Comparisons
Given the pace of development in digital technology referred to earlier, making value judgments of the quality of a digital processor in isolation is impossible (provided it doesn't drive you out of the room). I therefore set up comparisons with some of the components that have passed through my listening room in recent months. In each case but one, the transport used was the Mark Levinson No.31.5, connected with identical AudioQuest CinemaQuest SVD-4 S/PDIF datalinks (footnote 1), and levels were matched at 1kHz to within 0.1dB using the Levinson No.380S preamplifier's…
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It is important not to blow this difference out of proportion—without a reference for comparison, it's not something anyone would notice. But had I used the DAC64 for my monitoring when I mixed Rendezvous, I'd have gone for a slightly more "wet" sound for this passage. But if I were spending my own money, it would be this aspect of its performance that would make me go for the Nu-Vista.
The next comparison was with the Musical Fidelity A324 ($1200), which Sam Tellig reviewed in our April 2002 issue and I report on in a Follow-Up in this issue. Again, the differences were less subtle than…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: D/A processor with three digital inputs (XLR, AES/EBU; TosLink optical and BNC electrical, S/PDIF), RAM input buffer, and balanced and unbalanced analog outputs. Sample frequencies accepted: 32-192kHz. THD: <-98dB (1kHz, 24-bit data). S/N ratio: >110dB. Channel separation: >110dB at 1kHz, >100dB at 22.1kHz. Dynamic range: 120dB. Maximum output level: 6V RMS balanced, 3V RMS unbalanced. Output impedance: 75 ohms (short-circuit protected).
Dimensions: 13.3" (338mm) W by 2.4" (60mm) H by 5.7" (145mm) D. Weight: 15.4 lbs (7kg).
Serial…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: Mark Levinson No.31.5 CD transport; Mark Levinson No.30.6, Musical Fidelity A324, Perpetual Technologies P-3A D/A processors; Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 3D, Wadia 861 CD players (the former also used as a transport); Apple Macintosh 8100/80, fitted with two Sonic Solutions SSP3 digital audio workstation NuBus cards; Dell 866MHz Pentium III computer fitted with Digital Audio Labs CardDeluxe and RME Digi96/8 Pro soundcards, running Windows Me, WinAmp 2.5, SoundForge 5.0, Acid 2.0, and CoolEdit 2000; dCS 972 D/D processor.
Preamplifiers:…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Unless indicated otherwise, the test results refer to the second sample. The maximum output levels were a high 3.097V RMS from the unbalanced jacks (this 3.75dB higher than the CD standard's 2V) and 6.197V from the balanced. The unit inverted absolute polarity from the XLRs with pin 2 wired hot; it was non-inverting from the RCAs. Source impedance was a very low 67 ohms (unbalanced) and 135 ohms (balanced) across most of the audioband, these figures rising at 20kHz to a still low 99 ohms and 207 ohms, respectively.
The frequency response with CD data was…
Linearity error (fig.7) was very low down to below -115dB, and as a result of this and the low noise, the DAC64's reproduction of an undithered 1kHz sinewave at -90.31dBFS was effectively perfect (fig.8), with the three discrete voltage levels readily apparent. Increasing the word length to 24 bits resulted in quite a good sinewave shape (not shown).
Fig.7 Chord DAC64, departure from linearity, 16-bit data (right channel dashed, 2dB/vertical div.).
Fig.8 Chord DAC64, waveform of undithered 1kHz sinewave at -90.31dBFS, 16-bit CD data.
The first sample of…
Dynaudio's $2399/pair Contour 1.3 Mk.II follows on from the Mk.I, which grabbed Russ Novak's enthusiastic attention in November 1996 (Vol.19 No.11). Because a full description was included in the original review, I will only touch briefly on the differences between the original version and the sample reviewed this month. A Special Edition of the Contour 1.3 is also available for $3499/pair. Sam Tellig's comments on the sound of this loudspeaker appeared in the December 1999 Stereophile and are included at the end of this review.
The smart-looking Mk.II 1.3 looks identical to the original…
That transparency was allied to the ability to throw a huge, stable soundstage. On this issue's "Recording of the Month"—the Manhattan School of Music's live reading of Mahler's Symphony 6 (Titanic Ti-257), conducted by Glen Cortese and superbly engineered by Jerry Bruck—every tiny detail in the scoring was apparent, yet without that detail being thrust forward at the listener.
And what dynamic range Jerry B. has captured. Set the playback level using the frenetic opening measures, and the work's climactic hammerblows blow you out of your seat—even on these Dynaudios! For a relatively…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
DescriptionTwo-way, stand-mounted, reflex-loaded loudspeaker. Drive-units: magnetically shielded, 1.1" (28mm), soft-dome tweeter, magnetically shielded, 6.7" (170mm), magnesium silicate polymer-cone woofer. Crossover frequency: 2.6kHz. Crossover slopes: first-order, 6dB/octave. Frequency response: 40Hz-24kHz, ±3dB. Sensitivity: 86dB/2.83V/m. Impedance: 4 ohms nominal, 3.5 ohms minimum. Recommended power: 65W minimum in large rooms, 25W minimum in small rooms. Long-term power handling: >150W (IEC).
Dimensions: 15" (380mm) H by 8" (204mm) W by 11.5" (280mm)…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Office System
Digital source: Meridian 500 CD transport, Panasonic A-120 CD/DVD player, Musical Fidelity X-24K 24/96 D/A processor.
Amplification: Yamaha @PET RP-U100 desktop receiver.
Cables: Canare interconnects, AudioQuest CV-4 and Symo loudspeaker cables.
Accessories: Pentium MMX 166MHz with Digital Audio Labs CardDeluxe soundcard connected to D/A via 75 ohm S/PDIF link, running Windows 98, WinAmp 2.5, and CoolEdit 2000.
Home system
Digital source: Mark Levinson No.31.5 CD transport and No.30.6 D/A processor, connected with…