The PAV doesn't have this problem. I listened to a wide variety of discs and broadcast material and never heard any consistently identifiable dialogue artifacts. Dialogue sound wasn't always…
search
A surround-sound processor for films must get four primary things right: dialogue, music, sound effects, and directionality. First of all, the dialogue must be believable—free of tizz, spit, sizzle, boom, or boxiness. If it doesn't sound reasonably convincing—or worse, is actively irritating—it will quickly destroy the illusion. The whole carefully constructed house of cards collapses instantly.
Over this long-term listening period, however, my cumulative feeling was that the Proceed was sonically more precise—even surgical—in its soundspace re-creation, but without the brightness that this might imply. The McIntosh, on the other hand, was a shade warmer—a bit more relaxed.
A closer, side-by-side comparison of recent samples of the two units reinforced these earlier impressions. It also indicated that the Proceed presented the more finely graded detail. On Patriot Games—another first-rate soundtrack—the PAV sounded more open, with a slightly less homogenized quality evident in…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Full-function surround-sound audio/video preamplifier with Pro Logic, THX, and music modes. Frequency response and THD: not specified. S/N ratio (main outputs): >80dB at 0dB output. Gain: 14dB (nominal). Gain range: -60dB to +14dB. Gain resolution: 0.5dB except at lowest levels. Input overload: >2V RMS (0dB output). Input impedance: 100k ohms (single-ended). Output impedance: ±20 ohms. Maximum output: 10V RMS (balanced). Audio inputs: 2 balanced, 8 single-ended. Audio outputs: 1 set stereo main (L&R), balanced; 2 set stereo remote (…
Sidebar 2: Review System
I used the PAV with a variety of associated components. At the loudspeaker end were both the McIntosh and the B&W THX arrays, plus a combination of the two, consisting of McIntosh LCRs (left, center, right)—including their new HT-4 narrow-profile center channel—with B&W subwoofers and surrounds (footnote 1).
The Panasonic LD-1000 laserdisc player was at the front end, used either with its own internal D/A or connected to the Levinson No.35 D/A via a TosLink connector (the Panasonic, like all but a few laserdisc players, has only a TosLink digital…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
All of the measurements here, except as noted, were made from the unbalanced outputs with an unbalanced input. The PAV's gain, at a maximum setting of the level control, measured 12dB. Its output impedance measured just over 20 ohms (40 ohms balanced), its input impedance just under 95k ohms (22k ohms balanced). The output impedance at the tape outputs was just over 10 ohms, regardless of the source impedance—indicating buffered tape outputs. The DC offset at the PAV's outputs tended to fluctuate—as it does with many amps and preamps—but it generally measured 2.…
It's not unusual for a high-end audio company to originate in another segment of the high-tech electronics world, but it is a bit unusual when the spin-off is a cable company. That's the case with Empirical Audio, whose founder, Steve Nugent, spent 25 years as a digital hardware designer for Unisys and Intel. The key is that, in addition to standard design work, he chased "the more esoteric sides of design, namely grounding, shielding, ESD (electrostatic discharge), EMI (electromagnetic interference), transmission-line effects, and power delivery." Voilà—cable design.
Empirical…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Interconnect and loudspeaker cables. Interconnects available in single-ended (Holophonic-PC), shielded single-ended (Holophonic-2SPC), and balanced (Holophonic-XPC) configurations. Unbalanced (RCA) connectors available in gold-plated copper or silver. Clarity-7 speaker cables, single-wire configuration, terminated in gold-plated OFC spade lugs for ¼" or 5/16" speaker lugs.
Prices: Interconnects, unbalanced: $570/meter pair with copper Bullet plugs, $620 with silver plugs. Interconnects, balanced: $630/meter pair. Loudspeaker cables: $1512/8'…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: VPI HR-X turntable & tonearm, Lyra Titan cartridge.
Digital sources: Burmester 001, Cary CD303/200, Primare D30.2 CD players.
Preamplifiers: VTL TL-7.5, Burmester 011.
Power amplifiers: Simaudio Moon Rock, VTL S-400.
Loudspeakers: Thiel CS6.
Accessories: Finite Elemente Reference equipment stand; Nordost ECO3, Disksolution CD-cleaning/treatment fluids; MIT ZCenter power-conditioning & delivery system; VPI, Disk Dr. LP-cleaning systems.—Brian Damkroger
Convergence is a widely used buzzword in today's consumer-electronics industry. However, other than using my PC's soundcard in the office to play back MP3-encoded music and plugging the Mac in my listening room into my reference system in order to experience Riven with the highest possible sound quality, I've kept a low profile in this area.
Part of my disdain for PC-based audio has been, until recently, the poor audio performance of soundcards. In addition, the inside of a computer, with all the RF flying around, is a hostile environment for audio. So when I laid eyes and ears on Yamaha…
A wide variety of algorithms are employed in the virtual audio world, from game-oriented "positional" 3D effects in soundcards to bass enhancement, mono-to-stereo, stereo-to-"virtual surround," and true 3D audio, to name a few. Most of these methods include manipulation of and trading between interaural time delays (ITDs) and interaural intensity differences (IIDs) of sound stimuli arriving at the ears from multiple directions. These values are then combined with techniques such as crosstalk cancellation, equalization, and bass-enhancement methods to achieve the desired illusion.
ITD is…