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Fig.6, produced by averaging 120 measurements for the left and right speakers individually, shows how all this added up in my listening room. Overall, the Thiels produced an impressively flat curve. However, within that flatness it can be seen that there is a slight excess of energy in the low treble and a slight reduction in the lower midrange. The top octave is shelved down a little, as expected from the quasi-anechoic measurements—but more important, so is the entire low-frequency region. Now it's true that the speakers were positioned where I found their balance to sound the most…
I think I've finally figured out the secret of Stereophile's success. You, cherished reader, don't read this mag because it's chock full o' reviews of tantalizing audio gear (even though it is). And you don't read this mag because JA and RL strive so hard to keep the literary quotient as hi as the fi (even though they do). And I know you don't read this mag cuz trusting yer own sensory input is a mighty scary proposition indeed so you look to Stereophile as to a Holy Bible that eases your Earthly burden by telling you, Ah say Ah say TAILING YEW what to buy (do you?).
No. You…
Not the CD Library; its variable outputs (both single-ended and balanced) are derived from a circuit called MDAC, first seen in Levinson's No.28 preamp. The MDAC circuit uses software control of a multiplying DAC's precision resistors to create a digitally controlled stepped attenuator; the multiplying DAC doesn't deal with the digital audio signal, but instead switches its internal resistors in and out in various combinations to form the precision voltage-divider networks that determine signal level. The added gain of this circuit is provided by an op-amp-based gain stage built around BiFET…
Now here's where the fun begins. Let's pretend I'm Richie Rich, and I'm sprawled naked on my giant bearskin rug with Wilson-Phillips (footnote 5). I'm grooving to The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady, but the girls aren't crazy about Mingus.
"I want to hear our CD!" chirps Chynna.
I roll Carny off the Communicator, aim it at the IR receiver, and press "On." The backlit display blinks on, asking me to choose a category from the ones shown on the screen. I press the blue thumb-button next to "HURL," then the "Send" button. The Communicator scrolls past several selections till I hit…
Sound
If it can be said that the better digital processors are increasingly forming two camps—Vivid'n'Ballsy (the Thetas, Levinson No.30, etc.) and Laid-Back'n'Easy (the Linn CD player, ARC DAC1-20, etc.)—the CD Library definitely belongs in the second group. The Proceed has a gentle, less dynamic character than either the Theta Data/Basic II or the Levinson No.30 (footnote 6). I won't go so far as to say the CD Library approaches the ease of good analog like the best members of its camp, but it's a very good-sounding player.
If it can be said that the better digital processors are increasingly forming two camps—Vivid'n'Ballsy (the Thetas, Levinson No.30, etc.) and Laid-Back'n'Easy (the Linn CD player, ARC DAC1-20, etc.)—the CD Library definitely belongs in the second group. The Proceed has a gentle, less dynamic character than either the Theta Data/Basic II or the Levinson No.30 (footnote 6). I won't go so far as to say the CD Library approaches the ease of good analog like the best members of its camp, but it's a very good-sounding player.
There's good, and there's good; compared to the Theta and…
Well, if the balanced AES/EBU output is better than the unbalanced digital output, the CD Library is definitely a Class A transport; the sound through the Basic II was right up there with the Data. The tremendous increase in ambient detail I heard when I first hooked up the Data to my system is essentially matched by the CD Library. About the only significant differences I heard were a slightly less forward midrange and a bit less rhythmic drive; groove-heavy recordings like The Commitments soundtrack rocked a little less harder when driven by the Proceed's transport. To be fair, just as I…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: 100-disc capacity CD player. Frequency response: 10Hz-20kHz, -0.2dB. S/N ratio (unweighted): 105dB. Channel separation: 120dB. Analog output impedance: ±1 ohm.
Dimensions: 33&3188;" H by 21 9/16" W by 21 9/16" D. Shipping weight: 175 lbs.
Price: "under $13,000, depending on dealer options" (1992); no longer available (2003). Approximate number of dealers: 139.
Manufacturer: Madrigal Audio Laboratories, Inc., 2081 S. Main St., Middletown, CT 06457. Tel: (203) 346-0896 or 344-9300. Fax: (203) 346-1540. Web: www.madrigal.com.
Rarely have I anticipated the arrival of a review component as I did the Sony SCD-1 Super Audio CD player. I'd first heard the machine itself with the enthusiastic audiophile hordes at Chicago's HI-FI '99. I'd also been lucky enough to enjoy a few of the Direct Stream Digital-encoded recordings Tom Jung had made for DMP right off the hard drives of a prototype DSD processor via Ed Meitner electronics. (See my interview with Jung elsewhere in this issue.)
During that afternoon's DSD listening session, we heard seriously deep bass chuffing the cheeks of our listening room with powerful,…
Sony makes much of what they call the SCD-1's "Base/Pillar" chassis construction. Typically, a component's chassis is made more rigid by adding "beams" to a "frame," as they characterize it. The SCD-1's foundation is seven high-carbon cast-iron pillars sunk into the substantial substrate of a double layer of 5mm metal plate. This Old House is finished off with 4.5mm side walls and a 5mm top plate. This yields a large, open space within the chassis that's perfect for optimizing placement of the various major elements: the laser base-unit assembly, power supply, and audio circuits.
The SCD…
Functionality
A Balanced Out On/Off switch sits next to the connectors, while an intriguing switch marked Standard/Custom sits mid-rear panel, a screw-down locking plate giving it added import. While it is true that higher sampling rates mean wider bandwidth, don't expect your preamp or amp to digest them lightly. Standard output rolls off the player's ultrasonic output above 50kHz so your preamp or amp won't oscillate, implode, and go to heaven.
A Balanced Out On/Off switch sits next to the connectors, while an intriguing switch marked Standard/Custom sits mid-rear panel, a screw-down locking plate giving it added import. While it is true that higher sampling rates mean wider bandwidth, don't expect your preamp or amp to digest them lightly. Standard output rolls off the player's ultrasonic output above 50kHz so your preamp or amp won't oscillate, implode, and go to heaven.
All control functions are input via the remote or a series of buttons at the top of the fascia: major functions to the right, ancillary…