Digital Sources: Ayre C-5xe universal player; Olive Symphony, Slim Devices Squeezebox 3 media servers; Mark Levinson No.30.6, Benchmark DAC 1, Grace m902 D/A processors; Alesis MasterLink hard-drive recorder.
Preamplifiers: No.326S, No.32 Reference.
Power Amplifiers: Mark Levinson No.33H monoblocks.
Cables: Digital: Kimber Illuminations Orchid AES/EBU, AudioQuest SVD-4 S/PDIF, OptiLink 5 TosLink. Interconnect: AudioQuest Cheetah, Madrigal CZ Gel-1, Ayre Signature Series, Crystalconnect, Canare (balanced); DiMarzio, Canare (unbalanced). Speaker…
search
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The Electra 1007 Be was of average voltage sensitivity, at an estimated 88dB(B)/2.83V/m. Its impedance (fig.1) covered a wide range, with a minimum value of 4.3 ohms at 200Hz and a maximum value in the low treble of 21.5 ohms at 3kHz. With amplifiers having a high source impedance, such as typical tubed designs, this will tend to tilt up the speaker's response at high frequencies. The saddle in the impedance-magnitude trace at 52Hz indicates the tuning frequency of the rectangular, rear-facing port.
Fig.1 Focal Electra 1007 Be, electrical…
I'm a tinkerer. From homemade audio isolation and room-treatment products to a local area network (LAN) connecting my Macintosh laptops, I'm always building or modifying something. One of my latest projects is a combination of parts swaps and custom-machined bits to better adapt the ergonomics of my exotic Italian Bimota motorcycle to my distinctly un-Italian 6'3" frame. But regardless of what I'm into, I can't resist the urge to tinker.
Harry Weisfeld, the man behind VPI, is also a tinkerer, of which the evolution of his TNT turntable provides ample evidence (footnote 1). There…
Setup
The Hot Rod replaced my TNT V in my system, and has overlapped a number of system changes and other reviews. I began my listening using a Grado Reference cartridge, but upgraded midway to the wonderful new Statement Reference, both feeding my VAC CPA1 Mk.III preamplifier or the Conrad-Johnson Premier 15/17LS combination.
The Hot Rod replaced my TNT V in my system, and has overlapped a number of system changes and other reviews. I began my listening using a Grado Reference cartridge, but upgraded midway to the wonderful new Statement Reference, both feeding my VAC CPA1 Mk.III preamplifier or the Conrad-Johnson Premier 15/17LS combination.
The TNT-HR's integrated tonearm and deletion of the tri-pulley assembly made setting it up a snap. Similarly, adjusting and using the 'table were straightforward and intuitive. A few points bear mention, however. First, the TNT likes to be level—really level—…
Another area where the new rig improved on the previous version was in its reproduction of transients. Leading edges of notes, from the very soft to the loudest, most explosive crescendo, were all a little sharper and cleaner than before. As a result, the HR's overall presentation seemed tighter, but without losing any of the TNT's beguiling coherence and effortless, relaxed feel. It just sounded as if everyone had sharpened up their playing ever so slightly, or was having one of those days when everything just clicks.
I don't know if the HR/12.5's added detail and precision resulted…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Integrated manual, belt-drive turntable-tonearm combination.
Prices: TNT V-HR, including JMW 12.5 tonearm, $8000. Tonearm only, $2800. Optional SDS motor/speed controller, $1000 ($800 if purchased with turntable). Approximate number of dealers: 69. Warranty: 5 years, turntable & tonearm.
Manufacturer: VPI Industries, 77 Cliffwood Ave. #3B, Cliffwood, NJ 07721. Tel: (732) 583-6895. Fax: (732) 946-8578. Web: www.vpiindustries.com .
Sidebar: Associated Equipment
Analog source: Grado Statement Reference, The Reference, Benz-Micro LO4 cartridges.
Digital source: Wadia 861, Simaudio Moon Eclipse CD players.Preamplifier: VAC CPA1 Mk.III, Conrad-Johnson Premier 15 phono stage and Premier 17 line stage.
Power amplifiers: Classé CAM-350, Mark Levinson No.20.6, and VTL Ichiban monoblocks, VAC Renaissance 70/70.
Loudspeakers: Magnepan MG3.6/R, Impact Technologies Airfoil 5.2.
Cables: Nirvana SX Ltd., Nordost Valhalla, Synergistic Research Designer's Reference and Resolution Reference, Alpha-Core Micro-Purl, TQ2,…
Not that long ago, digital audio was considered perfect if all the bits could be stored and retrieved without data errors. If the data coming off the disc were the same as what went on the disc, how could there be a sound-quality difference with the same digital/analog converter? This "bits is bits" mentality scoffs at sonic differences between CD transports, digital interfaces, and CD tweaks. Because none of these products or devices affects the pattern of ones and zeros recovered from the disc, any differences must be purely in the listener's imagination. After all, they argued, a copy of…
The block diagram of fig.1 shows how transport jitter ends up in the digital processor's word clock. The call-out numbers in fig.1 correspond to the five jitter sources described above. Fig.1 shows why transports and digital interfaces sound different—their jitter directly affects the timing precision of the digital/analog conversion process.
Fig.1 Jitter sources in a CD playback system
The "bits is bits" camp rejects this thesis, claiming that transport and interface jitter is completely removed by the digital processor's input receiver. They consider the PLL an…
Jitter plots
A typical jitter-measurement plot is shown in fig.4, measured on the highest-jitter source I found: the Panasonic SV-3700 professional DAT machine (a Stereophile-owned sample). The horizontal scale is frequency in Hz, the vertical scale is amplitude in volts. The vertical scale is calibrated so that the "100u" at the bottom is equivalent to 1ps, the "1m" a third of the way up is 10ps, the "10m" point is 100ps, and "0.1" is 1000ps, or one nanosecond (1ns). Note that the vertical amplitude (jitter) scale is logarithmic. Below the "1m" division, each horizontal division equals…
A typical jitter-measurement plot is shown in fig.4, measured on the highest-jitter source I found: the Panasonic SV-3700 professional DAT machine (a Stereophile-owned sample). The horizontal scale is frequency in Hz, the vertical scale is amplitude in volts. The vertical scale is calibrated so that the "100u" at the bottom is equivalent to 1ps, the "1m" a third of the way up is 10ps, the "10m" point is 100ps, and "0.1" is 1000ps, or one nanosecond (1ns). Note that the vertical amplitude (jitter) scale is logarithmic. Below the "1m" division, each horizontal division equals…