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Sony SCD-C555ES SACD changer Measurements

Sidebar 4: Measurements

I measured the Sony SCD-C555ES SACD player's performance using my usual CD test signals stored on a CD-R, and with DSD-encoded signals from Sony's "tentative" test SACD (TGZD 90005). All the tests were performed using the two-channel left/right outputs, with occasional spot checks from the multichannel jacks.

The maximum operating levels at 1kHz were 2.088V (CD) and 2.068V (SACD), and the output polarity was correct for CD data. (I don't have an SACD with a suitably asymmetrical waveform.) The source impedance was 110 ohms in the midrange and treble,…

Sony SCD-C555ES SACD changer Measurements part 2

Linearity error on CD playback was very low (fig.5), while the spot tones on the test SACD suggested that the linearity error for SACD playback was equally good down to -120dB, below which the exact level was obscured by noise. The 'C555's reproduction from CD of an undithered 1kHz tone at -90.31dBFS was essentially perfect (fig.6).

Fig.5 Sony SCD-C555ES, left-channel departure from linearity, 16-bit CD data (2dB/vertical div.).

Fig.6 Sony SCD-C555ES, waveform of undithered 1kHz sinewave at -90.31dBFS, 16-bit CD data.

The Sony's output stage wasn't fazed…

Project K622

The upbeat is the most magic moment in classical music making. Before the conductor brings down his baton for the downbeat, anything and everything are possible in the musical journey that is about to begin. And the upbeat to Mozart's sublime Clarinet Concerto that conductor Robert Bailey was about to give in London's Henry Wood Hall last November gave me an extra frisson—as producer of the recording sessions, I would have to pronounce instant judgment on everything I was about to hear.

Talk about pressure. It's hard enough for a critic to be right, even with all the benefit of hindsight…

Project K622 Page 2

The recording venue was going to be Henry Wood Hall in Southwark, just across the river from the Tower. Henry Wood Hall was originally Holy Trinity Church, standing in the center of a classic early 19th-century London square. Closed in 1961, the church was transformed into a rehearsal and recording space for London orchestras in the 1970s, and opened for business in 1975. Tony Faulkner has used the hall, named after fabled 19th century conductor and impresario Henry Wood, as a base for his operations for a quarter century. After the project had been finished and Antony had signed off on the…

Project K622 Page 3

Atkinson: You chose to use ¼" tape at 15ips rather than ½" tape at 30ips?

Faulkner: This will come as heresy to many, but I do not like 30ips as much as 15ips. For me, 30ips has more intrusive noise, more modulation noise, and a more eccentric bass replay response.

I used ¼" for several other reasons. First, because it is much more standard, given the disparate state of the analog recording industry, and left me more options for the mastering. So far I have not tracked down a ½" recorder, so I do not own one. Getting hold of new stock of the best analog blank tape these days is…

Project K622 Page 4

Faulkner: The criticisms are not without basis. The demands on storage space are no big deal because storage space is cheap now, but the fundamental griefs with DSD for me are twofold.

First, as I said, the creation of high energies of EHF noise from the A/D noiseshaping is bad engineering practice, but it is essential because DSD is a 1-bit system; it would not have enough dynamic range to reproduce music without noiseshaping. If you want a 1-bit, 64Fs recording system to emulate a 20-bit PCM system between 20Hz and 20kHz as far as noise and linearity are concerned, then the noise has…

Project K622 K622: The Music

Sidebar 1: K622: The Music

K622: Mozart Clarinet Concerto MFSACD017/MFLP017

Antony Michaelson, clarinet, with the Michaelangelo Chamber Orchestra conducted by Robert Bailey
Flute: Andy Findon, Helen Keen
Bassoon: Brian Sewell, Francesca Carpos
Horn: Richard Watkins, David Wythe
Violin: Adrian Levine (concertmaster), Kathy Andrew, Alex Balanescu, Sue Briscoe, Gordon Buchan, Beverly Davison, Ruth Erlich, Jonathan Evans-Jones, Alison Kelly, Pauline Lowbury, Rona Murray, David Ogden, Julian Tear, Paul Willey
Viola: Marina Ascherson, Rachel Bolt, Tim Grant, Rusen Gunes…

Project K622 Who Did What With What

Sidebar 2: Who Did What With What

Producer: John Atkinson
Engineer, analog editor: Tony Faulkner
DSD editing: Finesplice
LP mastering engineer: Stan Ricker
SACD booklet and LP sleeve design: Michaelson Rock
Microphones: Two Neumann M50c omnis on a 27" AEA stereo bar (main pickup), with an AKG C24 crossed figure-8 (clarinet spot) and three Schoeps CMC65ug cardioids (wind spots)
Mike preamps: EAR 824M
Mixing console: Tim de Paravicini custom design
Cables: Mogami (mikes to preamps), Belden 11-way "snake" (preamps to console), van den Hul carbon-fiber (console to…

Krell KAV-300i integrated amplifier

Is Krell risking its reputation? With the KAV-300i, an integrated amplifier that was originally envisaged as an export model, but for which home demand is clearly increasing, the Connecticut-based amplifier manufacturer is dabbling in low-cost territory. Previous Krell amplifiers have been known for their prodigious drive capability. Time and time again, it is found that the true measure of the bass performance of a big speaker isn't realized until a Krell power amplifier is brought into service. But how could an amplifier with a meaty 150Wpc specification and full remote control be built to…

Krell KAV-300i integrated amplifier Page 2

Inside
Inside, the compact, low-profile chassis packs a modest-looking, toroidal, steel-band-shielded transformer. This is rated at 400VA, but to a high-regulation Krell specification. (If this were not the case, that 300W into 4 ohm specification would be well out of reach.) Considerable thought has been given to protection, which in this design is by fuses (the bigger Krells use electronic protection operating via power relays). Gross short-circuit and speaker-fault protection is provided by 12A fuses at the output; these are located beneath the output terminals and user-accessible…