’re going to need to indulge me a bit, because, due to some communication difficulties, I’m not totally confident of some prices and components in this room. If I understood correctly, the handmade-in-Japan, 1-bit Sparkler Audio S503 CD Player/Transport costs $1650, and the build-it-yourself EleKit TU-8600R integrated amplifier, also from Japan, goes for $1785. The loudspeaker system appears to be custom, from AER, including that company's BD2 driver (3000 each, according to the AER website) in an acrylic stand that looks like AER's Custom (€5500/pair) but with the addition of the larger…
Sidebar 2: Specifications
Description: Ported, active standmount loudspeaker with attached stands. Driver complement: 1.1" (28mm) Esotar3 tweeter, 7" (18cm) NeoTec magnesium silicate polymer woofer. Crossover: two-way, DSP-based. Crossover frequency: 2.5kHz. Analog inputs: balanced XLRs. Digital inputs: AES3. Digital outputs: AES3. Amplifier power: 400W + 150W. Power consumption: 0.5W at idle; 453W while active. Frequency response: 33Hz–25kHz, ±3dB at 85dB SPL.
Dimensions: 44.1" (1119mm) H × 914.5" (368mm) W × 18" (457mm) D including stands. Weight: 62.8lb (28.5kg).
Finishes: "…
Sidebar 3: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: 15" MacBook Air M4 running Roon 2.0; Lenovo ThinkCentre running Roon ROCK; Grimm Audio MU1; Eversolo DMP-A10.
Preamplification: Quad 33 2024.
Amplification: Quad 303 2024, bridged.
Loudspeakers: Focal Utopia Scala EVO; Monitor Audio Gold 100 6G.
Cables: Analog interconnect: AudioQuest Black Beauty XLR. Digital: AudioQuest Wild AES3. Speaker: AudioQuest Thunderbird Zero speaker cables for the Monitor Gold/Quad combo. Power: AudioQuest Blizzard C13.
Accessories: AudioQuest PowerQuest PQ-707 power conditioner and Niagara…
On the front page of its owner's manual, Greek amplifier manufacturer Lab12 describes the Melto2 ($4995, footnote 1) as a "Remote Controlled, Fully Adjustable Phono Preamplifier." I'd describe it as a clear-speaking, fun-to-use, cartridge- and record-collector's dream. Plus: It's got tubes.
Apart from delivering an uncanny level of silence and transparency, the #1 special thing Lab12's tube phono stage can do is allow users to fine-tune resistance, capacitance, and gain to create maximally effective loads for both moving coil and moving magnet cartridges. These diverse capabilities…
The Ortofon 2M line is familiar to my ears. I own a 2M Blue that once belonged to Art Dudley (RIP). My reference cartridge in studio is a 2M Bronze. (Its microline stylus is reputed to be so close to a cutting stylus that it's safe to play a lacquer with it—only once—before sending it out for plating.) The 2M Red has the same moving magnet engine as the 2M Blue, with a bonded elliptical stylus instead of a nude elliptical. The 2M Red has high output, at 5.5mV. The output level of the Audio-Technica AT-VM95C included on the SL-40CBT is 4mV (see later). So the first thing I listened for…
Whenever I hear a Tzar, my brain recites the words I spoke to Frank Schröder: "That's the best damn cartridge I've ever heard." But then everyone knows I speak in metaphors and flash hyperbole like a smile. What my brain meant by saying those words is that the Tzar's sound is so radically different than any other cartridge that I have nothing to compare it to. Audio-Technica's AT-ART1000 "Direct Power Stereo Cartridge" comes to mind as a possibility. It uses the same coils-near-the-stylus strategy, but it features a nude line-contact stylus and a boron cantilever. The Tzar uses a carbon-…