Because the SR-71 is the portable equivalent of a…
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The Emmeline SR-71 portable headphone amplifier ($395) is small but not light. Housed in an extruded-aluminum chassis with a bolt-on faceplate and a rear panel and battery cover that attaches with a thumb-screw, it measures 3.5" by 2.5" by 1.5" and weighs 11oz. That sounds light, especially compared to some of the headphone amps I've carted around in the past—not to mention their four–D-cell extended power supplies—but in the iPod era, it's the portable equivalent of a class-A power amp. So why would anybody be willing to lug it around?
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Battery-powered headphone amplifier. Frequency range: 10Hz–100kHz. Input impedance: 50k ohms. Input sensitivity: 500mV–4V peak–peak. Voltage gain: 6dB. Output impedance: 16 ohms at 2kHz. Output stage current device: 250mA.
Dimensions: 3.5" (90mm) W by 2.5" (65mm) H by 1.5" (40mm) D. Weight: 11oz (315gm).
Serial number of unit reviewed: 6124.
Price: $395. Approximate number of dealers: 1 (sold direct).
Manufacturer: Ray Samuels Audio, 8005 Keeler, Skokie, IL 60076. Tel: (847) 673-8739. Web: www.raysamuelsaudio.com.
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Musical Fidelity X-RayV3 CD player, X-DACV3 D/A converter, Apple iPod Mini.
Headphone Amplifiers: HeadRoom Supreme, Musical Fidelity X-CanV3.
Headphones: AKG K-501, Etymotic ER-6S, Sennheiser HD-600 (with Stefan Audio Art Equinox cables), Sennheiser HD-650.
Interconnect: Cardas 1/8"-mini-to-1/8"-mini jumper, Audience Au24 mini-phone-plug-to-stereo-RCA cable.—Wes Phillips
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The measurements were performed using a fresh set of alkaline batteries. I measured the Emmeline SR-71's maximum gain as 15.54dB, significantly higher than the specified 6dB. Its input impedance was a usefully high 23k ohms from 20Hz to 20kHz. I also found its output impedance to be less than 1 ohm, which is well below the specified 16 ohms, but perhaps contributes to the amplifier's excellent bass quality. DC offset on the amplifier's output was negligible.
The SR-71's frequency response was flat from 10Hz to 100kHz, and only just starts to roll off at…
"There, that's where you should put the microphone, 5' from the end of my bow."
Holding his bow up at an angle, violinist Pinchas Zukerman was helping me set up my mikes to record the final concert from the 1998 Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, where he was to lead an ensemble in a performance of the Mozart G-Minor Piano Quartet. (The resultant CD is scheduled for release in spring 1999.) Faced with an uncooperative acoustic at this year's event in the form of airconditioning noise, I was forced to abandon my usual purist, distant technique in favor of close-miking, multitracking, and…
Turntables are intrinsically cool. Maybe it's that I am of the pre-CD generation, for which the acquisition of one's first really good turntable marked an audiophile's coming of age. Just as turntable technology has progressed to such awe-inspiring pieces as the SME 30/2 and Rockport Technologies Sirius III, less stratospherically priced 'tables now offer levels of performance that, if not revelatory, show why so many audiophiles (including yours truly) continue to love their LPs with something just short of fanaticism.
Clearaudio's Champion 2 turntable is about as good-looking…
System
Most buyers of Champion 2s will not be using the turntable in a context quite as exotic and revealing as the reference system I used for this review (see Sidebar). The Champ 2 sat on a carefully leveled Grand Prix Audio Monaco stand fitted with an F1 carbon-fiber shelf. The Monaco was spiked through the carpet down to the concrete-slab floor of my listening room. Most auditioning was done with the $1000 Clearaudio Unify arm and $1295 Benz Micro L2 MC phono cartridge (see Sidebar). I also listened to the Champ 2 with my reference combination of Graham 2.2 tonearm and Dynavector XV…
Most buyers of Champion 2s will not be using the turntable in a context quite as exotic and revealing as the reference system I used for this review (see Sidebar). The Champ 2 sat on a carefully leveled Grand Prix Audio Monaco stand fitted with an F1 carbon-fiber shelf. The Monaco was spiked through the carpet down to the concrete-slab floor of my listening room. Most auditioning was done with the $1000 Clearaudio Unify arm and $1295 Benz Micro L2 MC phono cartridge (see Sidebar). I also listened to the Champ 2 with my reference combination of Graham 2.2 tonearm and Dynavector XV…
Sidebar 1: Clearaudio Unify tonearm & Benz Micro L2 cartridge
When Garth Leerer of importer Musical Surroundings offered the Clearaudio Champion 2 turntable for review, I asked if he could also supply a typical tonearm and cartridge that a buyer might reasonably pair with the 'table. He responded by including Clearaudio's own Unify arm and a Benz Micro L2 cartridge.
The Unify ($1000) is a slick-looking unipivot tonearm with a sexy carbon-fiber armtube for low resonance and high stiffness. Azimuth and VTA are adjustable, and a length of Clearaudio's SixStream interconnect is…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: SOTA Cosmos Series III turntable, Graham 2.2 tonearm, Dynavector XV-1S cartridge.
Preamplification: Manley Labs Steelhead, Aesthetix Io Signature, Boulder 2008 phono preamplifiers; Mark Levinson No.32 Reference, VTL TL7.5, Jeff Rowland Design Group Synergy IIi, Ayre K-1x line stages.
Power amplifiers: Lamm M2.1, Manley 250 Neo-Classic, Classé CAM-350 monoblocks; Plinius SA-102.
Loudspeakers: Calix Phoenix Grand Signature.
Cables: Phono: Hovland Music Groove 2 (SOTA). Interconnect: Acoustic Zen Silver Reference, Wireworld Gold…
Sidebar 3: Specifications
Description: Belt-drive LP turntable with geometrically resonance-optimized shape. Speeds: 33 1/3, 45rpm, variable to ±0.1%. Drive: standalone motor, belt drive. Bearing: bronze-plated hardened steel, inverted. Platter: acrylic with highly polished surface, 2.75" (70mm) H. S/N Ratio: 84dB (no conditions or reference level given).
Dimensions: 18.33" (470mm) W by 9.33" (240mm) H by 15.25" (390mm) D. Weight: 79 lbs (36kg), including motor.
Serial number of unit reviewed: Not noted.
Price: $2800. Approximate number of dealers: 50. Warranty: 5 years.
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