Description: Dual-mono power amplifier with laser-biased output stage. Output power: 300Wpc into 8 ohms (24.8dBW). Constant current capacity: 56.34 amperes. Input impedance: 30k ohms. Output impedance: 0.025 ohm.
Dimensions: 15" W by 9" H by 19" D. Weight: 106 lbs.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 102282.
Price: $15,500. Approximate number of dealers: 12.
Manufacturer: Edge Electronics, 815 SE 47th Street, Cape Coral, FL 33904. Tel: (239) 945-6227. Web: www.edgeamp.com.
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Sidebar 1: Specifications
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: SOTA Cosmos Series III turntable, Graham 2.2 tonearm, Dynavector XV-1S cartridge.
Digital source: Classé Omega SACD/CD player.
Preamplification: Manley Labs Steelhead, Aesthetix Io Signature phono stages; VTL TL-7.5 Reference, BAT VK-51 SE line stages; McIntosh C200 preamplifier (as line stage).
Loudspeakers: Focal-JMlab Nova Utopia Be.
Cables: Phono: Hovland Music Groove 2. Interconnect: Acoustic Zen Silver Reference & Matrix Reference, Nordost Valhalla, Siltech SQ-110 Classic. Speaker: Nordost Valhalla, Siltech LS-188…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
As I always do before any testing, I ran the Edge NL-12 at one-third power into 8 ohms for an hour, in order to test the amplifier's ability to eliminate waste heat. Despite the relatively small profile of the NL-12's heatsinks, they had heated up to only 60 degreesC or so by the end of this period, proving they had adequate thermal capacity. However, the smell of hot insulation emanated from the amplifier's chassis. In addition, I monitored the amplifier's THD during the preconditioning period. It was surprisingly high at the outset, at 0.25% at 100W. However,…
Who the heck is this guy? Is he David Johansen, the lipstick-wearing front man of the seminal glam-rock, proto-punk New York Dolls? Is he Buster Poindexter, the pompadoured and tuxedoed "Hot, Hot, Hot" soca stylist? Is he a lounge singer? A Latin artist? Johansen is all of the above, having achieved success in each incarnation.
David Johansen is a traditional blues singer. His latest project, David Johansen and the Harry Smiths, focuses on acoustic American roots music, and it's perfectly complemented by Chesky Records' natural-sounding, audiophile-quality recording. I joined Johansen at…
"I still listen to a lot of Latin music. And then I listen to a lot of classical, jazz, movie soundtracks—especially Italian movie soundtracks. My favorite, of course, is Nino Rota, but I like a lot of the other guys too. And I paint, so a lot of times I put music on my boombox, and it just is there. It's like a friend of mine. Lately I've been listening to this series of early American rural music that Shanachie puts out. There's some great music there you'd never get to hear."
"I'll have to check that out."
And So my Wish was Granted. Johansen happened to be packing a deluxe-…
"Hey Rick, did you ever play an Erik Satie record and hold the fast-forward like this? It sounds just like ragtime. I was doing this the other day, and it sounded just like Scott Joplin."
"You seem to have a deep knowledge of all kinds of music. Do you have your own archives? Do you collect LPs, 78s?"
"No. I got a bunch of records, but I very rarely listen to them. This friend of mine is in the estate liquidation business, and I asked him to just keep his eye out for one of those hi-fis with the changer, so you could put like 10 records on it. I got one of those now, and I listen…
"That reminds me of recently, when I heard one of the Dolls records on CD, and I said, 'What is this?' It sounded just completely different from the way it always sounded on LP."
"Yeah, especially Johnny's guitar, that rrowrr, rrowrr, rrowrr. It loses the depth of the thing."
"It always had this real mushed-together, murky vibe to it. The CD sounds so clean, it sounds completely different. It sounds like..."
"It sounds almost acceptable! [laughs] It's funny, because last week or something in Rolling Stone they reviewed the Dolls record in the Hall of Fame, and it got four…
Sidebar 1: David Johansen: Selected Discography
David Johansen as... David Johansen and the Harry Smiths, David Johansen and the Harry Smiths, Chesky JD196 (2000)
Buster Poindexter, Buster's Happy Hour, Rhino R2 71680 (1994)
David Johansen, Live It Up, Razor & Tie RE1994 (1992)
Buster Poindexter, Buster Poindexter, RCA 6633-2 (1987)
David Johansen, David Johansen, Razor & Tie RE1989 (1978)
New York Dolls, Too Much, Too Soon, Mercury 834 230-2 (1974) New York Dolls, New York Dolls, Mercury 832 752-2 (1973)
Sidebar 2: David Johansen's Playlist
¡Ahora Si! Here Comes Changüì, Corason CORA 121 Dock Boggs, Country Blues: Complete Early Recordings (1927-1929), Revenant RVN 205
Dama and D'Gary, The Long Way Home, Shanachie 64052 D'Gary, Malagasy Guitar, Shanachie 65009
Jimmie Dale Gilmore, One Endless Night, Windcharger/Rounder 3173
Rubén Gonzàlez, Introducing...Rubén Gonzàlez, World Circuit/Nonesuch 7947?-2
Greatest Cumbia Classics of Colombia, Vol.2, Fuentes 11015
Kneelin' Down Inside the Gate: The Great Rhyming Singers of the Bahamas, Rounder 5035
Ali Hassan Kuban, From Nubia…
Classé's Mike Viglas watched the audiophile skies, scratched his chin, and thought about his business. As he gazed, it occurred to him that if everyone in audio was moving downmarket to invade his territory, why not take his company and head upmarket? Thus was born Classé's much-lauded Omega series.
Classé has guts. These are uncertain times, but here they are with an audiophile classic: an expensive two-channel Super Audio CD player that will also spin CDs and CD-Rs and sports lots of inputs and outputs, "Your last CD player, my friend!" enthused Viglas after he'd installed the…